Fish Report for 9-5-2011

RFA SAYS "ENVIRONMENTAL ZEALOTS RULE DC"

9-5-2011
Recreational Fishing Alliance

Don't miss an explosive interview with Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) executive director Jim Donofrio in the September, 2011 issue of Soundings Trade Only magazine.

Soundings Trade Only Cover 9/11The business-to-business publication for marine industry professionals nationwide, Soundings Trade Only monthly magazine breaks news and explores it in depth, through features and columns which help boating professionals understand the news and events that are shaping the industry.

In an exclusive one-on-one interview with Soundings Trade Only's Beth Rosenberg, Donofrio shoots from the hip and let's it be known that he and the RFA are not happy about the current state of the political environment in Washington DC, the federal bureaucracy at NOAA, or even our own fishing and boating industry.

On President Obama
"The Obama administration is the worst ever. There's never been anyone worse than Obama's administration because he's hired all the leadership from Environmental Defense (EDF) to work in NOAA."

On President Bush
"He started this problem with the environmental people. George Bush threw us to the wolves because he wanted to back off on the Clean Water Act, on the Clean Air Act, and he also wanted to back off on some of the drilling issues that were controversial, and because of that he gave EDF and Pew Environment Group the fisheries."

On the fishing and boating industry
"The recreational fishing industry lacks real leadership. We have people that are more concerned with power, personal power, personal gain for their organizations rather than getting the job done and getting together in a unified voice and fixing the problem and getting us fishing again and getting the industry going again."

On NOAA Fisheries and NMFS
"The National Marine Fisheries Service has actually done a horrible job of managing our fisheries. Their data is incomplete, it's inaccurate and it's being criticized by many members of Congress right now."

On Political Correctness
"We don't have any principled leadership anymore. We feel we're the only group that does. And we're not politically correct. And if you have principles you're not going to be politically correct, and that's the problem."

Never one to shy away from a debate, RFA's Jim Donofrio speaks candidly, one-on-one with Soundings Trade Only on the state of the fishing and boating industry and what needs to be done to get Americans back on the water fishing and boating again. Industry professionals should be on the lookout for their copy of the September 2011 issue of Soundings Trade Only, arriving in mailboxes this week. To find out where to get your copy, call 800-444-7686.

You can also see the complete interview with Donofrio online at Donofrio Interview


< Previous Report Next Report >





More Reports

9-5-2011
The sportfishing industry lauds the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act, introduced by Representatives Dan Benishek (R-MI) and Dan Boren (D-OK), that will ensure that recreational fishing, hunting and shooting sports are supported as public activities on federal lands. The two members of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus introduced the Act on Friday, September 2, 2011. This bipartisan legislation directs federal land management agencies, such as the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to...... Read More

8-24-2011
Imagine catching the halibut of a lifetime on a charter trip in Alaska, only to be told by the captain that you'll have to pay an extra service charge to keep it! The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is proposing a new "Catch Sharing Plan" (CSP) to manage allocations in Alaska's Pacific halibut fishery. The plan will give guided recreational anglers their first hard allocation. Up to now, they have been managed under a recommended guideline harvest level.. ...... Read More