Thursday, February 18, 2010

Joining Together for Fisheries Rally


On Wednesday, February 24th at 12:00 noon recreational and commercial fishermen from around the country will gather at the United States Capitol to seek changes to our nation’s fishery management system, and in particular to the Magnuson Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The MSA is the federal statute which governs fisheries management in the United States.

Last night I hosted a workshop with State Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante to bring together fishing stakeholders from our region to develop a united message for the event on February 24th. The workshop was well-attended, with participants from Gloucester, New Bedford and the South Shore of Massachusetts as well as Rhode Island.

We engaged in a thoughtful, vigorous and productive discussion which resulted in five general themes, which will be posted here soon. Please visit the website of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, http://www.joinrfa.org/, for more information about the Washington D.C. event.

If you would like more information from my office or are planning to attend the Washington event, please contact Troy Wall in my office at (617) 722-1600, or troy.wall@state.ma.us.

Here are some photos of the evening’s event: