Save the Rec. Fisherman

[JahMussa]

I'm just learning more and more about this so forgive me for not having all the details. Basically it seems Pres. Bush has been setting up National Monuments within US waters. Meaning that these zones are closed to fishing.

Again, not sure how I like this idea as it seems there will be more closures. So for now, I'm going to error on the side of caution and signed the petition to simply voice my concern as I learn more on the subject.

Here's a snip I just pulled from Greenpeace....

After many years of work by many groups, and tremendous public support, two important reserves have been created recently: The Northwestern Hawaiian Islands National Monument and a California network of 29 marine protected areas stretching more than 200 square miles between Santa Barbara and San Francisco.

The Hawaiian national monument is the largest marine conservation area on Earth, encompassing 140,000 square miles, and protecting more than 7,000 species. The monument includes 4,500 square miles of relatively undisturbed coral reef habitat. Promising new regulations further the protection provided to this unique marine environment, and it is our hope that additional regulations and the upcoming draft management plan will continue to uphold the spirit of full protection for this pristine area.


The Californian network of reserves was a historic establishment of shoreline protection as well as the first state-established network of marine protection.

Now that these important first steps have been taken, we must continue down this road towards true protections for all of our waters. The oceans and all that depend on them are counting on us, and we have to take action, since oceans protection truly does begin on land.


So if you fish in coastal waters, you might wake up one day to find you can't fish where you did yesterday. That scares me a bit. Especially knowing that it has already been done in Hawaii and California.

If you agree that the Prez needs to hear from you, you might want to click this link and sign the petition that has been started. It takes less than a minute to sign in.

Click to sign the Petition

Thanks,

-Tek

[WhItEoUt 23]

Thanks for the link tek..

Dave

[wacker]

And this from the people that fund it.

Ocean Legacy originated as an outgrowth of work done by Pew in 2005–2006 to support the creation of a fully protected marine reserve in the northwestern Hawaiian Islands. That effort resulted in designation of the largest, permanent “no-take” marine reserve in the world. The area measures 360,000 square kilometers (138,000 square miles) and includes reefs, atolls, shoals and islands in largely unspoiled condition.

Inspired by this success, the Pew-managed Ocean Legacy project is dedicated to establishing, globally, over the next decade, at least three to five large, world-class, no-take marine reserves. Ocean Legacy marine reserves will provide ocean-scale ecosystem benefits and help conserve our global marine heritage.

Partners supporting Ocean Legacy include Pew, the Sandler Family Supporting Foundation, the Oak Foundation, and the Robertson Foundation.

[DIRTYFOOT2]

PEW is out to screw everybody with a fishing pole. This is bad legislation being proposed.