Official Site of the Southern Kingfish Association

TIME TO PUT UP A FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!!

You may be aware that several SKA members, as well as fishermen fishing with other organizations, or just traveling to and from their local boat ramps for a Sunday outing, have been stopped and sometimes detained for hours by State Troopers who seem to have targeted anyone who can afford to own a boat. Fines levied have been extreme and many fishermen have taken quite a beating from the overzealous officers who seem enjoy making everyone’s life miserable.

We have spent lots of time looking into what the SKA can do to make any kind of change to this unwarranted harassment. Both Jack and I have made dozens of calls to state and federal agencies that have any kind of jurisdiction over this problem. You can talk to five different individuals at the same location and get five different answers. No one even tries to help with the problem. The only thing that stays the same at the federal level is that they all say that if you are fishing for a prize of any kind then you are considered to be a commercial enterprise and so you are subject to USDOT regulations if your vehicle gross weight is over 10,001 pounds. That means that you have to apply and display a USDOT number, stop at all weigh stations, and keep log books when you travel. State governments can’t legally deviate from these regulations for fear of losing federal funding but many states consider our sport as recreation and look the other way when we drive by.

Any change that will help clear up this problem will have to be made at the federal level.

Attached is a letter that you can copy and send to your state senators and representatives and Secretary of Transportation, Mary E. Peters and also to the two transportation sub-committee leaders listed below. From my conversations with many different people in Washington, they all have said that 10,000 letters can make everyone involved with these regulations take a good look at making a change. Also attached is a list of U.S. Senators as well as a link to get the information on your U.S. Representative. Get all your friends and neighbors involved and have them help us make a change.

I have spoken with several of our members who have already talked with local and state leaders to put the pressure on them to help make this problem go away. Many thanks go to you guys. Please keep up the good work.

If you have any other ideas that can help alleviate this problem, please email me at rkflocken@FishSKA.com

Together, with lots of letters and a little luck, we can get this legislation changed.

Thanks!

Bob Flocken
Operations Director
Southern Kingfish Association
rkflocken@fishska.com

Click Here to Download the Letter

Adobe Acrobat Reader Required

Send your letters to the following:

Mary E. Peters
Secretary of Transportation
U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590
(866) 377-8642
http://www.dot.gov

United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation
Sub Committee on Interstate Commerce Chairman and Minority Leader:

Senator Bryan Dorgan	Senator Jim DeMint
(Democrat North Dakota)	(Republican, South Carolina)
United States Senate	United States Senate
322 Hart, Senate Office Bldg	340 Russell
Washington DC 20510	Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2551	Phone: (202) 224-6121
Fax: (202) 224-1193	Fax: (202) 228-5143
http://dorgan.senate.gov	http://demint.senate.gov

List of Senators by State:

ALABAMA
Jeff Sessions (R) 335 RUSSEL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-4124 www.sessions.senate.gov	Richard Selby (R) 110 HART SENATED OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5744 www.shelby.senate.gov
FLORIDA
Mel Martinez (R) 356 RUSSEL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3041 www.martinez.senate.gov	Bill Nelson (D) 716 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5274 www.nelson.senate.gov
GEORGIA
Saxby Chambliss (R) 416 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3521 www.chambliss.senate.gov	Johnny Isakson (R) 120 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3521 www.isakson.senate.gov
LOUISIANA
Mary Landrieu (D) 724 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5824 www.landrieu.senate.gov	David Vitter (R) 516 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-4623 www.vitter.senate.gov
MISSISSIPPI
Thad Cochran (R) 113 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5054 www.cochran.senate.gov	Roger Wicker (R) WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6253
NORTH CAROLINA
Richard Burr (R) 217 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-3154 www.burr.senate.gov	ELIZABETH DOLE (R) 555 DIRKSEN SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6342 www.dole.senate.gov
SOUTH CAROLINA
Jim DeMint (R) 340 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-6121 www.demint.senate.gov	Lindsey Graham (R) 290 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5972 www.lgraham.senate.gov
TEXAS
John Cornyn (R) 517 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-2934 www.cornyn.senate.gov	Kay Bailey Hutchison (R) 284 RUSSELL SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510 (202) 224-5922 www.hutchison.senate.gov

The following is a link to find your U.S Representative—Make sure to send him a letter also:

Yahoo Directories: List of Congressional Representatives by State

PRESS RELEASE: FEBRUARY 01, 2008

TIME TO PUT UP A FIGHT FOR WHAT IS RIGHT!!

Send your letters to the following:

List of Senators by State:

More Press Releases and Articles