In early September, American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) Chairman Bill Shedd was inducted into the 2023 International Game Fish Association (IGFA) Fishing Hall of Fame for his massive contributions to fishing conservation, including battling for anglers’ access and pioneering innovations in fishing tackle and fishing apparel. Shedd’s father, Milton Shedd, who founded AFTCO, is also an IGFA Hall of Fame inductee.
AFTCO is a well-known American company specializing in manufacturing and supplying fishing tackle, fishing clothing and outdoor gear for anglers.
Over his career, Bill Shedd has volunteered more than 15,000 hours to conservation projects, spending 400 to 500 hours every year for more than 35 years on marine conservation and sportfishing industry issues. Shedd is known for co-founding United Anglers of Southern California (UASC); he led the group’s efforts to pass Proposition 132, the anti-gillnet initiative, and developed white seabass grow-out facilities to support hatchery science.
Shedd’s conservation efforts also played a crucial role in eliminating the experimental mako shark longline fishery in California. In 1989, Shedd started the AFTCO “Tag Flag” (a recognizable and prestigious tagging awards program, significantly impacting the number of game fish being tagged in the northeast) and later championed tag-and-release sport fishing. Today, Shedd is the board chairman for the Coastal Conservation Association California, an organization dedicated to marine conservation, protecting anglers’ rights, promoting youth sport fishing participation, and developing and enhancing marine habitat and angling opportunities.
In his acceptance speech at the Hall of Fame ceremony, which took place at the Wonders of Life National Museum and Aquarium in in Springfield, Mo., Shedd reminded everyone of his lifelong commitment and vision for sportfishing.
“In closing, I want to leave you with this: All of us here understand how important and valuable sportfishing is either to ourselves or to someone we love,” said Shedd in a press release. “It is not just the challenge of catching the fish or wanting to take care of them. Fishing is more than that. It is a way of life that includes family and friends and relationships and experiences that are part of who we are. The biggest threat to our way of life is the radical element of the environmental community who wants to kick anglers unnecessarily off the water. Recent examples include the Right Whale situation in the Atlantic and the No-fishing Marine Protected Areas in the Pacific. Yes, there are many rational environmental groups who make for important conservation partners that we should and do work with … However, we must stand up against the extremists and recognize that even though they won’t recognize it publicly, they are waging a war on us. Let’s never forget we are the original fish conservationists.”
“Our history, passion, leadership, results, and some $1.5 billion contributed yearly to support healthy fish stocks gives us the right to aggressively fight for the future of sportfishing and for the fish.”
Both Milton and Bill were early leaders in marine conservation. Today, a new generation of Shedds are taking over the family’s conservation reigns and developing new and innovative ways to protect both our environment and the anglers who enjoy it.
