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IS RECREATIONAL FISHING BEING BANNED?
A recent national opinion piece has ignited a firestorm this week
concerning the efforts of the Obama Administration's Interagency
Ocean Policy Task Force and its involvement in implementing a
policy of "marine spatial planning" that could ultimately effect
the management of and public access to the nation's natural public
resources. The column comes three weeks after the closing of the
public comment period by the Presidential task force and on the
heels of the historic fishermen's rally at the Capitol on February
24 coordinated by the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and its
allied groups.
Recent press releases issued by some sportfishing industry and
angling conservation groups have expressed dismay at the
unwillingness of administrators to listen to their
recommendations. None of this comes as a surprise to the RFA.
More troubling is that some of these same insiders have shown a
willingness under past administrations to accept use of executive
privilege in managing coastal access while
fruitlessly participating in the new administration's new
bureaucratic task force process.
"The goal of the key players in the process, specifically the Pew
Environment Group and its minions, is to attempt to implement
through Executive Order what they had failed to accomplish through
the legislative process," said Jim Donofrio, RFA Executive
Director. "We welcome those organizations who feel
disenfranchised by the task force to join us in working to prevent
what is the usurpation of the management of this nation's
fisheries, oceans, coastal waters and the Great Lakes for
ideological reasons," Donofrio said.
The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force led by the White House
Council on Environmental Policy was established by President Obama
on June 12, 2009. According to the Presidential memorandum, the
task force was charged with developing a national policy for the
protection, maintenance and restoration of U.S. oceans, coasts and
the Great Lakes. "It will also recommend a framework for improved
stewardship and effective coastal and marine special planning,"
the White House said in June.
The same month the task force was established, Donofrio was
invited to testify before congress in opposition to legislation
sponsored by California Democrat Rep. Sam Farr (H.R. 21), a bill
which would establish a new national policy for our oceans. In a
release issued last fall, Donofrio said the RFA was unnerved by
glaring similarities of the new report and Rep. Farr's H.R. 21,
the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the
21st Century Act (aptly referred to as Oceans 21). "This appears
to be an attempt by the Executive branch to circumvent the
established legislative process and enact policy that failed as
legislation 5 years in a row," Donofrio said, adding "RFA believes
enacting laws through Executive order and proclamation sets a
dangerous precedence."
Oceans 21 has failed to gain Congressional support because of its
ability to restrict access to public resources while creating a
new bureaucratic hierarchy with unprecedented power to regulate
fisheries and implement ocean zoning without oversight or public
input. The RFA has been in the forefront of exposing Oceans 21 and
is a leader in preventing its passage. On June 18, 2009, the RFA
was the only national fishing organization that testified before
Congress in opposition of the bill.
"Recreational fishermen have been watching fisheries management in
this country literally get hijacked by preservationists," Donofrio
said this week in response to the national news headlines
indicating the president was going to ban recreational fishing.
"I don't think this president would consider banning recreational
fishing outright, but it's clear to us that the Obama
Administration would like to severely restrict recreational
fishing." Donofrio said RFA and others are troubled by the number
of staffers within the Administration who have direct ties to
Pew.
RFA said the good part about the recent headlines is that people
are opening their eyes to the fact that "the fisheries management
system is broken" and in need of repair. "Are we concerned about
realities regarding the task force? Yes we are, and that's the
hijacking of H.R. 21, a bill that would set up such an incredible
bureaucratic infrastructure that Americans would indeed have a
hard time finding fishing opportunities," Donofrio said.
Records show that groups like Pew and the David & Lucille Packard
Foundation have used funds to support implementation of marine
protected areas, denying public access to large areas of coastal
waters. "Years ago, Pew and Packard had a dream of creating
blanket marine reserves across the country through the legislative
process, but that quickly fell apart when Congress wouldn't
support it so they moved into the states," Donofrio said. "True,
they found certain governments like California very supportive of
efforts to institute blanket closures, but they never gave up
their goal of getting us all off the water by whatever means
possible," he said. Donofrio explained that Pew-funded groups
worked hard to push rigid "overfishing" language into the Magnuson
Stevens Act during the 2006 reauthorization debate.
"Essentially, Pew was able to create these de facto reserves which
make fishing opportunities so incredibly hard. Take for example
red snapper and other important snapper/grouper which are off
limits to recreational anglers in the south Atlantic despite
rebuilding progress," Donofrio said. "Pew's stacked the task
force deck, and they've even got one of their Pew Fellowship
award-winners as head of the fisheries service, it's certainly
troubling."
Dr, Jane Lubchenco, who the President appointed to run NOAA
Fisheries in 2009, is also a past member of the Pew Oceans
Commission, the steering committee of the Joint Oceans Commission
Initiative, and a director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, SeaWeb,
and Environmental Defense all of which are Pew funding
recipients. Dr. Lubchenco also serves as Trustee Emerita of the
David and Lucile Packard Foundation.
"Dr. Luchenco currently sits atop a growing number of appointees
who are pushing an agenda of ocean zoning, catch shares and
Draconian regulatory actions that are severely hindering our
ability to fish with resulting negative impacts on the economy and
significant job losses," said Donofrio who pointed out that it's
been this apparent "takeover of fisheries management" which led to
the fishermen's rally in Washington DC on February 24 which drew
an estimated crowd of over 4,000 fishermen in support of the
Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act (H.R. 1585 and S.
1255).
Read more from RFA Press Releases
10/23/2009 - 12 Million U.S. Saltwater Anglers Ignored -
www.joinrfa.org/Press/TaskForce_102309.pdf
6/24/2009 - RFA Testifies Before Congress -
www.joinrfa.org/Press/RFACongress_062309.pdf
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