A Michigan House representative recently introduced a bill that could add a lot of regulations to fishing in Saginaw Bay. This could potentially be a massive obstacle for state licensed commercial fishers in the Saginaw Bay.
House Representative Amos O’Neal introduced House Bill 4212 to Michigan’s House of Representatives on March 12. If passed, the bill would create a number of restrictions for licensed commercial fishers in the Saginaw Bay, and one Saginaw Bay fishery isn’t in support of it at all.
“This bill will put commercial fishermen completely out of business with no other option,” said Bay Port Fish Company owner Lakon Williams. “We’re definitely not in support of the bill. We had no input on the bill, even though it was created for our industry. This bill is a business killer that doesn’t address anything that our industry needs, and it’s doesn’t fix the diminishing number of state licensed commercial fishermen in Michigan since the 1960s. Within the last five years, two more have gone out of business and there were only 13 of us. For over 100 years, at Bay Port Fish, we’ve changed our business strategy over the years multiple times to stay operating. Why can’t they change to include us.”…