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Stripers Forever membership – the MA Joint Committee on Natural Resources and the Environment will soon take action on H796 the striped bass game fish bill. Last month there was a committee hearing that was very lightly attended by legislators, so they are still very much open to public input. Let’s let them know what we think!
It is known that striped bass are worth many times more per pound taken recreationally then commercially – even when released – and that the recreational fishery in MA produces almost 20 times as many full time equivalent jobs. Stripers Forever members and lobbyists have constantly been making these and many other points to legislators during the last year and a half. No comments, though, are as important as those of you the constituents of these legislators, or you the person who comes to MA from away in order to fish for striped bass. There are many more of us associated with the recreational fishery, and we represent many times more the number of legislators than do the commercial striped bass fishermen. There is no reason why we should suffer “the tyranny of the few”.
We are asking you at this important time to contact or recontact every member of the Committee as well as your own legislator. Remember, a letter sent by postal mail is best, but an e-mail is far better than no comment at all. Phone calls to their offices are also great.
This link http://www.mass.gov/legis/ will bring you to a website that has complete information about how to contact any legislator in MA by mail, e-mail or phone. Representative Matt Patrick Rep.MatthewPatrick@hou.state.ma.us, the prime sponsor of H796 has asked to be copied on your e-mails or letters so
that he can further strengthen our case with other MA legislators.
Here is a sample letter that you can send. Writing something in your own words, though, is even better.
Dear Representative or Senator…
I urge you to vote for H796 a bill that would designate striped bass as a game fish in Massachusetts state waters. Here is why:
- Professional studies show that recreational fishing for striped bass provides many times more economic activity and jobs than does the commercial fishery.
- Striped bass, after a population collapse in the 1980s, are again in trouble. The commercial fishery wrongly focuses on the prime breeding age female fish.
- Recreational striped bass fishing has made Cape Cod and the Islands a prime destination for traveling fishermen. Many guides are employed by this fishery.
- Massachusetts would join Maine, NH, and CT as New England states that have protected striped bass from commercial exploitation.
- Striped bass are an important recreation for me personally, and the quality of that fishing is deteriorating.
- Striped bass migrate to Massachusetts from Chesapeake Bay, and are known to be heavily contaminated with mercury, PCBs, and a flesh-eating disease called mycobacteriosis. The Environmental Defense Fund says that no one should consume these fish. People buying these fish assume that the government has tested them and they are safe. This is not true.
Fishing for striped bass is an important recreation for me and the quality of it is slipping away rapidly. I urge you to vote for H796 and make striped bass a game fish today.
Sincerely;
For additional information this link will take you to a letter posted on the SF website that Representative Matt Patrick recently sent to members of the Massachusetts legislature commenting on the committee hearing and the importance of passing H796. You may want to read it before finalizing your comments to legislators.
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