Michigan's 4 billion dollar Sport Fishery is Under Attack

[EdB]

This is a very important call to action to stop 2 bills, HB5801 and HB5802, that will allow state licensed commercial fishers to catch and sell walleye, perch, lake trout and other sport fish.

House Bills 5801 and 5802 have just been introduced in Lansing. These bills would significantly deregulate and expand commercial fishing and open the door to harvesting and selling species like walleye, perch, lake trout and other sport fish from the Great Lakes. Use of gill nets and trawling would be allowed.

Michigan is home to a world-class walleye fishery in Saginaw Bay, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and Lake Erie. Anglers travel from across the state-and the entire country-to fish these waters. This isn't just recreation-it's a major economic engine supporting thousands of small businesses: charter operators, marinas, hotels, restaurants, tackle shops, gas stations and more.

We've seen this before. Lake trout were commercially fished to near extinction in Lakes Michigan and Huron. It took 60 years of taxpayer-funded restoration to bring them back-and they still rely on hatcheries. Walleye and perch followed a similar path: depleted, rebuilt, and now at risk again. Perch populations are low in many places in the Great Lakes. Opening these fisheries to commercial harvest risks undoing decades of progress. Around the world, poorly managed commercial fishing has repeatedly ruined fisheries.

Public safety concerns are real. Expanding commercial netting increases navigation hazards across heavily traveled waters for both anglers and recreational boaters out for a cruise. Entanglements have caused serious accidents-and even fatalities.

Today, Michigan has a relatively small number of commercial fishers-but more than ONE MILLION recreational anglers. These bills would shift access to a shared public resource away from the many and toward a select few, putting thousands of livelihoods at risk.

Even more concerning: a large number of House legislators have signed on as sponsors. There are 60 co-sponsors which is a majority needed to pass these bills in the Michigan House of Representatives.

Now is the time to speak up. Share this email with everyone in your organization, family and friends.
Contact your state representative. Call or email their office and tell them:
* You oppose HB 5801 and 5802
* You support protecting Michigan's sport fisheries
* You urge them to withdraw support and vote NO
Our Great Lakes fisheries belong to all of us. Let's protect them.

We are also building a list of organizations and businesses who oppose HB5801 and HB5802 that we will present to legislators.  If you can add your organization to this list, email - [email protected] 

You can find your representative and their contact information here:  https://www.michiganvotes.org/legislators

Sponsors
* Jason Morgan (District 23)
* David Prestin (District 108)
* Gregory Alexander (District 98)
* Cameron Cavitt (District 106)
* John Roth (District 104)
* Karl Bohnak (District 109)
* Parker Fairbairn (District 107)
* Ken Borton (District 105)
* Pat Outman (District 91)
* Gregory Markkanen (District 110)
* Jason Woolford (District 50)
* Angela Rigas (District 79)
* Jerry Neyer (District 92)
* Brian BeGole (District 71)
* Kathy Schmaltz (District 46)
* Matt Bierlein (District 97)
* Douglas Wozniak (District 59)
* Luke Meerman (District 89)
* Tom Kunse (District 100)
* Gina Johnsen (District 78)
* Matt Maddock (District 51)
* Nancy DeBoer (District 86)
* Matt Longjohn (District 40)
* Alicia St. Germaine (District 62)
* Jaime Greene (District 65)
* Jay DeBoyer (District 63)
* Bradley Slagh (District 85)
* Bryan Posthumus (District 90)
* William Bruck (District 30)
* Mike McFall (District 14)
* Reggie Miller (District 31)
* Stephen Wooden (District 81)
* Julie Rogers (District 41)
* Erin Byrnes (District 15)
* Peter Herzberg (District 25)
* Carol Glanville (District 84)
* Penelope Tsernoglou (District 75)
* Sharon MacDonell (District 56)
* Jimmie Wilson (District 32)
* Jennifer Conlin (District 48)
* Jasper Martus (District 69)
* Julie Brixie (District 73)
* Brenda Carter (District 53)
* Veronica Paiz (District 10)
* Noah Arbit (District 20)
* Tonya Phillips (District 7)
* Dylan Wegela (District 26)
* Morgan Foreman (District 33)
* Kara Hope (District 74)
* Kelly Breen (District 21)
* Natalie Price (District 6)
* Samantha Steckloff (District 19)
* Donavan McKinney (District 11)
* Matt Koleszar (District 22)
* Tim Kelly (District 93)
* Ron Robinson (District 58)
* Jennifer Wortz (District 35)
* Nancy Jenkins-Arno (District 34)
* David Martin (District 68)

If we can generate 100s to 1000s of emails and calls to vote no on HB 5801 and HB 5802, we can stop these bad bills.  Do it right now!