In March, we reported the Obama administration's efforts to debunk rumors of a possible ban on recreational fishing. Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is reaching out to sportfishers. NOAA has "created a new post for a high-level national policy adviser for recreational fishing, reorganized regional offices to put greater emphasis on sportfishing and created a new advisory panel on the issue," Allison Winter of Greenwire reports for The New York Times. The administration will also host hundreds of fishers this weekend for a national summit on recreational saltwater fishing.
The efforts are an attempt to reach out to the more than 15 million saltwater recreational fishers. They have a significant economic impact, but could pose significant challenges as NOAA attempts to rebuild depleted fish stocks, Winter reports. Observers say the possibility of NOAA imposing strict catch limits has led to a "fairly strained" dialogue between the industry and administration."We want to create a more trusting atmosphere between us and the recreational community, so they can see that we are responsive," Russell Dunn, NOAA's new national policy adviser for recreational fisheries, told Winter. "And so they can understand that while we are responsive to their concerns, we also have stewardship responsibilities to the resource."
NOAA's most recent assessment of the industry found "saltwater recreational fishermen spent more than $31 billion on gross expenditures in 2006 and contributed to more than $82 billion in total sales," Winter writes. While fishers say the administration has undervalued their economic contribution, some scientists claim that NOAA "underestimates the sportfishing community's impact on fish stocks," Winter writes. Fishers estimate they account for three or four percent of the overall catch, but a 2004 study placed that number closer to 10 percent and at almost 25 percent of the catch of overfished populations. (Read more)
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