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The eNewsletter for
members of Coastal Conservation Association |
February 2009
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Process or Proclamation?
From the South Atlantic to the western Pacific, federal marine
management is a study in contrasts
The United States acted twice at the
beginning of 2009 to impose restrictions on
vast sections of ocean, dictating the future accessibility of those
important resources. One action took years of scientific study and
required dozens of public meetings attended by hundreds of concerned
citizens, and thousands of hours of effort and organization before being
implemented. The other took just months and was accomplished by the
stroke of a pen. Taken together, the two recent marine management
actions have cast a confusing net over the world of federal fisheries
management.
In one case, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced plans to
establish eight management areas off the coasts of North Carolina, South
Carolina, Georgia and Florida designed to recover stressed populations
of deep-water snapper and grouper. The federal rule, prepared by the
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will prohibit bottom fishing
in the designated areas, but will allow trolling and surface fishing
over the protected bottom habitat.
Designation of the areas is the result of an extensive public process
over several years that included input from various user groups,
including the sportfishing community and commercial fishers.
“We regret that past management failures have left us today with a very
short list of options for recovering these important species,” said
Frederic Miller, chairman of Coastal Conservation Association’s (CCA)
National Government Relations Committee. “However, we recognize that
properly managing long-lived, slow-growing deepwater species is a
particular challenge, and the careful process that produced these
management measures demonstrates exactly how these decisions should be
made. The South Atlantic Council should be commended for pursuing a
course of action that was based on science and invited public comment on
all the various management options that were presented.”
The federal rule, known as Amendment 14, also includes a provision that
allows for the ban on bottom fishing in affected areas to be reviewed,
adjusted and ultimately lifted when the science indicates that
populations of snapper and grouper have recovered enough to satisfy the
management goals. The designated areas range from nine to 30 nautical
miles offshore and vary in size from 50 to 500 nautical square miles.
“It should never be an easy or quick decision to close public waters to
the public, but unfortunately there are situations where that is the
best management tool available to recover certain marine resources,”
said David Cummins, president of CCA. “When we are presented with that
situation, it demands a thorough, open process guided by science to
develop the trust and support of everyone involved in the fishery. We
hope the process that developed Amendment 14 can serve as a blueprint
for the careful use of closed areas in fisheries management in the
future.”
In stark contrast, the President recently announced the creation of
marine monuments in the western Pacific, marking the second time in two
years that the rarely used Antiquities Act has been used to create a
marine monument.
“The Antiquities Act is sparse on process. In fact, it has none,” said
Matthew Paxton, federal lobbyist for CCA. “The law in its entirety is
roughly one page long and has four sections, one of which provides
absolute discretion for the President to establish national monuments.
There is no NEPA process, no opportunity for public comment and
no chance for judicial review. This is dramatically different than the
process used by the South Atlantic Council.”
The Bush Administration used the Act in 2006 to create
the Northern Hawaiian Islands Marine National
Monument, at the time the largest marine reserve in the world. Earlier
this week, the Administration used the Act once again to declare marine
monuments in the Pacific Ocean at three other locations: Rose Atoll, the
Marianas Trench and the Pacific Remote Island Area (PRIA). The new
monuments will span more than 195,000 square miles.
“No matter how noble the intention, management by proclamation is not
the way to properly manage our oceans,” said Miller. “These are
staggeringly large areas of ocean that have been summarily taken out of
any public process. The Antiquities Act discounts the importance of
receiving critical input from all user groups and providing a
comprehensive evaluation of alternatives before any restricted area is
put in place. Using the Antiquities Act as a convenient and expeditious
way to lock up the marine environment runs counter to the entire
conservation ethic.”
The Northern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument was created as a
no-fishing zone and allows neither commercial nor recreational fishing.
In announcing the new marine monuments, the President cited a recent
Executive Order requiring that recreational fishing be managed as a
sustainable activity in such areas, but a final decision on whether or
not to allow it in the new marine monuments could be years away.
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 CCA
Texas announces new habitat initiative
In
an effort
to further enhance Texas’ coastal
habitats, CCA Texas recently pledged $100,000 of seed money to start
the Habitat
Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT) initiative. The HTFT
is a bold, new step in conservation for CCA Texas that will fund and
initiate habitat restoration projects such as reef construction, marsh
replenishment and beach and bay
debris clean-ups.
“CCA Texas has been extremely successful
in so many aspects of fisheries management that we believe the time is
ripe to expand our horizons. We have created labs for research and
constructed hatcheries that have produced millions of fingerlings. Now
it’s time for habitat to be added as another arrow in our conservation
quiver,” said CCA Texas Executive Director Robby Byers. “This program
is a vision implemented by our volunteer leadership that will have a
profound effect on the Texas coast.”
CCA Texas has a rich history of
supporting habitat restoration and clean-up projects, including the
Sportsman’s Road project in Galveston, the Goose Island project in
Rockport, the Bahia Grande wetlands restoration project in the Rio
Grande Valley, and the Big Bay Debris Clean-up in the Corpus Christi
area.
“This is a tremendous step for CCA
Texas. The doors that we are opening today will have a substantial
effect tomorrow,” said CCA Texas President Bill Schwarzlose. “Our
organization is blessed to have a membership that understands the
importance of working to improve our coastal habitat. This is a
far-reaching and intensive endeavor, but we are certain that the
results of this program will be well worth the effort.”
The HTFT initiative will be funded
through CCA Texas fundraising dollars as well as outside support from
individuals, corporations and foundations.
“This initiative is based on the dynamic
vision of our organization. By partnering with corporate supporters,
other conservation groups and governmental agencies we will achieve a
lasting success,” said HTFT Director John Blaha. “CCA Texas has had
tremendous success in various endeavors by partnering with other major
players in the conservation arena. This program will be no different.
We plan on building a bridge to all concerned parties in order to have
a positive effect on our coastal resources. Truly, this is an exciting
time in the history of CCA Texas and Texas’ coastal resources.”
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Study reveals
economic reality for Gulf grouper
CCA-funded study shows value of 100 percent
recreational allocation.
In an important development in the
debate over the proper management of gag and red grouper in the
Gulf of Mexico, a newly released economic study of the fishery
finds that a 100 percent allocation to the recreational sector
would yield maximum economic value to society.
Gulf grouper has been a hotly
debated issue in the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council,
which is meeting this week in Mississippi to discuss grouper
management among other issues. The study’s economic findings
should add a new twist to the management of this intensely debated
fishery.
“Most in the recreational community
would not be surprised by these results, but I think many federal
managers have ignored this reality,” said Frederic Miller,
chairman of the Coastal Conservation Association National
Government Relations Committee. “This fishery would yield more
jobs and economic output from a 100 percent recreational
allocation.”
The study was conducted by Brad
Gentner, who ran the recreational economics data collection
program for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for eight
years before starting his own company, Gentner Consulting Group.
As a NMFS economist in the Division of Economics and Social
Analysis, he specialized in survey design, recreational fisheries
demand and welfare analysis, non-market valuation, and economic
impact modeling for recreational fisheries.
Gentner’s study,
Allocation of the Gulf of Mexico Gag and Red Grouper Fisheries,
used economics to
analyze grouper allocations in the Gulf of Mexico. Among other
findings, his analysis revealed that recreational gag grouper
fishing generates $107 million in value added, $60.8 million in
income and supports 1,513 jobs while red grouper fishing generates
$35.2 million in value added, $20 million in income and supports
501 jobs. Commercial gag grouper fishing generates $16 million in
valued added, $7.7 million in income and supports 322 jobs while
red grouper fishing generate $49 million in valued added, $23.7
million in income and supports 988 jobs. The majority of the
economic impacts in the commercial sector in both fisheries occur
in the retail and restaurant sectors, and Gentner concludes that
those sectors would experience very few losses with a 100 percent
recreational allocation.
“This study cannot be
ignored. More than ever allocation is a critical component of
virtually every fishery management system,” said Chester Brewer,
vice chairman of the CCA National Government Relations Committee.
“With this information in hand, it is outrageous that the Gulf
Council should establish an Individual Fishing Quota system for
Gulf grouper without first addressing the allocation issue.”
Click here for a press release,
Short
Term Gain, Long Term Loss, on the latest decisions from the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council regarding Gulf grouper.
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 Major
illegal fishing bust
rocks Chesapeake Bay
The U. S. Justice Department late last week announced that, along
with state investigators, it had conducted a multi-year
investigation resulting in charges being brought against
individuals who had harvested and illegally sold hundreds of
thousands of pounds of striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay and
the Potomac River. Charges have been brought against four Maryland
watermen, one Virginia waterman, two Washington fish dealers and
an upscale Georgetown fish market.
According to the Department’s announcement, the individuals and
corporation were charged with violating the Lacey Act, which is a
Federal law prohibiting individuals or corporations from creating
false records for fish or wildlife, and from transporting,
selling, or buying fish and wildlife harvested illegally.
Specifically, it was alleged that the commercial fishermen
transported and sold striped bass, knowing that they had falsely
recorded on their permit allocation cards the numbers and weight
of the striped bass they caught and failed to accurately record
the times the fish were actually harvested.
Statement by Andy Hughes, chairman, Coastal
Conservation Association Maryland, in response to the United State
Fish and Wildlife investigation of the poaching of striped bass in
the Chesapeake Bay:
The
amount of crime that the Federal Joint Investigative Taskforce has
uncovered is both alarming in its scope and tremendously
disappointing in that it was not dealt with many years earlier.
This abuse of the Chesapeake’s striped bass resource is a crime
against all Maryland citizens and those throughout our region that
enjoy the Chesapeake Bay. It’s no different than stealing money
from the bank accounts of everyone who values the Chesapeake.
Coastal Conservation Association Maryland commends the Federal
Government for its comprehensive investigation. For years the
commercial fishery has been seen as a sacred cow in Maryland. The
focus must now turn to serving all of Maryland’s citizens, not
just commercial interests.
Maryland’s Natural Resources Police (NRP) especially deserve our
support. NRP officers continually have been given more
responsibilities while their manpower and budgets have been
slashed. NRP, the state’s only enforcement agency with marine
capabilities and responsibilities, must protect the state’s
fisheries, wildlife, game, shell fish, park laws and boating
regulations. Additionally, it is responsible for marine patrols of
such Homeland Security sites as the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power
Plant. Yet, the number of NRP officers has been cut by more than
40 percent in the past 20 years. More responsibility, less
manpower—it just doesn’t make sense.
We can’t bring back the striped bass that have been stolen from
us, but we can learn a lesson. The challenge for elected and
appointed leaders in Maryland now is the future. Our leaders must
design and implement an enforceable plan to assure that crime of
this nature does not occur again in all fisheries, not just
striped bass. They must provide the resources that will allow this
plan to be enforced effectively. Maryland’s leaders must accept
this responsibility, not hope that the Federal government will
again come to their rescue. To do less, would be to fail our
citizens.
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Next Stop: Ocean Floor
Angler dollars turn subway cars, tanks and ships into fish
habitat offshore Georgia.
By Spud Woodward
Assistant Director
of the Coastal Resources Division
of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources
Mike Zacchea is a long way from home – about
900 miles south of New York City, in fact. It’s early November 2008, and
he’s standing at the stern of the R/V Marguerite, which is
loitering above the HLHA reef site, 23 nautical miles east of the Georgia
coast .
In the distance, a tug pulling a barge loaded with 44 subway cars
approaches. What brings Zacchea and
this strange cargo to such a remote destination?
To answer that question we must go back to
1999. Zacchea, Asset Recovery Officer for New York’s Metropolitan Transit
Authority (MTA), was faced with the challenge of disposing
more than 1,300 Redbird subway cars, so called because of their dark red
color. After more than a half-century of service, some would be converted to
work trains and others preserved for historical purposes. Still, more than
1,200 cars had to go somewhere.
Zacchea had an idea. Instead of scrapping the
cars in the traditional manner, they could be used to create fish habitat.
Even when stripped of their running gear, each car tipped the scales at
close to 10 tons, making it sufficiently heavy to stay put in strong ocean
currents – a prerequisite for materials used at offshore artificial reefs.
He immediately began working through the tangled web of government
procedures to make his vision a reality.
 Zacchea made contact with artificial-reef
coordinators up and down the East Coast to gauge their interest in the cars.
The cars would cost nothing, but the state would be expected to cover the
price of transportation. Some state agencies declined because of concerns
about pollution or lack of funding, while others, such as Georgia, leapt at
the opportunity.
In 2002, 48 cars splashed down on the CCA and
L reefs offshore Georgia, thanks to funding made possible by CCA Georgia.
The CCA reef was renamed CCA-JL in 2008 in memory of James Lynah, a Georgia
chapter founder and stalwart supporter of the state’s conservation programs.
Not one to rest on his laurels, Zacchea saw
that another 1,600 subway cars, originally put into service in the 1960s,
were in the queue for decommissioning. He leveraged the success of the
Redbird project to gain support for “reefing” the cars coming off the line.
Beginning in January 2008,
MTA started routing retired cars to an Upper Manhattan rail yard for
processing.
Be sure to read the March/April issue of TIDE
magazine
to find out more about the Georgia artificial reef
program.
 March/
April 2009
The History of
Exclusive Fishing Rights –
Exclusive fishing rights tend to maximize benefits to the commercial fishing
industry while mostly ignoring the beneficial economic impacts of
recreational fishing. – By Matthew Paxton
Floundering for Answers – Overfished for decades, winter flounder
pose a remarkably complex conservation challenge in the Northeast. – By
Charles A. Witek III
Next Stop: Ocean Floor – A patch of ocean bottom off the coast of
Georgia is the last stop for a barge-load of subway cars from New York City.
– By Capt. Spud Woodward
The Big Fix – A diversion project in Louisiana has revived the
Barataria Basin, sparking an explosion of native vegetation and fish
populations. – By Chris Macaluso
Time for Top-End Trout – Early spring on the upper Texas coast can be
the best of times and the worst of times for determined anglers aiming for
trophy speckled trout. – By Joe Doggett
What’s Old Is New Again – Tired of watching “regular” baits get
pecked to pieces by unworthy foes? Pinning on a blue crab almost guarantees
something big will latch onto your line. – By Joe Richard
Toasty Tarpon Springs – This area of Florida has some of the state’s
most pristine sea grass beds, along with sandy potholes, oyster mounds,
mangrove edges and sandbars. – By David A. Brown
The People’s Fish – The humble yellow perch is the focus of CCA
Maryland’s push for the state to manage fishery resources for abundance
first and harvest second. – By C.D. Dollar
Tagging Team – Mike Patrick is one of the most active fish taggers in
the country, and his efforts have provided a stream of data on many coastal
and offshore species. – By Al Rogers
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Coastal
Conservation Association
6919 Portwest, Suite 100
Houston, Texas 77024
www.JoinCCA.org
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