Sen. Brown bill bodes of more regulatory crack-down on fishing

Radical Ohio liberal Sen. Sherrod Brown – while a member of House of Representatives, he was also affiliated with the Congressional Progressive Caucus – has introduced legislation to help stop the flow of Asian carp into the Great Lakes, the Ohio River, and its tributaries.

This is his second attempt; a similar bill proposed last session never got out of committee.

What’s interesting about the bill is two-fold: A) Any legislation introduced by the socialist-minded Sherrod is worthy of watch. And B) The Strategic Response to Asian Carp Invasion Act is sure to bring additional regulation on fishing industry folk, at least, and those who live nearby the water bodies, at the worst. What’s the clue of this?

The bill summary states its purpose is “to direct the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, in coordination with the Army Corps of Engineers, the National Park Service, and the United States Geological Survey, to lead a multiagency effort to slow the spread of Asian carp in the Upper Mississippi and Ohio River basins and tributaries, and for other purposes.”

That’s pretty much all the key regulatory land control players – minus the Bureau of Land Management, perhaps. So common sense alone tells Socialist Sherrod plus NPS equals regulatory crack-down on landowners and businesses. The text of the bill isn’t yet posted on the congressional legislative website. 

But a November 2011 Asian Carp Action Plan from the Department of Natural Resources in Minnesota lends truth to the idea that regulations are a-comingt: As part of its carp mitigation plan, the report suggests the DNR “evaluate more restrictive harvest regulations for some species of commercial and sport fish.” The report also recommends DNR agents “monitor commercial fishing catch” and require “commercial operators … to report their catch monthly.”

One more interesting point to note about the nation's carp population: It’s the government’s fault.

According to The News-Messenger: “Ironically, Asian carp were introduced by some of the very governmental agencies now fighting the species, to control algae in aqua-culture operations during the 1970s.”

Brown’s response? “Sometimes we make these mistakes,” he said, in The News-Messenger report.

Oops.

See here: http://www.thenews-messenger.com/article/20130124/NEWS01/301240004/Sherrod-Brown-tries-combat-Asian-carp-again