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NJ Senate Committee Approves Free Fishing Registry

TRENTON, NJ --(Ammoland.com)- Yesterday the Senate Environment and Energy Committee approved Senate Bill S1122, which requires the DEP to establish free recreational saltwater fishing registry.

The bill will now head to the full senate for a vote as early as Monday, December 13, 2011.

Voting in favor of the free registry were Senators: Gordon, Bateman, Beck, and Greenstein. Committee Chair, Senator Smith abstained for reasons of conscience stating that the costs of implementing the registry were not considered in the bill.

The vote brings New Jersey closer to meeting federal registry requirements established by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and avoiding a $15.00 federal registration fee. The salt water registry is a federally mandated data collection program intended to ensure sustainable fisheries based on the best available science. An Assembly version of the bill (A823) has already passed.

Last week the NJOA (CF) sent out a NMFS announcement that a $15 fee would be imposed on individual saltwater anglers as of January 1, 2011 for those not currently registered through the federal program or by coastal registrations from other states. Those having an active Highly Migratory Species permit are also exempt from needing to register.

Two representatives from NJ DEP requested the committee consider a $5.00 registry fee. NJOA (CF) Chairman, Anthony P. Mauro said, “For nearly a year we’ve been trying to get the DEP to give us a firm understanding of how they would comply with the federal mandate but today was the first glimpse of their position.”

Based on a consensus of its council the NJOA (CF) has been advocating a $2.00 registry fee to cover the costs of implementation. “As a practical matter, the council is not opposed to a free saltwater registry,” said Mauro. He continued, “Concerns center on whether the costs associated with implementing a saltwater registry will impact an already severely underfunded Bureau of Marine Fisheries (BMF). The devil is in the details. Bill sponsors Senator Beck and Senator Van Drew did not address this important aspect in their bill.”

In addition to saltwater anglers the NJOA (CF) council is composed of hunters and freshwater anglers. Mauro added, “These diverse interests force us to consider whether there are unexpected consequences to a free registry. We certainly don’t want to see the Division of Fish and Wildlife transfer funds from the sale of freshwater fishing licenses, hunting licenses, permits and stamps, and to free up monies for implementing a saltwater registry. In effect, this scenario would swap funds currently used for natural resource management to data management. If it were to happen it would be an unacceptable tradeoff.”

Pete Grimbilas, NJOA (CF) President, said, “An appropriation from the state to cover the costs would be one way to remedy our concerns and show respect for the nearly $2 billion in economic activity and 10,000 jobs generated by sportsmen and women. With a little creative thinking and use of technology perhaps the state can simply find a low cost method to fulfill registry obligations.”

The NJOA (CF) council will continue to work with other fishing groups and legislators to ensure a registry that improves the integrity of fisheries and benefits saltwater anglers.

Anthony P. Mauro, Sr.
Chairman,
New Jersey Outdoor Alliance: “We’ve got your back!”

JOIN NJOA: http://www.njoutdooralliance.org/support/njoa.html

About:
NJOA – The mission of New Jersey Outdoor Alliance is to serve as a grassroots coalition of outdoorsmen and outdoorswomen dedicated to environmental stewardship. We will champion the intrinsic value of natural resource conservation – including fishing, hunting and trapping, among opinion leaders and policy makers. We will support legislation, and those sponsoring legislation, that provides lasting ecological and social enrichment through sustainable use of the earths resources. Visit: www.njoutdooralliance.org

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CSF and Fishing-Boating Partners Voice Recreational Angling Concerns To White House Task Force

WASHINGTON, DC – -(FishNLand.com)- The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, along with its partners in the U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition, submitted formal comments Friday to the White House Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, voicing the concerns of recreational boating and angling interests.

The “Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning” is the second document released by the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force which was created by President Obama last June to develop a draft national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the oceans, the Great Lakes, and the coasts of the United States.

In the first draft policy report, the “Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force”, released on September 17, the Task Force failed to include specific issues of concern to the recreational fishing and boating communities, in spite of a summer meeting with the Task Force and a written submission from the coalition.

The groups’ comments, submitted to Ms. Nancy Sutley, chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, clearly define the importance of recreational angling and boating to the national economy and our nation’s social fabric.

“Some of the potential policy implications of the this Interim Framework have the potential to be a real threat to recreational anglers who not only contribute billions of dollars to the economy and millions of dollars in tax revenues to support fisheries conservation, but who are also the backbone of the American fish and wildlife conservation ethos,” said CSF President Jeff Crane.

Among numerous other concerns is the development a top-down federal approach to ocean management that would impact every sector and every ocean activity. This new structure is built on vague or unspecified statutory authority, without input from Congress, and does not appropriately recognize the role of the states, which have the primary jurisdiction for resident fish and wildlife.

Given the scope of economic, conservation, and social contributions of recreational fishing and boating, it is imperative that any national ocean policy encourage, promote and celebrate recreational activities in the marine and freshwater environments. This can only be achieved if the policy and the implementation of marine spatial planning provide for access to marine areas for recreation and the opportunities for angling.

“There are over 1 million jobs in America supported coast to coast by recreational fishing. The Task Force has not included any accountability requirements in their reports for evaluating or mitigating how the new policies they are drafting will impact the fishing industry or related economies,” said Phil Morlock, CSF Board Member and Director of Environmental Affairs for Shimano. “Given that the scope of this process appears to include a new set of policies for all the coastal and inland waters of the United States, the omission of economic considerations is inexcusable.”

Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus (CSC) member Rep. Adam Putnam and CSC House Co-Chair Rep. Dan Boren sent a letter to Ms. Sutley in November, urging inclusion of the recreational fishing community in the formation of a proposed new ocean governance structure.

“Inclusion of the recreational fishing community in this effort could greatly assist the task force’s stated objectives,” said Rep. Boren. “They should welcome the participation of recreational anglers and seek their support in ensuring the conservation, maintenance, and restoration of our nation’s oceans and lakes.”

About:
We can have the best wildlife habitat imaginable and a record number of people who buy fishing and hunting licenses, but it won’t matter if misguided laws and regulations are made at the federal and state levels that negatively impact our outdoor traditions. Keeping sportsmen’s issues front and center is what the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation does. Day in and day out, our sole focus is on providing a voice for sportsmen in the political arena. Serving as the first line of defense in protecting America’s outdoor traditions as well as promoting the sportsmen’s agenda through the collective muscle of sportsmen’s caucuses.

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TRCP Lauds Appointment to Key Federal Fisheries Post
Eric Schwaab named assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.

WASHINGTON, DC – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today welcomed the appointment of Eric Schwaab as assistant administrator for fisheries for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Schwaab, who in his new position will oversee management and conservation of marine fisheries and marine mammals, sea turtles and coastal fisheries habitat within the U.S. economic zone, has a long history of partnership with the TRCP in attaining goals important to the sportsmen-conservation community.

Schwaab’s career spans more than 25 years’ involvement in resource management at the local, state and federal levels.

As resource director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, he co-chaired the TRCP Marine Conservation Working Group and was instrumental in bolstering the interests of angler-conservationists in the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which governs marine fisheries management in federal waters. Schwaab comes to NOAA from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, where he was deputy secretary, and has served as a member of the U.S. Department of Commerce Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

“Having worked with Eric Schwaab on fisheries issues over the years, I am confident he will bring a common-sense approach, open mind and collaborative spirit to this important position,” said Tom Sadler, who oversees the TRCP’s marine fisheries initiative. “The TRCP looks forward to continuing to partner with Eric as we seek to ensure effective management and conservation of America’s unique marine resources and recreational opportunities.”

In a statement announcing Schwaab’s appointment, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator, called him a “creative and proven manager, consensus builder and leader” and said that his experience and leadership will “bring a fresh perspective to the management of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.”

The NMFS is charged with protecting and preserving the nation’s marine resources through scientific research, fisheries management, law enforcement and habitat conservation. Schwaab will begin work in his new position on Feb. 16.

“The recreational angling community greatly valued the leadership of Eric Schwaab as we labored toward reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,” said Jim Martin, TRCP board chairman and conservation director of the Berkley Conservation Institute. “We also appreciated his leadership in the development of the National Fish Habitat Action Plan.

“Dedicated sportsmen like Eric hold the key to sustaining citizens’ abilities to speak up and improve management of our natural resources,” Martin concluded, “and we at the TRCP anticipate future opportunities to work with Eric and NOAA to achieve these common goals.”

Learn more about the TRCP’s work to conserve America’s marine recreational fishing resources.

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

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