Fish And Game Commission Meeting Canceled Amid Chaotic Response
California Fish and Game Commission Emergency Meeting Will be Rescheduled for Next Week https://t.co/GJsSAAtutw pic.twitter.com/uGVF9Oz9RH
— California Department of Fish and Wildlife (@CaliforniaDFW) April 9, 2020
The California Fish and Game Commission scheduled an open meeting to discuss the possibility of suspending fishing in the state. To put it lightly, the meeting did not go well. https://t.co/Tx52AXOkB7
— Active NorCal (@ActiveNorCal) April 9, 2020
So there you have it. The possibility of imposing statewide fishing closures was to be part of a scheduled emergency meeting with the California Fish and Game Commission this morning. But the meeting delved into chaos. Sacramento BeeĀ reporter Ryan Sabalow summed up what was going on perfectly with this play by play of the insanity.
This Fish and Game Commission meeting: 500-plus people on a conference call. 3 minutes so far of "PLEASE MUTE YOUR PHONES."
— Ryan Sabalow (@RyanSabalow) April 9, 2020
"I HAVE A RIGHT TO SPEAK!"
"FASCISTS!"
"YOU CANCEL; WE'RE JUST COMING BACK."
— Ryan Sabalow (@RyanSabalow) April 9, 2020
Now someone is broadcasting a sermon.
— Ryan Sabalow (@RyanSabalow) April 9, 2020
For now, the closures and restrictions that were previously announced remain in play. And for now fishing in general has not banned, so there are opportunities to go out and fish (hopefully while utilizing social distancing. But clearly there will more deliberation from state officials when they meet again, particularly with the looming April 25 statewide trout opener still in question. It’s just unclear how the next meeting will go, as this one went poorly.
James Stone, executive director of the NorCal Guides and Sportsmen’s Association, offered a lot of pertinent information in this Facebook live video:
https://www.facebook.com/NorCalSportsmenAssociation/videos/219689275924425/