I am a full time marine professional. I have been my entire working life, but my passion for boating and sportfishing extends beyond that.

I guess it traces back to spending every weekend as a child either watching my dad work on boats or enjoy his time off on boats. Those early days grew into my life revolving around boats.

I spent my summer breaks from school learning to work on boats. I spent my days in school writing papers about fishing, reading books about fishing and writing book reports about them, doing art projects that centered around boat design, fishing lures and the ocean. What did I want to do when I grew up? Be a fisherman. What did I do on my summer vacation? Fish.

After I graduated from Ursinus college I went to the Chapman's School of Seamanship for professional mariner training and yacht and small craft surveying. I made a conscientious decision to devote my career in boats and sportfishing.

That was in 1995. At that point I had spent 10 consecutive summers washing boats, rigging baits, living, eating, sleeping, breathing sportfishing.

In the years that have followed I have traveled the world sportfishing or surveying sportfishing boats.

My entire life has been devoted to sport fishing, both as a hobby and a career. It is my passion. I have taught a youth fishing clinic for 7 years. I am President of the Ocean City Marlin Club (actually serving my second term), and prior to that I served on the board of directors since 1999.

Now, at 36 years old I feel like all of this is being ripped away from me. For years I have seen tighter restrictions put on my life in the name of conservation. I have argued against things I felt were unfair, and supported those that I thought were necessary. WHen I thought it would help preserve the sport that I have devoted my life to, no one could be heard offering more support than me. But again, now I feel it is being ripped away.

I am watching bad science and short sighted politicians take away what I devoted my life to, and I don't like it. I don't like it one bit. My voice will be heard, and it will be heard loudly. The Recreational Fishing Alliance has a motto, "I FIsh and I vote." THis is becoming my motto as well. And everyone I know shares this opinion. Maybe I won't be the one losing my job afterall.