[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 135 (Wednesday, October 25, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Page S10999]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. BREAUX (for himself, and Mrs. Hutchison):
  S. 3234. A bill to protect the public's ability to fish for sport, 
and for other purposes, to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
Transportation.


                        the freedom to fish act

  Mr. BREAUX. Mr. President, I rise today to send to the desk a bill 
that is called the Freedom to Fish Act. The legislation cosponsored by 
Senator Hutchison addresses an unsettling situation arising over access 
to our nation's public coastal resources. I understand that it is very 
late in the session to be introducing new legislation, but I believe 
this matter is significantly important to require immediate 
recognition. There is a growing movement to limit the use and enjoyment 
of America's coastal and ocean waters. This restriction of public 
access is occurring under the guise of the establishment of marine 
protected areas. Many in the environmental community are lauding the 
creation of these undersea national parks as the silver bullet solution 
to our over-exploited fisheries and degraded habitat. The bill I am 
introducing today aims to correct a system that would unfairly penalize 
our nation's approximately ten million marine recreational anglers. For 
while I support the goal of healthy marine fisheries, I disagree 
strongly with any method that unnecessarily limits our citizens' access 
to public waters.
  I believe that my record clearly indicates my dedication to 
protecting and improving the health of our oceans and coasts. However, 
I believe that restricting public access to those waters is not the 
appropriate vehicle for accomplishing that goal in most cases. The 
notion of a marine park is certainly not new, having its origins in 
successful land management practices. The establishment of wildlife 
refuges, national parks and forests has shown clear benefits to the 
natural species living on those lands and fresh waters. However, in the 
transfer from the land to the marine waters one very important aspect 
of the protected area has been neglected. While sport fishing is nearly 
universally accepted throughout this nation's terrestrial parks, and 
wilderness areas, those advocating the use of marine parks take pains 
to specifically restrict the access of recreational anglers. This seems 
ironic to me, as an increasing number of recreational anglers practice 
catch and release fishing and all contribute money to their state's 
fish and game departments through the payment of license fees and 
taxes. I believe these anglers to be among this nation's first 
conservationists and their contributions to the resource need to be 
recognized.
  In response to criticism and attacks against our Nation's sportsmen 
and women, I introduce the Freedom to Fish Act. The act establishes 
guidelines and safeguards by which the public's right to use and enjoy 
these resources is preserved in all but the most serious cases. It 
provides assurances that the angling public will have a place at the 
table when decisions are made regarding their use of the resource. 
Second, the Freedom to Fish Act will ensure that recreational anglers 
will be prohibited from an area only when they have been shown to be 
causing significant adverse effects on that fishery resource. Further, 
should prohibitions be justified, this bill prevents areas larger than 
scientifically necessary from being closed. In those cases, criteria 
will be established so that once certain goals have been reached, the 
area will reopen to the public immediately. Restricting public 
admission to our coastal waters should not be our first course of 
action, but rather our last resort. Open access to fishing is the 
single most important element of recreational fishing. We must defend 
public access against those that would try to restrict it under the 
cloak of marine resource protection. With that, I submit the Freedom to 
Fish Act for your review and discussion.
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