Policy Alert Archives   Help Fight Unreasonable Bans on Fishing Tackle 9/29/2010 Oppose the Proposed Federal Ban on Lead in Fishing Tackle 8/31/2010 Oil Spill Claims Process Transfered from BP to Gulf Coast Claims Facility 8/26/2010 Update on the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 5/20/2010 Information on Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill 5/3/2010 Tell the White House That the New National Policy for the Ocean, Coasts and Great lakes Must Safeguard Recreational Fishing 3/9/2010 New National Policy May Close Marine and Fresh Waters to Recreational Fishing 2/7/2010 Washington State Anglers Face a Ban on Lead Fishing Tackle 12/9/2009 Washington State Anglers Face a Ban on Lead Fishing Tackle 11/17/2009 New National Oceans and Great Lakes Policy Proposal Ignores $125 Billion Recreational Fishing's Economic Impact 10/5/2009 Contact Florida Governor Charlie Crist and Legislators Demanding They Prevent the National Park Service From Taking Away Your Right to Fish in Biscayne National Park! 9/25/2009 Send a letter to the National Park Service to Protect Your Right to Fish in Biscayne Bay 9/25/2009 Support HR 2565: The National Fish Habitat Conservation Act 4/27/2009 California Angler Access Decision Coming 4/27/2009 The Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008 Update 4/6/2009 The Consumer Product Safety Act of 2008 2/5/2009 Recreational Fishing in the Pacific Ocean is in Peril 10/15/2008 West Coast Salmon Disaster Relief Funds Released 9/18/2008 Support Marine Protected Area Proposal 2XA 4/9/2008 Support S.2766, the Clean Boating Act of 2008 4/7/2008 ASA Opposes U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection Proposed Rule Regarding "First Sale" 4/4/2008 ASA's Position on Proposed Recreational Fishing Restrictions for Gag Grouper in the gulf of Mexico 3/17/2008 ASA's Position on NOAA's Sanctuaries Program's Islands in the Stream Gulf of Mexico Proposal 2/6/2008 Support Passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Act 8/28/2006 Restoration of the Klamath River Salmon Populations 8/22/2006 Excise Tax—Where Are We Now? 5/24/2006 EEZ Striped Bass Fishing 5/19/2006 Support Health Insurance Bill 5/11/2006   Learn More

March 9, 2010

Tell the White House That the New National Policy for the Ocean, Coasts and Great Lakes Must Safeguard Recreational Fishing

For more information, contact Gordon Robertson, vice president and Government Affairs lead, 703.519.9691, x237 or Patty Doerr, Ocean Resource Policy Director, x244.

Your input is needed to ensure that this new national policy does not restrict people from enjoying saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing.

Within the next 30 – 60 days, the Obama Administration is planning to issue a final report, and possibly other management guidance, intended to govern the management of the nation’s oceans, coastal areas and Great Lakes. The plan originated in June 2009, when President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.The Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), was charged with developing a national policy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes.The policy will govern ocean and Great Lakes resource management and coordinate efforts among the many federal, state and local agencies that oversee a significant portion of our nation’s waters.

The White House is in the final stages of developing the final report, which must balance sustainable uses with ocean and Great Lakes conservation. It is important that the administration recognizes and promotes the economic and conservation contributions of outdoor recreation, including recreational fishing and boating. Without such recognition, decisions made under this national oceans and Great Lakes policy could be used to close saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing areas.

Anglers and boaters are the original stewards of our environment. If you take us off the water, this country will lose a vital element in the conservation of our fisheries resources. Outdoor recreation is a part of our way of life and we need to ensure that it remains an option for all Americas.

Click here or visit www.keepamericafishing.org to send a letter to President Obama and other key policy makers urging the Task Force to include recreational fishing and boating in the national policy. When you send this letter to President Obama, it will automatically be sent to your Members of Congress.

Make sure your voice is heard so that anglers' and boaters’ conservation, economic and social contributions are recognized as a key component of the policy.