Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I rise today to urge support for my bill, H.R. 207, the Supporting the Health of Aquatic systems through Research Knowledge and Enhanced Dialogue Act, also known as the SHARKED Act. As a lifelong recreational fisherman, I am particularly passionate about this bill. Picture this: A charter boat fisherman takes an excited group of anglers 90 miles off the coast in hopes of reeling in a bluefin tuna, tarpon, or other big game species. One of the individuals hooks the first fish and starts to fight to reel it in, but before the fish ever gets to the boat, sharks have bitten and eaten the fish. This phenomenon is called depredation, which occurs when sharks interfere with fishing activities. It is essentially a massive impact on the coastal recreational fishing industry, especially the charter industry. Shark depredation is accepted as a natural part of fishing, but it has become a widespread issue in our waters and has increased rapidly in recent years. During the House Natural Resources Committee hearing for the SHARKED Act last year, we heard from experts discussing the impact of this phenomenon. According to the American Sportfishing Association, 52.4 million people went fishing in the United States in 2023, supporting 826,000 jobs and contributing $129 billion to the economy.…”