Fly Fishing Forum banner

Great news from The Great Land....

2K views 4 replies 4 participants last post by  DEERHAAWK 
#1 ·
The Governing Body of Fisheries off the Alaskan Coast has banned Bottom Trawling in over 370,000 square miles under its juridiction. This to protect sensittive coral and other important habitats and nursery areas.
It takes time to get the right rules enacted I proposed and got support from the United Fisherman of Alaska and its twenty some member organizations for this proposal over fifteen years ago. I remember most of my peers at the time telling me I was being perceived by most of the other members of our Board of Directors as being "Flippant and a bit too Green".
In politics winning is everything, and most times it takes so long to win that you seldom get any credit for the victory. :D
The victory is for the future of the Ocean, I am only paying my debt that I owe it.
 
#3 ·
YES!

Good Morning,
As in all enviromental issues, this is a win for the Future! Sometimes long strugles are the sweetest. There is no "Instant Gratification" when it comes to the fish. The hard work and dedication to the cause are what won out here, aside from the fact that it was the "Right" thing to do!
Two thumbs up to you Moonlight and all the others involved in this.

Deerhawk
 
#4 ·
On behalf of fish and my self, thanks for being flippant and a bit too green Moonlight! I had heard this news on theradio on Alaska News Nightly. I didn't realize you worked on groundfish issues too.

And thanks to you and the preacher and that Japanese guy for your work with steelhead in the panhandle. We're fortunate that you did. The regulations that ADF&G enacted as a result are firmly in effect and don't seem likely to be repealed, though some of course would like to go back to how it was. I'll do my part to keep it how it is now.

Deerhawk - Sometimes there is near-instant gratification in fisheries habitat issues. Early last August, I got a call from a biologist to give me a report on a culvert replacement project that we'd undertaken to help juvinile salmon. He let me know that within two hours of the installation of the fish friendly passage they counted over three hundred juvenile coho had ventured upstream to access habitat that had been inacessible to their ancestors for over twenty years. Very satifying! But yes, those big-picture policy type changes that are so important to long-term fisheries health certainly take time and perserverence! Salud Moonlight! Keep up the good work!
 
#5 ·
Again I Say, YES!

Good evening,
Pescaphile, I don't mind being proven wrong in cases like the one you spoke of. But if I might take the liberty to make a point here.....

What you have done in a very basic way, is help the bottom line! The fish know what the hell they need, where to go to get it, and how to get there! All we need to do is make a clear path and STAND BACK!!!!! I don't understand why such a basic process, is so hard for some.
Join a group, clean up a stream or beach, help replace a culvert, teach a kid to let a fish go, make a stand for ground fish issues. Such simple steps, such HUGE rewards!
Thanks to everyone who heeds the call, and responds in a caring and thoughtfull manner to allow the Fish to be.....FISH!

I love good news! :D
Deerhawk
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top