Fishermen from around the country are planning to pack the steps in front of the U.S. Capitol this month to demand changes to a federal fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities.
Organizers of the "United We Fish" rally expect up to 3,000 people at the Feb. 24 protest, including a bipartisan roster of congressmen and fishermen from as far away as Alaska.
The rally comes as catch limits put a ceiling on big money makers like snapper and grouper.
Galen Tromble, the chief of the Domestic Fisheries Division of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), says the catch limits are needed. He says the limits were initiated by a 2007 change to the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, and hHe believes that while there may be short-term economic consequences of the catch limits, if over fishing continues, the problem will likely be worse down the road.