OUR RFA AT WORK
Keep Fishermen Fishing!
U.S. Coastal Fishermen to Rally in Washington, D.C. - March 21, 2012!
Saltwater Anglers, Charter & Party Boat Captains, Marine Business Owners, Commercial Fishermen and Related Industry Workers
Let Your Voice Be Heard
Approximately 5,000 coastal fishermen attended the 2010 rally in support of federal fisheries reform, a number that organizers believe will be met or exceeded on Wednesday. “The nation’s coastal anglers are coming to Washington again on Wednesday because they object to a federal fisheries law that keeps them from accessing HEALTHY fish stocks, reduces participation in the fishery, and hurts jobs in our coastal communities,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. “Our federal fisheries law is broken and has been used by several mega-foundations (Pew, EDF, Walton, etc.) as a weapon to beat back our coastal fishermen while destroying jobs in this country,” he added.
Despite previous congressional mandates, there has been NO improvement in the science underlying federal fisheries management and no adherence by the federal agency to the statutory requirements that federal fisheries data collection be improved. Instead, NOAA Fisheries enforcement is in a shambles, as are the assurances of transparency and rebuilt relationships that Dr. Jane Lubchenco promised Congress when she took over at NOAA in 2009
