|
Remember this day folks...trust me you will and for a very long time.
Can you guys be serious about fisheries management by legislation being a good thing.
Does someone have to remind you that the weakest political group of marine stakeholders is recreational fishers. We have zero that is absolutely no full time lobby at the MA State House and some of you think this is the place to improve fisheries management...oh yeah that is one hell of a good idea!!!
All I can think is someone needs a Detox!!!!
Ok...let's play it your way. The MA legislature is going to get into the fisheries management game. Let's think about what groups with significant influence on Beacon Hill might want to pass some fisheries management legislation now that this avenue has been opened.
You can pretty much bet on hundreds of bills introduced on all manner of fisheries issues. Every special interest group from whack jobs (Peta has a lobbyist in MA but rec fishers do not) to the extremely powerful MA commercial fishing lobby will start introducing legislation.
When the dust settles some groups with real clout on Beacon Hill such as the MA commercial fishing lobby will pass a few bills; some in the name of conservation. They might pass a bill to protect the amount of fish they can catch and sell so that all reductions in future harvest will have to come from the largest mortality source also known as recreational fishermen. Maybe the full time commercial lobby will protect the commercial fleet from those part time pesky tuna guys from selling rod and reel caught fish and leave the selling for fish to the conservation minded netters like it's done in Europe. Oh, Tuna are a Federal Species and can not be managed by MA you say...ahhh...I guess you forget MA has and does use it's right to limit landings but we will come back to that in a minute.
Are you getting it yet...Ok...lets go one step further and talk about a group with real clout and unlimited financial resources starting to pass fisheries legislation.
Anyone wanna bet that enviro money will now be aimed at passing some fisheries conservation bill that is based on politics and not the established management process. First up on that list will be to ban all fishing gear from the Stellwaggon Bank Marine Sanctuary...yeah yeah it's federal waters but lest we forget the State has the right to manage landings...did you see the pretty picture of the Right Whale with the lime green spreader bar on the cover of the new management plan book...no...you will.
Let's see Barnstable Harbor is already designated an area of critical concern. Maybe CLF or MA Audobon will fire up a bill to set that are aside for "conservation"...especially since all those flats are perfect bird habitat not to mention the recs have been screaming about the problems with sand lance (sand eels) for years.
Yeah Yeah, let's let the MA legislature manage fisheries.
|
Threaded Mode