Marine No-Fishing Network

If you read John Geiser's piece today on the Marine Fish Conservation Network's efforts to push the whole "precautionary approach" language into some of these upcoming fisheries management plan amendments, you should be appalled and concerned.

Recreational fishing is under attack on many fronts right now, and recreational anglers need to stand up for their rights.

These groups will stop at nothing to put an end to recreational fishing and they're succeeding in many areas. I was speaking with Tom Pagliaroli, host of Rack and Fin Radio on ESPN Radio and he pointed out that in California, where saltwater fishing licenses are in place, the areas where anglers can fish are becoming more and more limited by the day.

But what no one seems to be able to get across to these groups is that American anglers -- recreational and commercial -- are really only a small piece of the picture. Even if they push all U.S. anglers off the water, they won't be able to fix the problems of the oceans because they can't stop overseas fishermen -- from Europe, from Japan -- from taking what they want. Other countries don't enforce fishing regulations the way we do, and if you close the waters to U.S. fishermen, you can bet foreign fishing boats will find a way to take advantage of that. You might be able to keep foreign boats out of places like the Hudson River, but you'll never keep them out of the Hudson Canyon.

Do you really think our government will commit the resources to keep foreign fishing boats out of the EEZ? I doubt it.