dales529
02-01-2013, 07:45 PM
PART 1 - WHEN NOAA MEANS NO
As all saltwater fishermen are aware, President Bush signed the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 on January 12,
2007. In the six years since this law governing management of our coastal fishing
industry- recreational and commercial alike - was reenacted, the Recreational Fishing
Alliance (RFA) has pointed out the complete absurdity of fisheries management stemming
from both the rigid and inflexible requirements spelled out in this law, as well
as the gross neglect by our federal government to meet Congress's deadlines and
requirements.
Over the next several weeks, RFA plans to focus on several key 'absurdities' stemming
from this broken federal law, putting a spotlight on our government failures to
properly protect and serve America's coastal fishing communities in the way that
Warren Magnuson and Ted Stevens had originally intended when our federal fisheries
law was first adopted to aid in the development of the domestic commercial and recreational
fishing industry while phasing out foreign fishing in 1976.
Of course, some folks would prefer that the RFA keep quiet with our criticism so
that they could continue to provide cover for our over-worked bureaucrats and ever-conscientious
members of Congress, while forgetting all about the high praise that some national
trade and manufacturing groups bestowed upon the Magnuson-Stevens Act when it was
reauthorized (which now has brought many recreational fisheries to their knees.)
But in the words of the late John F. Kennedy, Jr., "Without debate, without criticism,
no administration and no country can succeed -- and no republic can survive."
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
During the 2005 and 2006 debate over Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization language,
the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC) was conducting
a comprehensive review of the recreational data collection program used by the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The NRC's final report was issued in 2006,
upon which time NRC committee chairman at the time Pat Sullivan, a Cornell University
professor, referred to the recreational data collection methodology as "fatally
flawed."
According to the 2006 NRC report, a panel of experts found specifically that the
Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey (MRFSS) which had been used by NMFS
since the early 1980's to generate catch statistics from the recreational sector
has "serious flaws in design or implementation and use inadequate analysis methods
that need to be addressed immediately."
As a result, Congress incorporated section 109-479 under the Magnuson-Stevens Act
reauthorization in 2006 specifically to implement a few of the NRC recommendations
for data collection. Among the items included in the final law signed by President
Bush was the use of surveys that target anglers registered or licensed at the State
or Federal level to collect participation and effort data, incorporating an adequate
number of dockside intercepts to accurately estimate recreational catch and effort;
collection and analysis of vessel trip report data from charter fishing vessels
(also known as VTR), and even development of a weather corrective factor that can
be applied to recreational catch and effort estimates.
As per this federal fisheries law, the President's signature required that the Secretary
of Commerce to "complete the program under this paragraph and implement the improved
Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey not later than January 1, 2009."
So how has the Department of Commerce met this challenge? In a recent meeting in
Gloucester, MA, several recreational stakeholders from New Jersey to Maine learned
first-hand how VTR data from the charter and party boat industry was still not being
used as a source of data, and that angler registry data compiled by states as required
by Magnuson-Stevens was not being used for effort/participation models. Instead
of contacting registered anglers, NMFS informed stakeholders that they were still
compiling recreational data collection using the original MRFSS methodology of calling
phone numbers at random from coastal phone books.
One week following yet another public revelation by NMFS that they had failed to
meet their federal requirements, a handful of recreational anglers in New York
received an email announcing that "NMFS has begun a pilot study of a mail-based
effort survey in New York and a few other states. They are continuing the Coastal
Household Telephone Survey (for now) and wanted to build awareness of the project
in case we get any questions while this is going on."
At this time, the Department of Commerce, NOAA Fisheries and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) is asking for help in improving outreach and communications in terms
of their ongoing pilot studies to improve data collection in the recreational fishing
community. Rather than implementing the NRC recommendations from 2006 or adhering
to the federal requirements laid out by Congress to meet the 2009 implementation
deadline, the government instead would like you to know that nothing has changed,
MRFSS is still being used to gather recreational harvest data, the angler registry
databases are not being used, and neither are the vessel trip reporting logs collected
on federally permitted charter and head boats.
RFA is more than willing to help our Department of Commerce in any way possible,
and we offer this notice as a public service to our recreational fishing communities
nationwide; please take note that NMFS just wants you to know that they are using
"fatally flawed" data collection and incorporating "inadequate analysis methods"
that should've been "addressed immediately" in 2006 in order to meet a 2009 congressional
deadline.
Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. Although it's true, it only took six days for it
to burn to the ground!
Next Thursday, February 7th, part 2 in the RFA continuing series on the Absurdity
of Fisheries Management will focus on the 'biggest mistake mistake we can make'
in rolling out new management mechanisms.
As all saltwater fishermen are aware, President Bush signed the Magnuson-Stevens
Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 on January 12,
2007. In the six years since this law governing management of our coastal fishing
industry- recreational and commercial alike - was reenacted, the Recreational Fishing
Alliance (RFA) has pointed out the complete absurdity of fisheries management stemming
from both the rigid and inflexible requirements spelled out in this law, as well
as the gross neglect by our federal government to meet Congress's deadlines and
requirements.
Over the next several weeks, RFA plans to focus on several key 'absurdities' stemming
from this broken federal law, putting a spotlight on our government failures to
properly protect and serve America's coastal fishing communities in the way that
Warren Magnuson and Ted Stevens had originally intended when our federal fisheries
law was first adopted to aid in the development of the domestic commercial and recreational
fishing industry while phasing out foreign fishing in 1976.
Of course, some folks would prefer that the RFA keep quiet with our criticism so
that they could continue to provide cover for our over-worked bureaucrats and ever-conscientious
members of Congress, while forgetting all about the high praise that some national
trade and manufacturing groups bestowed upon the Magnuson-Stevens Act when it was
reauthorized (which now has brought many recreational fisheries to their knees.)
But in the words of the late John F. Kennedy, Jr., "Without debate, without criticism,
no administration and no country can succeed -- and no republic can survive."
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
During the 2005 and 2006 debate over Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization language,
the National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council (NRC) was conducting
a comprehensive review of the recreational data collection program used by the
National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). The NRC's final report was issued in 2006,
upon which time NRC committee chairman at the time Pat Sullivan, a Cornell University
professor, referred to the recreational data collection methodology as "fatally
flawed."
According to the 2006 NRC report, a panel of experts found specifically that the
Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey (MRFSS) which had been used by NMFS
since the early 1980's to generate catch statistics from the recreational sector
has "serious flaws in design or implementation and use inadequate analysis methods
that need to be addressed immediately."
As a result, Congress incorporated section 109-479 under the Magnuson-Stevens Act
reauthorization in 2006 specifically to implement a few of the NRC recommendations
for data collection. Among the items included in the final law signed by President
Bush was the use of surveys that target anglers registered or licensed at the State
or Federal level to collect participation and effort data, incorporating an adequate
number of dockside intercepts to accurately estimate recreational catch and effort;
collection and analysis of vessel trip report data from charter fishing vessels
(also known as VTR), and even development of a weather corrective factor that can
be applied to recreational catch and effort estimates.
As per this federal fisheries law, the President's signature required that the Secretary
of Commerce to "complete the program under this paragraph and implement the improved
Marine Recreational Fishery Statistics Survey not later than January 1, 2009."
So how has the Department of Commerce met this challenge? In a recent meeting in
Gloucester, MA, several recreational stakeholders from New Jersey to Maine learned
first-hand how VTR data from the charter and party boat industry was still not being
used as a source of data, and that angler registry data compiled by states as required
by Magnuson-Stevens was not being used for effort/participation models. Instead
of contacting registered anglers, NMFS informed stakeholders that they were still
compiling recreational data collection using the original MRFSS methodology of calling
phone numbers at random from coastal phone books.
One week following yet another public revelation by NMFS that they had failed to
meet their federal requirements, a handful of recreational anglers in New York
received an email announcing that "NMFS has begun a pilot study of a mail-based
effort survey in New York and a few other states. They are continuing the Coastal
Household Telephone Survey (for now) and wanted to build awareness of the project
in case we get any questions while this is going on."
At this time, the Department of Commerce, NOAA Fisheries and National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS) is asking for help in improving outreach and communications in terms
of their ongoing pilot studies to improve data collection in the recreational fishing
community. Rather than implementing the NRC recommendations from 2006 or adhering
to the federal requirements laid out by Congress to meet the 2009 implementation
deadline, the government instead would like you to know that nothing has changed,
MRFSS is still being used to gather recreational harvest data, the angler registry
databases are not being used, and neither are the vessel trip reporting logs collected
on federally permitted charter and head boats.
RFA is more than willing to help our Department of Commerce in any way possible,
and we offer this notice as a public service to our recreational fishing communities
nationwide; please take note that NMFS just wants you to know that they are using
"fatally flawed" data collection and incorporating "inadequate analysis methods"
that should've been "addressed immediately" in 2006 in order to meet a 2009 congressional
deadline.
Hey, Rome wasn't built in a day. Although it's true, it only took six days for it
to burn to the ground!
Next Thursday, February 7th, part 2 in the RFA continuing series on the Absurdity
of Fisheries Management will focus on the 'biggest mistake mistake we can make'
in rolling out new management mechanisms.