Help Conserve Massachusetts’s Striped Bass Fishery
KeepAmericaFishing 02.24.12
The Situation
Legislation (H.260) has been introduced in the Massachusetts House of Representatives that seeks to designate striped bass as a game fish in state waters. By designating this species as a game fish, striped bass will be managed solely as recreational fish for the use and enjoyment of the public and will not be available for commercial harvest and sale. This measure will ultimately improve the quality of recreational fishing and boost the state’s economy.
Striped bass are already a game fish in federal waters and in several states including Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine, where game fish status has resulted in benefits to striped bass populations and recreational fishing.
Striped bass are a prized catch and the nation’s largest marine recreational fishery, contributing significantly to coastal economies and attracting anglers from across the country and abroad. These popular and valuable sportfish must be conserved for future generations to enjoy. H.260 will limit these fish to recreational take, improving the quality of recreational fishing and boosting their economic impact in Massachusetts.
How You Can Help
The Massachusetts Joint Committee on Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture will hold a hearing on February 28, to consider the striped bass game fish legislation, so it is critical that you make your voice heard now. Click here to send a message to your state legislators in support of H. 260.
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.
