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Oceans 21 bill
opposed by anglers group
RFA says leave
fisheries management out of environmental
measure
July 12, 2008 |
by Daniel Nee
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A bill
pending in the federal legislature with lofty
goals to “save” the world’s oceans may have a
negative impact on recreational fishing
interests, the leader of a noted lobbying
organization told Jersey Shore Angler recently.
Oceans 21, which is pending in the House of
Representatives, would enact a single policy
towards ocean management, which all federal and
state agencies would be required to develop and
implement on both coasts. The bill would also
earmark $1.3 billion annually towards the
development and implementation of ecosystem
plans that are region-specific, according to
Oceans Alive, an environmental group.
While Rep. Chris Smith [R-4] co-sponsored the
bill in Congress, Rep. Frank Pallone [D-6] chose
not to due concerns over its potential impact on
recreational fishing interests.
The bill received media attention last week as
Margo Pellegrino, an environmental activist from
Medford Lakes, paddled throughout the state of
New Jersey on her way to Washington, D.C. in
support of the legislative effort. She told
Jersey Shore Angler the Oceans 21 bill, which
would fund and mandate conservationalist
education in public schools in coastal areas, is
“exactly what we need.”
“I really love how it provides a national fund
for oceans management,” she said of the bill.
“We have a long way to go, and we should be in
the forefront and be a model for other countries
to follow.”
Jim Donofrio, chairman of the New Gretna-based
Recreational Fishing Alliance, said he and his
group supports some aspects of the bill,
including maintaining clean ecosystems, but is
against the inclusion of fisheries management
processes in the bill. Oceans 21 would eliminate
regional management councils which include
members of the fishing community and replace
them with a national council made up primarily
of environmentalists.
“Leave fisheries out of it,” Mr. Donofrio said
last week. “There are some good things in the
bill, but just leave fisheries management out of
it.”
The bill was recently approved 11-3 in the House
Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries,
Wildlife, and Oceans and will eventually come
for a vote in full committee. A vote by the full
House of Representatives and the introduction
and passage of a Senate companion bill would be
required before the President would be able to
sign or veto the measure. Oceans 21 has already
passed the House Natural Resources Subcommittee.
It is expected to come before the full House for
a vote later this summer.
For more on the Oceans 21 bill and the RFA’s
take on it, check out
this article in Florida Sportsman, which
appeared last autumn.
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