Recreational Fishing Alliance Launches Freedom to Fish Initiative in Coastal States

(New Gretna, NJ)- Today, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) announces a national initiative to introduce "Freedom to Fish" legislation in coastal states. This initiative is in response to the radical environmental movement to close off vast areas of our oceans by creating no fishing marine protected areas (MPAs). In the first phase of this effort, RFA and affiliates will be introducing "Freedom to Fish" bills in California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

"Anglers were among the first conservationists," said Jim Donofrio, RFA Executive Director. "Recreational fishing remains one of the most popular outdoor sporting activities in the United States yet as we’ve seen in California, we’re now being targeted by these radical environmental organizations. It’s time for everyone to focus on specific gear that’s causing specific problems."

Recreational fishermen have long demonstrated a commitment to conservation through abidance with minimum size requirements, bag limits, seasonal closures, and the use of non-lethal rod and reel fishing gear. Rod and reel fishing is a highly selective, inherently inefficient method of catching fish that traditionally has not led to overfishing.

The RFA state Freedom to Fish bills prohibit closures to rod and reel fishing unless there is a clear indication that it is the cause of a specific conservation problem. This legislation would also establish requirements for closures including periodic review, scientifically based size restrictions for any closure, and provisions to reopen areas to rod and reel fishing whenever the basis for the closure no longer exists.

"Freedom to Fish legislation isn’t about banning MPAs. It’s about safeguarding public access to our public resources," said Herb Moore, Jr., RFA Director of Government Affairs.

"Anglers, boat builders, retailers, party and charter boat businesses, marinas and many others depend on access to healthy, well-managed fisheries," said Michael Doebley, RFA Deputy Director of Government Affairs. "The RFA state Freedom to Fish bills require specific conservation problems to be identified, and specific measures to be taken to address the problems, rather than having arbitrary closures based on emotion and anti-fishing agendas."

The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is a national, grassroots political action organization representing individual sport fishermen and the sport fishing industry. The RFA Mission is to safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs and ensure the long-term sustainability of U.S. saltwater fisheries. For more information, call 1-888-JOIN-RFA.