Presidential Hopefuls Share Their Views on Recreational Fishing
KeepAmericaFishing 09.18.12
In response to KeepAmericaFishing candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney outline their approach to fisheries conservation and angler access to public waters
On the campaign trail, presidential hopefuls rarely talk about recreational fishing or the use of public lands for recreational activities. Now anglers across the nation can read a side-by-side comparison of how the presidential candidates plan to address fisheries conservation and angler access to public waters at www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/youdecide.
KeepAmericaFishing, the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) angler advocacy campaign, posed questions to presidential candidates Barack Obama and Mitt Romney regarding management of our nation’s fisheries and access to recreational fishing. Each candidate received the same questions except for one that is specific to his tenure as either President or Governor. The questions address issues that impact our nation’s 60 million anglers, ranging from stopping the spread of harmful invasive species to over-reaching closures of waters to recreational fishing as a management tool.
“We asked these questions to inform and empower anglers to be active advocates for the sportfishing community” said ASA Vice President Gordon Robertson. “Anglers represent a huge voting block that can significantly impact the 2012 presidential election. It is vital to the future of sportfishing that anglers are informed and use their vote as a voice.”
KeepAmericaFishing encourages anglers to review the responses and on Election Day vote for the candidate they believe will best advance the nation and the model of conservation that perpetuates healthy fishery resources and access to those public resources.
Read the questions and candidates’ answers at www.KeepAmericaFishing.org/youdecide.
KeepAmericaFishing is the fastest growing community of anglers united with one common goal -- to protect our right to sustainably fish on our nation's waterways. As the voice of the American angler, KeepAmericaFishing works to keep our public resources – our oceans, lakes, rivers and streams – open, clean and abundant with fish.
Across the country, preventing or limiting recreational anglers’ access to public waters fisheries is being touted as a new way to manage fish populations. This unprecedented shift undermines the achievements of proven fisheries management methods that focus on conservation and promote sustainable fishing. As a result, the past 10 years have seen a dramatic increase in bans on recreational fishing from the Atlantic to the Pacific, from Texas to Minnesota.
In an effort to combat access restrictions around the country, the American Sportfishing Association launched KeepAmericaFishing to unite the nation’s 60 million anglers under one voice. Through policy, science and conservation, KeepAmericaFishing works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations. With its conservation partners, KeepAmericaFishing works to limit and provide for review and revision science-based closures to areas in which they are clearly beneficial to the health of the fishery.
At KeepAmericaFishing, we are working to give voice to the millions of American recreational anglers who share one thing in common - a passion for fishing.
