ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — May 14, 2013 — Fresh off the heels of the nation’s leaders and fishery experts gathering in Washington DC at the Managing our Nation’s Fisheries Conference III to determine the future of all US fisheries; “FISH FOR AMERICA” (FFA) has announced the launch of its website www.fishforamerica.org. FFA is working to educate the American consumer about the attempt to restrict their access to wild caught American seafood.
An immediate attempt at restricting consumers right to enjoy domestic seafood provided by the commercial fishing sector will be apparent at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils June meeting in Pensacola. House bill 983 in NC is another example of denying the American consumers right to enjoy domestic seafood. It is urgent that the American consumer take notice and react. The commercial fishing sector is the only vehicle that gives the consumer an equal RIGHT to the resource.
The coalition of fishermen, Chefs, seafood distributors and seafood lovers was founded in response to an assault by membership organizations such as the Coastal Conservation Association and Recreational Fishing Association, which want to reallocate all or most of the nation’s fish to the private recreational angler (i.e., take the seafood dinner off your plate). These organizations are spending millions in lobby dollars to influence the Fishery Councils, State and Federal lawmakers and Recreational fishers with a promise that reallocating the fish stocks will solve their sector problems. This empty promise cannot be fulfilled without violating the American public’s right to enjoy the resource without actually harvesting it themselves.
The mission statement of the FFA is as follows:
Fish for America defends the interests of American consumers who do not or cannot harvest their own seafood from our nation's oceans. Our assembly of seafood advocates opposes any Federal reallocation efforts that would take fish from American consumers to reward a sector of fishermen which threatens the future of domestic seafood by harvesting a larger share than the law allows. Instead, we support diligent improvements to existing management systems, science, data collection and enforcement that will ensure Federal limits for America’s fisheries are appropriately portioned, never exceeded, and provides consumer’s access to sustainable, domestic, wild-caught seafood, now and in the future.