Boat U.S. - January 2009 - (Page 54)

macy to the international provisions of the 2006 Magnuson-Stevens Act, and other environmental treaties, to take actions that will force international fishery-management organizations and member nations to finally meet their legal and ethical obligations and address the devastating problem of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.” To American fishermen, this means that our efforts to preserve sustainable bluefin tuna stocks could have a better chance of working, and that our sacrifices to the future may be borne more fairly among all fishermen. A Rising Tide Lifts All Boats “While we’re not looking to President Obama for boating policy,” said Richard Schwartz, BoatU.S.’s chairman and founder. “We do need him to fix our economy, which will increase the confidence of the American people. If he can make big strides in this regard, Americans will feel comfortable to again invest their time and focus in boating.” The NMMA’s Matt Dunn agrees: “President-Elect Obama has talked, we think rightly, about shoring up the middle class in this country.” Contrary to the stereotype of boaters as the rich few, Dunn stresses that the average boater makes less than $100,000 a year, is that middle-class target, and should benefit from an Obama presidency. Dunn sees the U.S. boatbuilding industry as one composed almost entirely of small businesses or medium-sized businesses that employ mostly middle-class Americans throughout the country in facilities and plants that are the bedrock of their communities. BoatU.S. Magazine January 2009 “[Obama] is interested in helping American businesses, and providing an infusion of U.S. dollars into public-works projects, including both land and water infrastructure projects, which we think would be a really good idea.” Dunn said he expected Obama to make “job creation and the issue of economic relief a top priority, and that he’ll recognize the recreational boating industry as primarily an American manufacturing industry,” said Dunn. Dunn was optimistic: “My view is that Mr. Obama probably has a favorable outlook with respect to the sporting community and the U.S. marine manufacturing industry.” The president-elect, who grew up with a passion for spearfishing, swimming, and snorkeling in his native Hawaii, and has said he’d love to learn to fly fish some day, has a deep appreciation for our marine environment. Hope and change were the big themes of his campaign, and so it’s in that spirit of hope that we’ll look forward to one administration’s changes toward balance between our free and public access to water, and our collective stewardship of that magic environment for the generations beyond our own. BoatU.S. Magazine will check back in a few months to see how it’s all going. In the meantime the Association will be on watch in Washington, taking care that boaters’ needs are being met as policies are formed. “Trust but verify,” as the Gipper used to say. Tim Murphy is an independent book editor, and the former executive editor of Cruising World magazine, living in Portsmouth, Rhode Island.

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Boat U.S. - January 2009

BoatU.S. - January 2009 Contents At The Helm Reader Forum BoatU.S. Reports Brokerage Boats Invasion Of The Access Snatchers Don’t Move A Mussel Tech Connection BoatsGearWheels A Defect And Its Aftermath Obama Onboard? Fast-Water Fly-Fishing How I Got That Shot A Loop Through The Heartland Why Boats Sink At The Dock Install Your Own Trim Tabs BoatU.S. Exchange At Your Service/Mbr. Benefits

Boat U.S. - January 2009

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