Advocates for the recreational and commercial fishing industries are organizing a rally in Washington for March 21, hoping to replicate the success of a 2010 demonstration that attracted thousands of fishermen to protest what they say are overreaching federal regulations. The “Keep Fishermen Fishing” rally is being organized by a coalition of fishing groups, including the New Jersey-based Recreational Fishing Alliance and Garden State Seafood Association. Their message will focus on reforms that fishermen want in the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the overarching federal law that sets fishing rules and how catch limits are set.
Reps. Frank J. Pallone Jr., D-N.J., and Jon Runyan, R-N.J., are among a group of coastal legislators who have proposed changes to the law without much success, so far. They’ve been opposed by the Obama administration’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which insists the law is working to restore fish stocks.
But advocates such as Jim Donofrio of the Recreational Fishing Alliance contend deadlines and rebuilding schedules mandated during the law’s last reauthorization prevent fishermen from utilizing fish stocks even when they’ve been rebuilt.
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