Recreational fish shares
RElectionseecreational Fishing Alliance Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732
For Immediate Release November 5, 2010
Elections over Nobama and DR. L back to there sneaky games
NOAA'S CATCH SHARE POLICY SETS A TREACHEROUS COURSE
Coastal Community Expresses Concerns Over New Federal Fisheries Agenda
(11/5/2010) - Assistant Administrator of Fisheries Eric Schwaab this week announced that recreational anglers were being completely ignored by the administration. In the National Catch Share Policy release issued by NOAA Fisheries Service, Schwaab said angler opposition to privatizing our national oceans was being disregarded, and announced that NOAA Fisheries would not be listening to individual anglers anytime soon.
While NOAA's new federal policy of ignoring input from within the coastal communities was embraced by some members of the national fishing tackle industry, the new policy has raised serious concerns with grassroots political organizations and coastal legislators.
"I have expressed considerable concern over the impact that catch shares may have on the recreational sector," said Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ). "I believe our priority should be improving the science and management of fisheries and that promoting another management tool until those issues have been fixed will only continue to hurt our coastal communities."
As a national grassroots political action organization representing the rights of saltwater anglers, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is extremely frustrated by NOAA's new direction. "Mr. Schwaab's take on this dangerous policy is laughable at best," said RFA Executive Director Jim Donofrio. "Mr. Schwaab claimed to hear from the angling community, but I'm not sure where he was at the time he heard it, perhaps at some Environmental Defense Fund junket, certainly not anything that local anglers were invited to."
On Thursday, NOAA officially released their new national policy "encouraging the consideration and use of catch shares," a fisheries management scheme which Schwaab called "an effective tool for ending overfishing." According to Donofrio, catch shares will end overfishing primarily by eliminating fishermen. "When we testified before Congress about catch shares in April, we made it clear that our allied groups do not support catch shares in the recreational sector," Donofrio said. In testimony on behalf of RFA, Marine Retailers Association of America (MRAA), Fishing Rights Alliance, United Boatmen, United Boatmen of New York, Maryland Saltwater Sportsmen's Association (MSSA), National Association of Charterboat Operators (NACO), Southern Kingfish Association (SKA), Conservation Cooperative of Gulf Fishermen (CCGF), New York Sportfishing Federation, and New York Fishing Tackle Trade Association, Donofrio told a congressional committee that the use of catch shares in the recreational fishing sector "would destroy the traditional open access structure and collapse the entrance of new participants in the fishery."
"All of the aforementioned groups, including the RFA, are adamantly opposed to any catch share program in the recreational fishing sector, in any way, shape or form," Donofrio testified, adding "This is a fact that cannot be compromised. We do not want any discussion on any program that compromises traditional open access of seasons, size limits and bag limits."
"I also believe that by specifically targeting local fishing businesses for catch shares will only continue to hinder growth in our coastal economies," Pallone said, adding "overly restrictive management of fisheries is already hurting coastal businesses and we need to pursue policies that promote growth in coastal communities which is why I introduced the Coastal Jobs Creation Act and the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act."
"We've fought too hard and for too long to keep this catch share policy out of our sector, we cannot let NOAA continue to ramrod this policy through Councils in direct contradiction to the wishes of our fishing community," Donofrio said. "Clearly our federal bureaucracy is not listening to the will of the people."
"At a time when our retailers are suffering from reduced participation due to the struggling economy, the last thing we need is a new federal policy designed purely to reduce angler effort," said MRAA President Phil Keeter. "We need more recreational fishermen, not less."
"Obviously you've got a public resource which should remain public, and no one should have to pay to access it," said SKA Director Jack Holmes. "It's been a tradition in America since before the Declaration of Independence was signed."
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