Releases – March 31, 2011
A dearth of marine fisheries data is on a collision course with the primary federal law that oversees federal marine fisheries management. To address this impending train wreck, the U.S. Senate’s Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held an oversight hearing regarding the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NOAA Fisheries) management of the nation’s federal marine fisheries.
More and more federal marine fisheries are being closed to recreational fishing, including black sea bass in the South Atlantic and gag grouper in the Gulf of Mexico, as a result of amendments made to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act during its 2006 reauthorization. Key provisions in the reauthorization include measures to end overfishing and set annual catch limits and accountability measures for all stocks by 2011.
“The 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act included important provisions that were intended to drive NOAA Fisheries towards more effective marine fisheries management and stock rebuilding,” said Mike Leonard, Ocean Resource Policy director for the American Sportfishing Association. “However, the recreational fishing community should not be made to pay for NOAA Fisheries’ failure to collect the necessary data with massive fisheries closures and the attendant job losses.”
Senators Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) in particular expressed deep concern with NOAA Fisheries’ lack of adequate data on which to base decisions that can have significant economic impacts on the businesses and communities that depend on recreational fishing.
“When Congress passed the reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens in 2006, it was with the assumption that data was complete, accurate, and up-to-date,” Senator Nelson noted during the hearing. “I believe (NOAA Fisheries) is interpreting the Act in a way that was not intended.”
“The nation’s 13 million recreational anglers and sportfishing industry support rebuilding fish stocks in a way that is balanced with public access and economic impacts,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “The sportfishing industry stands squarely behind the precept that sound fisheries management is key to sustainable fisheries and the recreational fishing experience. In fact, in 1950, at the sportfishing industry’s request, the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act levied an excise tax on fishing equipment and motorboat fuel, which has contributed over $6 billion for fish conservation and habitat restoration.”
Last year, Senators Nelson and David Vitter (R-LA) introduced the Fishery Conservation Transition Act to give NOAA Fisheries the time, resources, and guidance to reprioritize its responsibilities in order to properly implement the Magnuson-Stevens Act in the manner in which it was originally envisioned by Congress in 2006. Neither this bill, nor its House of Representatives companion bill, came to a vote before the 111th Congress adjourned. ASA and others in the recreational fishing community are continuing to pursue comprehensive legislation to address the federal marine fisheries management crisis.
In addition to the threat of massive multispecies closures, such as the 5,000 square mile bottom fishing closure that was proposed the South Atlantic in 2010 to address problems with red snapper, both the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council are currently developing annual catch limit proposals for numerous important recreational fisheries that may result in severe limitations due to a lack of data.
Because the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that annual catch limits, which are hard limits to the amount of fish that can be caught in a year, be developed for all fisheries, the Councils are currently pursuing options on species such as dolphin, wahoo, and cobia that have no up-to-date stock assessments, and for which the only data from which to base decisions is landings.
Leonard further said, “The Councils are currently developing precautionary and overly restrictive annual catch limits for these fisheries even though there is no indication that any of these species are in trouble.”
“The recreational fishing community fully supports ending overfishing, but believes it must be done in a thoughtful, science-based manner that balances socioeconomic considerations with conservation principles,” explained Nussman. “Ending overfishing, maintaining reasonable access, and sustaining economic activity are not mutually exclusive.”
A Virginia man set a new North Carolina state record for bluefin when he reeled in an 805-pound, 8-ounce fish off Oregon Inlet last weekend.
Corey Schultz, of Waverly, VA, caught the fish Saturday, March 12, aboard the “Sea Breeze” out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The fish measured 112 inches curved fork length with a 76-inch girth.
Schultz caught the fish on a Shimano 80 rod and reel using 130 line test with ballyhoo for bait.
“It was all that rod and reel wanted, I can tell you that,” Schultz said.
Schultz had caught a 350-pound tuna with the same captain – Ned Ashby – last year and released the catch. Then, Schultz used a 50-wide reel.
This year, he used an 80-wide reel.
“I knew within the first few minutes it was not the same caliber fish,” Schultz said.
Schultz said he fought the fish for about 2.5 hours and had close to 1,000 yards of line out. Everyone in the boat’s party of six, in addition to the captain and mate, helped to get the fish on board.
“It was an unforgettable experience, that’s for sure,” Schultz said.
The former North Carolina state record bluefin tuna weighed 744 pounds and was caught off Oregon Inlet in 1995. The International Game Fish Association record bluefin tuna weighed 1,496 pounds and was caught off Nova Scotia in 1979.
House Bill 353, which seeks game fish status for red drum, speckled trout, and striped bass, was filed in the North Carolina House on March 15, 2011, on behalf of CCA NC. A game fish designation prohibits the taking of any species by means other than hook and line and also the sale of the species.
The primary sponsors of HB 353 are Representatives Darrell McCormick (R – Iredell, Surry, Yadkin), Rick Glazier (D – Cumberland), Dan Ingle (R – Alamance), and Ruth Samuelson (R – Mecklenburg).
The continued decline in the spotted sea trout stock, the directed commercial harvest of red drum, as well as the inability of the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) to address wasteful commercial fishing practices of striped bass, figured highly in the decision to introduce this bill. Combined, all three species make up less than 2% of the total commercial harvest in our state, yet the MFC continues to regulate these fisheries with a complete bias towards the commercial sector, which in turn severely impacts the health and viability of our coastal resources.
Economic impact was also a major consideration. The financial impact felt by the recreational angling community (via licensing, travel, hotel/motel, tackle and bait, etc.) is some one-hundred and fifty (150) times that of the commercial fishery for these species.
HB 353 also aims to compensate commercial fishermen for any losses resulting from this legislation. “The designation of these species as gamefish will have a positive impact on the resources and maximize the economic benefit to the people of North Carolina. We do feel it is important to mitigate the financial impact this bill could have on some in the commercial sector,” said CCA NC President Jim Hardin.
Recreational anglers are applauding the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s decision to “terminate all work relative to catch share development in Amendment 21,” the Comprehensive Catch Share Amendment. In a motion by Council member George Geiger of Florida, the Snapper Grouper Committee yesterday voted to remove catch shares from Amendment 21, setting up action by the full Council. The decision is good news for recreational anglers who have been fighting the concept of catch shares as a one-size-fits-all solution to fishery management problems.
“There are so many other things for federal managers to be focusing on other than a controversial management scheme like catch shares,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “This action by the South Atlantic Council signals that NOAA should stop the rush to embrace catch shares and reconsider its priorities.”
Catch share programs set a biologically based annual catch limit for a fish stock and allocate a specific portion of that catch limit to entities, such as commercial fishermen, cooperatives, or communities. Unfortunately, in fisheries where there is a large and growing recreational sector, catch shares maximize benefits to the commercial fishing industry while ignoring the participation and beneficial economic impacts of recreational fishing. CCA has engaged in a multi-tiered strategy to lessen the recreational sector’s exposure to the negative impacts of catch share programs.
“Proper management of the recreational sector should be a top priority for the Congress and for NOAA Fisheries – not catch shares,” said Brewer. “We need more frequent stock assessments, development of fishery independent data, and improved recreational catch data for federal fisheries. We are very pleased that South Atlantic Council members decided to remove catch shares as a management option in this Amendment and we hope that other Councils will follow their lead.”
