Activist Anglers Needed to Help Combat 'Sinking Your Empties'

Photos of Clackamas cleanup by Dave Eng.

As you fish our rivers, lakes and coastal waters, this season, please also help care for them. And I’m not talking about just properly disposing of your own trash; I’m talking about helping counter a nationwide epidemic of shameful behavior.

As the photo above reveals, our fisheries are being buried in empty cans and bottles by slob recreationists. When they take to the water, their main concerns are drinking to excess and then discarding the evidence so that they won’t be ticketed and/or arrested for driving a boat while under the influence or some other charge related to possession of alcohol.

Rudy Socha at Wounded Nature --- Working Veterans recently alerted me to this problem. On many waters, he says, the perpetrators even have a term for this strategy: “Sinking your empties.”

He also told me, “It seems to be the skeleton in the closet that everyone knows is there and yet no one has wanted to discuss it.”

It’s going to be discussed at Activist Angler. And one of the first things I want to emphasize is that I do not believe that fishermen are a major contributor to this problem, especially those who belong to such conservation organizations as B.A.S.S., Trout Unlimited, Recycled Fish, Coastal Conservation Association, and National Wildlife Federation.

I won’t point fingers at those whom I suspect. I’ll leave that to anglers and their specific waters. They know them better than I.

Dave Eng knows the Clackamas River in Oregon, and here is what he says:

“The Clackamas is widely used in summer, as it is near Portland and allows people to float on anything from tubes to pool toys. We will have several thousand users on a hot day.”

They leave behind their cans and bottles, he adds, “as it is against the law to have alcohol in the county parks and a large bunch of users are under-age as well.”

 And the second thing that I want to emphasize is that we, as anglers, are stewards for these waters. We were the first conservationists and we remain the most important.

What can you do about this problem? Well, plenty of anglers, through various clubs and chapters, already are picking up trash along shorelines and around launch ramps. Extend that cleanup into the water, as Eng and his friend Joe do on the Clackamas. Depending on the water, you might want to coordinate the effort with your state wildlife agency or local government.

Also, if you see people trashing our fisheries with cans and bottles, report them. Thanks to cell phones, you can immediately contact authorities.

Finally, talk about the problem. Shameful behavior can be difficult to continue when exposed to public scrutiny and criticism.

Let’s not keep this skeleton in the closer any longer. 

Mistrust of Feds Moves Louisiana Toward State Waters Only Snapper Season

State opposition continues to grow toward a federal government that seems more intent on restricting recreational fishing than managing fisheries based on science and catch data.

Weapons being wielded against anglers and the states include Catch Shares, the National Ocean Council, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

In the South Carolina Legislature, a resolution has been introduced “to oppose and refuse to recognize or enforce the coastal and marine spatial plans created in South Carolina pursuant to the Authority of the National Ocean Council." (See my post of Feb. 12, States Fight Back Against National Ocean Council.)

And now Louisiana has joined the ranks of resistance. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has initiated action to implement a “Louisiana only” red snapper recreational season, set to begin 2013.

“I think the intent here is clear: A lot of recreational fishermen don’t have a lot of trust in the federal regulations and the (Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management) council,” said Randy Pausina of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), which supports the proposal.

“I think the proposal is going to open up a lot of dialog in the future.”

Capt. Chris Moran, who owns a marina and is a charter captain, added that he fully supports Louisiana not just going along with the federal government.

“It’s time to draw a line in the sand,” Moran said. “It sheds light on the system. I’m watching guys buying golf clubs, play baseball, and take up other hobbies instead of fishing.”

Additionally, the commission also is going to consider extending state waters from 3 miles off shore to 3 marine leagues, or 10.357 miles.

LDWF said, “This action is being considered based on recent legislative action taken in 2011 in Act 336, which recognizes that the gulfward boundary historically consists of 3 marine leagues and designates that boundary to be enforced by state law regarding the protection and restoration of coastal lands, waters, and natural resources, and regulation of activities affecting them.

Learn more at Louisiana Sportsman.

On the Catch Shares front, meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is using its surrogates to divide and conquer in its quest to implement a management strategy that would privatize a public resource and restrict participation.

The Gulf Headboat Cooperative seems to be one of those surrogates. It wants an Exempted Fishing Permit as part of a pilot study to examine of the feasibility of implementing Catch Shares for mixed (commercial and recreational) fisheries. Under this permit, a few boats would be allowed to fish for red snapper and gag grouper outside the normal recreational fishing seasons, based on allocations given to them.

Read more here.

This is all part of NOAA’s “sector separation” strategy to weaken recreational angling’s opposition to Catch Shares.

According to the Coastal Conservation Association, “sector separation is the proposal to formally split existing and future recreational sector allocations of harvest into separate private boat and charter/for-hire/headboat sector portions. This approach has been pushed by the Environmental Defense Fund, which is also advocating Catch Shares for the for-hire and headboat sectors.”

Go here to learn more about sector separation.

And remember this: If you want to stop Big Government management of recreational fishing, vote out the current administration in November.

Shimano Joins Vanishing Paradise Campaign for Gulf Restoration

In signing a letter authored by Vanishing Paradise, Shimano has joined a growing list of notables urging the federal government to support restoration of the Mississippi River Delta.

“Sustainable recreational use by anglers of our natural resources relies on healthy fisheries and the habitat that supports them,” said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano. “We are pleased to be able to support our friends in Louisiana through this effort.”

B.A.S.S., the Coastal Conservation Association, and the American Sportfishing Association are but a few of organizations on the list. They are joined by Mercury Marine, Lund Boats, Legend Boats, Pure Fishing, Pradco, Avery, Primos, Orvis, Yeti Coolers and many other businesses, as well as pro anglers Mike Iaconelli, Kevin VanDam, and Greg Hackney.

Focus of this campaign is Congressional passage of the RESTORE Act, which would direct 80 percent Water Act penalties from the 2010 Gulf oil spill for ecosystem and economic recovery on the Gulf Coast. Without this guarantee, some politicians would try to divert this money into the general fund, where it would disappear down a black hole of government waste and corruption.

Thus far, the measure has passed the Senate.

“Having Shimano, a household name in the fishing industry, sign this letter shows how much appreciation and understanding there is in the fishing and hunting community for Louisiana’s vital and productive—but rapidly vanishing—coastal habitats,” said Land Tawney, National Wildlife Federation’s senior manager for sportsmen leadership.

To learn more about Vanishing Paradise, Gulf Coast Restoration, and the RESTORE Act, go here.

Know Your Enemies: Pew Is One of Them

To protect recreational fishing, you have to recognize what threatens it.

One of the biggest threats for saltwater fishing is the Pew Environment Group, with deep pockets and long tentacles.

Here’s an example: The Fishery Science Improvement Act, H.R. 2304, has been introduced into Congress to curtail unnecessary closures that are keeping anglers off the water and decimating the economies of coastal communities.

Pew says the act “would weaken fisheries science and jeopardize efforts to prevent overfishing.”

What it really would do is put one more barrier in front of NOAA and its preservationist allies, who want to turn the ocean fisheries--- a public resource--- into a “green” business that benefits a few chosen ones. Call it “catch and trade” if you’d like.

They don’t care about science. They care about advancing an ideology.

Jeff Anglers, president of the Coastal Conservation Association, has posted a great rebuttal.

Please, check it out and tell your representatives and senators to support H.R. 2304. The future of fishing in federal waters depends on it.

Activist Angler Troubled by Trumka on TRCP Board

In reading a press release from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, I was distressed to learn that AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka is on the board of that organization.  

He is not currently among the board members listed at the TRCP website, but the press release is on the website.

This is a group that includes B.A.S.S., Ducks Unlimited, Coastal Conservation Association, American Sportfishing Association, and many other sporting groups as “partner organizations.” Anglers and hunters typically are conservative as opposed to liberal, while Trumka is on the far left of liberal.

And I have to wonder if members of those groups know about this connection.

Of course, TRCP has the right to put on its board whomever it chooses. But so do members of those groups have a right to know Trumka’s position with TRCP.

This is a man who says that “being called a Socialist is a step up for me.” And who says that he joined the labor movement to enact “massive social change.” He spends more time at the White House or talking to President Obama’s staff than many Cabinet members.

One could argue that when it comes to fishing, hunting, and conservation we should all unite and work together. Strength comes from unity.

Still, I have a problem with this. Trumka, like our President, is a man who wants to fundamentally transform our country into something that I and the majority of people oppose.