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

October 5, 2009

American Sportfishing Association Policy Alert

New National Oceans and Great Lakes Policy Proposal Ignores $125 Billion Recreational Fishing’s Economic Impact

For more information, contact Gordon Robertson, vice president and Government Affairs lead, 703.519.9691, x237 or Mike Leonard, Policy Fellow, x230.

Without recreational angler input, decisions made under a new national oceans and Great Lakes policy could be used to unnecessarily close saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing areas.

This past June, 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 and implementation strategy 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 countless federal, state and local agencies.

The Task Force's Interim Report is currently under a public review and comment period. The single most obvious flaw in the report is the omission of responsibly regulated recreational fishing as a key activity for the oceans and the Great Lakes. In addition, as a national policy document governing the oceans and Great Lakes, the report is skewed toward a preservationist policy of locking up public waters instead of one that promotes sustainable uses such as recreational fishing.

Send a letter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality and your Members of Congress asking that the Task Force specifically include recreational fishing and boating in the national policy. Make sure your voice is heard so that anglers' conservation, economic and social contributions are recognized as a key component of the policy.