Stripers Forever members,
All of the letters being sent by Stripers Forever members to the New England governors are important. Among our members, though, are some of special note like Jonathan Lash, President of the World Resources Institute, an advisor to Presidents, and a man with a very impressive resume in the legal and environmental community. He has given us permission to post to the Stripers Forever website his letter to Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts asking that the commercial fishery for stripers be ended in that state.
2/17/2004
Dear Governor Romney,
As a Martha's Vineyard property owner who has fished there for more
than 50 years, I have witnessed the impact of over harvesting on the
fishery. I do not blame commercial fishermen - they are fighting for
survival, and each boat has every incentive to take as many fish as it
can. I do blame regulators who have not intervened to save fisheries
from competitive market pressures.
The Striped Bass fishery has a huge economic value to Massachusetts,
but not if it collapses, and not as a commercial fishery. The real
money comes from sport fishermen. It is time to end commercial
harvesting of stripers, and invest in helping commercial fishermen
transition away from an unsustainable livelihood.
Jonathan Lash, President
The World Resources Institute
10 G Street, NE
8th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20002
This letter and others like it from the rest of us will have an impact, we promise you. Now is the time to step up and begin the campaign in earnest. We’ve given you some suggested letters as well as contact information on where to send them. This information is also posted on our website - see New England Action Alert under general news. If you haven’t gotten around to acting on that information, please try to do it soon!
Thanks to all who are taking the time to work for striped bass gamefish.
Brad Burns
“Make it a game fish”
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