Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 207, sponsored by the Committee on Natural Resources vice chairman, Congressman Rob Wittman of Virginia. Concerns over shark depredation are increasingly common in the Florida Keys, the Gulf of Mexico, and North Carolina's Outer Banks. Shark interactions can be frustrating for anglers, resulting in loss of catch, damaged gear, and degraded fishing experiences. They also potentially impact the post-release survival of both target fish and bycatch. As the number of reports of shark depredation has increased, the underlying cause remains uncertain. It could be due to an increase in the number of sharks as stocks rebuild, a learned behavior by sharks as they recognize motors, fishing techniques, or shark feeding locations as a source of food. We simply don't have enough information to answer all the questions. To emphasize the scale of this issue, during the consideration of this legislation, we heard from Captain Jack Graham, who fishes out of the renowned Oregon Inlet in North Carolina. Captain Graham has been keeping records of tuna depredation impacting his small marina of about 25 boats. By his estimates, a staggering 250,000 pounds of tuna are depredated each month during tuna season just within his marina.…”