Not always fun pointing this kinda stuff out but it's important (or could be), someone's gotta do it and in my 2c we all should be aware of it – so here we go.
That's a headline from OUTDOOR LIFE. WTHeck?? Now the "smallies are evil" deal is being adopted by outdoor media? This line, for example, is incredibly ignorant:
> If smallmouths get a stronghold in the Colorado River below Glen Canyon, it could spell doom for many native species that biologists are already working hard to protect – they’re trying to keep the heritage of the Grand Canyon ecosystem intact.
Really. How about that "Glen Canyon" thing...the dams?? Did they maybe disrupt the "ecosystem"? Amazing man, wow. And:
> It’s just that we tend to treat fish we can’t or don’t target with a rod and reel as expendable.
"We"? Who is we? No bass fisherman I know thinks that. For that matter, no fisherman I know thinks that.
C'mon man.
> Members of the $689 bil outdoor recreation industry have established a blue-ribbon commission to stop and reverse the spread of aquatic invasive species in the US. The commission will convene leading biologists, environmentalists, policymakers and resource managers to assess existing mitigation efforts and identify more effective eradication solutions.
> Findings from the analysis will be presented to Congress and the administration in 2023, with a goal of passing comprehensive legislation to better manage and eliminate aquatic invasive species.
> Commissioners include representatives from YETI, Yamaha Marine, BoatU.S., B.A.S.S., the American Sportfishing Association, National Marine Manufacturing Association, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.
Okay why keep an eye on this – just my 2c as someone who a) is a bass fisherman and b) worked and reported on such stuff in DC for about 10 years:
1. People who work in and around gov't usually tend to see gov't as the solution to everything. And if they gett gov't to do something, they see as a win.
2. Gov't always thinks more laws and taxes are the solution to everything.
3. Studying this stuff, especially in DC, takes lots of time and lots of $$$. Guess who funds that $$$.
4. Yep anglers can unintentionally transport aquatic invasive species, but we are by far not the biggest problem – so I hope they hammer on commercial ships, aquaculture, the aquarium industry, water birds, etc., but I kinda doubt they will because no one has yet.
5. So far mostly state DNRs have had to deal with aquatic nuisance species, and guess who funds them almost 100% – yep, us.
Other than that, work in DC long enough and you will get pretty dang skeptical!
Dang it seems like stuff never ends sometimes. This sums it up – never heard of leasing fishing rights to public water before:
> “In recent years a growing number of landowners and those leasing ‘fishing rights’ from them are seeking to limit the public’s access to our rivers and streams as anglers. ‘No Fishing’ signs have popped up all over GA next to our free-flowing rivers, whose populations of fish have been managed and protected by dedicated public servants. Those dedicated public servants’ salaries and resources are paid by those that hunt and fish, not by those that own land. Our access to these rivers is via boat ramps that are more often than not paid for by hunters and anglers.”
Word!
> Mike Worley, the president and CEO of the GA Wildlife Federation, said he was getting calls from anglers caught off guard by “No Fishing” signs on the Flint. “They said they’ve been able to fish this stretch of the river for years and all of a sudden there are no fishing signs."
> Worley said property owners contend they own the bottom of the river from the shore to the centerline of the river. The state statute, he said, maintains that if a river is determined to be navigable, the private landowner only controls to the low watermark, or to that water at his ankles, which is where the fish typically are not.
> The GA Dept of Natural Resources Enforcement is siding with the anglers.