STUART, Fla. — As election day approaches, WPTV has been breaking down everything you need to know about the issues on the ballot.
We dug into what supporters and opponents are saying about Amendment 2, which relates to hunting and fishing.
Rufus Wakeman is a boat captain in Martin County. He's been fishing in Stuart for man than 50 years.
“I started when I was five,” he said. “Florida’s based around fishing with, you know, the marine industry. There’s tons of boat builders and tackle stores.”
For Wakeman and so many other Floridians, it’s a way of life. One he feels needs constitutional protection with Amendment 2.
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"There are 23 or so states in the nation that are constitutionally protected. I think Florida should definitely be one," he added.
If approved, Amendment 2 would "preserve forever fishing and hunting, including by the use of traditional methods." It specifies "the amendment does not limit the authority granted to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission."
Opponents argue that Amendment 2 is unnecessary, even calling it "redundant."
“From our perspective, hunting and fishing are already protected in Florida’s constitution and no one is disputing the right to engage in both of those activities,” said Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, a statewide conservation organization.
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Travis Thompson is with All Florida, an organization that has been advocating for the bill since the beginning. He believes the amendment serves an important purpose.
“So the amendment isn’t redundant because what we’re doing is moving a statutory right to a constitutional right,” said Thompson.
The amendment also states that hunting and fishing would be the "preferred means of responsibly managing and controlling fish and wildlife."
This language has raised concerns with the environmental group Friends of the Everglades.
“Sometimes hunting and fishing are the right way to manage wildlife but not always, and we need to let the science guide us so creating this hierarchy of methods in our constitution in terms of how we protect wildlife could be very dangerous,” said Friends of the Everglades executive director, Eve Samples.
Meanwhile, supporters of Amendment 2 argue that the measure makes financial sense.
“It generates a revenue for the state by doing so and it doesn’t cause the taxpayer money to manage the species in that case,” said Thompson.
In order for the amendment to pass, 60% of voters must approve.
