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Sweetwater,
S.2043 (F2F), has been "comitted to study" by the Massachusetts Committee on Agriculture and Natural Resources. In political terms, this is a polite way of killing the bill.
We have tried to determine which members of the committee voted against this bill but we have had no luck in doing so.
We plan to re-file another bill with agreed upon language from all involved which will be much more detailed.
Until then however, we are continuing to fight against arbitrary fishing closures being advanced by TOC and other extreme environmental groups.
Most notably we have been concerned with what we consider to be back door attempts at such closures via the Massachusetts Ocean Managment Task Force and with advisory panel to the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
I think we have had some progress in these areas but we need F2F to keep from getting bogged down in these side issues. Remember, most of us involved with F2F in Massachusetts are volunteers with our own day jobs whereas TOC, CLF, et al, have unlimited resources in the form of full time advocates bought by Pew.
I wish I had better news but all I can say is that when the bill is reintroduced, we need you and your friends to support it and make sure that your representatives do too.
Take Care,
Mike Flaherty
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