A May survey by Southwick Associates asked approximately 2,000 anglers what their responses would be to possible fishing closures of their favorite fishing locales. Nearly all responded they would take defensive action to stop the government closures.

Here is the breakdown of responses from the survey. Seventy-seven percent stated they would e-mail their state or federal representatives to protest the threatened closure, 49 percent said they would write a letter to their representatives and 44 percent said they would telephone their reps.

Thirty-three percent of surveyed anglers said they would be willing to join organized demonstrations and protests. Offshore anglers in the Panhandle were outspoken against a shortened red snapper season in state waters at several Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meetings. The FWC listened and sided with the anglers. Twenty-nine percent stated they would write letters to newspaper editors and 22% said they would visit fishing clubs to get involved in stopping the closure.

Florida anglers and regulators should take heed of the activist attitude of their fellow anglers, as an important ruling is on the chopping block this month. An FWC meeting Thursday, June 12 at 8:30 a.m. at the International Game Fish Association in Dania Beach will decide whether “gill nets” come back to Florida. Commercial netters are asking state authorities to allow seine nets with net mesh larger than two inches back into state waters. You may not lose fishing spots to a closure, but you sure could lose plenty of fish.

It’s up to concerned recreational fishermen to show up in force and tell FWC commissioners that, in 1994, voters mandated there be no gill nets in Florida waters. A gill net is a gill net, no matter what it is called. Check the details here: www.floridasportsman.com/confron/openers/0806.