Dan Forest Promises to Make NC Fishing Industry Great Again, Aligns with Trump for ‘America First’ Seafood

RALEIGH – Lieutenant Governor and 2020 Republican candidate for governor Dan Forest is from the Charlotte area. While most voters in Eastern North Carolina seem to love Forest’s common sense conservative bona fides, it’s natural that some would still be curious about where he stands on some of the most important issues unique to their communities.

That’s especially the case when it comes to commercial fishing; to the communities in coastal Carolina where fishing is a living, not just a weekend hobby; and, where deep-pocketed special interests and environmentalists have been trying for decades to snuff out a fishing industry in North Carolina that represents a way of life, a heritage, and a paycheck.

To those communities and curious voters, Dan Forest says, resolutely, ‘I got your back.’

Just released on Forest’s campaign website:

“When Dan Forest is Governor, he will work together with every stakeholder in coastal fishing and will build a consensus that has been lacking over the last decades. That is what a leader does.

We will work together to solve the issues that have torn apart commercial, recreational, and charter fishers. We will have a thriving and profitable commercial fishing industry. We will have the best recreational fishing environment on the east coast.  Our charter fishermen will have record profits.

We will start by totally revamping the Marine Fisheries Commission and ensuring that there is equal geographic representation on the Commission and equal interest representation — including commercial, recreational, and charter fishing interests. Consensus will become not only a goal but a reality when the new Marine Fisheries Commission begins its work.

North Carolina has some of the best coastal fishery resources in the country, and by building consensus — where everyone has a seat at the table — we will make coastal fishing in North Carolina great again.”

He’s in good company. President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year to promote an ‘America First’ sustainable seafood policy that it vital for communities across Eastern North Carolina.

Did you know over 85 percent of seafood consumed in this country is imported?

What’s more, fisherman of all kinds in North Carolina (and in other states) have been pitted against each other for years by special interests and groups like the Coastal Conservation Association. To say fisherman and the fishing communities on the Carolina coast have been mommicked would be an understatement.

Many have felt as if these pivotal local issues have been put on the back burner, or worse, by state and federal elected officials for years. It makes sense, then, that those communities have an interest in where candidates stand on these vital, yet sensitive, issues in Eastern North Carolina.

They’ve witnessed President Trump take a stand, and now they know Dan Forest stands at his side, ready to make fishing great again in North Carolina.