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Panama City, Fla Fishermen Travel to Washington, DC |
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Fishermen from around the country are planning to pack the steps in
front of the U.S. Capitol this week to demand changes to a federal
fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities.
Recreational Fishermen from Panama City, Destin and Mexico Beach will
be loading buses Tuesday morning at Captain Anderson’s Marina and begin
their journey to our Nation’s Capital. They will spend the night in
Richmond and meet protesters from around the Country at the Capital
Building for the rally at noon.
Organizers of the “United We Fish” rally expect an estimated 3-5,000 people at the Feb. 24 protest, including a bipartisan roster of congressmen, fishermen and their advocates from up and down the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and a smattering from the West Coast and Alaska. 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 said the law sets unrealistic fish stock recovery goals based on flawed science, then mandates harsh cuts for failing to meet the goals. “This is about real people having real concerns and being put out of business, being kicked off the water.” Hutchinson said. Hutchinson’s 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. |
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33 Fishing Community Members Say Permit Bank, Giacalone are pluses for Gloucester
This permit bank is a true local treasure for our fishing community and related businesses. Its existence has been one of the only positive things to come to this fishing community in decades.
