The following is an excerpt of a letter by MSBA President, Patrick Paquette, to the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Agriculture. It was submitted by Mr. Paquette after his testimony at the Massachusetts State House on November 13, 2003
The full text may be found at
http://www.msba.net/f2f/msba_statehouse_letter.htm
Best,
Mike Flaherty
Proud Member of MSBA
...
Way back in February I learned of a few “Environmental” organizations that were able to get prime-fishing waters in the state of California permanently closed to all fishing. This closure was accomplished by using an extreme definition of the management tool known as a “Marine Protected Area”. More commonly known as “MPAs”, Marine Protected Areas have been used for years and in some cases have been supported by recreational and even commercial communities. A closer look at the California situation revealed a national strategy by some fringe or extreme environmental groups to do the same in the waters of each and every coastal state, including Massachusetts. Just in case you are not aware, the area in California that was closed is called the Channel Islands. The only fair comparison in Massachusetts would be the Elizabeth Islands. What would happen if the Elizabeth Islands were closed to all fishing? Representative Turkington could answer that question better than any of us standing in the audience today. After learning about this situation, MSBA in conjunction with our national affiliate, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, formed the Massachusetts Freedom to Fish Coalition. Our vision was to put together a group of both recreational and commercial organizations and bring forth a Bill in the MA Legislature that would both allow for the traditional use of a Marine Protected Area, and protect the rights of both recreational & commercial fishermen to do what we do, to fish. Standing here we have accomplished that goal. Our coalition is made up of Recreational Fishing Organizations including the Plum Island Surfcasters, The Marblehead Surfcasters, the Cape Cod Salties, the Green Harbor Tuna Club and the Massachusetts Striped Bass Assn. We also have groups with commercial interests as well, groups including the Cape Cod Charter Boat Assn, The Stellwagon Bank Charter Captains Assn, and The North East Charter Boat Assn. In addition, we have also been working with the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Assn, the Massachusetts Fisherman’s Partnership and the Massachusetts Seafood Coalition in order to bring forth a slightly amended version of the bill at hand. The fact that the recreational and commercial communities are working together should in and of itself prove that the need for this bill to go before the State Legislature is valid.
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