THIS HAS TO BE A STICKY!!!

seanspots · THIS HAS TO BE A STICKY!!!

SHIMANO AMERICAN CORPORATION

News Release

For Immediate Release – 10/5/09

FEDS TO 60 MILLION AMERICAN ANGLERS:

WE DON’T NEED YOU

IRVINE, Calif. USA – October 5, 2009 – A recently published administration document outlines a structure that could result in closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas across America. The White House created an Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force in June and gave them only 90 days to develop a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S. coastal, ocean and Great Lakes waters. Under the guise of ‘protecting’ these areas, the current second phase of the Task Force direction is to develop zoning which may permanently close vast areas of fishing waters nationwide. This is to be completed by December 9, 2009.

Dave Pfeiffer, President of Shimano American Corporation explained, “In spite of extensive submissions from the recreational fishing community to the Task Force in person and in writing, they failed to include any mention of the over one million jobs or the 6o million anglers which may be affected by the new policies coast to coast. Input from the environmental groups who want to put us off the water was adopted into the report verbatim – the key points we submitted as an industry were ignored.”

Recreational fishing generates a $125 billion annual economy in the United States and supports jobs in every state according to government figures. Through the Sport Fish Restoration program, anglers have provided more than $5 billion through excise taxes on fishing tackle to fishery conservation and education for decades.

In addition to the economic aspects, anglers lead the nation in volunteer conservation efforts on behalf of improving fish habitat, water quality and related environmental areas. “There was no mention of the fishery conservation efforts which anglers have led for over 50 years in every state – an environmental success story that has no equal in the world”, said Phil Morlock, Director, Environmental Affairs for Shimano. “The Task Force did not make any distinction between the dramatic differences between harmful commercial fishing harvest methods and recreational fishing, even though we spelled it out for them in detail,” added Morlock.

Claiming to be the result of a public consultation process the report states, “Having considered a broad range of public comments, this report reflects the requests and concerns of all interested parties.”

The original White House memo and not surprisingly the Task Force report contains multiple references to developing a national policy where Great Lakes and coastal regions are managed, “consistent with international law, including customary international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea” - a 300-page treaty the U.S. has never ratified.

“We question what implications there will be for state authority and jurisdiction in the Great Lakes and coastal regions if the U.S. adopts the U.N. Treaty,” said Pfeiffer.

The report makes it clear that future authority for implementing the policy for coastal and inland waters will fall under White House jurisdiction with a new National Ocean Council comprised of over 20 federal agencies at Cabinet Secretary or Deputy Secretary level. No reference to Congressional jurisdiction is indicated.

“This significant change in U.S. policy direction is the result of a 90-day fire drill process as ordered by the President that, not surprisingly, lacks balance, clarity and quality in the end product,” said Morlock. “People who simply want to take their kids fishing on public waters deserve better from their government,” he added.

Shimano is joining with other members of the recreational fishing industry to urge anglers to contact their members of Congress and the administration to request this process be required to adopt the economic, conservation and social contributions of recreational fishing as key elements of the policy. It is critical that we ensure Congressional oversight and state jurisdiction and management continues.

E-letters can be sent to the administration and members of Congress by visiting KeepAmericanFishing.org. The future of fishing is in your hands.

###

Editor’s Note: Phil Morlock is attending Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus functions this week in Washington, DC, but will make himself available for questions, interviews on this. Contact John Mazurkiewicz with Catalyst Marketing for arrangements.

kaferhaus

More of your Gub'ment at work.... jeez

seanspots

Obama Administration Ignores $125 Billion Sportfishing Industry in New Ocean and Great Lakes Management Policy

October 5, 2009 - Alexandria, Va. – A sweeping oceans and Great Lakes management policy document proposed by the Obama Administration will have a significant impact on the sportfishing industry, America’s saltwater anglers and the nation’s coastal communities. The draft policy, the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, issued on September 17, will govern federal Pacific and Atlantic Ocean waters and Great Lakes resource conservation and management and will coordinate these efforts among federal, state and local agencies. This past June, President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), to develop a draft national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes.

“While we are by and large supportive of the intent of the Interim Report, the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) has serious concerns regarding the direction the administration is taking regarding how to manage our nation’s marine and freshwater public resources, choosing a tone of preservation over conservation,” said ASA Vice President Gordon Robertson. “We are very disappointed that the task force failed to recognize recreational fishing’s significant conservation, economic and social contributions and include recreational fishing as a key policy component. The sportfishing community strongly supports healthy and abundant ocean, coastal and fishery resources which have a direct impact on sustaining vibrant local coastal communities. Outdoor recreation, especially recreational fishing, is an integral part of coastal economies throughout this nation and therefore should be included as a priority in any national ocean policy.”

“In regards to recreational fishing specifically, it is a long-standing policy of the federal government to allow public access to public lands and waters for recreational purposes consistent with sound conservation including the nation’s wildlife refuges, national forests, and national parks and should be reflected in a national policy for the oceans and Great Lakes. In fact, the use of public resources by recreational anglers is essential to the conservation model used in this country for fish and wildlife management,” said ASA Ocean Resource Policy Director Patty Doerr.

Doerr further said, “As with any good federal policy decision, discussions about measures that may restrict public access to public resources must involve an open public process, have a solid scientific basis and incorporate specific guidelines on implementation and follow-up. We are very concerned about the abbreviated 90 day timeline which forced the Task Force to issue this policy document prematurely. The implications of such a policy are vast and nationwide. Therefore, the review process should be very deliberate and go well beyond the 30 days public review and comment period which started on September 17.” The Task Force's Interim Report is currently under a 30-day public review and comment period.

Since 1950, with the passage of the Sport Fish Restoration Act, anglers and the sportfishing industry have provided the bulk of funding for fisheries conservation and management in the United States through fishing license fees and the federal manufacturers excise tax on recreational fishing equipment. According to NOAA Fisheries, saltwater anglers contribute over $82 billion annually to the economy. Despite taking only three percent of the saltwater fish harvested each year, the recreational sector creates nearly half the jobs coming from domestic saltwater fisheries.

Robertson concluded, “The sportfishing community believes that recreational activities such as responsibly-managed and regulated recreational fishing deserve full consideration and incorporation in the administration’s ocean and Great Lakes policy. Providing the angling public with access to public resources is no less important than conserving those resources. Therefore, we urge the Task Force to include recreational fishing as a separate and distinct ocean and Great Lakes priority. We also urge all anglers and recreational fishing supports to make their voices heard.”

In July, ASA staff met with White House staff to provide comments to CEQ and the Task Force. In August, ASA staff met with Department of Interior staff to discuss their involvement in the Task Force and provide ASA’s perspective on various

I did not vote for that clown.

FishinDon

This is very interesting. I don't know what jurisdiction and oversight the "task force" would have on actual fishing regulations. I would think that any laws passed would have to have the backing of Congress. Also, federal waters are usually one to three miles (or some distance) from shore. I think the states have jurisdiction over coastal waters. I do think we should all be conscious of the existence of such groups that could pose a threat to sportfishing. I appreciate you making us aware of this. I have known and believed that this administration has little sympathy for sportsmen, and that is a shame I know several legislators and will check on their knowledge of this. Thanks, Don

blaminack

All of this Hope and Change is starting to hurt my stomach.

jewfish

Well, I'm sure y'all already know how I vote most of the time and I don't like talking politics but I will say this, most of the fishing restrictions came down on us during the last administration. I am going to go ahead and guess that this administration is not in the pocket of the commercial fishing industry. They may or may not take some fishing freedoms but at least it will not be at the expense of recreational fishermen for the benefit of the commercial folks.

blaminack

The fishing restrictions here are totally new. Have you seen the areas that are being closed completely off of California?

While your last statement may be true, does it help anyone if ALL FISHING is shut down? There is a difference between conservation and condemnation. We are talking about thousands of jobs. The lifestyle of thousands. Recreational fishing does not hurt the ecology. As a matter of fact they help it most of the time. Just from a perspective of jobs, so far it seems as if every plan the dude has come up with has been a jobs killer. Take a look at what he is planning for the Student Loan industry... 700 local jobs will be gone.

jewfish

I know you personally will be affected by the student loan issue and it sucks, but it does cut out the middleman. A corporation would have cut them out long time ago to save money.

Back to fishing, I don't think there will be any major closures to fishing. This particular policy is something that was studied and kicked about to have something on the books. I do know this, if it impacts Dick Cheney's trout fishing, he may not have birdshot in his shotgun next time.

Fishing as we know it, will not disappear under this administration.

blaminack

Do I have your word on it? I do need some one to hold accountable. LOL

saltwaterjunkie

I VOTED FOR DIDN'T VOTE FOR THAT IDIOT

blaminack

Trouble is for me, I thought the other one was an idiot too.

Tiderider

T-Boy

jewfish

Let's circle back to the issue, have any of you read the actual document that the Shimano guy is worked up about? Here it is. Please read it and let me know what you think.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/...m_Report_of_Task_Force_FINAL2.pdf

T-Boy

cotton

after reading it (yawn) it looks to be a preliminary plan about what "the plan" should look like...this is really vague. I don't think its anything to get too excited about until something specific comes out of it. It has alot about global warming climate impact (which I don't necessarily agree with) but it doesn't say anything about what's going to be done about it...as if anything could.

jewfish

It's something to keep an eye on but nothing to freak out about.

seanspots

Pier#r

Doing just what he SAID he'd do

Excerpt from Sep 2008 interview with Sport Fishing Magazine...
http://www.sportfishingmag.com/ot...fisheries--1000064656-page-1.html

jewfish

I don't mind closed seasons and restrictions as long as they are applied to commercial folks as well and they're based on sound science, not the Roy Crabtree delusions.

seanspots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYnMYZDsrJM

seanspots

Back to the top.

fish4ever · And now it begins

As most of you already know, Amberjack is now CLOSED, without notice or anything. This is just the begining for this administration. Fishing for us, our children and grandchildren will never be the same again......

jewfish

Funny how these regs and quotas were put in place last year, before this administration was even voted in.

The fact of the matter is that the commercial industry is a very few people who take a disproportionate share of our resources, for profit. That's the part that people tend to overlook in their knee-jerk reactions to what is going on here and has been going on for some time now.

As for this task force, I hope they do some closures, let's put the longliners out of business.

seanspots

You wanna know something else that got passed unknowingly---------ENERGY BILL.Yep,take a look at your power bill,it went up 38%!!!It was passed when the media was 24/7 covering Wako Jako's death-----how conveinent.....Look at the little box on the bottom left of your bill.Fuel cost(coal) went from $29 bucks a month to $129 a month.Remember Obama saying the coal industry was going to go bankrupt because of clean energy????Hope and change....Enjoy your power bill like I have been lately,just wait till cap and trade,another huge increase coming.

robertyb

seanspots

Coal fired plants?
Gulf Power here is and the proof in the increase is on paper.We are averaging $340-360.Used to be $225 per month.

jaceboat

seanspots

jewfish

Nuclear plants anyone? Manatees need somewhere to spend the winter.

FYI, Gulf Power has been jacking their rates every time I go to look at my bill and this has been for almost 3 years now.

seanspots

jewfish

Which energy bill are we talking about and how did we get sooo far off the subject of fish closures?

seanspots

jewfish

Oh, you're talking about that bill. Yeah, sucks for people but that's what happens when you've had a relatively cheap, but dirty, energy source. I'm sure the rates wouldn't be as high though if it wasn't for the fact that Gulf Power has a monopoly on electricity around here.

seanspots

seanspots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-aLcbr63ME&feature=related

jewfish

Coal power needs to go. Sorry but it does.

blaminack

Obama said we need clean coal...

seanspots

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdi4onAQBWQ
There is your energy cost increase,cap and trade will probably double your electric bill.

THIS HAS TO BE A STICKY!!!

And now it begins