Fishing interests rally to to protest oppressive management of saltwater fisheries

[jackdaniels]

WASHINGTON, D.C. — One storm had just passed and yet another was on its way to a city that has been slammed by snow this winter.

But those who planned the United We Fish rally on the Capitol steps were granted a brief reprieve mid-day on Wednesday, Feb. 24, with a previously elusive sun possibly promising a brighter future for those who fish our oceans.

"God opened up the sky and it was a beautiful day in D.C.," said Jim Hutchinson, managing director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), a primary sponsor of the rally. "We started at noon, but buses still were arriving at 1:30.

"We had people from Alaska, from California, from the Gulf Coast. We had one bus come all the way from Jacksonville, Fla."

There were recreational and commercial fishermen, charter captains, marina owners, fish packers. And their elected representatives in the U.S. House and Senate. More than 3,000 strong, they gathered to protest what they view as unnecessary and oppressive management of saltwater fisheries by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its affiliates.
rest of the story
http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/s...ory?id=4945625

[jackdaniels]

Florida Sportsman online:

Anglers Rally in Washington, D.C.

Capt. Ralph Delph attends and reports a success on Capitol Hill.

By David Conway

February 25, 2010. The first-ever rally for fishing rights drew between 3,000 and 5,000 people to Washington, D.C. yesterday in an effort to bring attention and action to the increasingly restrictive regulations on saltwater fishing in the U.S. Over 20 federal lawmakers joined the several thousand fishermen from around the country in the three-hour rally supporting national fisheries reform.

“The gathering was an incredible success," said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and one of the key organizers of the historic rally.

At noon Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1255, the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act, opened the rally with a speech supporting the cause to reform the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) to allow greater flexibility in the timetables to rebuild fish stocks. "Shame on the Magnuson-Stevens Act," Schumer said, “MSA as currently written denies fishermen access to healthy and rebuilding stocks due to arbitrary, 'time-specific' deadlines. We need flexibility to be able to thrive," Schumer promised the crowd, while charging federal bureaucrats with failure to recognize the impact of their decisions on working families. "We need to start caring about our fishermen as much as our fish.”

Key West charter captain Ralph Delph, along with his sons Rob and Bill, also captains in Key West, all made the trip to D.C. to support the need for reform of fishery regulations. “There’s a major head of steam building in this movement,” Ralph Delph said upon returning to Florida today. “The main theme of the push to get people rallied around this cause, and the specific themes of the rally in D.C. were to show the need to soften the Magnuson Act so that instead of having to shut down fisheries at the cost of the anglers and fisheries, we can have more time and better science to lead us to better actions. Because of the rally, more and more senators and representatives are coming on board with the legislation to reform Magnuson.

“With a revised Magnuson and better science,” Delph continued, “We at least we stand a chance to have the red snapper and grouper fisheries opened back up somewhat to the recreational anglers. The need for better science in these fish assessments was a very important part of this rally. We actually got to meet with Senator Lemieux and express our concerns.

“We have the ball rolling now,” he said. “We need to enlighten the people down here in Florida. I was really encouraged by the number of people who attended the rally and by the fact that 20-plus senators came over and spoke in support of the views of the fishermen.”

According to a press release from Recreational Fishing Alliance, H.R. 1584, the bill to revise the Magnuson, picked up three additional co-sponsors this week due in large part to the February 24th rally (29 total co-sponsors), while S 1255 gained another three supporters (for a total of 5). The press release concludes that, “The lobbying effort in D.C. by RFA staffers in support of these vitally important coastal bills will continue.”



--