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Release
May 3, 2006
Contact Melissa Mazzella DeLaney at (202) 226-9019

Hearing re-emphasizes need for flexibility, local responsibility and sound science for fishery management

WASHINGTON - Testimony at today's House Resources Committee hearing in the reauthorization of the nation's premier fisheries management law re-emphasized the need for flexibility, local responsibility and sound science when managing the nation's eight regional fisheries.

The committee looked at H.R. 5018, the American Fisheries Management and Marine Life Enhancement Act, sponsored by Resources Committee Chairman Richard W. Pombo (R-Calif.), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) and H.R. 1431, the Fisheries Science and Management Enhancement Act, sponsored by Resources Ranking Member Nick Rahal l (D-W.V.).

Both bills would reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, initially passed in 1976. The original Magnuson legislation oversees fisheries resources and fishing activities in Federal waters and established the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils responsible for the conservation and management of U.S. Fishery resources.

"I've said it before and I'll say it again: fisheries management requires a balance," Chairman Pombo said. "Having abundant fisheries with no fishermen left to harvest this wonderful protein source is unacceptable. At the same time, having fishermen with no fish to catch is equally unacceptable."

Some of the most contentious aspects of reauthorization language include prospects for streamlining duplicative and conflicting environmental statutes, the lack of accurate and timely scientific data, and "overage" repayment when fishing activities miss their targets.

"The [National Environmental P olicy Act] process does not fit the unique and dynamic nature of fisheries management," said Chris Oliver, executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council - widely regarded as the model for regional fishery management - and who testified at today's hearing. "Public process would be better served by providing meaningful, understandable analyses of management actions, as prescribed by the [Magnuson-Stevens Act], and we could once again devote the majority of our resources to practical fisheries management, rather than devoting those resources to the self-fulfilling prophecy of litigation avoidance in which we are currently engaged."

The original Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) already contains most of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements. H.R. 5018 would add the remaining two provisions - identified in earlier Committee hearings - to the MSA and then would give the Secretary of Commerce the discretionary authority to declare a Regional Fisher y Management Council's fishery management plan or amendment compliant with NEPA if it has already complied with the new provisions in the MSA.

"We appreciate Chairman Pombo's acknowledgement that the current recreational data collection system is broken, view that is also held by the National Research Council," said James Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance and who also testified at today's hearing. "Improving the Federal government's ability to collect data is an important goal and one that we support enthusiastically.

"In addition, we strongly support needed flexibility in the existing timeframes to rebuild fisheries," Donofrio continued. "Injecting a modest amount of flexibility into the rebuilding requirements will provide fisheries managers with an additional capability to tailor specific solutions to complex and different challenges related to the nature and circumstances of particular fish stocks."

The Sustainable Fisheries Act, the 1996 reauthorization of MSA, called for "overfished" stocks to be replenished within 10 years, often putting fishermen at a severe economic hardship. Even the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now admits that this 10-year deadline is an arbitrary requirement. H.R. 5018 maintains this time frame, but allows the Secretary of Commerce to extend the timeframe beyond 10 years in certain cases only.

Concern was also raised that provisions in other legislation to require a "payback" of overages within one year may not be realistic with current data collection problems. In addition, the timeframe for repayment would cause additional delays in setting harvest levels for the following year and further tie up NOAA in litigation.

"All of the legislation introduced to reauthorize this important Act share the same goal - to sustain our nation's fisheries," Chairman Pombo concluded. "While we heard several varied opinions and ideas today, I am hopeful that we will move forward with a comprehensive plan to achieve our goal of both healthy, sustainable fisheries and healthy, productive fishing communities."

For more information on Chairman Pombo's legislation - including a side-by-side comparison with the Senate's version - please click <http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/Oceans_Website/Index.htm> here.

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RFA Weighs In On Magnuson-Stevens Act

WASHINGTON, May 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Today, Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, testified before Congress on the Nation's most important fisheries law. Donofrio was the only member of the recreational fishing industry invited to testify before the U.S. House of Representatives on the reauthorization of the Magnuson- Stevens Fishery C onservation and Management Act.
Congressman Richard Pombo (R-CA), Chairman of the House Committee on Resources, has introduced legislation to amend the Nation's primary fisheries law. RFA testified in favor of Congressman Pombo's bill and focused on issues that would protect anglers and the jobs that depend on them.

RFA testified in opposition to a proposal which would assess new fees on anglers and promoted legislative language that would improve recreational data collection, allow flexibility to rebuild fisheries, streamline overlapping environmental reviews, and restore balance between the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the National Marine Sanctuaries Act.

"Chairman Pombo's bill will keep anglers fishing and our industry strong while continuing the conservation goals embodied in the Sustainable Fisheries Act. Fisheries science in not an exact science and the Chairman understands that fisheries managers need flexibility to deal with the nuances of a complex science-based and stakeholder driven decision-making process" said Donofrio.

Donofrio said further "I commend Fisheries Subcommittee Ranking Member Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ) for his strong defense of anglers and his understanding the issues that matter most to recreational fishermen."

The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is a national 501(c)(4) non-profit grassroots political action organization whose mission is to safeguard the rights of salt water anglers, protect marine, boat, and tackle industry jobs, and insure the long-term sustainability of our nation's marine fisheries

The states of Washington and Oregon have agreed to a three night commercial gillnet season on the Columbia River for the dates June 24, June 27 and July 5. The Recreational Fishing Alliance is opposed to this fishery due to a lack of scientific data supporting the staff projections for impacts to ESA listed species.

As has been widely publicized, the summer migrating component of the Columbia River Chinook run has not been subject to directed commercial fisheries in over forty years. Since that time several other fish runs that migrate through the areas open to commercial fishing have been listed as either threatened or endangered per the Endangered Species Act. These include Snake River Spring/Summer Chinook, Snake River Sockeye Salmon (endangered) and Summer Steelhead.

The regulations package authorized for this commercial fishery specifies a minimum 8 inch mesh gillnet. We agree with staff assessment that this large mesh size will greatly reduce the handling of any steelhead and/or Sockeye Salmon. However, any threatened Snake River Chinook caught during these fishing periods will be harvested.

Reviewing fisheries authorized in the spring time, harvest managers have provided an opportunity to critique the technology they use to both predict total run size and timing of components of that run (i.e.: Willamette Spring Chinook vs. upriver Spring Chinook). The comparison is made more valid because Spring Chinook lacked a targeted commercial fishery for many years as well.  The results are clear: The technology used to predict both total run size and timing of the run have failed at every opportunity when applied to the spring run.

The opinion of the Recreational Fishing Alliance is that application of that same technology to a non-selective fishery not prosecuted in over forty years is reckless.

An alternative would have been a selective commercial fishery using small-mesh gillnet (tangle net) which would result in a substantial, but lesser overall impact to threatened Snake River Chinook. However, this alternative also has problems not easily overcome. The small mesh net would allow for live release of many Chinook caught that were not of hatchery origin, but would effectively gillnet the majority of Steelhead and Endangered Sockeye intercepted.  Due to the proven inability of managers to correctly anticipate the migration timing of all three species, it becomes nearly impossible to adjust the fishery away from the steelhead and Sockeye interception. Complicating this proposal further; what little release mortality data is available for small-mesh gillnet fisheries in the Columbia River is completely invalid due to the significant differences in water level and temperature from what was studied.

In summary, the Recreational Fishing Alliance does not support the approved summer Chinook gillnet fishery because it does not address the conservation needs of the impacted species. It appears that any commercial fisheries targeting summer Chinook salmon in the Columbia River will need to be developed to use fishing gear not currently used in this area. We request that this fishery be terminated until these issues are addressed.