Congressmen and fishermen from al over the US rallied under “United We Fish” to protest the federal law which is killing the jobs. They questioned about uneven law enforcement, restrictions on key recreational stocks and a switch to a new system of regulating Northeast fishermen. But Jim Hutchinson Jr. of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a rally organizer, said the overall goal is changing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal fisheries law that was reauthorized in 2007.
Hutchinson informed that the law sets unrealistic fish stock recovery goals based on flawed science, then mandates harsh cuts for failing to meet the goals. He added that this is about real people having real concerns and being put out of business, being kicked off the water.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration spokeswoman Monica Allen said the agency “will be listening carefully to what fishermen and others have to say that day.” She added that the U.S. has world-leading fishery science and management, and fishermen will see the benefits. Hutchinson told that his New Jersey-based group started organizing the rally after a closure of the amberjack fishery last year followed other closures it viewed as based on bad science, such as on a healthy black sea bass stock.
It is said that the protests echoed complaints commercial fishermen have made for years, and the two sides – longtime rivals for a common resource – found rare common cause. Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association, a commercial group, opined that the recreational folks are coming a little bit late to the party, but thank God they’re with us, and we’re with them in lockstep on this issue.
