Fishermen Feeding The Famished

Tourists flock to the gulf coast every summer to try their luck fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. Now those fishing trips could help those less fortunate. State conservation officials are hoping to create a feeding frenzy with a brand new program.
The catch of the day is red snapper. But fish caught on local trips may not necessarily go to the fisherman's dinner table. Instead, it's being cleaned, fileted and iced down to be shipped to the Salvation Army as part of a new program called "Fishermen Feeding the Famished".
"You can contribute as little as five to ten percent or your whole catch if you would like and the salvation army is going to make sure it goes to a good purpose," says Barnett Lawley, Alabama's Conservation Commissioner.
Kicking off the program in Orange Beach Friday morning, Governor Bob Riley tried his luck in the Gulf of Mexico. Four hours later he returns with a load of red snapper, all he says will be donated to the new program. "To take 10 percent or all of it and give to the Salvation Army, they do four hundred meals a day, for us to give back is just a great honor and privilege for us to be able to do that."
Charter boat captains think it's a great idea. Bo Burroughs says when it comes to fishing, it's more about catching the fish rather than keeping them. "We all have more fish that we can eat. At times I give mine way when we come in anyway cause I feel like I have a freezer full I think it's a great idea."
And it's an idea that will ease an economic crunch according to Salvation Army Major David Waites. "It's becoming more expensive for us to feed those 400 plus meals a day. This is going to help us use that money in a better way."
Fishermen feeding the famished is a new way to help, while still having a good time.
The state already has a similar program involving deer hunters. It's called "Hunters Helping the Hungry". So far, that program has donated more than half a million pounds of venison to food banks throughout the state.