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To All Media
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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CONTACT:
Sara Leonard
sara@sportsmenslink.org
202-543-6850 x 11
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Sportfishing Community Addresses Modernizing Federal Fisheries Management on Capitol Hill
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July 19, 2017 (Washington, DC)
- Recreational angling stakeholders gathered on Capitol Hill today for a Congressional Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy Luncheon along with coordinated congressional office visits. Event sponsors included American Sportfishing Association, Center for Sportfishing Policy, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation, National Marine Manufacturers Association, and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.
Today's "Weigh-in on the Hill" provided a forum for members of Congress, congressional staff, conservation and industry partners, and recreational anglers to discuss current disparities between recreational and commercial fishery management. Specifically, this forum addressed how the current management approach under the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) and the simple adjustments to MSA found in the Modern Fish Act (H.R. 2023 and S. 1520) would improve public access to America's federal waters, promote conservation of our natural marine resources, and spur economic growth.
"Bottom line is the Modern Fish Act is not about recreational anglers versus commercial fishermen. It is about making a few adjustments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act that allows for the same emphasis on recreational fisheries management as the Act does for commercial fisheries management," said CSF Fisheries Program Director Chris Horton.
Featured speakers included: Scott Deal of Maverick Boats, Dr. Larry McKinney of Harte Research Institute, Nick Cicero of Folsom Corporation, Mark Mathews of Superior Bait and Tackle, and Ricky Gease of Kenia River Sportfishing Association.
"Recreational and commercial fishing are completely different endeavors and should be managed differently," said Deal. He continued, "We need commercial fisheries to be healthy, and we need recreational fisheries to be healthy for businesses like mine."
"The solution is not rocket science; it is not even difficult fisheries science. We currently have the tools and knowledge to improve management for these recreationally important species but are constrained by the Magnuson - Stevens Act that was developed for larger commercial fisheries based on biomass extraction and not for access - what recreational fisheries need," said Dr. McKinney. "Fisheries should be managed to the best interest of the nation and one important aspect of that interest is economic benefit and job creation."
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Since 1989, the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation (CSF) has maintained a singleness of purpose that has guided the organization to become the most respected and trusted sportsmen's organization in the political arena. CSF's mission is to work with Congress, governors, and state legislatures to protect and advance hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping. The unique and collective force of the Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus (CSC), the Governors Sportsmen's Caucus (GSC) and the National Assembly of Sportsmen's Caucuses (NASC), working closely with CSF, and with the support of major hunting, angling, recreational shooting and trapping organizations, serves as an unprecedented network of pro-sportsmen elected officials that advance the interests of America's hunters and anglers.
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