Harsh environmental conditions are exacerbated by poverty, contaminated drinking water, unreliable and pricey shipping of goods from the rest of the country, monopolistic controls, a lack of housing, and other social issues. These factors take an especially harsh toll on the nutrition of people living in these communities, where healthy food is very expensive and soft drinks and junk food are cheap.
As the letter writer said, “regardless of the law, with no enforcement, fish habitat destruction becomes the de facto rule of law.”