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Sportfishing Industry Mourns the Passing of Burt Steinberg
On behalf of the board of directors, its members and staff, we extend our sincere condolences to the Steinberg family on the passing of Burt Steinberg, one of the great unsung heroes of the sportfishing industry who passed away on February 24, after a long battle with kidney disease. The American Sportfishing Association owes Burt a debt of gratitude for the decades of time and effort he invested in ensuring the association and the sportfishing industry thrived and prospered. Burt served on many committees, including the Show Committee, and also served as Board of Directors Chairman during some difficult times for the association when he provided wise counsel and sound business advice. In 2010, ASA awarded Burt the Norville Prosser Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest award we have, and also made him a Board of Directors member with emeritus status. Burt’s family held a private service for him in Springfield, Mo. If you would like to make a contribution in his name or leave a note for the family, please go to the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home website at www.gormanscharpf.com.
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Cast Away in Costa Rica Helps to Grow KeepAmericaFishing™
On March 1, KeepAmericaFishing, along with its partners and ASA members Pure Fishing and Crocodile Bay Resort, launched Cast Away in Costa Rica to offer anglers a fishing adventure in Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica, that focuses on saltwater conservation. The sweepstakes is leveraged to attract anglers to join KeepAmericaFishing. Anglers can sign up online at www.keepamericafishing.org/castaway or www.facebook.com/keepamericafishing. Entries must be received by April 1, 2012. We also thank North American Fisherman, GAFF Magazine, GoFISHn and the National Marine Manufacturers Association for their promotional assistance.
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Community Defeats Efforts to Ban Lead Fishing Tackle
On February 14, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its decision to reject a second petition to ban lead in all fishing tackle. The petition, which was submitted on November 16, 2011, by the Center for Biological Diversity and two other groups, requested that the EPA study and ultimately ban lead in fishing tackle on all U.S. waters under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). ASA submitted extensive comments on the unwarranted petition and encouraged members of the sportfishing industry and angling public to express their opposition through KeepAmericaFishing™. This most recent attempt to federally ban lead fishing tackle came on the heels of the EPA’s November 2010 decision to dismiss a similar petition submitted by the same groups. The 2010 decision is currently being challenged in court by the petitioners. In April 2011, legislation was introduced in Congress that seeks put a stop to these onerous petitions. To legislation is now part of a larger package of sportsmen’s legislation, which you can learn about in the following paragraph. To support this legislation, visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org. For more information, read ASA’s press release.
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New Legislation Addresses Major Threats to Recreational Fishing
On February 27, Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) introduced the Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 (H.R. 4089) with the support of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus leadership. This legislative package addresses two very significant threats to recreational fishing: attempts to ban lead fishing tackle and loss of access to public lands. The Sportsmen’s Heritage Act of 2012 includes language from the Hunting, Fishing and Recreational Shooting Sports Protection Act, which seeks to prevent a federal ban on lead in recreational fishing tackle and will ensure that any future regulations on fishing tackle are established based on scientific fact instead of unjustified, unsubstantiated petitions. The bill also includes language that will increase access to angling, hunting and recreational shooting on federal lands by prioritizing these activities within agencies' land management plans. ASA encourages all members to contact their Members of Congress in support of this legislation through www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.
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Anglers Help to Save CA Striped Bass from Devastating Regulation
During its February 2 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission voted unanimously not to pursue changing striped bass sport fishing regulations that would result in an overall decrease in striped bass populations. The proposed changes arose from a 2008 lawsuit that claimed that striped bass are "harming" native species. This claim ignored the devastating impacts that increased water diversions for agricultural irrigation in California's Central Valley are having on recreational salmon fishing and businesses that depend on the delta's fishery. Instead of addressing the real threats to salmon and delta smelt by reducing irrigation rates, the Central Valley's water contractors shifted the blame to striped bass. KeepAmericaFishing™ called upon anglers to voice their concerns over unwarranted striped bass regulations, which caused hundreds of messages to be sent to the commission and helped to defeat these onerous regulations.
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California Conservationist Unfairly Attacked for Legal Hunt
Dan Richards, president of the California Fish and Game Commission and an avid angler, hunter and friend to sportsmen and women, is being unfairly attacked by extreme environmental and animal rights organizations for taking part in a legal cougar hunt in Idaho. Richards has consistently been a voice of reason throughout the flawed Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) initiative - a controversial program that threatens sportfishing in California and the businesses and 20,000 jobs that depend on it - by unnecessarily closing large areas of the ocean to recreational fishing. Legislative action is being considered to forcibly remove Richards from the commission. ASA encourages all members of the sportfishing community to send a message to the California legislature expressing support for Commissioner Dan Richards and urges them to oppose any measure that would remove him from the Commission.
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Community Challenges New Cape Hatteras Management Plan
On January 23, the National Park Service (NPS) announced the final rule for the management of off-road vehicle (ORV) use at Cape Hatteras National Seashore Recreation Area, which closes extensive areas of the seashore to the public and severely limits ORV access, far outweighing what is needed to address resource protection. In early February, the Cape Hatteras Access Preservation Alliance filed suit challenging the NPS issuance of the new management plan and the special rule regulating ORV use at the seashore. The lawsuit seeks to prohibit the NPS from imposing severe new restrictions on ORV use within the Recreational Area in accordance with the agency’s recently released Cape Hatteras ORV Management Plan/Final Environmental Impact Statement and Special Regulations governing ORV management at the Recreational Area. For more information, read the press release.
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Efforts to Designate Striped Bass as Game Fish in Massachusetts
Legislation (H.260) has been introduced in the Massachusetts House of Representatives that seeks to designate striped bass as a game fish in state waters. By designating this species as a game fish, striped bass will be managed solely as recreational fish for the use and enjoyment of the public and will not be available for commercial harvest and sale. Game fish designation for striped bass will result in an enhanced recreational fishing experience and greater economic benefits for the state, while having a negligible effect on the state’s commercial fishing industry. Similar measures in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Maine and many other states have resulted in healthier and more abundant fish populations in their waters with the associated economic benefits. To support this legislation, send a message to the Massachusetts legislature today.
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New Hampshire Anglers Face Expanded Lead Fishing Tackle Ban
The New Hampshire State Senate introduced legislation (SB 224) to expand current restrictions on the use of lead sinkers and jigs in state waters by banning the use of any lead jig weighing one ounce or less. An expanded ban on lead fishing tackle in New Hampshire will have a significant negative impact on the state's recreational anglers and fisheries resources, but a negligible impact on the waterfowl populations that it seeks to protect. The SB 224 is not clear whether it seeks to ban sinkers and jigs or any fishing lure weighted with lead one ounce or less - this could mean virtually all small fishing lures, including flies. For more information and/or to take action against SB 224, visit www.KeepAmericaFishing.org.
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Register Now for ICAST 2012
Registration is open for exhibitors and attendees for ICAST 2012 being held July 11 – 13, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. The improved registration process means you can register and make your hotel reservations at the same time. If you attended ICAST 2011, you should have received an email from Experient, our registration company, with your 2011 user name and password which you’ll need to start the ICAST 2012 registration process. If you did not receive this email, contact Experient at ASA-ICAST@experient-inc.com, or call 301-694-5243.
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POMA/ASA Homer Circle Award Nominations Being Accepted
The Professional Outdoor Media Association is accepting nominations for the POMA/ASA Homer Circle Fishing Communicator Award. The award recognizes a journalist who exemplifies the spirit, dedication to fishing, extraordinary talent, and commitment to mentoring the next generation of sportfishing communicators as displayed by outdoor journalist legend Homer Circle during his storied career. To submit your nomination, go to the POMA website.
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Marine and Anadromous Fish Habitat Restoration Proposals due April 30
The FishAmerica Foundation and the NOAA Restoration Center are accepting proposals for community-based habitat restoration projects across coastal America, the Great Lakes region, and U.S. Territories of the Caribbean. Projects in the Great Lakes must restore habitat for diadromous sportfish such as lake sturgeon, walleye, and brook trout in the Great Lakes and applicable tributaries. Project proposals should focus on meaningful on-the-ground restoration of marine, estuarine and riparian habitats, including salt marshes, mangrove forests, and freshwater habitats important to anadromous fish species such as salmon and striped bass that migrate to and from the sea. Non-profit organizations including sporting clubs and conservation associations are encouraged to apply for funding. Interested organizations can find the application packet at www.FishAmerica.org.
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A Message from ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman
There are certain people who pass through our lives whose friendship, wise counsel and keen business advice will never be forgotten. Burt Steinberg was one of those people. Burt, who was one of the great unsung heroes of the sportfishing industry and the entire sportfishing community, passed away on February 24, after a long battle with kidney disease. He was always concerned about you as a person first. Business came second.
Like many men of his generation, I knew that Burt had spent time in the Army before starting a long and respected business career in outdoor sports, but there was much more to Burt Steinberg that helped shape the man he became that many of us never knew.
Burt began life in a New York City orphanage, however, he went onto become a professional boxer starting in high school to help pay the taxes on the family farm. He had a winning career before joining the Army in 1948 where he saw service in Korea. His honors include the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts along with many other campaign badges acknowledging his service to our country.
Once he left military service, Burt began his long and dedicated career in the outdoor sporting goods industry. Everyone who knew him, and even those who did not, were touched by his leadership and keen business sense as he helped launch and grow several businesses dedicated to recreational fishing. He graced everyone with his wit, intelligence and knowledge of a wide-range of subjects. Burt was never too busy to offer sound counsel and advice which helped earn him the respect of our industry like few others ever did.
The American Sportfishing Association owes Burt a debt of gratitude for the decades of time and effort he invested in ensuring the association and the sportfishing industry thrived and prospered. Burt served on many committees, including the Show Committee and served as Board of Directors Chairman during some difficult times for the association, providing wise counsel to help us do the right thing to ensure our collective future.
In 2010, ASA awarded Burt the Norville Prosser Lifetime Achievement Award, the highest award we have, and also made him a Board of Directors member with emeritus status. It was the very least we could do for this outstanding individual.
We send our sincere condolences to Burt’s wife, Ann, daughter Jessica and the entire Steinberg family. Burt’s family held a private service for him in Springfield, Mo. If you would like to make a contribution in his name or leave a note for the family, please go to the Gorman-Scharpf Funeral Home website at www.gormanscharpf.com.
I ask that you please take a few moments to reflect on the life of this outstanding man.
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