Morlock fears that "what we're seeing coming at us is an attempted dismantling of the science-based fish and wildlife model that has served us so well. There's no basis in science for the agendas of these groups who are trying to push the public out of being able to fish and recreate.
ESPNOutdoors.com inadvertently contributed to a flare-up Tuesday when we posted the latest article in a series of stories on President Barack Obama's newly created Ocean Policy Task Force, a column written by Robert Montgomery, a conservation writer for BASS since 1985. Regrettably, we made several errors in the editing and presentation of this installment. Though our series has included numerous news stories on the topic, this was not one of them -- it was an opinion piece, and should have been clearly labeled as commentary.
And while our series overall has examined several sides of the topic, this particular column was not properly balanced and failed to represent contrary points of view. We have reached out to people on every side of the issue and reported their points of view -- if they chose to respond -- throughout the series, but failed to do so in this specific column.
This series started in October and has included several updates on how the creation of the task force and its actions could impact recreational anglers. ESPNOutdoors.com should have made it clear to all readers that this was part of a larger series, and -- even though this was Montgomery's opinion, and those of the sources quoted in the column -- we should have taken more care to fairly represent opposing arguments.
We do feel it is our duty to cover issues surrounding outdoor sports to the best of our abilities, and given the nature of this task force and the potential impact on all fisherman, this was an appropriate topic to address for our audience. We take seriously the tenets of journalism that require we take an unbiased approach, and when we make mistakes in the presentation of a story or a column, it is our responsibility to admit them.
Any confusion on that part rests entirely on my shoulders as the executive editor of this site.
We have appended the original column to note that it was in fact a commentary, and we will institute more rigorous editing safeguards in order to prevent such issues in the future.
Remember when he appointed thar redical jerk oof to head the interior department, he is anti everything that involves hunting and sport fishing. Fricking birds of a feather.
Makes me think of starting an operation raising fish. How hard could it be or did commercial fisherman lobby the government to restrict me from doing it? Wouldn't surprise me if something like that didn't happen.
That Snopes article says "issues such as industrial overharvesting or other fishing practices (both commercial and recreational) that threaten or endanger particular species of fish are matters of consideration by the task force." So, "nothing to do with recreational fishing at all" isn't quite accurate. Also, what exactly is included in "commercial fishing"? Would that include things like renting a boat and a guide to fish for sailfish or marlin off cabo? Or does it only include, for example, trawlers scooping up tons of fish for McDonald's fish sandwiches?
That Snopes article says "issues such as industrial overharvesting or other fishing practices (both commercial and recreational) that threaten or endanger particular species of fish are matters of consideration by the task force."
Thanks, Ipsy. We will know for sure if Wal-Mart stops selling fishooks because they have been banned.
Thanks, Ipsy. We will know for sure if Wal-Mart stops selling fishooks because they have been banned.
I think someone misread the original ESPN article, which I read when it first came out. I'm not sure it said that an across the board ban on recreational fishing was a likely outcome. It did speak about groups pressing the need to "balance" shared use of common assets. Call me cynical and jaded, but when I hear that coming from the Obama administration, always ready to turn an attentive ear to PETA and the Sierra Club, sure, I jump to conclusions and wonder, what might be the effects on recreational fishing on Lake Michigan, or the public lands of the west. Frankly, this didn't clear anything up for me, and I am not comforted. As it happens, I am not a fisherman -- or at least not a very ardent fisherman -- so I could give a ch1t about fishing. But I am an avid hunter, and it seems like a short step to adjusting and modulating the balance of shared use of common water resources to the adjusting and modulating the balance of shared use of commonl public land resources -- such as national park lands where I like to elk hunt.
Looks like Obama wants to stop you from fishing?
