White House turns it's back on anglers [Archive]

longsidelandry

10-16-2009, 12:45 PM

Dear CCA Louisiana Member:

The Obama Administration is sponsoring an important public meeting in New Orleans on Monday, Oct. 19, concerning their “National Ocean Policy,” with which CCA has registered serious concerns. The meeting will begin at 3:30 p.m. at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. We encourage CCA members to attend and make your presence known by wearing clothing that identifies you as a concerned fisherman. A CCA representative will testify at the meeting; additionally, you are invited to offer comments. The meeting is being called a “listening session” of the White House Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.

As you can see from the following CCA press release, the Obama Administration is moving forward with major policy changes that will impact our fisheries with no recognition of recreational fishing. Please make every effort to attend this meeting and demonstrate your concern at the direction in which the Obama Administration is moving.

Sincerely,

David Cresson
Executive Director

"W"

10-16-2009, 12:48 PM

News Release
Coastal Conservation Association

CCA Questions Obama Administration’s Ocean Policy
Task Force omission of recreational angling a glaring flaw

HOUSTON, TX - A recently issued report of the White House Interagency Ocean Task Force has caused widespread concern among America ’s recreational anglers. Released just weeks after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promised to take a “fresh look” at the federal agency’s relationship with recreational anglers, the Interim Report threatens to fast-track sweeping reforms for the management of resources in federal waters, but fails to recognize – or even mention – the conservation, economic or social contributions of recreational angling.
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To see the rest of this release and additional background information on this highly contentious issue, including ways to attend or access the final Public Listening Session on the Obama National Ocean Policy, go to the CCA Newsroom (http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/72721.aspx).

Make your voice heard on this issue now!

Anglers have the opportunity to make their voices heard by either attending the New Orleans meeting on Monday, Oct. 19th or by sending comments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Clicking this LINK (http://www.votervoice.net/link/clickthrough/ext/72722.aspx) will take you to a web site that is designed to take comments on the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. Please take a few moments to make your feelings known and feel free to use material from the sample comments below:

Sample comments

As one of 60 million anglers in the United States, I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding the NationalOcean and Great Lakes Policy proposal recently released by the Ocean Policy Task Force. I am very disappointed that the task force failed to recognize the significant conservation, economic and social contributions of recreational fishing and include that as a key policy component. I am also very concerned about the abbreviated 90 day timeline which forced the Task Force to rush to issue this policy document. The implications of such a policy are vast and nationwide. Therefore, the review process should be very deliberate and with more than 30 days of public review and comment.

My fishing license fees go directly towards conserving and managing fisheries in my state. Additionally, every time I purchase fishing equipment, the federal excise tax on that purchase goes to state fish and wildlife agencies for fisheries conservation throughout this nation.
It’s safe to say that recreational anglers have provided the lion’s share of funding for fisheries conservation and management in this county for well over 50 years. In fact, according to NOAA Fisheries, saltwater anglers contribute over $82 billion to the economy and support over half a million jobs.

How can our contributions be ignored?