‘The Modern Fish Act’ passed and introduced by Senator Wicker

Senator Roger Wicker brought multiple acts to law before the start of new Congress, one that will significantly help recreational fishermen.

“The Modern Fish Act,’ originally proposed by Wicker, recognizes in federal law the separation of commercial and recreational fishing. This new law seeks to resolve some of the problems faced by anglers when trying to follow guidelines.

These guidelines can shorten recreational fishing season substantially. ‘The Modern Fish Act’ is the starting point to change these guidelines so they don’t unnecessarily restrict recreational fishermen.

Data will be collected from recreational anglers to help set these new guidelines. Coast fishermen see this as a very positive step forward for anglers. Mississippi Gulf Coast Billfish Classic Director Bobby Carter said, “The bill that Wicker passed, I think, is going to really help out the local recreational fishermen, whereas before we were always compared to the commercial fishermen. I’ll give you an example, you have hundreds of thousands of recreational fishermen versus several hundred commercial fishermen. So it really wasn’t fair for the recreational fishermen to be judged based on commercial. So now with the data that’s going to be provided to the DMR so locals can give a more hand on you know what regulations they can set for the recreational fishermen.”

Carter hopes this data that is collected alongside longer seasons will show the vast fishing opportunities on the Gulf Coast and lead to more business for tackle shops and local fishing tournaments.