Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 934 launches the Anglers Unite segment, recorded at the American Sportfishing Association's Sport Fishing Summit. I sit down with Tom Anderson and Larry Phillips of the ASA to explain how recreational anglers can unite around the policy fights that threaten fishing access — from right whale closures to the 30 by 30 movement to the federal excise tax — and why a single national voice is the only thing strong enough to protect our right to fish.
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This episode kicks off the Anglers Unite segment of the Tom Rowland Podcast, recorded at the American Sportfishing Association's Sport Fishing Summit. The goal is to help anglers understand the threats to sport fishing access and how a unified, national voice can protect the right to fish. I am joined by Tom Anderson and Larry Phillips of the ASA to walk through the policy fights happening on anglers' behalf.
Larry Phillips covers fisheries policy from a science, policy, and regulatory standpoint at the state and federal level for the West Coast, from Alaska to California, on behalf of the American Sportfishing Association. He spent many years with the State of Washington before moving into advocacy because he saw an opportunity to fight directly for recreational fishing access. He is deeply involved in salmon management and West Coast access issues.
The American Sportfishing Association, or ASA, is a trade association that has been around for ninety years and represents the recreational fishing industry — manufacturers, retailers, and anglers — in front of government agencies, policymakers, and Congress. It advocates for healthy fisheries and meaningful access, and works to protect the federal excise tax program that funds state fisheries management.
Anglers Unite is a segment Tom Anderson and I created on the Tom Rowland Podcast to raise awareness of the policy threats facing sport fishing and to show listeners how to have a seat at the table. The premise is simple: fractured, regional, and small, our voice is weak; aligned as a national community of anglers, our voice is very strong. The segment connects everyday anglers to the issues being decided in Washington.
Larry and Tom run through a long list: right whale closures that could shut off massive areas on the East Coast, California's interpretation of the 30 by 30 movement that treats areas as protected only if closed to fishing, Atlantic striped bass, red snapper, Mississippi River Basin issues, aquatic invasive species, and forward-facing sonar. They also dig into the excise tax 'slippage' problem with foreign e-commerce sellers bypassing the tax.
The excise tax is a self-imposed tax that anglers chose to pay on fishing equipment, and the money is distributed to states to fund boat ramps, access, law enforcement, and fisheries management that keep anglers fishing. Larry explains that foreign e-commerce sellers shipping directly to U.S. consumers can bypass that tax, undercutting the funding that supports the resource — which is why where and how you buy gear actually matters.
Tom Rowland Podcast Episode 934 on protecting fishermen's rights is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and iHeartRadio. Press play in the audio player on this page to listen to the full conversation with Larry Phillips and Tom Anderson of the American Sportfishing Association.
I will be honest: like a lot of the people listening, I did not really know what happened at events like the ASA Sport Fishing Summit, or how much of my ability to keep fishing depends on the work being done there. Tom Anderson and I built Anglers Unite to close that gap. I came into this conversation as a student, wanting Larry Phillips to explain in plain terms what is actually at stake and what a regular angler can do about it.
Press play in the audio player on this page to hear the whole conversation.
Tom Anderson describes the summit as the place where the entire industry — manufacturers, retailers, and the products you use — gets together to figure out how to have a collective voice, swimming upstream like salmon, in conversations with government agencies and policymakers. Larry Phillips adds that the ASA strategically locates the summit to highlight the issues anglers are facing in each region. Listen to them describe what a week of those sessions actually looks like.
The line from this episode I keep coming back to is that a king salmon issue on the West Coast matters to a Florida fisherman just like water quality matters to a Northeastern angler. All anglers have a voice, and together that voice is very strong. Fractured, regional, and small, it is very weak. Larry explains why decision-makers in Washington have to start asking what the recreational community thinks. Hear him make the case in the episode.
Larry calls California's version of the 30 by 30 movement one of the biggest issues on the West Coast. The global initiative aims to protect thirty percent of marine areas to conserve biodiversity, but California's interpretation treats an area as protected only if it is closed to fishing. He explains how the ASA works through the Magnuson-Stevens Act regulatory process — which he calls the most transparent and inclusive in the world — to push back. Listen to that section of the episode.
This was the part that reframed things for me. The excise tax is money anglers chose to tax themselves, and it pays for boat ramps, access, and fisheries management. Tom Anderson explains the 'slippage' problem — foreign e-commerce sites shipping directly to U.S. buyers and bypassing the tax — and why that quietly drains the funding that keeps the resource healthy. He even suggests calling your state Fish and Wildlife Department to ask where the money went. Press play to hear it.
Listen to the full conversation: Apple Podcasts · Spotify · or press play in the audio player on this page.
The day after this one, what stuck with me is how much work is going on behind the scenes so that anglers like me — and anglers who only get out a couple of days a year — can keep fishing. None of us see it, but all of us benefit from it.
The other takeaway is that awareness is the first step. You do not have to attend a summit to matter. Knowing the issues, asking where your excise tax dollars go, and buying gear responsibly all add up. That is the whole point of Anglers Unite.
Press play in the audio player on this page, or grab Episode 934 on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
The Tom Rowland Podcast brings you long-form conversations with the most accomplished anglers, hunters, conservationists, and outdoor professionals in the game. Listen to every full-length Tom Rowland Podcast interview.
Larry Phillips covers fisheries policy at the state and federal level for the West Coast on behalf of the American Sportfishing Association, working from Alaska to California on salmon management and recreational access after many years with the State of Washington. Tom Anderson is a co-creator of the Tom Rowland Podcast's Anglers Unite segment, focused on helping everyday anglers understand and engage with the policy issues that affect their ability to fish. Together they represent the industry's push for a unified national voice for recreational fishing.
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