Originally Posted By: _WW_
Originally Posted By: Carcassman
The Tribes also view a fish is a fish is a fish. They don't "play with their food". They kill it and eat it.


And some folks in the rest of the world don't consider all fish as food. What the tribes do with their catch is their business. What I do with the fish I catch is not their business.

I support the tribe's right to catch fish, but no more than I support the right of everyone else to also catch fish. I also think that all catchers of fish have a responsibility to do so in a sustainable manner and an obligation to respect the methods of others that use the resource.

What is needed is a Recreational Anglers Association to lobby for those of us that do not wish to kill every single fish we catch and to lobby for our "right" to catch fish as a basic human right, in common with other nations.



Well stated! We have several "Sportsmen's organizations" already. Some very large and some very influential, yet we are still in this mess of dysfunctional duel-management and collusion to keep the sport fishermen out of the management decisions! If we want REAL CHANGE, we need to do it ourselves, with the support and power of the organized groups.

Imagine if the large groups like CCA and PSA organized rallies to support having the NOF meetings open. That, coupled with the large number of petition supporters would be very powerful indeed!

If you take a hard look at the current situation, it becomes VERY CLEAR, that the motivation to change is not there. In any system, where money, greed and power have taken hold, real change will not happen unless those in power are MADE to change.

The sports fishermen, for far too long, has been the cash supply for the Department, and has been easy to manipulate and disregard due to lack of organization as a lobby and in-fighting.

Having the Tribal NOF meetings broadcast live, is a first start for the paying public to see, first hand the way the sportsmen is disdained.

We have over 3000 signatures on the petition. It should be well over 30,000. This is the first time in a long while the sport fishermen and women have started joining together to make real change. We need to keep the momentum going, the numbers speak to the politicians and to the tribes.
_________________________
"Forgiveness is between them and God. My job is to arrange the meeting."

1Sgt U.S. Army (Ret)