My god, is Obama for real? I couldn't believe this when I tripped on
it. Fishing is sacred stuff.

Obama is about to ban fishing?

In what may be the worst example of outdoor sports reporting in the
history of America, ESPN has claimed that President Barack Obama is on
the verge of banning recreational fishing.

ESPNOutdoors.com writer Robert Montgomery posted an article today
claiming that the administration's decision to end the public comment
phase of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force means that Obama is
likely preparing to issue an executive order outlawing recreational
fishing in America.

As a sportsman who covers fisheries management and politics I do think
there are many issues surrounding the Interagency Ocean Policy Task
Force and its eventual recommendations that all fishermen should be
aware of and concerned about.

But to go from concern to suggesting that President Obama is about to
ban fishing in America is the most absurd and irresponsible thing I have
ever seen a major news outlet publish. There is not even a remote
possibility that a standing president of the United States will outlaw
fishing in America.

And yet, Robert Montgomery presents his case that it is about to happen
as if it is the most likely thing in the world.

ESPN should have to provide some answer for why they allowed this
irresponsible article to be published under their logo.

Let me try to walk you through what is happening, and where this crazy
ESPN story came from, so that you can see how a legitimate news source
could so irrationally let something like this go public.

The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force was created to study things like
fishing and how it is regulated, and how we as fishermen are managing
our interaction with the environment.

To a sportsman like me, this is certainly a cause for attention and
concern, as some fringe environmental groups have expressed foolish and
extreme ideas about fishing which responsible anglers and sportsmen
would certainly like to counter.

Most environmental groups, however, have legitimate concerns which
recreational fishing groups can understand and work with to keep fishing
open throughout America and still be wise stewards of the resource.

However, the conflicts between commercial fishing groups and
environmental groups throughout the country have been much more
rancorous, and it is certainly not all the environmentalists' fault.

In state after state for decades commercial fishermen have made poor
choices and overharvested species of fish. Meanwhile, both recreational
anglers and environmentalists have fought to stop fish or other wildlife
from being threatened or endangered due to unwise fishing practices.

Instead of attempting to find a compromise, commercial fishing groups
have fought these efforts every step of the way. Because of that, the
feud between the environmental groups and the commercial fishing groups
has become harsh and bitter, filled with ugly, unethical politics on
both sides.

What does this have to do with recreational fishermen? Right now, not a
lot. In fact, recreational fishermen in many states have long been
complaining themselves that commercial fishermen are not following
proper and responsible species management procedures.

In fact, recreational anglers have often had to organize efforts like
the Florida inshore gill net ban in 1994 to stop commercial fishing
abuse, and in doing so environmental groups (far from being the green
wackos they are portrayed as) have proven valuable allies to
recreational fishermen.

Yes, some extreme groups are not liked by recreational anglers because
their agenda really is extreme and, frankly, about as un-American you
can get for a responsible southern sportsman like me. PETA is the
biggest and best-funded example. I have no love for PETA or its allies.
I do, however, appreciate many of the other more mainstream and sensible
environmental organizations and support their efforts.

Most environmental groups have demonstrated the understanding that we
must retain our nation's outdoors sports tradition while still
protecting our natural resources. That is why the Interagency Ocean
Policy Task Force was created.

Am I going to agree with everything that this task force does? Probably
not. Issues like access to fishery grounds and over-regulation of
species without sound scientific data are legitimate concerns. However,
in no way shape or form is the task force President Obama created about
to ban recreational fishing. That is silly. ESPN should be ashamed.

No, it is the commercial fishermen who have much to fear. Many
commercial fishermen are fine and responsible individuals, but as a
group in state after state they have allowed short-term mismanagement of
fish stocks in exchange for short-term profits.

I have been writing about these issues in North and South Carolina for
over 15 years and I can tell you without hesitation the worst enemy of
commercial fishermen has been commercial fishermen. I have been pleading
with them for years to explore compromise on these issues, and they will
not.

Now they are in trouble, and commercial groups know in a direct fight
against environmentalists they will lose. So they are clinging to an
amazingly brazen life line: They have decided to scare recreational
fishermen in an effort to get recs like me to fight the
environmentalists with them.

It is such a hypocritical stance I can't even begin to express it in
words. It goes back to years and years of backroom good old boy politics
that kept sensible fishing laws out of many places in the U.S. (my home
state of North Carolina is a great example, but there are plenty more).

Now, after attacking recreation fishermen for years and fighting them
tooth and nail against any efforts to have responsible fisheries
management in this country, commercial fishermen are trying to make us
their best friends because they are so scared of the environmentalists.

Well, I'm scared too. I'm scared responsible recreational fishermen are
going to get lumped together with irresponsible commercial fishermen.
That is exactly what folks like Robert Montgomery want to see happen.

Recreation anglers give commercial fishermen more credibility and
respect, because in almost every state responsible recreational
fishermen have worked hard at things like reasonable size and creel
limits on fish and keeping harmful interaction with wildlife to a
minimum. Recs have done exactly what the commercial industry as a whole
has not done: Be responsible.

But if you lump all fishermen together and recs take on the sins of
commercial fishermen then we are in trouble indeed. No, it will not be
Obama banning fishing. But it will be tougher regulations on anglers, I
can assure you.

Many anglers may not understand and may do the same thing ESPN writer
Robert Montgomery is doing: Blame environmental groups and President
Obama for the problem. And the commercial fishing industry will happily
encourage them to do so. As recreational fishermen, we need to avoid
that at all cost.

I have been fighting with commercial fishermen for years over their lack
of responsibility and self-management. To think that I will now be
blamed for their actions infuriates me.

But I am not mad at environmental groups or President Obama, I am angry
at the people who caused the problems in the first place and now hang
like an albatross around a simple recreational fisherman's neck.

No, Obama is not about to ban recreational fishing. We are about to see,
however, commercial fishermen answer for past decades of abuse of our
natural resources.

I, for one, do not want to see all commercial fisherman lose their
businesses. I think they are a valuable and important part of our
nation. But I can tell you this (from long experience): The leaders of
the commercial fishing lobby are irresponsible and poor stewards of the
environment. And they are now playing desperation politics, trying to
get responsible recreational anglers to take the bait.

That makes all fishermen look bad, including folks like me who have
actually been calling for commercial fishing reform for years.

President Obama may not be about to ban fishing but there are more
difficult times for fishermen ahead. Before we start pointing fingers at
environmentalists and believing wild conspiracies we need to look at
fisheries management history and put the blame for this all where it
really belongs.
--
The bigger government gets, the more it tends to rule out common sense.