Not all MPA’s are created equally and there are some situations that may benefit from MPA’s, but “no-fishing” MPA’s in U.S. waters have been shown by fisheries scientists to be ineffective for a variety of reasons.
AFTCO’s Bill Shedd spends much of his personal time working hard towards the goal of conservation and greatly improved fisheries, but he also does this from the perspective of an avid fisherman. He works tirelessly via his conservation organizations and the contributions that AFTCO makes to give back to the fisheries and access to them. He is heavily involved with CCA CAL and Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute and many other organizations with the common goal of improving the natural world while maintaining sportsmen’s access to it.
He knows for a fact that anglers and hunters are the most vital part of caring for and funding the conservation of nature for future generations to enjoy and appreciate.
However, there is another, very vocal and influential group that is lobbying for the restriction of human access to these natural resources. They are well-funded, persuasive, and making a push to close off large percentages of nature to traditional sporting access.
Bill Shedd has written a calm and logical response to their false claims of “science” and lays out actual research that is peer-reviewed and accepted by many in the fishery sciences to be the truth. He offers a path based on science and multi-use management to our already extremely successful management practices in the U.S. Very few fisheries still exist in the U.S. that are considered over-fished thanks to very successful rebuilding programs already in place. He proposes that “no fishing” MPA’s are a detriment to the overall fishery and the ability for user groups to work together for the common goal of continuing to improve our conservation efforts.
Click Here to visit the AFTCO site to read Bill Shedd’s original, in-depth article on the subject.
