KNOW YOUR RIGHTS
living, it becomes quite clear that if the underlying environment is not healthy, your economic prospects aren’t going to be healthy either. It was with that understanding that I drove down to the University of Florida’s Whitney Lab in Marineland one evening seven or eight years ago. I didn’t know exactly what a Waterkeeper was but I knew that the existing environmental efforts, some of which I had been a part of, had not been very effective in protecting our river. That first organizational meeting was not overly encouraging. As we all know, when you put recreational fisherman, commercial fisherman and an environmentalist together in a room there is
a certain initial tension, and in that little room it was tense. Fortunately though there were a few folks in that little room who saw the big picture and understood what needed to be done. The birthing process was painful, but successful. St. Johns Riverkeeper emerged. Over the years we’ve managed to stay focused on our mission: clean and healthy waters in the St. Johns River. And it’s that vision that brings me back to the question, “Are those river shrimp?” Our job is to turn back the clock on that question so future generations will reap the benefits of a healthy St. Johns River. W
Fishable Waters,
Edible Fish
»IN CONGRESS’ final hours in 2006, it reauthorized the nation’s primary fishery statute — the MagnusonStevens Fishery Conservation & Management Act. This law asserts U.S. jurisdiction over a vast body of water stretching from 3 to 200 miles offshore and establishes federal fishery management authority. This action was hailed by the Bush administration, members of Congress, fishing groups and the
two national ocean commissions as a major step forward. The law ensures a more scientific approach to fisheries management in the ocean and sets a firm deadline to end over fishing. Despite the hoopla, however, serious problems remain in the effort to ensure an ample supply of fish in ocean waters. Laws, after all, are just words unless there is the political will and funds available to implement and enforce them. The MagnusonStevens Act, which is a 20-year old law, already had a prohibition on over fishing that was not adequately enforced. Congress and the administration fail to spend the money needed for fish population research and enforcement, making it difficult, if not impossible, to establish seasons and quotas for sustainable fishing. And a huge gap in federal protection remains: no law takes a comprehensive approach to making sure there are not only enough fish, but that the fish are also safe to eat. If we are to have fishable waters and edible fish, we will need to invoke the Magnuson-Stevens and Clean Water Acts, plus state laws that regulate polluted runoff, a major source of fish contamination that the Clean Water Act virtually ignores. A close collaboration of Waterkeepers and fishermen in this effort will preserve this nation’s great fishing heritage and access to a healthy bounty from our waters. W
JASON HOUSTON
By Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fisherman’s Associations, and California Coastkeeper Linda Sheehan
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Waterkeeper Magazine Spring 2007
www.waterkeeper.org
