The Wizard of Oz kickoff appeared inwards film theaters nearly 80 years ago, as well as has since locomote a classic.
In its climactic scene, the heroine Dorothy, along amongst her domestic dog Toto as well as companions the Scarecrow, Tin Man as well as Cowardly Lion, come inwards the domicile of the film’s namesake wizard, who presents himself equally a peachy disembodied caput surrounded past times flames, as well as tries to intimidate the visitors amongst his power.
However, Toto ends upwards pulling aside a drape to reveal that the “great” magician is exactly a conman who uses tricks—smoke as well as mirrors—to create a faux aura of potency.
“Perception is everything. Wars are often won or lost based on how the actors perceive ane another’s strengths as well as weaknesses, non thence much how potent or weak they are inwards reality. So it goes amongst whatsoever agenda item.
“When people feel a shift inwards populace sentiment on an issue, a fair number volition shift correct along amongst what they perceive. Thus, ability elites tin shape behaviors as well as attitudes past times applying diverse techniques of crowd psychology, focused on propaganda as well as silencing dissent.
“The destination production is thought reform, or ‘collective belief formation.’ It’s all most molding your perception of a given number thence your perception volition influence others’ perceptions, creating an ‘opinion cascade.’ Effective propaganda also keeps yous inwards the nighttime most the fact that yous are beingness manipulated.”
Which brings us, the long means around, to the Modern Fish Act, (formally titled the “Modernizing Recreational Fishery Management Act, as well as designated H.R. 2023 inwards the House, amongst provisions incorporated into the even-worse H.R. 200 as well as S. 1520 inwards the Senate).
At its heart, the Modern Fish Act is an endeavor past times the recreational angling as well as boatbuilding industries, abetted past times some anglers’ rights groups, to bag some extra fish from the commercial angling sector, as well as from the future, past times changing the procedure past times which such fish are allocated betwixt commercial as well as recreational fishermen, as well as past times weakening the conservation as well as stock rebuilding provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens FisheryConservation as well as Management Act.
The Modern Fish Act made its formal appearance on Apr 6, 2017, when H.R. 2023 was introduced inwards the House of Representatives, but its proponents—the men behind the drape who guide hold been pulling the levers, setting upwards the mirrors as well as generating all of the fume surrounding the legislation—began to a greater extent than than 2 years before.
Behind the curtain, drafts of a “white paper” setting out its basic principles were beingness circulated past times the slow winter/early bound of 2013; I became aware of the endeavor then, after beingness given a copy, although the ideas were already well-enough developed that it was clear that the piece of occupation had begun some fourth dimension before.
The folks behind the drape were located non inwards the Emerald City, at the palace of Oz, but instead at a grouping called The Center for Sportfishing Policy (then known equally the Center for Coastal Conservation), an organisation formed to detect political solutions to sportfishing issues, which included groups such equally the Coastal Conservation Association (a Texas-based anglers’ rights organization), the American Sportfishing Association (the merchandise association for the recreational angling tackle industry), the International Game Fish Association as well as the National Marine Manufacturers Association amidst its founding members.
The kickoff populace display of fume as well as mirrors came a yr later, at the 2014 Miami Boat Show, when Mike Nussman, president of the American Sportfishing Association, compared a pitcher total of gumballs as well as another, almost completely empty container to demonstrate the divergence betwixt commercial as well as recreational harvest, as well as fence for a novel law. Nussman failed to bring upwards that most of thatcommercial harvest is made upwards of fish of no involvement to anglers, or thatanglers dominate fisheries for many or the species that they truly careabout, including striped bass, bluefish, speckled trout, ruby-red drum as well as others—but, of course, such omissions are a large component subdivision of the fume as well as mirrors trade.
Nussman’s exhibition laid the phase for the unloose of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership report, “A Vision for Managing America’s Saltwater Recreational Fisheries,” which was designed to heighten the illusion.
The study was created past times a “Commission on Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Management,” a cry that conveys the perception of beingness an important, independent trunk impaneled past times someone seeking to detect objective answers to recreational angling issues.
In fact, the "commission" was co-chaired past times Johnny Morris, the main executive officeholder of Bass Pro Shops, a “Sustaining Member” of the Center for Sportfising Policy, as well as Scott Deal, a electrical current manager of the Center for Sportfishing Policy as well as president of Maverick Boats, some other of the Center’s Sustaining Members.
So much for independence…
And, although though the “Vision” study talked a lot most conservation—it uses the discussion twenty-seven times inwards exactly a dozen pages of text pages—says that
“Recreational anglers are to a greater extent than focused on abundance as well as size, construction of the fisheries, as well as opportunities to locomote out on the water,“
than, presumably, on only taking domicile fish, as well as shows a lot of pictures of grin kids as well as families, its take-home message is that the telephone commutation conservation provisions of Magnuson-Stevens, which required annual grab limits as well as deadlines for rebuilding depleted fish populations, had to last weakened or eliminated inwards monastic say to farther the “socio-economic” goal of letting recreational fishermen harvest to a greater extent than fish. Which isn’t most conservation at all.
But equally the essay quoted inwards a higher identify points out, that reality doesn’t matter; it’s the perception that counts.
So press releases extolling the Modern Fish Act frequentlymention conservation, as well as bear witness to conjure upwards all-American images of familiesfishing together, but never seriously verbalize over the impacts of the proposed police push clit on overfishingand overfished stocks. Rosy images sway populace perception far amend than grim as well as gloomy data...
And the Modern Fish Act supporters also require to promote the perception that the entire recreational angling community is behind their endeavor to weaken federal fisheries law. We run across the Center for Sportfishing Policy announcing on its website that
“The Modern Fish Act (included inwards H.R. 200/S. 1520) volition brand critically of import changes to federal angling regulations, including several telephone commutation provisions included inwards both bills that are supported past times a wide coalition of recreational angling as well as boating organizations.”
But when nosotros await at a articulation press unloose disclose past times the Center, praising the Modern Fish Act, nosotros detect that of the nine organizations listed, too the Center itself, five—the Coastal Conservation Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association, International Game Fish Association, American Sportfishing Association as well as The Billfish Foundation—were the Center’s master “Institutional Sustaining Members.” A sixth, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, is a electrical current Sustaining Partner.
The 7th listed organization, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, doesn’t seem to last a fellow member of the Center, but Center president Jeff Angers, is a quondam manager of the foundation, and Pat Murray, president of the Coastal Conservation Association, is both the Secretary of the Foundation as well as a member of the Center for Sportfishing Policy’s Board of Directors.
We run across the same form of thing amongst an 8th organization, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership. It does non look to last a fellow member of the Center, but its board includes Bob Hayes, Chairman of the Center, as well as Mike Nussman, president of the American Sportfishing Association. In addition, CCA, ASA, the International Game Fish Association, The Billfish Foundation, the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation as well as the National Marine Manufacturers Association are all listed equally “Partners” of TRCP.
Only the concluding listed organisation supporting the Modern Fish Act, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, has no connectedness to the Center for Sportfishing Policy, although it did appoint the legislative counsel for the National Marine Manufacturers Association to its board.
Thus, what the Center for Sportfishing Policy wants legislators to perceive equally a “broad coalition” is, in ane lawsuit yous await behind the curtain, a really minor as well as really incestuous somebody club.
Anglers, as well as angler-related businesses who don’t back upwards the Modern Fish Act require to allow their legislators know that that the niggling somebody club, despite its science at illusion, does non speak for them.
One angling tackle merchandise organization, the American Fly Fishing Trade Association, has already come upwards out amongst a clear policy statement, supporting an effective Magnuson-Stevens Act that conserves as well as rebuilds marine fish stocks, as well as opposing
“measures that would compromise the scientific as well as conservation principles currently inwards the police push clit that guide hold led to the recovery of fish populations.”
Such a tilt makes it abundantly clear that non all of the angling tackle manufacture wants to weaken federal fisheries law.
Now it’s upwards to the residuum of us to arrive clear that recreational fishermen, too, tin intend for themselves, as well as don’t only trip the calorie-free fantastic when the men behind the drape select to line on their strings.
Behind The Drape Of The Modern Fish Act
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