Obama Targets Fishing

[bluegrass]

Thanks to all the morons that voted for this POS....http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/salt ... id=4975762


Culled outObama administration will accept no more public input for federal fishery strategyEmail Print Comments 264By Robert Montgomery
ESPNOutdoors.com

The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

AP/Luis M. Alvarez
One sign at the United We Fish rally at the Capital summed up the feelings of recreational and commercial fishermen. This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is "fluid" and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn't issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

That's a disappointment, but not really a surprise for fishing industry insiders who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force. These angling advocates have come to suspect that public input into the process was a charade from the beginning.

"When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario," said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.

"Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard working American families and small businesses are being ignored.

"In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President's concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority."


PHOTO GALLERY

Fisheries In Danger
Consequently, unless anglers speak up and convince their Congressional representatives to stop this bureaucratic freight train, it appears that the task force will issue a final report for "marine spatial planning" by late March, with President Barack Obama then issuing an Executive Order to implement its recommendations — whatever they may be.

Led by NOAA's Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening.

Additionally, Lubchenco and others in the administration have close ties to environmental groups who would like nothing better than to ban recreational angling. And evidence suggests that these organizations have been the engine behind the task force since before Obama issued a memo creating it last June.

As ESPN previously reported, WWF, Greenpeace, Defenders of Wildlife, Pew Environment Group and others produced a document entitled "Transition Green" shortly after Obama was elected in 2008. What has happened since suggests that the task force has been in lockstep with that position paper.

Then in late summer, just after he created the task force, these groups produced "Recommendations for the Adoption and Implementation of an Oceans, Coasts, and Great Lakes National Policy." This document makes repeated references to "overfishing," but doesn't once reference recreational angling, its importance, and its benefits, both to participants and the resource.

Additionally, some of these same organizations have revealed their anti-fishing bias by playing fast and loose with "facts," in attempts to ban tackle containing lead in the United States and Canada.

That same tunnel vision, in which recreational angling and commercial fishing are indiscriminately lumped together as harmful to the resource, has persisted with the task force, despite protests by the angling industry.

As more evidence of collusion, the green groups began clamoring for an Executive Order to implement the task force's recommendations even before the public comment period ended in February. Fishing advocates had no idea that this was coming.

Perhaps not so coincidentally, the New York Times reported on Feb. 12 that "President Obama and his team are preparing an array of actions using his executive power to advance energy, environmental, fiscal and other domestic policy priorities."

Click here for archiveMorlock fears that "what we're seeing coming at us is an attempted dismantling of the science-based fish and wildlife model that has served us so well. There's no basis in science for the agendas of these groups who are trying to push the public out of being able to fish and recreate.

"Conflicts (user) are overstated and problems are manufactured. It's all just an excuse to put us off the water."

In the wake of the task force's framework document, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) and its partners in the U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition against voiced their concerns to the administration.

"Some of the potential policy implications of this interim framework have the potential to be a real threat to recreational anglers who not only contribute billions of dollars to the economy and millions of dollars in tax revenues to support fisheries conservation, but who are also the backbone of the American fish and wildlife conservation ethic," said CSF President Jeff Crane.

Morlock, a member of the CSF board, added, "There are over one million jobs in America supported coast to coast by recreational fishing. The task force has not included any accountability requirements in their reports for evaluating or mitigating how the new policies they are drafting will impact the fishing industry or related economies.

"Given that the scope of this process appears to include a new set of policies for all coastal and inland waters of the United States, the omission of economic considerations is inexcusable."

This is not the only access issue threatening the public's right to fish, but it definitely is the most serious, according to Chris Horton, national conservation director for BASS.

"With what's being created, the same principles could apply inland as apply to the oceans," he said. "Under the guise of 'marine spatial planning' entire watersheds could be shut down, even 2,000 miles up a river drainage from the ocean.

"Every angler needs to be aware because if it's not happening in your backyard today or tomorrow, it will be eventually.

"We have one of the largest voting blocks in the country and we need to use it. We must not sit idly by."

[2500 HD]

It is Lent..... Since he is muslim he probally don't like AMERICAN'S eating fish on Friday's........

[bluemouse]

Bet he has never seen the smile on a kids face after they caught their first fish, oh by the way some of Jesus best friends were fisherman

[Pine Mt Beagles]

MORE MISDIRECTION BY IDIOTS
I BELONG TO BASS AND BASS MASTERS=AND FISH =MY SON= FISHES TOURNMENTS=THE NEWS LETTERS CAME LAST WEEK,IT DOES NOT EVEN MENTION FRESH WATER=THE ONE THING =KING GEORGE DID DO WAS SIGN A BILLTO PROTECT THE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES==

[tommyg]

MORE MISDIRECTION BY IDIOTS
I BELONG TO BASS AND BASS MASTERS=AND FISH =MY SON= FISHES TOURNMENTS=THE NEWS LETTERS CAME LAST WEEK,IT DOES NOT EVEN MENTION FRESH WATER=THE ONE THING =KING GEORGE DID DO WAS SIGN A BILLTO PROTECT THE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES==

[bluegrass]

MORE MISDIRECTION BY IDIOTS
I BELONG TO BASS AND BASS MASTERS=AND FISH =MY SON= FISHES TOURNMENTS=THE NEWS LETTERS CAME LAST WEEK,IT DOES NOT EVEN MENTION FRESH WATER=THE ONE THING =KING GEORGE DID DO WAS SIGN A BILLTO PROTECT THE RECREATIONAL FISHERIES==

You are a jackass.

Because it mentions SALTWATER it is ok??

Oh yeah, thats right...you DON'T have saltwater fishing in Kentucky so its OK if he targets fishing for say, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, etc...thats ok right?? Its ok to ban recreational fishing in saltwater fisheries since YOU don't fish there. Eventually however he WILL get to something you DO care about you idiot.


Typical liberal moron.

[Pine Mt Beagles]

BY BLUE WEED'S==(BIG WORD'S)
You are a jackass.

Because it mentions SALTWATER it is ok??

Oh yeah, thats right...you DON'T have saltwater fishing in Kentucky so its OK if he targets fishing for say, FLORIDA, CALIFORNIA, TEXAS, etc...thats ok right?? Its ok to ban recreational fishing in saltwater fisheries since YOU don't fish there. Eventually however he WILL get to something you DO care about you idiot.
Typical liberal moron.
=
=
=SO I'AM A =JACKASS==A MORON==AND AN IDIOT==THANK'S FOR THE COMPLIMENT'S==AND TRY TO READ THE ENTIRE POST=GET SOME HOOKED ON PHONIC'S OR SOMETHING=!!!!!
==
==AS USUAL YOU ARE =MISINFORMED= OR =ACTUALLY= TRYING TO MISINFORM ANY ONE YOU CAN==CAN YOU EVEN SPELL THE WORD =T=R=U=T=H==OF COURSE NOT.
==
==WE HAVE ALWAY'S HAD= SLOT LIMIT'S =ON LAKES AND RESTRICTION'S OF ALL KIND'S IT IS HOW THE =FISH= GET BIGGER AND MORE PLENTIFULL==REMEMBER IN KENTUCKY FOR MANY YEARS IN DEER SEASON IT WAS =BUCK= ONLY BECAUSE IF THAT WE NOW HAVE A GOOD DEER HERD DO THEY HAVE BAG LIMIT'S ON RABBIT'S WHERE YOU LIVE YOU PROBABLY DON'T KNOW BUT THEY DO
==
=Fisheries, on Today’s “United We Fish” Rally at Capitol Hill
February 24, 2010

I am here today to listen to those who have come to rally Congress. I know the key to any successful fishery management program is active involvement by commercial and recreational fishermen as well as other interested stakeholders.

Marine fish and fisheries have been vital to the prosperity of this nation’s coastal communities for hundreds of years. Today, however, more than 20 percent of the nation’s fish stocks are overfished and need to be rebuilt to larger, healthier populations so that they can produce their full economic potential for fishermen, coastal communities and the nation.

In 2006, Congress reauthorized and strengthened the Magnuson-Stevens Act to meet that important goal. This reauthorization was groundbreaking in many respects, including the requirement that we use science-based annual catch limits to end overfishing on all stocks. Ending overfishing is the first step to allowing a fish stock population to rebuild to a level where the stock can be fished sustainably for the long term.

I recognize and appreciate the sacrifices being made today by the men and women in the commercial and recreational fishing industries to end overfishing and rebuild marine fish stocks as required by Magnuson. These sacrifices have the potential to result in significant long-term economic benefits to fishing communities and the nation as well as benefits to the overall ocean ecosystems. Recognizing the sacrifices being made to transition to more sustainable fishing, NOAA and Congress has made a commitment of $18.6 million to assist in the transition to sectors in the Northeast groundfish industry.
Rebuilding stocks has already led to important successes and significant economic benefits for fishermen, coastal communities and the nation. Some examples are the sea scallop, monkfish, bluefish and Gulf of Mexico king mackerel fisheries. The dockside value revenues in the sea scallop industry have increased from $84.7 million in 1994 when the stock was overfished to $370 million in 2008. The healthy bluefish stocks on the Atlantic coast provide consistent, reliable fishing opportunities for shore and party and charter boat anglers and the related economic benefits of sportfishing to a wide variety of shore businesses.

We estimate that once the nation rebuilds all fisheries, which we are on a track to do and= required to do by law=, the dockside value of our commercial fisheries would go from $4.1 billion to $6.3 billion annually, a 54 percent increase. Rebuilding recreational fisheries will help improve the economies of our nation’s coastal communities; saltwater angling generated $82 billion in sales and supported more than 500,000 jobs annually in NOAA’s most recent report.
I understand the criticism of the 10-year rebuilding timeframes in Magnuson. However, I believe Magnuson already contains the flexibility we need for rebuilding stocks by allowing certain exceptions based on biology and other issues. Balancing rebuilding for the long-term health of coastal communities with the immediate economic effects remains a challenge for everyone involved in implementing the act’s mandate to end overfishing and rebuild stocks.

Although I’ve only been in my job as head of NOAA’s Fisheries Service for a little more than a week, I am familiar with fishing communities, their proud traditions, and the challenges we face in keeping them vibrant for future generations. I am interested in hearing the concerns of everyone involved, and I look forward to a cooperative and productive relationship.=
==
==YOUR JUST A SAD MISGUIDED INDIVIDUAL==