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Help End Foreign Commercial Overfishing of Billfish
Send a message to your Members of Congress urging them to support the Billfish Conservation Act of 2011. This bill, if passed, will close U.S. commercial markets to Pacific billfish, preventing their harvest and importation. This bill can 'remove marlin from the menu' in the U.S.
It is currently illegal to harvest or import Atlantic-caught billfish into the U.S., but Pacific-caught fish come into U.S. markets in substantial numbers. According to a study commissioned by the IGFA, the U.S. is the world's largest importer of billfish, buying approximately 3 million pounds of marlin in 2006 - or between 10,000 and 15,000 fish a year - for sale in restaurants and grocery stores.
On July 29, both chambers of Congress introduced the Billfish Conservation Act of 2011 (S. 1451 and H.R. 2706), which seeks to close U.S. commercial markets to Pacific billfish, thereby prohibiting the commercial harvest, sale and importation of billfish throughout the U.S.
This legislation, if passed, will have a negligible impact on the commercial fishing industry in the U.S., as billfish represent only 0.1 percent of all seafood sales and many sustainable alternatives exist. The subsequent increase in billfish abundance will add value to the recreational fishery, which annually generates billions of dollars to the economy and has a minimal impact on billfish populations.
The legislation is currently under consideration by Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation and House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs and awaiting further action.
In order to ensure that this important bill is passed, I encourage you to send a message to your Members of Congress today asking them to support the Billfish Conservation Act of 2011. KeepAmericaFishing™ has prepared a message that will go to your Members of Congress electronically. It only takes a minute or two. Just click on this link and follow the instructions at the bottom of the page:
http://keepamericafishing.salsalabs.com/o/6394/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=4039
Thank you for taking the time to help!
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