Tell Congress That You Support Access Act for Fishing, Hunting

We’re losing our waters. Both development and government regulations--- pushing by anti-fishing groups--- are taking them away. In fact, one in five anglers has lost access to a favorite fishing spot during the past year, according to surveys.

That means federal properties --- lands and waters owned by all of us--- are more important than ever for recreational fishing.

In early 2013, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rep. Dan Benishek (R-MI) introduced the Recreational Fishing and Hunting Heritage and Opportunities Act (S. 170, H.R. 1825) into both chambers of Congress. This bill would facilitate the use of, and access to, federal public lands and waters for recreational fishing, hunting and shooting. 

Keep America Fishing says, “To help ensure that current and future generations are able to access and fish in our nation's federal lands and waters, please send a message to your legislators today urging them to co-sponsor this important legislation.”

Go here to take action through Keep America Fishing.

Senators Begich, Rubio Honored by CCC for Conservation Work

U.S. Senators Mark Begich (D-Alaska) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) were honored by the Center for Coastal Conservation at its annual legislative conference.  Begich received the Center's Lifetime Achievement Award, and Rubio was recognized as its Conservationist of the Year.

"These two senators are extraordinary leaders for conservation," said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Coastal Conservation.  "Their commitment to good stewardship of America's marine fishery resources is making a difference from coast to coast to coast."

Begich chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, and has long been an advocate for proper management of fishery resources.  He was an original co-author of the Fishery Science Improvement Act (FSIA) in the last Congress and is proud that anglers today enjoy great salmon fishing in the heart of Anchorage thanks to the award-winning Salmon in the City program he launched while mayor there in 2007.

Begich is guiding the reauthorization process for the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the overarching federal law governing marine fisheries. He recently delivered the closing remarks at the Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries Conference in which he highlighted some of the difficulties MSA has created for recreational fisheries as well as other challenges, such as the loss of marine habitat through the removal of “Idle Iron” in the Gulf of Mexico.

"Congress has taken some major steps forward to make our marine fisheries sustainable but we have a lot more to do," said Begich.  "Sound scientific management needs to be our priority as we work toward reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act this Congress."

Rubio, the Ranking Republican on the same Subcommittee, hails from America's #1 state for marine recreational fishing and was also an original co-sponsor of FSIA.   An avid angler himself, he sees the $17+ billion economic impact of recreational fishing in the Sunshine State.

“I am honored to be the Center's Conservationist of the Year. Federal fisheries management is broken for recreational fishing,” said Senator Rubio. “It is vital that we address the problems faced by our recreational anglers when Congress reauthorizes the Magnuson-Stevens Act.  This industry is a huge economic driver for our state and we must ensure those recreational fishermen who use the waters and precious resources surrounding Florida can continue to enjoy their favorite pastime.  I look forward to working with the Center for Coastal Conservation and other stakeholders as we begin this important debate.”

Help Stop Aquarium Trade from Destroying our Fisheries

Fishing guide Steve Chaconas with a Potomac River snakehead.

How much damage is being done to our waters and our fisheries by the aquarium trade and its irresponsible customers? Far more than you might think.

In my previous post, I quoted a University of California professor who said, “Globally, the aquarium trade has contributed a third of the world's worst aquatic and invasive species.”

Now a biologist friend has provided me with what looks to be the source for that statistic. It is contained in a paper published in 2004. That being the case, I suspect that 1/3 is, by now, an underestimate of the problem.

Sadly, I also suspect that this eye-opening expose has been read by few outside the scientific community. It needs to be read by anglers, environmentalists, and especially by our members of Congress, who have the Constitutional authority and obligation to protect us from this assault on our fisheries and other natural resources by the aquarium trade.

I hope that you will take a look at it --- it’s only eight pages --- and that you will pass it on to others, including your Congressional representatives.

Here’s the introduction, and please note that internet sales are a huge part of this problem:  

"Aquatic invasive species are just a mouse click away from any home in America. There are more than 11 million hobbyists in the U.S. alone, supporting a $25 billion-per-year worldwide industry in aquarium and aquatic ornamental species, most of which are available through mail order and over the Internet (Kay and Hoyle 2001).

"For example, although water hyacinth is banned in many states, and took Florida over 100 years and considerable expense to control (Schardt 1997), it remains available over the Internet for $4.

"While aquarium release is one of the five top avenues for introduction of non-native invasive species (Ruiz et al. 1997), it has received relatively little attention from both scientists and policy makers. The aquarium and ornamental species industry is growing by 14% annually worldwide, and the majority of export dollars enter developing countries.

"Far outstripping the per-pound value of harvested wild fish, ornamental fish harvest and culture is being promoted as a pathway to environmentally sustainable development by the Fisheries Resources Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. However, this largely unregulated industry poses a serious but mostly unrecognized threat to marine and freshwater ecosystems as a source of invasive species."

In a nutshell:

• A third of the world’s worst aquatic invasive species are aquarium or ornamental species.
• The lucrative aquarium trade will never be environmentally sustainable unless the consequences of escapees are considered.
• Regulations to prevent unwanted species introductions from aquarium and ornamental sources currently lack authority.
• A white list of native or safe alternative aquarium and ornamental species will help prevent unwanted introductions.

Here’s a link to the paper, entitled Beyond ballast water: aquarium and ornamental trades as sources of invasive species in aquatic ecosystems.

And here’s a link for information about H.R. 996, Invasive Fish and Wildlife Prevention Act. It would set up a white list and a black list for exotic species.

And --- big surprise! --- it’s opposed by the U.S. Herpetoculture Alliance.

Here is a portion of the alliance’s mission statement:

“Our primary mission is to fight for and to protect the rights of herpetoculturists nationwide by impacting regulatory actions at the federal, state and local levels.”

This organization isn’t directly responsible for the exploding population of Burmese pythons in the Everglades and iguanas spreading throughout much of Florida. But it is supportive of lax regulations and policies that allowed these things to happen, as well as the invasion of our waters by snakeheads, cichlids, hydrilla, Eurasian watermilfoil, and many other problematic fish and plant species.

Please, tell your members of Congress to do something about this ever-growing threat to our waters and our fisheries. 

Fisheries Are Collateral Damage in Sequestration

The wisdom and/or stupidity of sequestration as a means of cutting federal spending won’t be analyzed here. But here’s something related to sequestration that will make your blood boil:

Fisheries and wildlife management will be collateral damage to the tune of more than $46 million.

 This is not money that would come from the general budget. This is money already collected as excise taxes on fishing and hunting gear and motorboat fuel by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. And this is money reserved, by law, to be used only for fisheries and wildlife management under the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program.

But because of poorly written legislation, 5.1 percent of it can be withheld from the states as part of the sequestration process.

What sense does that make? None, of course.  But that’s par for the course in Washington, D.C. these days.

Go here and click the “clean air and water” tab to see how much money for fisheries and wildlife management that your state will lose unless politicians regain their senses and fix this idiotic and unnecessary damage to the nation’s natural resources.

I wouldn’t hold my breath waiting for that to happen.

President, Congress, Supreme Court Also Deserve Blame for Asian Carp Threat

Writing in the Great Lakes Echo, Gary Wilson makes a great point about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers being a convenient scapegoat for fact that Asian carp are perilously close to entering the Great Lakes --- or might have already:

We’re rapidly approaching the three-year anniversary of the discovery of Asian carp environmental DNA past electrical barriers designed to keep the carp out of Lake Michigan. That event triggered massive fish kills, lawsuits, a call for separation of the Great Lakes from the Mississippi River and a flood of media exposure that shows no signs of abating.

Since then, the Army Corps of Engineers, proprietors of the barriers, insists they’ve been effective. Lawsuits brought by Michigan and other states requesting definitive and quicker action by the Army Corps continues to wind its way through the legal system. And studies to determine the feasibility and cost of physical separation are in process.

Through it all there has been one consistent theme: Blame the Army Corps of Engineers. Everyone needs a scapegoat it seems, and politicians, environmentalists, and editorial boards have found one in the Corps. The complaints: It’s too slow, bureaucratic, and even “clueless,” according to one editorial writer.

You’ll find no defense of the Corps here. It needs to be held accountable like everyone else. But the Army Corps is only a small part of a big federal picture charged with protecting the Great Lakes from Asian Carp. One policy analyst with years of Great Lakes experience recently made that case. Noah Hall says “all three branches of the federal government aren’t doing the job” when it comes to keeping Asian carp out of the Great Lakes.

Read the full story here.