[PBangler]

Dan,

I hear what you're saying. Another argument could probably be made that the MSA reauthorization would have been far worse had it passed under a Democratic majority in Washington. I guess my point was people are spending a lot of time thinking if the Republican's were in, we'd be home free and that just isn't the case. Unfortunately, enough legislation was passed in the last reauthorization to cause tremendous damage and this can’t be blamed on Obama.

Had they (the environmentalists) not been appointed, they would have controlled the process (via the new legislation) anyway by simply taking the new MSA “marching orders to NMFS” to court if the councils didn’t comply. That’s been their MO to date.

To me the real problem is how successful the Enviro campaign to convince the masses that all US fisheries are doomed due to overfishing (i.e. Worm study, etc.) has been. Just ask people who don’t fish in this state how our fisheries are doing and most will say they're in trouble. It doesn’t matter whether they’re dems or reps, it’s what they believe. And if that sentiment is within our own state, it’s surely a held belief by many across the country.

Heck, my husband’s own family, when I missed a get together because of attending a fisheries management meeting, asked which side is she on, killing the fish or saving the fish … it never dawned on them that I could be for both!