new petition to save fishing rights
 

word from the The Preserve Fishing Coalition

First off, thank you very much for taking the time to fill out the Fix Magnuson Now petition, for recognizing how greatly the Act has been distorted by foundation funded activists, and for wanting to be a part of the effort to set things straight. Along with the rally in Washington on February 24, this is the most effective way we have of demonstrating to Congress, and the White House, that our federal fisheries policies are sadly off course and in need of a massive correction.

We are doing very well with the petition in the Northeast and Florida, but need to continue to get the word out, particularly on the West and Gulf Coasts and in the other Southeastern states. And we'd especially like to have more seafood sellers and restaurateurs represented. If you could tell your colleagues, friends, relatives or anyone with an interest in fishing who you deal with about this campaign and how important it is to the future of fishing in the US, it would help greatly.

The petition is at http://fs16.formsite.com/FixMagnusonNow/form793561462/.

The responses we've had are almost evenly split between recreational fishermen and folks whose jobs depend entirely or partly on fishing. It's great to be able to be a part of a national effort that is being positively received by recreational, commercial and party/charter fishermen and the businesses they support, and with enough of us on board, it's going to be a guarantee that the people in Washington will hear us.

While on the topic of Washington, if your Congressman or Congresswoman or your Senators aren’t co-sponsoring Senator Schumer’s or Congressman Pallone’s Flexibility bills, contact their offices and let them now how important their signing on is to you and their other fishing and fishing dependent constituents.

As President Obama indicated so clearly last night, it's all about jobs, and to a large extent that's what this campaign is all about. But it's also about people having the freedom to fish and fisheries managers having the freedom to manage without the overly restrictive controls that have been bought and paid for by the so-called fisheries conservationists.

Thanks again,
Nils Stolpe
The Preserve Fishing Coalition

I'd like to support petitions for sustainable consumption but I don't understand what this petition and bill are asking for. What is the difference between "practicable" and "possible" in the context below?

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h111-1584
HR 1584 Summary
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 - Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable (currently, as short as possible). Modifies the exceptions to the requirement that such period not exceed ten years. Requires consideration, in evaluating progress to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks, of factors other than commercial and recreational fishing. Requires, when the Secretary of Commerce extends the period under specified provisions, that the maximum rebuilding time not exceed the sum of the initial ten-year period, the expected time to rebuild the stock absent any fishing mortality and under prevailing environmental conditions, and the mean generation time of the stock.

Scary reading the wordings of politicians...:doh:

It is comical though that this state needs to create more jobs, not put people and companies out of jobs, yet there are some with private funding that want to do just the opposite.

Ya, that makes complete sense...

"Practicable" is simply fancy legal speak for "possible".

The words mean exactly the same thing.

Jim

I'm still unclear what the petition is asking for.

After reading all the information in the provided links, it appears to me that the bureaucracy is putting the screws to recreational fishers in the North East. Regulators appear to be using illogical and unscientific study methods to "determine" the health of the local fisheries. Based on the bad data, unjustified restrictions are being imposed on fishing in the region.

Does this sound familiar?

As far as I can tell, the Magnuson act that they are complaining about does not apply to us here in California, but I could be wrong on that. It appears that the Preserve Fishing Coalition is asking for moral support, (and probably a donation or two), from the fishing brotherhood nationwide, thus the request for signatures on their petition.

While this may, in fact, be a noble cause, I will pass on signing the petition simply because I do not know enough about the issues to make an intelligent judgment at this time. If my take on this is wrong, someone please enlighten me.

Bob