Federal Ocean and Great Lakes Policy - Are My Boogie Boarding Rights at Risk? (no.)

My colleague Thom Cmar had an interesting experience on Wisconsin Public Radio this morning. What was billed as a discussion of Great Lakes and ocean policy devolved into an ugly free-for-all about a supposed plot by the Obama Administration to abolish recreational fishing?

Sparked by an odd article on ESPN.com, recreational fishermen around the country are being told that the Obama Administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force is gunning to take their rods and reels and boats out of the Great Lakes and oceans. Two key concerns I’ve heard voiced:

• The Task Force is no longer taking comments.
• The interim reports have no references to the value of recreational fishing and, apparently more importantly, no guarantees that angling won’t be eliminated.

I will leave an in-depth evaluation of the policy to Thom and our Oceans Team, but I will point out that comments have been accepted on this policy for months now---including at public hearings held in Cleveland, Providence, Honolulu, San Francisco, and New Orleans.

And, I notice that the interim report’s national policy also does not reference surfing, boogie boarding, or synchronized swimming… Is there a movement afoot to eliminate those activities from our public waters too? Well, I’d be supportive as it relates to that last one---but the fact is that none of these sports are any more in the firing sights than angling and recreational fishing.

Rather than being conned to fight this policy, recreational fishermen should be supporting it. After all, this is about encouraging the federal government to better coordinate their actions, and to work with the states and stakeholders, to clean our waters and ensure that our fisheries remain strong. Recreational fishing is an important part of the Great Lakes economy, contributing $1.5 billion to the economy in 2006. We need to ensure that our Great Lakes are healthy, so we can continue to enjoy fishing far into the future.

From a Great Lakes perspective, I thought this was good news as our fresh water oceans were being elevated to the same level of protection and coordination as our ocean coastlines which normally garner far more federal attention. I think that just because the policy docs have not specifically stated that recreational fishing (or boogie boarding) are important, doesn’t mean that those needs are not being considered.

In the meantime, I’ll add oceans policy and cleaning the Great Lakes to the growing list of issues we apparently cannot talk about publicly without becoming mired in rhetoric unhinged from reality. Recreational fishermen are a vibrant part of the conservation economy. They are strong advocates for clean water and healthy ecosystems. And their needs should be considered in these policy arenas. More importantly, I think that just because the policy docs have not specifically stated that recreational fishing is important, doesn’t mean that those needs are not being considered.

Hey, don’t take my word for it. Read the document that discusses the national policy at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/09_17_09_Interim_Report_of_Task_Force_FINAL2.pdf

And it seems the concept of marine spatial planning is of the most concern---take a look at the doc on that and note that there is nothing in it about the elimination of recreational fishing: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/interim-framework

And listen to the WPR interview online at: http://www.wpr.org/webcasting/audioarchives_display.cfm?Code=jca

In the meantime, I am going to lock up my boogie board for safe keeping just to be sure!

UPDATE: Not that we need confirmation, but both FOX News and MediaMatters do confirm that the fishing ban story is bunk... Heck, Deadspin too. When was the last time those three outlets agreed on an issue? Any issue? Maybe never... Plus, ESPN has offered a clarification of the story that sparked this whole silly kerfuffle---the comments make for interesting reading...