I received this email this week and many of you have received it as well. I decided we needed to get it out onto the newsletter for those of you that may not be aware of what is going on. People who would like to outlaw fishing are a very well organized group with lots of money and lobbyist working on their behalf. Laws that greatly effect recreational fishing are changing at light speed with little or no input from anglers. Some of it is due to an apathetic approach by anglers, but much of it is being done without anglers being aware until it is too late. Don’t wait until it is too late. Get educated on laws that are being proposed. Here is a copy of the latest email. You can also go to www.joincca.org to learn more.
NOAA catch-share program threatens recreational angling
CCA questions federal program of resource giveaways
In a letter to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Special Advisor Monica Medina, Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) voiced opposition to a federal fisheries management initiative that gives fixed percentages of various fisheries to commercial fishers. CCA acknowledged that the concept, known as a catch-share program, can be effective in purely commercial fisheries, but stressed that it presents serious problems when applied to fisheries that have both commercial and recreational participation.
“Catch shares are obviously a major focus for this Administration and we are concerned not only about the impact they have on recreational fisheries, but also at the pace with which they are being pushed into the management system,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of the CCA National Government Relations Committee.
“As we’ve seen with red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, these types of programs create huge problems for recreational anglers,” he added, referring to a fishery that has locked 51 percent of the total catch to a small fleet of commercial boats and 49 percent to hundreds of thousands of recreational anglers. “Based on our experience, catch share initi