Below was written by Capt Adam (Karen ANN) and I thought it was a great report on how to help YOUR / OUR battle for fishing rights, get more educated and a great resource of information. Some of it has been posted before but its worth seeing again. Thanks Capt Adam
1) Join an organization -
www.joinrfa.com2) Educate yourself on the general history of fisheries management (specifically, introduction of Magnuson-Stevens in the 70's, Sustainable Fisheries Act in '96 and the most recent re-Authorization this decade) and who the current relavent orgs are (you should know NMFS, MSA, EEZ, MAFMC, ASMFC, MRFSS, NJ MFC). Hours are spent learning how to tie a specific rig or finding a particular spot, spend some time learning about the management process. Here's a place to start -
http://www.karenannii.com/articles/007.cfm3) Educate yourself on the specific issues at hand. Here are links to fluke (
http://www.karenannii.com/articles/012.cfm) and sea bass (
http://www.karenannii.com/articles/014.cfm).
4) Contact your federal Congressmen at the House and Senate level. You can find your rep here -
http://whoismyrepresentative.com/ Ask specific questions. What is your position on the black sea bass closure? Why is black sea bass being closed when the stock is not overfished? Why was the best available science not used in determining 2010 quotas? What are you doing to expedite improvements in the fatally flawed MRFSS system? Call/write as many times as you have to until you get an answer that satisfies you that your representative is educated on the issue and is working for you, their constituent.
5) Attend public meetings such as the NJ Marine Fisheries Council meeting that occurs every other month. Meeting schedule and directions here -
http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/mcnclmtg.htm I see plenty of posts for taking time off to go fishing for a day, take a couple of hours and show that you care enough by being in attendance. Attend additional opportunities for public comment such as last evening's striped bass/weakfish meeting in Toms River (thanks to the 30 or so persons that made it last nite).
6) Log on to njfishing.com and share your experiences with the above and help educate and encourage others to do the same.
If everyone traded the total amount of time and money that goes into one fishing trip on an annual basis for the above, a difference can be made.
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