Fishermen Should Be A Political Force

Flying over and driving through Florida last week in search of tarpon, I heard the talk in the tackle shops and at the boat ramps from sportsmen lamenting the condition of that state’s amazing environment, and it occurred to me that we fishermen and hunters are too often entirely detached from how much government impacts and undermines the things that matter most to us.

Most outdoorsmen I know see the role of government in their sporting interests only as the regulator that tells them what they can and can’t catch when and where — and they mostly meet that with annoyance and “Don’t Tread on Me” disdain. And that’s understandable to a certain extent.

But what we don’t see is that by not paying attention to what our government representatives are standing up for — or, more often, NOT standing up for — is where our desire to be allowed and able to catch more fish is actually being undermined. We are duped by things that really have no impact on our lives into supporting people that then are acting against what we care most about, but we aren’t paying attention so we don’t punish them for it.

I drove nearly the length of Florida last week and heard and saw similar stories as I hear and see around here but also the same disconnect among too many fishermen and hunters about how to address their dissatisfaction.

In Tampa fishermen were beset by doom and gloom because 215 million gallons of polluted wastewater from a defunct phosphate mine (Florida is where they mine most of the materials that make the fertilizers that are killing the fish and shellfish in Long Island now too) was released into the Tampa Bay estuary last month and is certain to spark a destructive “red tide” this summer.

In Naples, fishermen at Mike’s Bait House (yes, I bought a hat) were lamenting that they do not see as many snook and tarpon in the canals around the city as they used to, while just a few miles away bulldozers were ripping up another huge swath of untouched Everglades to build a new development of hundreds of luxury homes. The giant grocery store chain Publix was already building a new store on the edge of the swamplands, a sign that the company knows more urban sprawl will quickly surround it.

In northern Key Largo, fishermen groused at the deluge of boats that have packed into their best fishing spots because the fishing in Biscayne Bay — where sewage leaks spark algae blooms that cause regular fish kills, leaving the bonefish, permit and bait species that gamefish rely on littering the coastline nearly every summer — has declined so precipitously.

In Florida, like on Long Island, we fishermen and hunters are a huge cohort. What we want — and should demand — carries a ton of political weight. If we are paying attention to what our elected officials are doing with regard to our interests in the quality of the environment, and let them know it in emails or in our votes each year (this goes for local and national elections) we would see results.

But they distract us with doomsday soothsaying about taxes and immigration and economic stimulus and then they go and do whatever the real estate developers and chemical companies and miners bribe them into doing with campaign contributions. It’s endemic in both political parties and in every state and the only way we fishermen and hunters can combat it is to be aware of what each individual person that we vote for is actually standing up for and what is just lip service. Act locally, please.

Mightily good fishing back here on Long Island. There’s a pick of fluke, lots of porgies and a fairly good scattering of weakfish in the Peconics. There’s some solid stripers being taken mostly from shore in both the bays and the ocean beaches (but mostly in the bays).

Eastern Suffolk Ducks Unlimited will return with its annual waterfowl hunters barbecue at the Water Mill Community Club field house on Sunday, May 23 at 3 p.m.

For the $40 entry fee you’ll get the usual spread of outstanding food hot off the grill and out of the smoker and all the beer and soft drinks you can dig out of the coolers. And then, of course, there will be a lineup of tables piled high with hunting gear, decoys and shotguns to be raffled off to the lucky winners.

All entry tickets must be purchased in advance this year (you can buy raffles in advance or at the party) so if you are interested get a hold of Hunter Tracy ASAP at 631-871-3554 or wehuntli@gmail.com or you can go on the DU web portal ducks.org/new-york and purchase your tickets and hugely discounted raffle packages there.

See you there. Catch ’em up.