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.”

Mistrust of Feds Moves Louisiana Toward State Waters Only Snapper Season

State opposition continues to grow toward a federal government that seems more intent on restricting recreational fishing than managing fisheries based on science and catch data.

Weapons being wielded against anglers and the states include Catch Shares, the National Ocean Council, and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

In the South Carolina Legislature, a resolution has been introduced “to oppose and refuse to recognize or enforce the coastal and marine spatial plans created in South Carolina pursuant to the Authority of the National Ocean Council." (See my post of Feb. 12, States Fight Back Against National Ocean Council.)

And now Louisiana has joined the ranks of resistance. The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission has initiated action to implement a “Louisiana only” red snapper recreational season, set to begin 2013.

“I think the intent here is clear: A lot of recreational fishermen don’t have a lot of trust in the federal regulations and the (Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management) council,” said Randy Pausina of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), which supports the proposal.

“I think the proposal is going to open up a lot of dialog in the future.”

Capt. Chris Moran, who owns a marina and is a charter captain, added that he fully supports Louisiana not just going along with the federal government.

“It’s time to draw a line in the sand,” Moran said. “It sheds light on the system. I’m watching guys buying golf clubs, play baseball, and take up other hobbies instead of fishing.”

Additionally, the commission also is going to consider extending state waters from 3 miles off shore to 3 marine leagues, or 10.357 miles.

LDWF said, “This action is being considered based on recent legislative action taken in 2011 in Act 336, which recognizes that the gulfward boundary historically consists of 3 marine leagues and designates that boundary to be enforced by state law regarding the protection and restoration of coastal lands, waters, and natural resources, and regulation of activities affecting them.

Learn more at Louisiana Sportsman.

On the Catch Shares front, meanwhile, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is using its surrogates to divide and conquer in its quest to implement a management strategy that would privatize a public resource and restrict participation.

The Gulf Headboat Cooperative seems to be one of those surrogates. It wants an Exempted Fishing Permit as part of a pilot study to examine of the feasibility of implementing Catch Shares for mixed (commercial and recreational) fisheries. Under this permit, a few boats would be allowed to fish for red snapper and gag grouper outside the normal recreational fishing seasons, based on allocations given to them.

Read more here.

This is all part of NOAA’s “sector separation” strategy to weaken recreational angling’s opposition to Catch Shares.

According to the Coastal Conservation Association, “sector separation is the proposal to formally split existing and future recreational sector allocations of harvest into separate private boat and charter/for-hire/headboat sector portions. This approach has been pushed by the Environmental Defense Fund, which is also advocating Catch Shares for the for-hire and headboat sectors.”

Go here to learn more about sector separation.

And remember this: If you want to stop Big Government management of recreational fishing, vote out the current administration in November.

NOAA Paying Recreational Anglers to Not Fish; What Could Be Wrong With That?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is at it again.

This time, it is paying saltwater recreational anglers in Massachusetts to not fish.

What could be sinister about that? If this were any other time and NOAA wasn’t an agency bought and paid for by the preservationist wing of the environmental movement, maybe nothing would be sinister about it.

But under the Obama administration, a National Ocean Council now is going to decide where we can and can’t fish. NOAA wants to implement Catch Shares, a scheme for limiting access by privatizing a public resource. And this same agency is wielding the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act like a club, shutting down fisheries along the Atlantic and in the Gulf.

So . . . do you think that something nefarious might be going on here?

I do.

So does one Massachusetts angler who received a $500 check to not fish, but has not yet cashed it.

“I have mixed feelings about the whole thing,” Pat Judge told the Boston Globe. “I imagine if you were in tough economic straits you would take the money.

“It’s not enough for me. It raised ethical questions on whether it’s right for the government to be spending money to keep you from doing your hobby.”

Meanwhile, government officials say their intent is not to reduce sport fishing, but to measure its worth among anglers. They argue that the results could be used in a variety of ways, including calculating the loss to anglers if an oil spill or some other environmental disaster forced a halt in marine recreational fishing.

Certainly the preservationist bureaucrats in NOAA wouldn’t dream of using this information to manufacture another reason to justify limiting access to public fisheries? Would they? Of course not.

But keep this in mind: This “survey” is being conducted by an agency that clearly has an anti-fishing agenda based on an ideology instead of science, and it is part of an administration that fervently believes in Big Government controlling our lives and limiting our freedoms.

The bottom line is that information gathered from this project can be used by those in power to restrict sport fishing. If you have one of the NOAA checks and have not yet cashed it, please don't. Nothing good for recreational anglers can come of this.

Read the Boston Globe’s story here. 

'Keep Fishermen Fishing' Rally Planned for Washington, D.C.

Recreational and commercial fishermen will once again rally in Washington, D.C. to protest oppressive Big Government management of ocean fisheries and to push for reform of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

This time, they will gather on March 21, reports the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), sponsor of the event that is being labeled Keep Fishermen Fishing.

In February 2010, about 5,000 attended a United We Fish rally for Magnuson reform, RFA said.

RFA alleges that Magnuson “has been transformed from its original intent into a weapon employed by a handful of mega-foundations and the anti-fishing ENGOs (environmental non-government organizations) they support to drive fishermen off the water.”

RFA Executive Director Jim Donofrio said, “Real-time biological overfishing is not occurring in most U.S. fisheries today . . . We’re being held to a statutory overfishing definition which has nothing to do with science and that needs to be changed in the law.”

More Fishery Closures Coming in 2012 if Congress Doesn't Act

Marine anglers should get ready for even tougher times in 2012, courtesy of closures imposed by the federal government. And freshwater anglers should be concerned as well. The same anti-fishing agenda is going to move inland as well, unless we stop it.

Passage of the Fishery Science Improvement Act (FSIA) by Congress before the end of 2011 could minimize the closures in our oceans. But, sad to say, don’t count on Congress during these times of political chaos in Washington, D.C.

“While other legislative amendments to MSA (Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act) have been offered to address a variety of federal fishing issues, we need Congress to understand that there is an immediate need to address the specific problem that FSIA solves,” said Mike Nussman, president and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association.

“Unless Congress passes this legislation before the end of this year, come January 1, 2012, anglers and commercial fishermen alike will be facing hard new annual catch limits on numerous stocks of fish that are based on nothing more than guesswork.”

Learn more about the FSIA here.

Meanwhile backlash continues against Recreational Fishing Alliance (see previous posts) for criticizing the proposed legislation.

John Mazurkiewicz, public relations counsel for Shimano and a member of ASA and many other angling groups says:

“It's not hard to see that following the lead of the Congressional Sportsman's Foundation, ASA, The Billfish Foundation, IGFA, NMMA, Coastal Conservation Association and the Center of Coastal Conservation is the right way to go.

“I applaud the efforts of those involved with these organizations --- a large number of smart people who understand all these issues and know what's best for the sportfishing industry.”

And Phil Morlock, director of environmental affairs for Shimano, issues this warning:

“The campaign against fishing is spreading inland to fresh water and being advanced by the same bogus rationale that the only way to ‘protect’ fish and fish habitat is to ban recreational fishing regardless of what hard science and decades of fishery management success clearly shows to the contrary.

“The recreational fishing community has been slow to recognize that we are in a North America-wide battle for the very future of our sport that will determine whether our kids and grandchildren can continue to go fishing.

“Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, American Sportfishing Association, International Game Fish Association, Coastal Conservation Association, Center for Coastal Conservation, National Marine Manufacturers Association, and The Billfish Foundation deserve the support and sincere thanks of everyone who cares about the future of fishing.  They are all dedicated, competent and the best professional representation we have in the halls of power where many of these issues will be decided. 

“As for the very few who take gratuitous cheap shots at the efforts of these fine organizations, they rightfully deserve our contempt.”