Americans are more conscious than ever about properly disposing of, or recycling plastic containers and other materials. The recreational fishing industry, through KeepAmericaFishing®, its grassroots angler advocacy campaign, is asking anglers to add their worn out soft plastic baits
to that list.
While there are many environmental factors that have an impact on lakes and streams, ASA contends that, regarding soft plastic baits, what really exists is a litter problem. As the voice for the recreational fishing industry, ASA and KeepAmericaFishing developed the Pitch It campaign to address this issue, educate anglers on proper disposal methods, and influence a positive change.
“The genesis of the Pitch It campaign was the potential legislative ban on soft plastic baits, and that is its current focus,” said KeepAmericaFishing Director Liz Ogilvie. “However, we would like to extend the campaign beyond soft plastic baits to address trash of any type littering our nation’s waterways.”
Ogilvie also said that ASA and KeepAmericaFishing believe that building awareness and educating anglers is the appropriate action to stop other states that may consider introducing their own legislative actions.
“Our industry has stepped up to take the initiative to tackle this problem head-on and demonstrate that recreational anglers are – as always – the best stewards of our nation’s waterways,” stressed Ogilvie. “In fact, there is a lot of support from the industry on this issue, but special thanks go to the World Fishing Network, Strike King and angling pro Kevin VanDam who were all significant contributors to getting the campaign off the ground.”
In his January 15, blog post, Pitch It supporter Kevin VanDam said, “There’s no excuse for throwing anything in the water that isn’t going to break down immediately. A crusty sandwich is one thing, but old plastics, fishing line or any tackle should be carried to shore at the end of the day. I encourage you to share this information with other fishermen and convince them to keep damaged plastics in their boats until they get to land where it can be disposed of properly. We have to lead by example.”
The Pitch It microsite on www.KeepAmericaFishing.org not only serves as an educational tool, but it also aims to be a repository for recycling programs across the country. “We are hearing about local tackle shops, clubs and even individuals who have started recycling programs for their local area. It’s important that we list them in one place, so anglers can easily find a repository for their disposable tackle,” noted Ogilvie. “Perhaps people will discover an opportunity right around the corner that they never knew about.”
For more information, contact info@keepamericafishing.org or visit the Pitch It microsite at http://www.pledgetopitchit.org/.
The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association committed to representing the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice, speaking out on behalf of sportfishing and boating industries, state and federal natural resource agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups and outdoor journalists when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. ASA invests in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous, as well as safeguard and promote the enduring social, economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also gives America’s 60 million anglers a voice in policy decisions that affect their ability to sustainably fish on our nation’s waterways through KeepAmericaFishing™, our angler advocacy campaign. America’s anglers generate over $48 billion in retail sales with a $115 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for more than 828,000 people.
Contact:
Mary Jane Williamson, Communications Director
mjwilliamson@asafishing.org, 703-519-9691, x227
www.asafishing.org