CONSERVATION
Recreational fishing as we know it is at risk. There seem to be so many activities going on it is hard to keep up with them. The New National Policy for the Ocean, Coasts and Great Lakes is coming up for a vote soon and your voice needs to be heard. Here are two links for your consideration and action.
ESPN Writes:
"The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters."
Read more by clicking this link.
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/news/story?id=4975762
The second message is from the American Sportfishing Association. This message contains a link that will help you write a letter to your legislators.
American Sportfishing Association Policy Alert
Tell the White House That the New National Policy for the Ocean, Coasts and Great Lakes Must Safeguard Recreational Fishing
For more information, contact Gordon Robertson, vice president and Government Affairs lead, 703.519.9691, x237, or Patty Doerr, Ocean Resource Policy director, x244.
Your input is needed to ensure that this new national policy does not restrict people from enjoying saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing.
Within the next 30 - 60 days, the Obama Administration is planning to issue a final report, and possibly other management guidance, intended to govern the management of the nation's oceans, coastal areas and Great Lakes. The plan originated in June 2009, when President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), was charged with developing a national policy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes. The policy will govern ocean and Great Lakes resource management and coordinate efforts among the many federal, state and local agencies that oversee a significant portion of our nation's waters.
The White House is in the final stages of developing the final report, which must balance sustainable uses with ocean and Great Lakes conservation. It is important that the administration recognizes and promotes the economic and conservation contributions of outdoor recreation, including recreational fishing and boating. Without such recognition, decisions made under this national oceans and Great Lakes policy could be used to close saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing areas.
Anglers and boaters are
Click here or visit www.keepamericafishing.org to send a letter to President Obama and other key policy makers urging the Task Force to include recreational fishing and boating in the national policy. When you send this letter to President Obama, it will automatically be sent to your Members of Congress.
Make sure your voice is heard so that anglers' and boaters' conservation, economic and social contributions are recognized as a key component of the policy.
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ASA Communications
American Sportfishing Association
225 Reinekers Lane, Suite 420
(703) 519-9691 ex. 222
Dear GULF OF MEXICO NACO
Member,
US Congressman Allen Boyd
(D-North Florida) introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to
protect the jobs of
“This legislation will ensure that our fishermen’s jobs are protected from any unjust future closures and that the economies of our local coastal communities are never again put in jeopardy because of outdated or incomplete information,” said Boyd.
The administration recently
restricted red snapper fishing in large zones off
“Our commercial and recreational fishermen depend on the ability to fish, and closing fisheries using inaccurate information is a direct affront to our livelihood,” stated Bob Jones, executive director of the Southeastern Fisheries Association.
Boyd’s legislation calls for a
congressional review of the federal government’s new restrictions on commercial,
recreational and charter fishing in
Directs the Secretary of Commerce to conduct a study to assess the amount of red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Fishery
Prohibits the Department of Commerce from decreasing the number of fishing days without this assessment
Calls for the study to explicitly demonstrate the need for any reduction in the number of annual fishing days
“This legislation is a direct result of the countless conversations I’ve had with our local fishermen. Many of these hardworking and dedicated individuals traveled by bus from North Florida to Washington just last week, and I was eager to meet with them, listen to their concerns, and discuss ways to prevent their livelihood from being unfairly imposed upon,” Boyd concluded.
Boyd also recently thwarted the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) from imposing injurious new
regulations on Gulf oyster production through his Gulf Oyster Protection Act,
which helped convince the FDA to dump its proposal to inhibit oyster harvesting
in the
US Senator George LeMieux (R-FL)
called on top officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on
Wednesday to immediately enhance the scientific methodology used gauge the
health of
“This is not a situation that is going to be a problem six months from now, this is not a situation that is going to be a problem a year from now, this is a situation where right now families who have been fishing for generations are going out of business,” LeMieux affirmed.
Keeping You
Informed
National Association of Charterboat Operators