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ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 4th, 2020, 11:24 am
by sagbay
Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets
Dear Conservationist,

Help protect Michigan’s gamefish by contacting your state representative today!

We expect a package of bills that would update a decades-old commercial fishing statute to be hitting the floor of the Michigan House of Representatives this week. House Bill 4567, sponsored by Rep. O’Malley (R-Lake Ann), and House Bill 4568, sponsored by Rep. Wendzel (R-Watervliet) and House Bill 4569, sponsored by Rep. Lilly (R-Park Township) are all part of this tie-barred three-bill package.

These bills would:

Protect gamefish such as lake trout, walleye and yellow perch from commercial harvest and bycatch. These species are reared and managed through angler and hunter dollars, not commercial fishing monies.
Establish penalties for the taking, possessing and/or selling of specific species. Gamefish unlawfully taken will incur a higher fine.

Require commercial fishing operations to mark and report their nets via GPS to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, who will post these coordinates publically.

Provide funding for the oversight of the operations which will allow conservation officers to carry out their duties of enforcement.

Mandate regular reporting to aid in the scientific management of our fish species.

Use these talking points when contacting your state representative. To find your state representative or to use a pre-populated email, click here!

Please share this message widely with friends and family to ensure Michigan legislators hear our voice.

Sincerely,

Amy Trotter, Executive Director

Michigan United Conservation Clubs

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 4th, 2020, 5:56 pm
by sagbay
All hands on deck now! We need some direct phone calls into the list of undecided Representatives below if you live or fish their area! We have emails into at least 2/3 of all legislators, but we need to get them on the phone now. We also need to keep propping up the Democratic members as well to make sure they don't start vote trading for other priorities.

You can find office phone numbers for all of the State Reps here:

Here's all the phone numbers: http://www.house.mi.gov/MHRPublic/frmRe ... x?all=true

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 5th, 2020, 11:26 am
by sagbay
Email I received back from Rep. Brian Elder, Bay County

Thank you for contacting me about your support of House Bills 4567, 4568, and 4569. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns with me on this important issue.

As an avid sports fisherman myself, I believe that Michigan commercial fishing regulations need to be updated and revised. However, these regulations should also protect gamefish in the Saginaw Bay and Great Lakes. House Bills 4567, 4568, and 4569 were voted favorably out of the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee on February 4. I look forward to voting in favor of them when they come up for a vote in the House of Representatives.

Thank you again for sharing your views with me. I welcome your comments and concerns and appreciate hearing from you. If you have any further concerns you would like to share with me, please feel free to contact me anytime by phone at (866) 737-0096 or by email at brianelder@house.mi.gov.

Sincerely,
Brian K. Elder
State Representative
96th District

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 6th, 2020, 5:18 pm
by sagbay
Game fish, recreational anglers win: House Bills 4567-4569 pass House :thumright:
Game fish are one step closer to swimming away from commercial nets as the Michigan House of Representatives voted to pass House Bills 4567, 4568 and 4569 on Thursday.

The tie-barred, three-bill package aims to codify decades-old statute, keep game fish out of commercial nets, establish penalties for the illegal sale of game fish, require GPS net marking and reporting net locations for commercial anglers and mandate regular harvest reporting to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR).

Since the 1960s, our Great Lakes fisheries have been managed with recreational anglers’ and hunters’ monies. Decades of overharvesting, a lack of regulation and the impacts of invasive species led to the collapse of the Great Lakes fisheries in the 1960s.

MUCC Executive Director Amy Trotter said bringing our commercial fishing regulations into the 21st century is imperative as we look to the future management of our Great Lakes fisheries.

“Modernizing decades-old statute is an important first step in protecting game fish from commercial interests,” Trotter said. “Hunter and angler dollars fund the bulk of fisheries management in our state, and our members have demonstrated they won’t stand for subsiding the commercial industry.”

MUCC and its 40,000 members also would like to thank the bill sponsors: Representatives Lilly (R-Park Township), O’Malley (R-Lake Ann) and Wendzel (R-Watervliet). All three sponsors dug into the issue at hand, spent countless hours talking with stakeholders and poured over the information provided to them.

Lilly spoke on the House floor thanking recreational anglers for their continued support of the resource.

“I’m proud to say Michigan has a vibrant and recovering sport fishery as a direct result of monies collected from the sportfishing community,” Lilly said. “Over the years, recreational anglers have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in the restoration of these species.”

Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC) thanks its members who utilized its grassroots policy process and took direct action by calling or emailing their representative. Your voice made a difference and helped protect Michigan’s game fish. More importantly, your voice helped make clear that recreational anglers will not stand for subsidizing the commercial fishing industry.

Please check the vote count and call to thank your representative if they voted to keep game fish out of commercial nets (yes votes are in green).

The three-bill package now moves to the Michigan Senate. To be notified on activity in the Senate, please click here!

Yours in conservation,
Amy Trotter, Executive Director

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 7th, 2020, 6:56 am
by capt.dan
Checking to see how My Bay City/Essexville State rep voted on this important fishing bill: I see Mr. "Elder" either didn't vote or voted present on these bills. So, checking his duties that day he obviously did abstain or voted present. Because I see he submitted a vastly more important new bill on 2/6/20. HR228: A resolution to declare February 11, 2020, as White Shirt Day in the State of Michigan. What in The "F" is going on in this State with Democratic reps like this and so many others.

BrianElder@house.mi.gov

Rep: Elder. I see these bills past yesterday and I checked to see how you voted on them. I seen you either abstained or were not present to vote on these important bill for your constituents. Yet I also see you weren't to busy to submitted a bill yesterday calling for a State White shirt day on February 11th. You sir, like to the rest of the Democratic PARTY are worthless. I will be posting your conduct on these bills on every fishing board I belong to. Thousand of local fishermen in your district will see it.

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 7th, 2020, 9:48 am
by Hay-Addi
capt.dan wrote:
February 7th, 2020, 6:56 am
Checking to see how My Bay City/Essexville State rep voted on this important fishing bill: I see Mr. "Elder" either didn't vote or voted present on these bills. So, checking his duties that day he obviously did abstain or voted present. Because I see he submitted a vastly more important new bill on 2/6/20. HR228: A resolution to declare February 11, 2020, as White Shirt Day in the State of Michigan. What in The "F" is going on in this State with Democratic reps like this and so many others.

BrianElder@house.mi.gov

Rep: Elder. I see these bills past yesterday and I checked to see how you voted on them. I seen you either abstained or were not present to vote on these important bill for your constituents. Yet I also see you weren't to busy to submitted a bill yesterday calling for a State White shirt day on February 11th. You sir, like to the rest of the Democratic PARTY are worthless. I will be posting your conduct on these bills on every fishing board I belong to. Thousand of local fishermen in your district will see it.
I believe the M Live article said he was absent from this vote. Edit... From what I understand he was on a State Sponsored trip out of the Country.

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 7th, 2020, 10:55 am
by luckoverskill
Even if he was out of country(on our dime), These topics must not be very important to him and obviously he has better things to do than whats important to the people of the state. Politicians are pretty much worthless unless its something that affects them directly. Its hard for a late 30's person like myself to get involved in our government when I see our representatives not getting involved. I will be the first to admit that I'm ignorant to most political issues. Just thinking about it kinda gives me headache. But its easy to just ignore and let someone else handle it. I'm grateful that so many on this forum do get involved so that people like me have a small clue.

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 7th, 2020, 12:56 pm
by Hay-Addi
Not sticking up for the guy, just relaying what I read... I agree!

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 8th, 2020, 8:53 pm
by 386xf
Copied from another site. Not defending him.

He is in Cuba on a State Sponsored Agriculture trip, he would vote Yes but will be absent if voted on this week.


Here is the generic letter i got back from sending request...
Dear Keith,


Thank you for contacting me about your support of House Bills 4567, 4568, and 4569. I appreciate the time you have taken to share your concerns with me on this important issue.


As an avid sports fisherman myself, I believe that Michigan commercial fishing regulations need to be updated and revised. However, these regulations should also protect gamefish in the Saginaw Bay and Great Lakes. House Bills 4567, 4568, and 4569 were voted favorably out of the House Committee on Ways and Means Committee on February 4. I look forward to voting in favor of them when they come up for a vote in the House of Representatives.


Thank you again for sharing your views with me. I welcome your comments and concerns and appreciate hearing from you. If you have any further concerns you would like to share with me, please feel free to contact me anytime by phone at (866) 737-0096 or by email at brianelder@house.mi.gov.


Sincerely,


upload_2020-2-6_12-28-45.png

Brian K. Elder

State Representative

96th District

Re: ACTION ALERT: Keep Game Fish out of Commercial Fishing Nets

Posted: February 8th, 2020, 9:37 pm
by capt.dan
Didn't know he was elected our Cuban delegate to agriculture. Cant wait to see our first crop of sugar cane and pineapples. I hate professional politicians.