Policy Alert Archives   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

October 15, 2008

Contact:

Gordon Robertson, vice president and Government Affairs lead, 703.519.9691, x237, or Patty Doerr, Ocean Resource Policy director, x244.

Recreational Fishing in the Pacific Ocean is in Peril
Anti-recreational fishing groups seek to ban recreational fishing in pending Pacific Ocean marine protected area designations

The Situation
In spite of President George W. Bush’s recent memo and an Executive Order which clarified that recreational fishing should be sustained in marine protected area designations, recreational fishing opponents are intensively lobbying the White House and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to ban recreational fishing in vast areas of the Central Pacific Ocean.

This sets a dangerous precedent regarding recreational fishing in any federal waters, saltwater or fresh, which the Executive Order and Executive Memo was designed to protect. 

Please act now! Your help is needed to support recreational fishing in the Pacific today and on your coastline in the future.  

To maintain recreational fishing in the Pacific Ocean and all federal waters, we are asking you to tell the White House and NOAA to stay the course and uphold the President’s decision regarding recreational fishing.

SEND YOUR MESSAGE NOW!
The White House is taking public comment until October 26, 2008. As a recreational angler, please do your part to bring balance to this process.

Click here to send a message to the White House Council on Environmental Quality and NOAA in support of recreational fishing. In a matter of seconds they will receive your message.

Thank you very much for doing your part to Keep America Fishing.

Background
Contrary to an August 25, 2008, Presidential Memo and a September 26, 2008, Presidential Executive Order directing federal agencies to sustain recreational fishing in federal marine protected areas and all federal waters, anti-recreational fishing groups are seeking to have recreational fishing banned in vast areas of the Central Pacific Ocean. This is a dangerous precedent to set in any U.S waters, marine or fresh.  

Even though regulated recreational fishing presents no threat to fish stocks in these areas and there is no evidence that recreational fishing is harming the ecosystem, many environmental groups are lobbying the White House and federal agencies to adopt their anti-recreational fishing philosophy regarding Pacific Ocean conservation.

These groups have mounted a letter writing campaign to convince senior officials in the White House and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that recreational fishing should be banned in thousands of square miles in the Central Pacific. They say: “Unfortunately, the final designation of these areas may allow some fishing…” and that “Declaring these monuments as fully-protected no-take reserves… is crucial for meaningful stewardship of our imperiled oceans.” 

On September 26, 2008, President Bush signed an amendment to the 1995 Executive Order on recreational fishing. This amendment directs that federal agencies must maintain recreational fishing on federal lands and waters, including marine protected areas. The Executive Order revises Executive Order 12962 signed in 1995 by President Bill Clinton.

The August 25, 2008, Executive Memo signed by the President set the stage for the new Executive Order. The memo directed the Secretaries of Defense, Interior and Commerce and the Chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality to sustain access to recreational fishing as part of their study of potential marine protected areas (MPA) in the Central Pacific Ocean.