The Obama administration is now considering adopting legislation which might severely restrict and, even ban, recreational fishing in regions around the United States. ESPN reports:
The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.
This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is "fluid" and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn't issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.
That's a disappointment, but not really a surprise for fishing industry insiders who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force. These angling advocates have come to suspect that public input into the process was a charade from the beginning.
This type of envirofascism has been seen before – in Canada:
"When the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) completed their successful campaign to convince the Ontario government to end one of the best scientifically managed big game hunts in North America (spring bear), the results of their agenda had severe economic impacts on small family businesses and the tourism economy of communities across northern and central Ontario," said Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano.
"Now we see NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and the administration planning the future of recreational fishing access in America based on a similar agenda of these same groups and other Big Green anti-use organizations, through an Executive Order by the President. The current U.S. direction with fishing is a direct parallel to what happened in Canada with hunting: The negative economic impacts on hard working American families and small businesses are being ignored.
"In spite of what we hear daily in the press about the President's concern for jobs and the economy and contrary to what he stated in the June order creating this process, we have seen no evidence from NOAA or the task force that recreational fishing and related jobs are receiving any priority."
Furthermore, the Obama administration’s task force consists of several members with strong ties to environmental groups that have actively sought to ban recreational fishing:
Led by NOAA's Jane Lubchenco, the task force has shown no overt dislike of recreational angling, but its indifference to the economic, social and biological value of the sport has been deafening.
Additionally, Lubchenco and others in the administration have close ties to environmental groups who would like nothing better than to ban recreational angling. And evidence suggests that these organizations have been the engine behind the task force since before Obama issued a memo creating it last June.
While I am not an avid fisherman, I have several friends who are. Some of my fondest memories as a child are of fishing alongside my dad and family in the Everglades. Besides being a pastime acquired by America’s earliest colonists, recreational fishing plays an important part in the economy. Several poor people use fishing as an important supplement to feeding their families. I am beginning to wonder if the Obama administration considers any freedom off-limits to the ever-growing tentacles of big government. If Obama, who has consistently stated his desire to transform America, considers any distinctly American way of life worth preserving.
I am especially interested to hear our friend, the Lizard Master, on this subject, being a liberal and avid fishing enthusiast. If he responds, I'll update this post with a link.
