I typically and not a very political person. However, when in issue arises that you are passionate about, you have to get involved or you have no one to blame but yourself if the outcome is not what you would like it to be. Just this morning I read on a social media site a statement by one of it’s contributors “there is nothing that we can do”. I was quick to point out to that person that is not true. Remember, we live in the USA and we can make a change.

As I sit here to type this, in my mind I am hearing arguments from both sides on why this bill is a good thing or a bad thing. If your for it, it’s good and if your against it, it’s bad. There is always two sides of a coin. I also know that change is inevitable. No one likes change. We get comfortable, and when someone or something threatens that comfort, we take offense.

HB353 or the gamefish bill, as it is often referred to, is a bill to put gamefish status to three species of saltwater fish in the state of North Carolina. These fishes are the Red Drum, Spotted Sea Trout and the Striped Bass. Game Fish status would mean that there would be no commercial value to these fish and that they could only be harvested by hook and line. I totally support this bill and so should you.

The biggest argument that I hear from the commercial side that opposes this bill is that it will put people out of work. I don’t think this is the case. People adapt, and they will. Studies have shown that these three fish only make up a small percentage of the total commercial harvest for this state.  Studies have also shown that these fish are much more valuable as a recreational species that they ever were or ever will be in the commercial market. As my math instructors used to tell me, numbers don’t lie!!

Some say it’s recreational fisherman against commercial fisherman. I don’t believe this is true either. I think that the recreational community is just more in tune with conservation and realizes that if you continue to rape the waters, soon there will be no fish left for anyone to catch. Who benefits when this happens? No one!! In my short lifetime, I have witness the decline of fish stocks in our waters. Hell, at one time, I used to drag trawls and rape the very waters that I now want to see protected. Why? When I was younger, I too thought that the bounty was endless and that I was doing no harm. In hindsight, I can see the thousands of sea creatures that I killed that never had a chance to grow to maturity and complete the reproductive cycle to rebuild the stocks.

Let me try to put this in perspective. Now, I never have been a farmer, but I come from a family of farmers. It has been proven that the chemical DDT was a big culpurit in the demise of our national bird, the Bald Eagle. When this chemical was banned 1972, it didn’t put farmers out of a job, they just adapted and continued to work. Now, 40years later, I am finally seeing wild Bald Eagles around our home waters. Are we going to wait to protect these fish only when the stocks reach a point that they are basically wiped out of our waters?

So you don’t fish and don’t think you have a dog in this fight. Well, your wrong. If you are impacted in any manner by tourism dollars in this state, you have a fight. People could just go to SC, Ga, Fla or a number of other states that do protect these fish to do there fishing in and guess what, there dollars go to these other states with them. It doesn’t just affect the tackle shops, fishing guides and charter boats, it effects the hotels, gas stations, restaurants, retail business and on down the line. So if you don’t think this bill is a big deal, then I am sorry if I have wasted you time. However, if you do, don’t just sit back and let others do the work for you. Take a moment and let your voice be heard. It only takes a moment of your time.

Make a stand here!

Sincerely,

Capt. Brent