Protest organizers are trying to push a bill that is now dormant in a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee; the bill calls for more leeway in how the new restrictions are enforced. They also want regulators to reassess how fish stocks are counted. The counts are used to determine whether a species is overfished; the anglers said the science used is flawed. Anglers have argued that more fish are out there than catch surveys indicate and that proactive measures, like creating more artificial reefs, would be enough to bring back depleted stocks. They said environmental groups have pushed "draconian" restrictions.
A protest is churning like fish schooling in the deep sea off the Southeast.
More than 2,500 saltwater anglers or supporters have signed an online petition to stop a temporary ban on offshore bottom fishing expected to start in July. The ban is one of the latest restrictions on a long list and among the first in the wake of a strict new federal law looking to stop overfishing of various popular species.
More than 40 signers of the petition met in Mount Pleasant last week to hear about ways to fight the new regulations.