Virginia Saltwater Fishing

In a vote supported by all member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board, states will now have the option to liberalize the 2010 black sea bass season in state waters by an additional 90 days. The proposed new season will run from May 22 through October 11, with an additional open period of November 1 through December 31.  The proposal would keep the size and bag limit the same of 12-1/2 inches and 25 fish per angler.

The changes come following a bitter struggle by East Coast fishermen to save the recreational fishery for black sea bass. When NOAA Fisheries abruptly closed the recreational sea bass fishery last October without any opportunity for public comment, the RFA immediately began working on a legal challenge to fight the closure.

The RFA, United Boatmen and a coalition of industry allies (the “Plaintiffs”) filed suit on November 4, 2009 in New Jersey Federal Court arguing that the sea bass closure should be declared unlawful and set aside for being arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, and otherwise not in accordance with law pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act.

“The emergency closure of the recreational sea bass fishery was unprecedented for a fishery that is not ‘overfished’ and where ‘overfishing is not occurring’,” said Jim Donofrio, RFA Executive Director. “This case is about more than just sea bass; it’s about taking a stand against a federal agency abusing its power and hurting individuals and small business owners.

In a historic show of solidarity, recreational and commercial fishermen will gather together on the steps of the Capitol on February 24, 2010 from noon until 3 p.m. in an organized demonstration against the unintended negative impacts of the Magnuson Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the federal fisheries law which was revised in January of 2007.  Coordinating the march under the flag of United We Fish, rally organizers are hoping to see a large show of force in defense of coastal communities.

“The closures keep coming and it’s good to see the collective fishing communities and industries, both recreational and commercial, calling for scientific based Magnuson reform,” said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA).  “We are all in this together.”  Donofrio cited recent closures of amberjack, black sea bass and red snapper fisheries as examples of what he calls a “broken” federal fisheries law.

The groups organized through United We Fish are hoping to prove to legislators just how many American anglers and business owners are truly being impacted by the overly restrictive management requirements created by MSA based on non scientific arbitrary deadlines.  According to Bob Zales of the Conservation Cooperative of Gulf Fishermen (CCGF), the time-specific deadlines mandated by MSA coupled with flawed data collection methods are forcing anglers off the water.  “We fully support real science based management and the conservation of our marine resources while also being able to sustain recreational and commercial fishing activities, providing locally caught seafood, sustaining small family businesses, and supporting our coastal communities.”

This effort is being coordinated by many organizations and individuals including but not limited to the RFA, CCGF, United Boatmen of New York, United Boatmen of New Jersey, New York Sportfishing Federation, Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen’s Association and the Fishing Rights Alliance.  “Some people have asked ‘why, it’s winter’,” said Donofrio who said he’s gotten the required permits and expects a large crowd in DC on February 24th, regardless of weather. “We can’t let seasons stop the momentum, and if we wait any longer none of us will be fishing.  Many members of Congress will be standing shoulder to shoulder with us,” Donofrio said.

Nils Stolpe, a consultant to the commercial fishing industry and columnist for SavingSeafood.org said that over the past three decades since the original Magnuson Act was established, fishermen have been gradually phased out of the fisheries management process, regardless of sector.  “The scientists have been put in charge, and as the list of closures and restrictions up above painfully demonstrates, the Act has been turned into a weapon that is now being used against fishermen and fishing communities.”

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) first introduced the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2008 in the 110th Congress to incorporate “limited flexibility” into federal fisheries management.  More than 100 fishing groups and industry members from around the country pledged their support for the legislation and the bill’s 19 bipartisan coastal cosponsors, but the bill languished during the volatile economic climate in advance of the presidential elections in November of 2008.

Realizing that fisheries closures would continue without congressional intervention, in March of this year, Rep. Pallone and fellow Representatives John Adler (D-NJ), Henry Brown, Jr. (R-SC), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Barney Frank (D-MA), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Frank LoBiondo (D-NJ), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and John Tierney (D-MA), reintroduced the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 (HR 1584).  Twenty-five total co-sponsors have since pledged support to date including Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Allen Boyd (D-FL), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Peter King (R-NY), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Jo Bonner (R-AL), John Mica (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Clifford Stearns (R-FL), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Ander Crenshaw (R-FL).

Following a letter-writing campaign by the RFA-NY and members of the New York Sportfishing Federation, senior Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York announced his Senate version of the bill (S.1255).  Currently, the Senate bill to correct the flaws in MSA has no co-sponsors, which is something United We Fish organizers are hoping will change in February.

“New York’s Senator Schumer is as concerned about his fishing constituents as he is about the fish, just as Congressmen Pallone, Frank, Jones, LoBiondo, Kennedy, Adler and others in the House of Representatives are,” said Stolpe.  “Hence they have formed the nucleus of a growing movement in Congress that, in spite of the editorial opinion of the New York Times and the expenditure of many millions of dollars by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is aimed at preserving recreational and commercial fishing, the lifestyles of millions of fishermen, and the tens of thousands of businesses and hundreds of fishing communities that they support,” Stolpe added.

Organizers from within the recreational fishing sector are hoping to get commitment from all user groups and across varied state and regional boundaries.  “This is much bigger than any one state issue or individual grievance,” said RFA’s Managing Director Jim Hutchinson, Jr.  “Whether it’s our restrictive fluke fishery in New York, the arbitrary closure of state waters for our anglers in California, or the shutdown of red snapper and amberjack down south, our community has been divided by preservationist tactics for too long.  It’s time to unite the clans in defense of our coastal heritage and traditions,” Hutchinson said.

“We need to let Congress and NOAA know that we are the collective voice of the recreational fishing community and the collective voice does not accept the current broken management system which wreaks such havoc on all of us and our businesses,” said Donofrio, adding “The goal on February 24th will be to get all of our congressional friends to attend.”

“At this point Senator Schumer and his Congressional colleagues in the House deserve the thanks and the support of every one of us who fishes, whether for fun or profit,” said Stolpe.

The United We Fish rally is set for 2/24/10 at noon at the Capitol.  For details as they become available, sign up for the RFA’s email newsletter on the homepage at www.joinrfa.org.

In a 40-page legal challenge submitted before the U.S. District Court of New Jersey on November 4, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and industry allies have officially brought legal action against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke due to the recent recreational closure of the Atlantic recreational black sea bass fishery.   The challenge contends that the recent closure is not only unprecedented for a fish whose stocks are considered rebuilt and not overfished, but that the action is also based upon “misapplication and misuse of a fatally flawed angler survey which NMFS itself has acknowledged is not to be used for this type of decision.”

Filed for a dozen specifically named plaintiffs, the official complaint for declaratory and injunctive relief requested expedited consideration in hopes of reversing the six-month sea bass closure as quickly as possible on behalf all saltwater anglers and fishery dependent businesses.  According to Capt. Tony Bogan, plaintiff of the United Boatmen, the recent closure of sea bass is only a part of legal equation.  “This goes way behind sea bass,” Bogan said of the legal argument, adding “it addresses the potential action by NMFS in the future to arbitrarily close fisheries on a whim or because of survey trends or ideology.’

By closing a recreational fishery based on the fatally flawed recreational survey (MRFSS), the suit contends that the government violated numerous provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Administrative Procedure Act, and National Standard guidelines issued by NMFS.  Additionally, it charges the defendants with ignoring countervailing information and for failure to consider less severe alternatives.  “As a result of defendants’ actions, and failure to comply with the law, the Plaintiffs have suffered, and will continue to suffer, immediate, substantial and irreparable harm, for which there is no adequate remedy at law, and for which they seek expedited relief.”

Herb Moore, Jr., RFA co-counsel said the disregard for the spirit and intent of the Magnuson Stevens Act is one thing, but the clear disregard for the legal requirements of the federal fisheries law is something that leads him to be cautiously optimistic.  “These cases are very hard to win, but I think we’ve got some very strong arguments,” Moore said, adding “NMFS was extremely arrogant with their sea bass decision and we’re calling them out on this one.”  Moore charges that NMFS was very deliberate in their actions, explaining “they purposely chose an insular approach designed to block public scrutiny by claiming that they had good cause to waive prior notice and the opportunity for public comment.”

To view full legal challenge submitted on behalf of the recreational fishing community, visit the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) homepage at www.joinrfa.org (see RFA Legal Defense Fund – The Fight For Angler’s Rights.)  Anglers and business owners interested in joining the coalition and supporting the legal challenge are encouraged to look for the Donate button on the RFA homepage. Donations may also be mailed to:

RFA Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 3080
New Gretna, NJ 08224
A national, grassroots political action organization representing recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry on marine fisheries issues, the RFA is dedicating all checks made payable to the RFA Legal Defense Fund directly towards these legal efforts outlined above.  All donations will be tracked individually, from all groups and individual anglers.

As of the court filing date, $18,855 in donations have been collected towards the initial challenge, though the plaintiffs expect that the real fight is now set to begin.

“This is the beginning of the battle, not the ending by any means,” said Moore.

A recently published federal taskforce report is causing a great deal of concern for America’s recreational fishing community. For longtime members of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) however, the claim that saltwater anglers have been kept out of the review process is nothing especially new. According to the RFA however, it’s good to see the national sportfishing industry starting to report it as passionately as coastal stakeholders have for the past few years.

The report from the president’s newly appointed Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force outlines a federal initiative that could conceivably pave the way for more restrictive governmental actions in further denying access to recreational anglers, similar to what’s already been accomplished in California with the marine life protection act (MLPA).  RFA has been actively engaged in the MLPA battle on the west coast for over seven years, as the California RFA chapter especially has fought tirelessly against compromises made between various industry allies and hardline environmentalists.  The non-scientific based Pacific Coast closures now seem poised to extend eastward as the new Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force has introduced a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S. coastal, ocean and Great Lakes waters. Under the guise of protection, the current second phase of the Task Force direction is set to develop zoning initiatives which could potentially close vast areas of fishable waters, permanently.

“In reviewing the Report, there are strategies, principles, objectives and other authorizing language that stands to have profound impacts on the recreational fishing community,” said RFA Executive Director Jim Donofrio in official comments to Nancy Sutley, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ).  In writing on behalf of RFA members nationwide, Donofrio said “RFA is concerned about the relatively rapid speed at which CEQ is advancing with this initiative and the apparent lack of opportunity the average recreational angler will have when the final Policy and subsequent bureaucracy is put in place

In a recent meeting facilitated by RFA to introduce Mid-Atlantic and Northeast coastal stakeholders to the new Director of External Affairs, Andrew Winer, it was revealed that several national trade and conservation groups had actually participated in the Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force discussions.  As reported by ESPN Outdoors, RFA hopes that any future discussions involving recreational anglers that will ultimately impact coastal stakeholders will actually include those coastal constituents.  “We’re hoping that after listening to the real stakeholders who live and breathe within these vibrant coastal communities every single day, that perhaps Mr. Winer can help us shake a little sense into these Beltway insiders who think they understand recreational fishermen,” said Jim Hutchinson, Managing Director of the RFA.

While the RFA commends CEQ for bringing wide national attention to the management of our nation’s marine resources, as a national saltwater political action organization representing marine businesses and users alike, RFA is opposed to any taskforce recommendations that might be enacted through the Executive branch as opposed to through legislative efforts.  “Considering the broad implications and hundreds of stakeholders groups that will be affected, the most appropriate course of action would be through the Legislative branch,” Donofrio said in the letter to CEQ, adding “Stakeholders would have a greater opportunity to discuss the virtues and flaws of the legislation in a more deliberate, transparent process.”

On June 18, Donofrio testified before the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife in a hearing convened to review H.R. 21, a bill which would establish a new national policy for our oceans.  The RFA was the only recreational fishing organization invited to testify before the Congressional Committee. “RFA maintains that Magnuson must remain the nation’s primary fisheries law and that any national ocean policy spawned from H.R. 21 provide guidance and recommendations to Magnuson, not supersede it,” Donofrio said during the afternoon session back in June.

Several hardline environmental groups have been pressuring Congress and the Obama administration to implement new overriding marine laws, however, several key federal legislators have helped stymie the repressive ocean policy legislation.  “This bill’s not going to go anywhere,” said Rep. Don Young (R-AK).  “You may try to work it through the House, you may have the Speaker help you out, but I’ll stop it dead in the Senate, because you’re not going to mess with my waters in Alaska, you’re not going to mess with my fishermen as you’ve done in the past,” Young added.

Donofrio said the RFA is unnerved by glaring similarities of the new report and H.R. 21, the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act.  “This appears to be an attempt by the Executive branch to circumvent the established legislative process and enact policy that failed as legislation 5 years in a row,” Donofrio said, adding “RFA believes enacting laws through Executive order and proclamation sets a dangerous precedence.”

The RFA’s six-page letter to White House Council on Environmental Quality is available online for review at www.joinrfa.org/press/CEQComments_101909.pdf.

source: RFA news release

The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) has released “Fatally Flawed” Science Killing America’s Number One Outdoor Pastime – An RFA Exclusive Report

The report notes that despite a National Research Council (NRC) report that shows the current statistical approach in the recreational sector is wrought with “serious flaws” and uses “inadequate analysis methods that need to be addressed immediately,” the National Marine Fisheries Service continues using “fatally flawed” data to deny the public access to coastal fisheries, while crippling the recreational fishing industry.

for more information, see www.joinrfa.org/