If your newspaper is planning to run a column or letter claiming that the Obama administration is planning to ban or severely limit recreational sport fishing, or even that there is a rumor to that effect, think again.
"Both commercial and recreational fishing are vitally important to this nation," National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco told a House panel yesterday "We are not proposing any blanket ban on recreational fishing. I would strongly oppose that, and it is not in the works." The rumors evidently started from a column from ESPN outdoors writer Robert Montgomery, "which said the administration's new oceans policy could prohibit fishing in oceans, Great Lakes and inland waters," Allison Winter of Greenwire reports for The New York Times.
Eric Schwaab, the National Marine Fisheries Service chief, also released a statement saying NOAA "is committed to adopting policies that will ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to enjoy the great tradition of recreational fishing." The initial column was reposted on the news blog Drudge Report and picked up by right-wing bloggers and television pundits. Reps. Paul Broun, R-Ga., and Kathy Dahlkemper, D-Pa., both expressed concerns about the rumor at Wednesday's House Science Committee hearing.
"The inter-agency ocean task force has released draft plans that would set ocean conservation as a top national priority and lay the groundwork for marine planning," Winter writes, adding "the plan could eventually lead to efforts to map the sea for different uses, but draft reports from the group made no suggestions to ban fishing." (Read more)
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