This Wednesday, thousands of fishermen, commercial and recreational, will pour into Washington and assemble at the Capitol in an effort to elicit legislative and public support for retooling the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
This is a very big deal. Fishermen pride themselves on their independence, not because they are vain or selfish, but because what they do demands self-sufficiency in a hostile environment.
Aversion to rallies, sign-waving and long bus trips to confront, of all people, politicians, is more or less hardwired into the fisherman’s psyche.
And yet, fishermen up and down the East Coast — and from the Gulf of Mexico and as far away as the West Coast and Alaska — will travel to Washington next week, at significant personal expense, to come together as one and to rally, wave signs, and let the politicians know that enough is enough.
The Magnuson Act does many things, but it does not live up to its mandate “To provide for the conservation and management of the fisheries,” a fishery, Merriam-Webster informs us, being “the occupation, industry or season of taking fish or other sea animals.”
The drafters of the Magnuson Act knew where they were going, they just got lost along the way.
Help them find their way. Find your way to Washington on Wednesday. For more information, check out unitedwefish.com.
Thank you for your time.
Jerry Fraser
Editor & Publisher, National Fisherman
