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News Release

Coastal Conservation Association

[SIZE=3]CCA Questions Obama Administration’s Ocean Policy [/SIZE]

[SIZE=3]Task Force omission of recreational angling a glaring flaw[/SIZE]

[SIZE=3] [/SIZE]

HOUSTON, TX - A recently issued report of the White House Interagency Ocean Task Force has caused widespread concern among America ’s recreational anglers. Released just weeks after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promised to take a “fresh look” at the federal agency’s relationship with recreational anglers, the Interim Report threatens to fast-track sweeping reforms for the management of resources in federal waters, but fails to recognize – or even mention – the conservation, economic or social contributions of recreational angling.

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To see the rest of this release and additional background information on this highly contentious issue, including ways to attend or access the final Public Listening Session on the Obama National Ocean Policy, go to the CCA Newsroom .

[SIZE=3]Make your voice heard on this issue now![/SIZE]

Anglers have the opportunity to make their voices heard by either attending the New Orleans meeting on Monday, Oct. 19[SIZE=2]th[/SIZE] or by sending comments to the White House Council on Environmental Quality. Clicking this LINK will take you to a web site that is designed to take comments on the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. Please take a few moments to make your feelings known and feel free to use material from the sample comments below:

[SIZE=3]Sample comments[/SIZE]

As one of 60 million anglers in the United States, I am writing to express my deep concerns regarding the NationalOcean and Great Lakes Policy proposal recently released by the Ocean Policy Task Force. I am very disappointed that the task force failed to recognize the significant conservation, economic and social contributions of recreational fishing and include that as a key policy component. I am also very concerned about the abbreviated 90 day timeline which forced the Task Force to rush to issue this policy document. The implications of such a policy are vast and nationwide. Therefore, the review process should be very deliberate and with more than 30 days of public review and comment.

My fishing license fees go directly towards conserving and managing fisheries in my state. Additionally, every time I purchase fishing equipment, the federal excise tax on that purchase goes to state fish and wildlife agencies for fisheries conservation throughout this nation.
It’s safe to say that recreational anglers have provided the lion’s share of funding for fisheries conservation and management in this county for well over 50 years. In fact, according to NOAA Fisheries, saltwater anglers contribute over $82 billion to the economy and support over half a million jobs.

How can our contributions be ignored?