Fishing News
Sport fishing targeted by environmentalists
By Gene Mueller, [email protected]
The fight to stop sport fishing has begun. A Middle Atlantic edition of the Fisherman, a colorful weekly newsprint-style magazine, recently contained a glimpse into the activities of extreme environmentalists who are determined to stop sport fishermen from visiting vast coastal ocean sectors. Why? The environmentalists say the only way you can save and protect critically important coastal stretches is to turn them into "ocean wilderness areas."
Don't laugh. These people are as serious as the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals whose members nowadays show up at various fishing tournament sites, some of them wearing suits that vaguely resemble a fish, spreading the message that fish are like people and that hooks hurt -- along the way hoping to stop the 65-odd million Americans for whom fishing is not just welcome recreation but also a passion.
PETA's cohorts in the animal rights movement, including the Humane Society of the U.S. and the Fund For Animals, also believe fishing is simply awful. The big difference is that the established animal religionists are almost clumsy in their attempts to sway the public when compared to the people behind the "ocean wilderness" concept.
The Fisherman publication said, "Right now, extremist environmental groups are waging a subtle battle in California and other states for the public's premier coastal recreational areas. Within the past year, schemes have been hatched that would shut down more than 60 percent of Southern California's best sport fishing grounds.
"Already,'No Fishing' proposals have circulated throughout New England, Florida and other parts of the Southeast. It's just a matter of time before these well-organized and richly financed groups tell you that you're no longer welcome in your public waters." One of the organizations, the Ocean Conservancy, has no problem in hoping to create ocean wilderness areas that only the privileged few could access.
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