Anglers Win, Lose in California

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) reports good news and bad news from California.

The good news is that strong resistance from California’s recreational fishing community forced lawmakers to remove provisions from state Senate Bill 1148 that would have been devastating.

“Initially introduced into the California legislature to improve how the Department of Fish and Game (DFG) functions, the bill was hijacked by anti-fishing groups and would have striped the DFG of its authority for fishery management in marine closures and placed authority of marine closures in the hands of the Ocean Protection Council, a body effectively controlled by anti-fishing groups who would seek ever greater closures,” ASA says.

“This significant threat was averted thanks to the thousands of anglers who made their concerns known to their legislators through Keep America Fishing.”

The bad news: Despite strong opposition, a bill --- AB 2402 --- did pass that will allow private organizations to directly fund programs within DFG. that's an open invitation for corruption and management of public resources by special interests.

See my post from Aug. 12 --- Anti-Fishing Groups Attempt Power Grab in California --- to learn more.