Greetings!
With just 21 days until the second historic fishermen’s rally in Washington DC, transportation efforts along are shaping up as two more buses have been added to ferry coastal anglers to and from the March 21 Keep Fishermen Fishing rally at our nation’s capital, with fishermen in coastal South Carolina and Northern New Jersey upping the ante in the attendance race to bring the current total number of buses to 13.
3-21-12 Rally Closes In
According to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), by the day of the first United We Fish rally in 2010, there were approximately 40 buses packed with protesters bound for Washington DC. “We didn’t start really filling up those seats and ordering new buses until just a couple of weeks before the 2010 rally, so we’re entering the homestretch right now,” said RFA’s Jim Hutchinson, Jr.
The March 21, 2012 rally is being held at Upper Senate Park in Washington DC beginning at noon. Similar to the 2010 event at the same location, the Keep Fishermen Fishing rally is historic in that it unites two sectors of fishermen which have traditionally been at odds. According to RFA executive director Jim Donofrio, disagreements between the recreational and commercial fishing sectors will always exist.
“I don’t expect that our groups will ever fully resolve our conflicts regarding gear type or stock allocation, but the political reality is that coastal fishermen are stronger whenever we can work together under a common goal, which in this case is in support of responsible Magnuson reform,” Donofrio said, adding that more than 30 different organizations from both the recreational and commercial fishing sectors have come together to organize the rally.
“Regardless of whether one fishes for sport, for money or simply to put food on the table, all coastal fishermen share a common danger in the form of those who would prefer to see us both off the water indefinitely,” Donofrio said. "We’re essentially crossing party lines on March 21 for the sake of open