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Congress considers state management of Gulf red snapper
“Furthermore, the failed management has done significant economic harm to communities along the Gulf Coast who rely on the billions of dollars anglers spend annually. This is clearly a cry for help.” H.R. 3099, which currently has 20
bipartisan cosponsors, aligns with a call from four Gulf states governors for Congress to take action to reverse the damaging economic impacts cur- rently resulting from an “irretrievably broken” system of federal manage- ment of Gulf red snapper. “We have tried to work through the
The U.S. House of Representatives’
Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs held a hear- ing in December on legislation to trans - fer management of Gulf red snapper from the federal system and allow the states to take responsibility for the fishery. The legislation, H.R. 3099, pro- poses a new course for management of Gulf red snapper, an important fishery that has been plagued by short seasons and privatization schemes even as the stock has recovered beyond expectations.
“ TIDE As a result of the current fed-
eral management of Gulf red snap- per, we have witnessed lawsuit after lawsuit, and anglers continue to be hit with the shortest recre- ational seasons on record and are justifiably outraged,” said Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.), who led a bipartisan coalition with Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) to file H.R. 3099.
council process, but the council process is not working,” Robert Barham, Secre tary, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries testified at the hearing. “If it was, there would be no reason for this bill and I would not be standing before you today. NMFS itself even recognizes that new and innovative solutions are need- ed to manage the Gulf red snapper fishery. The Gulf states are that solution.”
constructive,” David Cresson, execu- tive director of CCA Lou isiana told the Com mittee. “Compound ing the problem, NOAA Fisheries has embraced catch share pro- grams to reward businesses that are able to count their catch to the pound. Up to 70 percent of this fishery will be privatized in the commercial and charter/ for-hire sectors at a time when recreational anglers on their own boats face single-digit seasons on a booming stock of fish. It is no wonder that anglers believe they are unwel- come visitors in the federal fisheries management process.” State-based fishery management
has proven to be far more effective than the federal system and has engi- neered some of the greatest marine conservation victories in the country. Whereas federal management of red snapper has been marked by crisis after crisis, the states have proven far more capable of not only conserving and
In 2014, all five Gulf States
were out of compliance with federal regulations stipulating ever-shrinking recreational seasons in spite of a booming population of red snapper. Each Gulf state also launched recreational data collection programs independent of federal efforts last year, spurred on by a lack of faith in federal efforts. “As it stands today, federal manage-
ment is a confusing spiral of uncertain regulations and greater mistrust in a management system that anglers in - creas ingly see as punitive rather than
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managing robust fisheries, but also providing greater access to those resources for their citizens. “I feel that Alabama has more of an
opportunity to manage this fishery in totality under the provisions of H.R.3099 than we currently have under NOAA Fisheries and current federal law,” Chris Blankenship, Director of Marine Re sources for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, told the Committee.
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