How often have you heard people complain about their favorite restaurant going out of business? They go on and on about the food, the atmosphere or whatever it is they absolutely loved about the place and then continue to reminisce about how much they’re going to miss it. The whole time you’re thinking, “If this was such a great place, how come you never mentioned it to me before?”
It seems like the thought of spreading the word about their favorite local restaurant didn’t cross their minds until it was gone. Or despite all their proclaimed love for the joint, when it came down to it they really didn’t visit as often as they should have. Simply put, they failed to support the restaurant and now it’s gone.
Sometimes I worry about recreational fishing in this same way. Am I really supporting fishing as much as I could be? While attending a media event with Yamaha Marine in Baltimore, Md., a few years ago, the engine manufacturer really drove home this point. For starters, that year it held its annual meeting at the National Aquarium, which is located in the Inner Harbor area. Nothing gets a room full of boating journalists more excited than to show us different species of fish. Lucky for the aquarium there were no fishing rods within reach or surely someone would have caved to the temptation.
During this meeting, Yamaha reps continued to promote the importance of supporting Bass Anglers for Saltwater Conservation, which was created to help us in our fight for our right to fish recreationally in America’s waters and keep our beloved public resources public.
Sadly there are those who are constantly fighting to take away public resources, and some of these groups are well-funded and extremely organized. If we don’t stand up for our rights, no one else will.
I enjoy recreational fishing so that’s why I went to www.BassforSalt.com so my voice could be heard. It took less than 30 seconds and I’m still an advocate and helping in the fight today. After filling in some basic information I was then able to endorse one of the several pre-written letters that went directly to my local lawmaker. It’s as easy as that. And besides fishing being a great hobby that is worth fighting for, it’s also important to remember that it’s extremely important to the success of our economy.
“Recreational fishing is a big business,” said Austin Roebuck, the marine government relations coordinator for Yamaha Marine, as he spoke to the group. “It brings in over $35 billion annually.”
As anglers, we have a responsibility to influence those around us through support so that those waters set aside for fishing remain open to us. We also need to exercise our right to defend all that threatens our waters. The greatest threat to our sport today comes from those who wish to deny our right to fish by closing access to our nation’s oceans, bays, lakes, rivers and anywhere else we love to throw a line.
Let’s not let our local fishing waters fall into the same category as one of our favorite restaurants that failed because of lack of support. I don’t want to be sitting around with my grandkids some day reminiscing about how great it used to be to go fishing on our local lake; I’d rather take those kids fishing and show them in person how much fun it really is.
