March 2, 2020 — Ten years ago, more than 35 local fishermen boarded a charter bus at Capt. Anderson’s Marina on Panama City Beach for a marathon ride to Washington D.C. for the United We Fish march on the Capitol.
When the captains and deckhands from Destin, Panama City and Mexico Beach boarded the bus for the 18-hour trek, they had high hopes of getting more flexibility in fishing regulations and longer fishing seasons.
″(I’m) not sure that trip made a difference in and of itself,” said Ken Creel, a Destin recreational fisherman who made the bus ride. “However I’m sure it played a part in the overall outcome.
″(It was) one of the first times the private and for-hire sectors came together,” he added. ”(It) proved that there is strength in cooperation. It was a tough three-day trip on a bus, but I would definitely do it again.”