FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 19, 2017
Contact:
Tom Sadler, tsadler@conservefish.org
Jo Knight, jo@conservefish.org
“Fissues.org” Seeks to Inform and Engage Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Fishermen
Arlington, VA – The Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network) today launched a new online resource created for recreational fishermen that provides clear, reliable news and opinions about fisheries management in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Developed and administered by longtime fishermen and advocates, Captain Patrick Paquette and Captain John McMurray, Fissues.org simplifies the complicated fisheries management process for the species that matter to average citizens in order to better inform and engage anglers in important management decisions.
“Although U.S. fisheries are public resources that should be managed with community input, the reality is that the government process is too complicated for most of us to get involved,” said Paquette. “We launched Fissues.org to make fisheries management more accessible to everyone who cares deeply about catching fish.”
“Fissues.org boils fisheries management down to the basics that your average angler can understand,” said McMurray. “We want to provide the essential information needed for a conservation-minded angler to stay informed and get involved, such as writing a letter or attending a hearing, which could directly affect what happens on the water.”
The web site will focus on management by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, plus Congress, Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries as it pertains to stocks in the region. It will feature those species most targeted by recreational fishermen, such as black sea bass, cod, blue fish, Atlantic herring and summer flounder, which are often the subject of the most complicated and controversial management decisions.
“We need fisheries management – from regional regulations to federal law and policy – to benefit the people and communities that rely on healthy oceans and productive fisheries,” said Robert C. Vandermark, executive director of the Network. “Creating this online tool for anglers is one of the many ways we hope to get fishermen more engaged in the decisions that affect them most.”
The Network is piloting Fissues.org in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, and may extend its fisheries management coverage to other regions in the future.
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The Marine Fish Conservation Network is a coalition of commercial and recreational fishing associations, regional and national conservation groups, aquaria, and marine science organizations committed to sustaining fish populations, healthy marine ecosystems, and robust fishing communities. For more information, visit us at www.conservefish.org or follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@marinefishcons).
