| Massachusetts Striped Bass Association Since 1950 |
| December 21, 2007 Edition 53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Season's Greetings from RFA On behalf of the entire RFA staff, we would like to wish you and yours a very happy holiday season and a prosperous New Year. Heading into the New Year, we should look back on all that was accomplished in 2007. RFA staff, State Chapter Representatives and volunteers across the country contributed enormous efforts to protecting your right to fish. We thank those who worked tirelessly on the numerous critical issues we faced this past year, specifically the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). RFA has made MSA reform its top priority for 2008. We recognize that our sport and the industry are facing a crisis and despite the legislative challenge MSA reform puts before us, we see no alternative other than to fight for change. Our success will depend upon the help of all our members. Anglers need to contact their local, state and federal legislators and express their support for limited flexibility in federal fisheries law. At a recent Congressional Hearing on MSA, industry witnesses and fisheries scientists agreed that rigid rebuilding time frames and overfishing are not science based and reduces the efficiency of our fishery management process. RFA is dedicated to working with members of Congress to ensure that fishermen have access to healthy fish stocks, while at the same time achieve long term conservation goals. When we accomplish both, we can claim success in fisheries management. In this Special Holiday Edition of RFA News, we will highlight important events from this past year. MSA The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) was reauthorized and signed into law for the first time in ten years in January 2007. Among the improvements are greater compliance of international fishing treaties, science base criteria for the implementation and monitoring of marine protected areas, and enhancements to recreational data collection problems. Sections of concern include changes to ending overfishing provisions and rebuilding timeframes, both of which mandate impracticable and arbitrary deadlines. The concept of applying non-scientific deadlines to management goals was initially established when MSA was reauthorized for the first time in 1996. At the time, RFA was among the few groups who opposed arbitrary deadlines based on the understanding that the marine environment is a highly complex and ever-changing system. As we now approach these deadlines, it is apparent that fisheries management can not control all factors effecting marine fish. In many fisheries, tremendous rebuilding process has been made yet, consistent with basic ecological theory, growth tends to flatten once historical high levels of abundance are reached. Current rebuilding and ending overfishing deadlines do no consider this and are inflicting unprecedented loss of access to many important recreational fisheries. It is apparent that limited flexibility is necessary in fisheries that have displayed promising rebuilding but cannot keep up the same high levels of growth towards the end of the rebuilding timeframe. The result is quota reductions during times of high biomass. RFA and top fisheries scientists elaborated on this problem at a recent Congressional Hearing that this effects all federally managed species. RFA is working with members of Congress to incorporate flexibility in MSA for limited situations that will provide fishermen access to healthy marine fisheries, while still achieving long-term conservation goals. A bill has been introduced in Congress by Walter Jones (R-NC), co-sponsored by Barney Frank (D-MA) and Timothy Bishop (D-NY). RFA, in addition to members of the House Resources Committee, is working with the sponsors and co-sponsors of this bill to produce a final bill that address this problem. RFA recognizes this is a legislative challenge, but the current crisis demands our action. Longline closures Many will agree that offshore fishing for marlin, swordfish, and sailfish along the south Atlantic coast of the country is the best it has ever been. This outstanding fishing has much to do with the implementation of pelagic drift longline closed areas off of South Carolina and the east coast of Florida. These areas were closed to protect non-target bycatch associated with this gear as well as to protect juvenile swordfish grounds. As a result, swordfish have made a remarkable comeback, which now supports a thriving recreational swordfish fishery. Furthermore, marlin, sailfish, and tuna have all benefited from both closures. In response to a sluggish domestic swordfish market and competition from foreign imports, commercial swordfish landings have declined in recent years. NMFS, hoping to spur commercial swordfish landings, proposed allowing upwards of 13 pelagic drift longline vessels into the closed areas to evaluate the level of bycatch and its associated mortality through the issuance of scientific exempted fishing permits. The ultimate goal was to allow longline gear back into these important closed areas. RFA was adamantly opposed to this proposal and launched a massive letter campaign against it. Ultimately, NMFS declined the permits for the original proposal of 13 vessels but is now considering permits for 2 vessels. RFA stands firm in its opposition. Texas Great Barrier Reef project Texas Great Barrier Reef has been making great progress and gathers more support every day. A momentous project that would create fishing habitats near all major ports of Texas has been greatly accepted by the fishing community. Currently, the project is awaiting its final permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. New Jersey's artificial reef program is one of the most successful in the nation. Originally designed to create fish habitats and fishing opportunities for hook and line fishermen, as well as divers, New Jersey's 15 artificial reefs are currently dominated by commercial pots and traps. Considered a problem for over 15 years, RFA worked with members of the New Jersey Assembly and Senate to introduce legislation that would memorialize the intent of the reef program by eliminating pots and traps from being set on permitted reef areas. The bill passed out of the appropriate committee in each House. Menhaden Two bills have been introduced in Congress, one by Representative Gilchrist and the other Representative Saxton that would eliminate the harvest of menhaden for reduction purposes. Many states along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts have already prohibiting this industry scale fishery from their state coastal waters and bays based on impacts this fishery has on the marine environment. Menhaden have long been identified as one of the most important in the ocean responsible for improved water quality and serving as the keystone forage fish for many state and federally managed fish species. Dr. Bruce Franklin, RFA Forage Advisor Due to the political influence surrounding the main company prosecuting this fishery, this destructive activity has been allowed to continue much too long. RFA is supporting the passage of these bills, ICCAT At the ICCAT Annual meeting in Turkey, the US Delegation offered a recommendation to impose a moratorium on the harvest of Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. Harvest of eastern Atlantic bluefin has habitually exceeded its harvest with many contracting nations failing to comply with ICCAT harvest recommendations. Offered to send a strong message to ICCAT members, the moratorium recommendation failed to receive the enough votes to be enacted. Other important outcomes of the meeting were the approval of an albacore rebuilding plan and including bigeye as a priority species for 2008. Summer Flounder Experiencing a stalled recovery and a fast approaching rebuilding deadline, the summer flounder fishery in taking another substantial quota reduction in 2008 and is expected to experience even large cuts through the end of the rebuilding plan. The issue is not necessarily the size of the stock which scientists and fisheries managers all agree is at history high levels of abundance but the rate at which the stock is increasing. Federal law requires the summer flounder biomass reach 198 million pounds by 2013. Currently, the stock size is about half of the rebuilding target and increasing by about 6 million pounds a year. Simple math illustrates the Herculean task ahead and the divesting regulations that will have to come down on in order to meet this impossible goal. RFA is working with members of Congress to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to allow flexibility in limited situations, such as summer flounder. It has been widely discussed that even if all fishing for summer flounder stopped, the rebuilding goal still would not be achieved. Nevertheless, federal law demands that summer flounder be rebuilt. This is a serious problem that must be fixed. RFA submitted comments in favor of a 15.77 million pound summer flounder quota in 2008. It appears that this meager quota may in fact be the highest quota for summer flounder in the coming years unless the law is amended. Extreme environmental groups are pressuring NMFS to impose a 2008 quota closer to 11 million pounds. If an 11 million pound quota is put in place, the recreational summer flounder fishery would most likely be an incidental fishery. HR 21 HR 21, The Oceans 21 bill, attempts to merge recommendations offered by the US Commission on Ocean Policy and Pew Oceans Commission reports and link activities that occur on land and in the atmosphere to the health of the marine environment. While RFA supports this concept and agree that is approach complies with ecosystem base management, HR 21 creates a level of bureaucracy that would severely limit any activity having even a slight chance A Year in review from your RFA State Chapters RFA Shore Based Access Program The RFA Shore Based Access Program has been very active along the east coast. This past year, RFA National Shore Access Representative, Patrick Paquette, has been fighting in an ongoing access war being waged on just about all of our drivable beaches up and down the coast. Patrick is also a participating member on the MA Beach Buggy Access Committee, which is trying to get some relief from the almost complete ORV closures on Cape Cod this year. This committee organized an important meeting where information was presented to beach managers on the "Section 10" process and how beach managers can apply for alternative management measures to get around small areas of shore birds responsible for restricting access to some of the most famous shore fishing spots on the coast. The conclusion from that meeting: three MA beaches are considering or in the process of getting the needed permits. RFA will be sending Action Alerts this spring asking you to support access on Cape Cod beaches. In North Carolina, Paquette serves as a proposed member of the upcoming Negotiated Rulemaking Committee, a Federal Advisory Committee that will assist NPS in finally creating a rule for ORV access in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. While preparing for this work, the enviers continue to take multiple actions aimed at getting recreational anglers off the beaches. Early this past year, Paquette was named Executive Director of the United Mobile Sportfishermen, strengthening the relationship between this regional umbrella group of beach buggy clubs and the RFA. Combining RFA assets and UMS experience, we have been able to get several beach access issues addressed. Paquette is currently leading discussions aimed at formulating a national proactive strategy to effect changes in laws and the interpretation of laws that affect beach driving nation-wide. Watch for a call to action coming some time in 2008. RFA-MA RFA-MA Chairman, Patrick Paquette, and NE Regional Director, Barry Gibson, continue to work on issues before the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC). As a part of the CHOIR coalition, we were able to coordinate a group of RFA-affiliated fishing clubs and participate in a letter-writing campaign that accomplished the goal of defeating the strong commercial lobby and convinced the council to make Sea Herring a priority for 2008. The MA Ocean Management Bill that we fought so hard to change in 2006 is making its way through the MA legislature once again. The current wording reflects much of our input, and we feel the RFA's efforts over the past years have made the bill much more palatable. Though the bill could be better, we have decided that the effort to make further improvements would cause more political damage than good. At this time we are neither opposing nor promoting this legislation. As we all know, RFA is committed to recreational access of all types and unfortunately, this was a bad year for shore based access here in the Bay State. Our beaches experienced major closures due to extreme interpretations of various laws and regulations regarding nesting shorebirds. Patrick is working closely with one of our MA affiliates, the Massachusetts Beach Buggy Association, to convince beach managers to work with state and federal officials and find relief through the Section 10 permitting of the Endangered Species Act. Progress is being made in the towns of Barnstable, Orleans, and Dennis, and we expect next year will be a little less painful with a bit more access for ORV and pedestrian anglers. At its monthly meeting on November 7th, the New England Fishery Management Council voted 9-8 to make investigation of the Northeast's herring fishery a priority for 2008. The Council's findings could result in tighter restrictions on the herring industry to reduce bycatch and control landings. Fishermen and environmentalists have long been concerned about observer coverage in the herring fishery, which has averaged less than five percent of trips taken in the near-shore waters of the Gulf of Maine. "We don't have a good handle on what the midwater trawl fleet is really catching," explained Capt. Barry Gibson, RFA's New England Regional Director. "These are large, industrial-scale boats up to 150 feet long, and they tow huge nets made up of small mesh. We need trained observers out there on all of these trips to document what comes up in the nets. This is critical in order to control the herring fishery and prevent damage to recovering groundfish stocks." The Council reversed an earlier decision not to address herring in 2008 due to immense pressure put on it by CHOIR, a coalition of over 150 party, charter and commercial fishermen, whale-watch companies, and both environmental and angling groups, and RFA, the only national sportfishing group in the organization, has been a member since its inception. CHOIR spearheaded a publicity campaign over the summer that resulted in over 8,000 cards, letters and emails sent to the Council in support of a formal review of herring management in 2008. "Many thanks to all who helped in this effort, and to the nine Council members who voted to put herring management on the priority list for 2008," said CHOIR's Chris Weiner. Those who voted against it included marine fisheries officials from MA, NH and ME, as well as four members representing trawl-fishing interests. Besides developing a plan to better monitor catches, the Council will address annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) in the herring fishery, requirements of the newly-reauthorized federal Sustainable Fisheries Act. "Herring are the most important food source in the Northeast for predatory fish, seabirds, whales and other marine mammals," continued Gibson. "This resource needs to be managed through an ecosystem-based approach. We need to be sure enough herring is left in the water as forage, and we need to get a better handle on bycatch. These are the two main issues the Council needs to address in the coming year." We remain committed to getting a formal MA Chapter up and running. We need local members to step up and get involved. On behalf of RFA-MA, we wish you all a Happy Holiday and look forward to growing RFA in the coming year. RFA-OR RFA-OR has been hard at work in the political trenches throughout 2007. We have been fighting tooth and nail with enviro special interests over MPA's in Oregon. Many other issues have taken our focus as well. Threats to salmon hatchery funding have been successfully pushed back, and direct involvement with wave energy proposals are among other ongoing endeavors. RFA-OR Chairman, John Holloway, has been a sitting member on various local and state advisory bodies working hard on these issues and others. RFA-OR is currently occupying the Oregon Sportfishing seat on the Groundfish Advisory subPanel of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC). In April, RFA-OR was solely responsible for bringing the Ocean Policy Advisory Council (OPAC) report on the Governor's National Marine Sanctuary proposal before the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) for review. This review turned out to be in favor of existing fishery management practices over protectionist philosophies. The Governor has now shifted to marine reserves in state waters. RFA-OR again is deeply involved in defending the rights of all fishery harvesters, and the general public, over these attempts to deny access to sustainable ocean resources. Some of our recent efforts have been to submit our perspective to numerous media outlets. Dennis Richey, RFA-OR Vice Chairman, represented Oregon, Washington, and Idaho's sports anglers on the Federal Pinniped Interaction Task Force, examining the states' requests to NOAA to use lethal force on approximately 85 California Sea Lions per year at Bonneville Dam. This number is only one percent of the biologically allowable take of the overall population. Over 1,000 sea lions invade the Columbia River and dine on endangered chinook and steelhead for 10 weeks every spring. RFA-OR's Dennis Richey also represents Oregon Anglers on the Columbia River Visioning, which is attempting to resolve some of the conflicts between sport and commercial fishermen on the river. The majority of our tireless volunteer efforts in 2007 have been contributed by the following RFA members: Walter Chuck, Newport; Ron Mason, Corvallis; Dennis Richey, West Linn; and John Holloway, Portland/Garibaldi. RFA-CA At the beginning of the year, our proposal to make stealing crabs from another's traps a violation was approved by the California Fish & Game Commission. Now sport crabbers have the same protection that commercial crabbers have enjoyed. We successfully opposed a proposal to set the albacore bag limit to five fish. Out of more than 300 proposals to change sportfishing regulations this year, our proposal was one of the few that moved forward. When our 2007 Randy Fry Award winner George Lawry, President of the Sonoma County Abalone Network (SCAN), retired to Montana's green pastures, another RFA member, Milo Vukovich, stepped up to the plate and volunteered to serve as SCAN's President. Commercial abalone divers have proposed to reopen southern California's abalone fishery and RFA and SCAN have worked together to prevent this from happening until the resource has a full recovery. We continue to be engaged in the Marine Life Protection Act public process. The representatives we nominated to the regional stakeholder group of the MLPA, Ken Jones and Bill Bernard, were appointed, and will need our support to reduce the impact of no-fishing zones in state waters. We came so close to getting approval for the fishermen's proposal in south-central California that the Governor changed the rules of the public process. We raised the alarm over the violations of the Bagley-Keene Public Meetings Act and changed the way the state is doing business when it comes to back-room discussions of MPA science. RFA led the way when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed wave energy projects in the Pacific Ocean. We hosted public town hall meetings in Fort Bragg and worked with anglers to protect our public fishing access to the coast from exclusionary zones. When the House Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans held a field hearing in Santa Barbara on the expansion of marine reserves in the National Marine Sanctuaries, RFA West Coast Regional Director Jim Martin was invited to testify. RFA was the only fishing association at the table. RFA worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council to pass legislation to tighten the loopholes on the illegal commercialization of wildlife. Those who poach sturgeon and abalone are looking at serious jail time if they want to rip off the public for profit. And to cap off another successful year, the Pacific Fishery Management Council approved a proposal from the RFA and the Golden Gate Fishermen's Association (GGFA) for an experimental fishery in deep water for rockfish. This Exempted Fishery Permit (EFP) will allow anglers to target chilipepper rockfish and other deep-water fish when the season would normally be closed. At a time when no-fishing zones rule the day in state waters and emergency closures for bottomfishing are the rule, the RFA played a critical role in opening thousands of square miles to new fishing opportunities. RFA-TX We have worked very diligently with "The Texas Great Barrier Reef Project" (TGBR) to insure the success. Project Manager Dick Stone has worked out the support teams at Texas A&M University headed up by Dr. Jay Rooker and Dr. Bob Ditton. The team is currently studying for placement of reef structure in the proposed reefing corridor for the TGBR. The success of the project will depend on this early and critical scope of work. The team feels confident that identifying the areas within the corridor suitable for reefing will insure we get the best bang for the buck. The detailed analyses will insure success of the TGBR. Dick Stone has been working to complete the resubmission of our permit application to the USACOE. We are considering all user groups in the resubmission of the permit application. We anticipate the resubmission will occur within the first quarter of the New Year. We understand that most species are simply habitat- restricted. The TGBR Project is the answer to many fishery management problems we currently face in the Gulf of Mexico. RFA-TX is very proud to be a part of history in being involved in the largest habitat Program ever imagined. |
