An intro to the RFA

[DarkSkies]

Some members here already joined it. Thought I would put up some posts giving some background info for the people who never heard of it.

In a nutshell, they are a fisherman advocacy group representing fisherman issues to those in Washington. They are also involved to some extent in helping people with issues arising in individual states.

However, for the most part they represent us in Washington.

I wanted to make that distinction here, and maybe try to answer any questions members might have about them.

[DarkSkies]

http://www.joinrfa.org/About_Us.htm




About Us - The RFA Mission


http://www.joinrfa.org/_themes/rfa/blbull3.gifSafeguard the rights of saltwater anglershttp://www.joinrfa.org/_themes/rfa/blbull3.gif Protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobshttp://www.joinrfa.org/_themes/rfa/blbull3.gif Ensure the long-term sustainability of our nation’s fisheries.

Commercial fishermen and environmentalists are pushing their agenda on marine fisheries issues affecting you. The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is in the trenches too, lobbying, educating decision makers and ensuring that the interests of America’s coastal fishermen are being heard loud and clear. Incorporated in 1996 as a 501c4 national, grassroots political action organization, RFA represents recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry on marine fisheries issues on every coast, with state chapters established to spearhead the regional issues while building local support.

“The biggest challenge we face is the fight to reform and bring common sense and sound science into the fisheries management process, says James Donofrio, RFA founder and Executive Director. “Anti-fishing and extreme environmental groups are working everyday to get us off the water.” Despite the threats to diminish access to our nation’s resources, Donofrio says that RFA offers members hope in an organization that’s designed from the ground up to fight back. “As individuals, our concerns will simply not be heard; but as a united group, we can and do stand up to anyone who threatens the sport we enjoy so much – fishing!”

After more than a dozen years working inside the Beltway and within state capitols along the coast, RFA has become known as one of the nation’s most respected lobbying organizations, and our members have a lot to celebrate. Meet some of RFA’s supporters. (http://www.joinrfa.org/Supporters.htm)

[DarkSkies]

9057


About Us & Our Accomplishments
1.Spearheaded the effort to pass legislation to restrict menhaden harvesting by reduction vessels in the Long Island Sound.

2.Spearheaded legislation in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island to ban the harvest of valuable inshore forage fish and eliminate menhaden harvest for reduction purposes inside state waters.

3.Spearheaded national campaign to ban pelagic drift longlines as a gear type in all US waters and territories. RFA was called upon to testify at the House Resources Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans Subcommittee hearing regarding the pros and cons of three different bills concerning this commercial fishing gear type, which ultimately resulted in a reduced and restricted fishing fleet.

4.Successfully lobbied members of congress to include recognition of the recreational fishing industry under the definition of fishing community in the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

5.Testified before the National Research Council and House Resources Committee on the need to improve recreational data collection programs at the national level, which ultimately led to the addition of a federal saltwater registry requirement and the reform of MRFSS.

6 .Filed a 301 petition with US State Department demanding accountability for non-compliance by foreign commercial fishing fleets of international fishing treaties which the US is a contracting party.

7.Successfully lobbied NMFS from issuing exempted fishing permits to pelagic drift longline vessels to set gear in closed areas off the East Coast of Florida and South Carolina.

8.Requested a congressional hearing to investigate the high incidences of striped bass bycatch inherent with the sink gillnet fishery in federal waters.

9.Successfully fought a proposed increase in the harvest limits of the commercial striped bass fishery in the Chesapeake Bay.

10.Successfully lobbied to keep “game fish” designation for striped bass in New Jersey and subsequently killed the bill that would have changed the law.

11.Successfully campaigned to keep federal waters (EEZ) closed to the harvest of striped bass.

12.Successfully lobbied to ban the use of destructive oceanic driftnet gear for swordfish in the Atlantic.

13.Spearheaded a coalition that defeated NJS457, the glass eel bill, which would have allowed harvesting of elvers (glass eels) in New Jersey waters.

14.Successfully formed a New England coalition and lobbied to ban pelagic pair trawling for HMS from all Atlantic waters.

15.Successfully lobbied to protect recreational fishermen from state-imposed ground fish closures (codfish and haddock) in the Gulf of Maine.

16.Only national group to stop a fleet of longline vessels from taking up port in the new Charleston Maritime Center and prevented them from destroying a scientifically recognized swordfish nursery off the South Carolina Coast-AKA the Battle of Charleston.

17.First organization to recognize Sargassum to be a vitally important habitat and successfully lobbied to have Sargassum protected as essential fish habitat.

18.Successfully fought to keep the Occulina Marine Preserve open to recreational fishing.

19.Lobbied against the Callahan Amendment, an amendment that would have extended state waters in Alabama to 9 miles and provided a loophole that would permit the shrimp industry substantially more bycatch. The amendment was defeated.

20.Lobbied to halt “Blanket Marine Reserves” from denying access to recreational fishermen in the Gulf waters.

21,Filed suit against the NMFS for the unjustified restrictions and bag limits on recreational anglers who fish for Red Snapper.

22.Co-plaintiff on a suit filed against the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department and the State of Texas over the closure of the “Nine-Mile Hole” to general boat traffic thereby restricting fishing access to recreational fishermen.

23.Spearheaded the development of the Gulf Law Enforcement Task Force to reign in illegal red snapper harvest

24.Requested a management plan for squid, an extremely valuable forage fish, in Californian waters.

25.Working with groups in California to secure permanent funding and materials for current artificial reef programs.

26.Fought for and is continuing to fight for equity in representation on the North Pacific Fishery Council. The first two recreational appointments were made after intensive RFA lobbying efforts.

27.Spearheaded a lobbying campaign to ban destructive and inefficient oceanic gillnets from Pacific waters.

28.Currently lobbying to protect the guided recreational halibut fishery from losing quota to commercial privatization.

29,Lobbied successfully for a recreational nominee to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

30.Fought for the rejection of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (NPFMC) inadequate allocation provided for guided sportfishing vessels in Alaska under the guideline harvest level (GHl) for halibut and the individual fishing quotas (IFQ’s).

31.Worked with the California Striped Bass Association to extend the angling method regulations to account for the mortality occurring in ocean waters as well as inland waters.

32.Successfully lobbied to secure continued Mitchell Act funding for pacific salmon hatcheries.

33.Successfully lobbied US State Department and US Commerce Department to stop the International Pacific Halibut Commission from taking away the rights of the NPFMC to set season, size and bag limits in the Pacific Halibut guided sportfishery.

34,Conducting cooperative research to help create a new recreational chilipepper rockfish fishery

35.Supported and lobbied for HB 1706, an anti shark-finning bill that will protect Sharks from this wasteful fishing practice. The bill was passed and signed by President Bill Clinton.

To learn more about what the Recreational Fishing Alliance is doing on a regular basis, sign up for our email newsletter (http://visitor.constantcontact.com/email.jsp?p=oi&m=1102181706823), and we’ll keep you up-to-date on the actions and activities of our national and regional sportfishing lobbyists.

About Us - First for Anglers
Remember, the RFA was the first national, grassroots political action organization established to represent the rights recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry as a whole on marine fisheries issues. It is our mission to safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs, and ensure the long-term sustainability of our Nation's saltwater fisheries.

For more information, call 888-JOIN-RFA

[finchaser]

:clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping::clapping: :clapping:

[DarkSkies]

NJ Chapter News - 1/7/10




RFA-NJ LEADS EFFORT TO SECURE BETTER DATA


In the month leading up to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) meetings in December, the Recreational Fishing Alliance's New Jersey Chapter (RFA-NJ) worked diligently in making a case to convene a joint meeting of the MAFMC's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and the Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee. The MAFMC agreed with the approach, and voted unanimously to reassess the black sea bass 2010 quota recommendations. http://origin.ih.constantcontact.com/fs053/1102181706823/img/68.jpg?a=1102926923368

"One MAFMC member mentioned to me that testimony delivered by RFA-NJ Chairman Capt. Adam Nowalsky was quite convincing," said Jim Hutchinson, Jr., RFA's Managing Director. "The representative specifically noted that for the most part the council decided to send the black sea bass information back to the SSC because of efforts to make the case to each and every member of that fisheries management council."


Testimony before the council encouraged members to ask the committees to convene in a special session this winter, with the SSC addressing the scientific uncertainty in the black sea bass assessments, and the Monitoring Committee addressing management uncertainties. This meeting will occur via conference call on Friday, January 8, 2010. Pending a revised quota recommendation, action by NMFS' Northeast Administrator would pave the way for Council and Board approval of revised 2010 black sea bass regulations early this year.

"The RFA-NJ chapter was there in Delaware alongside folks from the United Boatmen and the Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund, standing up for recreational fishermen at home in New Jersey," said Nowalsky. "Myself, Karen Wall, Capt. Tony Bogan, the groups and individuals who have always been actively involved in saltwater fisheries were there as usual, and the RFA-NJ chapter was well-represented."

Hutchinson said that having strong chapter representation at these federal and regional meetings means that anglers themselves are well-represented. "You'll always hear a lot of ideas and opinions when it comes to marine fisheries management, but enacting change at the Council level requires knowledge of the law and a good bit of onwater experience to boot."

Until fisheries managers can meet again to review committee findings later this winter, the RFA reminds anglers that the black sea bass fishery remains closed in federal waters, and are not expected to reopen until spring. "The current legal challenge to reopen the black sea bass fishery immediately is our only hope right now to repeal the NOAA fisheries arbitrary shutdown of that fishery," Hutchinson said, adding that the federal government's attorneys in the legal challenge were recently granted a two-week extension in their allotted timeframe for responding to the challenge. Lead counsels for the RFA in the effort do not expect to hear a response now until January 22, 2010.

More information about the RFA Legal Defense Fund and the efforts to reopen the sea bass fishery can be found on the RFA homepage at www.joinrfa.org (http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?et=1102926923368&s=10015&e=001tnzxc8I5wTBCdag0ELB8eGxuQQevwQdRHtHptoFahExSC r-RunMc44hroPZI2iAcMME9pg8RDP5AmT_Cquf2YkOORNiPF4apd snfZCZC6NdVc_p4kXZj-g==).

"While RFA continues to fight on the national level to reopen this important winter fishery, through the dedicated efforts of the RFA-NJ chapter and others, the entire Mid-Atlantic region may see improved access to sea bass this coming summer if 2010 measures are addressed by fisheries managers this spring," said Hutchinson.

[captnemo]

"This meeting will occur via conference call on Friday, January 8, 2010. Pending a revised quota recommendation, action by NMFS' Northeast Administrator would pave the way for Council and Board approval of revised 2010 black sea bass regulations early this year."



Conference call is scheduled for today. I hope something comes out of it but I am not optimistic. A lawsuit is our best shot of fighing this. Protests and demonstrations are meaningful but not enough. I think we might have to slug this one out in court.

[DarkSkies]

Got a chance to meet Joe Wrigley and Jim Wynn from the RFA.


Joe Wrigley, tri state RFA coordinator and PA delegate

9842855

Joe explains the benefits of getting involved.

9842925





Jim Wynn talks about the RFA and getting involved. Jim is an area Grassroots Coordinator for the RFA.

9842801


Nice meeting you guys, thanks for the perspectives. :HappyWave:

[DarkSkies]

Got a chance to meet Joe Wrigley and Jim Wynn from the RFA.


Joe Wrigley, tri state RFA coordinator and PA delegate

9842855

Joe explains the benefits of getting involved.

9842925





Jim Wynn talks about the RFA and getting involved. Jim is an area Grassroots Coordinator for the RFA.

9842801


Nice meeting you guys, thanks for the perspectives. :HappyWave: