Franklin County commissioners are throwing their support behind a move to have a Florida representative on the US House Natural Resources Committee. The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee oversees all saltwater fisheries and wildlife issues for the U.S. House of Representatives. Forty-nine representatives out of the 435-member House serve on the committee. California has seven seats on it and all of the U.S. territories sit on it. But of the seven coastal states in the Southeast, Florida is one of four states that do not have a seat. The issue was raised last month by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission chairman Rodney Barreto who pointed out that as the only US state that borders both the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico, Florida has a major stake in promoting wise management of fisheries in these regions. Recreational saltwater fishing alone has a $5.3 billion impact on Florida's economy, and 54,500 jobs depend on it. Commercial saltwater fishing contributes $1.2 billion to the economy and supports 12,900 jobs. Barreto said that with Florida being such a major player in the industry, it's critical for us to have a more direct voice in federal law that affects marine fisheries – an argument that county commissioners agree with. Franklin County commissioners agreed to try to help the process along by sending letters to our legislative delegation asking them to put pressure on the right people to get a Florida representative on that committee.
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