American Sportfishing Association Policy Alert

New National Oceans and Great Lakes Policy Proposal Ignores $125 Billion Recreational Fishing’s Economic Impact

Without recreational angler input, decisions made under a new national oceans and Great Lakes policy could be used to unnecessarily close saltwater and freshwater recreational fishing areas.

This past June, President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The Task Force, led by the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), was charged with developing a national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes. The policy will govern ocean and Great Lakes resource management and coordinate efforts among countless federal, state and local agencies.

The Task Force's Interim Report is currently under a public review and comment period. The single most obvious flaw in the report is the omission of responsibly regulated recreational fishing as a key activity for the oceans and the Great Lakes. In addition, as a national policy document governing the oceans and Great Lakes, the report is skewed toward a preservationist policy of locking up public waters instead of one that promotes sustainable uses such as recreational fishing.

Send a letter to the White House Council on Environmental Quality and your Members of Congress asking that the Task Force specifically include recreational fishing and boating in the national policy. Make sure your voice is heard so that anglers' conservation, economic and social contributions are recognized as a key component of the policy.


Wes Campbell, president TTI-Blakemore Fishing Group ( http://www.ttiblakemore.com ), sent this email today.


Dear Representatives,

Kerry and I just got back from the ASA Summit meeting in San Diego. It’s was a very educational and exciting conference, so much so that I didn’t even play golf after lugging my clubs 2,000 miles!

I am happy to report that we heard from Dr Jane Lubchenco, PhD, the under secretary of Commerce for NOAA at lunch on Wednesday. Besides a couple of US Presidents that have attended the show and Gerald Ford as the keynote speaker at one of the summits, she is the highest ranking official to address ASA members directly. She taught at Harvard and was one of the first people appointed by Obama. In fact she was appointed before her bosses! She said that the fishing community was not left out intentionally and that we had made ourselves loud and clear. I believe that she was sincere in her outreach. The really good news is that her dad taught her how to fish! Her speech is attached.

Our association’s attorney Bob Hayes, president Mike Nussman, VP of Gov’t Affairs Gordon Robinson, Patty Doerr, Director of Ocean Resource Policy, have been working very hard on communicating with her and the task force involved. Hats off to them!!!!

Even if you’re not selling much saltwater product, this issue is very important because of its long-reaching resource management techniques. If MPA’s (aka fishing closures) are good for the oceans, why not parts of Okeechobee or Lake of the Ozarks? Pay attention to this issue and contribute a few bucks to ASA to fight this. Their website is: http://www.asafishing.org

Wes and Kerry Campbell

Feel free to share this with any of your industry friends




ASA Press Release

NOAA Administrator Discusses Recreational Fishing’s Concerns at 2009 Sportfishing Summit

Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., voices commitment to the sportfishing industry


Alexandria, VA – November 3, 2009 – Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator, Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., met with sportfishing industry leaders during the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) 2009 Sportfishing Summit on October 27. ASA was encouraged by Lubchenco’s words and looks forward to working with her to ensure that recreational fishing’s voice is heard at NOAA.

“As NOAA’s Administrator I am committed to adopting policies that will ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to enjoy this wonderful activity,” Lubchenco said in her remarks. “We are responding to the concerns expressed by your leaders that we don’t pay enough attention to recreational fishing. I’m here to tell you that we do think you are important, that we will pay attention and that we will work with you. It is my intention to improve our relationship. I look forward to a new era of cooperative relations between NOAA and anglers across this country.”

“We are encouraged by the remarks that Under Secretary Lubchenco gave at the 2009 Sportfishing Summit,” ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman said. “Dr. Lubchenco told us that she will be our champion. We look forward to seeing actions come from those words and look forward to working with her and NOAA staff.”

In September the Obama administration issued a draft policy, the Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. ASA has significant concerns with the direction the Obama administration is going in managing the United States’ marine and freshwater public resources, choosing a tone of preservation over conservation. At the Summit, Lubchenco spoke about this concern.

“As an active participant in the task force process, I want to assure the recreational fishing community that this concern has been heard. The task force has now received significant input from anglers across the country. I am confident that when the task force releases its final report, your interests will be recognized,” Lubchenco said. “I believe that recreational fishing is both an important pastime, which brings families and friends together, and an important economic activity. I am personally committed to a national policy which recognizes the importance of recreational fishing and ensures that it can continue to thrive.”

Lubchenco discussed NOAA’s new Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), which she said is intended to provide information to fairly and sustainably manage fish stocks and the ecosystems in which they live. MRIP is intended to replace the significantly flawed Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS.) However, the full implementation of MRIP will take several more years. Until the transition to MRIP is complete, fishery management decisions, some of which are draconian, are based off data from MRFSS.

“I understand that you and others have serious reservations about the extent to which MRIP will provide timely data,” Lubchenco said of the recreational fishing industry. “Our intent is to design a data-acquisition process that meets our needs, one in which we all have confidence and one that enables us to manage recreational fishing to ensure the fishery is sustainable, the ocean is healthy and there are great fishing opportunities for your children and grandchildren.”

During her remarks Lubchenco announced that NOAA is preparing a draft catch-share policy and will allow 120 days for input after its release. Lubchenco said that NOAA’s draft catch-share program would not require any council to adopt catch-share programs. It will encourage councils to consider catch-share programs wherever appropriate in fishery management and ecosystem plans, however, to achieve long-term sustainability of our nation’s fishery resources and fishing communities.

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The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) is the sportfishing industry’s trade association, committed to looking out for the interests of the entire sportfishing community. We give the industry a unified voice, speaking out on behalf of sportfishing and boating industries, state and federal natural resource agencies, conservation organizations, angler advocacy groups and outdoor journalists when emerging laws and policies could significantly affect sportfishing business or sportfishing itself. We invest in long-term ventures to ensure the industry will remain strong and prosperous as well as safeguard and promote the enduring economic and conservation values of sportfishing in America. ASA also represents the interests of America’s 40 million anglers who generate over $45 billion in retail sales with a $125 billion impact on the nation’s economy creating employment for over one million people.