Federal Saltwater Angler Registry Would Help In Gathering Data
By FRANK SARGEANT
The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 15, 2008
Updated: 12:11 am
Under a plan just announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service, anglers fishing offshore saltwater anywhere in the country starting next year will be required to have a federal or state registry card.
"This is an essential effort to improve the way we collect information about fishing pressure and fishing harvest," said Monica Allen, public affairs spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. "In the past, this information has been acquired by random calls to residents of coastal areas, and there has been some concern about its accuracy. NOAA believes the registry program, which will allow us to create a phone book of all anglers who fish offshore in saltwater, will give us much better information on which to base our fishery management."
Many anglers might agree Allen is right, after the fiasco a couple years back when an NMFS random sampling method resulted in an estimate that red grouper catches had doubled in a year - even though angling pressure was widely known to have been minimal due to extended bad weather. Federal regulators were sued by recreational fishing groups when they put an emergency closure in place on the species, and had to back off on the rule.
Most recently, the NMFS has moved to severely cut red snapper harvest in the Gulf of Mexico, even though nearly all experienced anglers fishing snapper waters report the most abundant population in more than 20 years.
It must be noted that the regulators were not solely at fault in the red grouper blooper nor the snapper flapper; they were required by federal law to shut down the fisheries based on the harvest data, but the data system itself is so poor that the results were highly suspect by all accounts, and maybe 180 degrees wrong.
The new "phone book" would at least allow federal researchers to talk to individuals who are actually on the water and hopefully have at minimum a basic understanding of what is going on there.
According to Allen, the public can comment on the proposed rule through Aug. 11. Visit countmyfish.noaa.gov; send a fax to (301) 713-1875; or mail a letter to an address on the Web site. Questions can be addressed by e-mail to gordon.colvin@noaa.gov.
Allen said the rule is expected to be finalized by Nov. 1.
Under the plan, anglers who buy a state saltwater license would be exempt from the registry requirement. In fact, entire states can request exemption if they have a saltwater license; seven coastal states do not.
Apparently, Florida's rule allowing resident shore, bridge and pier anglers to fish saltwater without a state license would not be an issue, because the registry requirement applies only to federal waters - more than 3 nautical miles into the Atlantic, and more than 9 nautical miles into the Gulf. Anglers fishing aboard charter boats would be exempt under the boat license, according to the NOAA.
Be that as it may, all other anglers who do not have a state license and who fish federal waters will have to register, providing their name, address, telephone number, e-mail and the general area they fish. Registered anglers receive a card proving they have signed up. Some of these anglers will be called for the annual surveys under what is being called the Marine Recreational Information Program.
While the first two years of the registry would be free, the feds are authorized to begin charging a fee for the required registration after 2010; in effect, it becomes a federal license to fish. Fees would be from $15 to $25, Allen said. (Note that, as described, those with state licenses should not, in theory, have to buy this license - we hope.)
Bottom line is, this is likely to provide far better data than federal regulators have had available, but at the cost of more bureaucracy and perhaps another federal fee.
By FRANK SARGEANT
The Tampa Tribune
Published: June 15, 2008
Updated: 12:11 am
Under a plan just announced by the National Marine Fisheries Service, anglers fishing offshore saltwater anywhere in the country starting next year will be required to have a federal or state registry card.
"This is an essential effort to improve the way we collect information about fishing pressure and fishing harvest," said Monica Allen, public affairs spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Washington, D.C. "In the past, this information has been acquired by random calls to residents of coastal areas, and there has been some concern about its accuracy. NOAA believes the registry program, which will allow us to create a phone book of all anglers who fish offshore in saltwater, will give us much better information on which to base our fishery management."
Many anglers might agree Allen is right, after the fiasco a couple years back when an NMFS random sampling method resulted in an estimate that red grouper catches had doubled in a year - even though angling pressure was widely known to have been minimal due to extended bad weather. Federal regulators were sued by recreational fishing groups when they put an emergency closure in place on the species, and had to back off on the rule.
Most recently, the NMFS has moved to severely cut red snapper harvest in the Gulf of Mexico, even though nearly all experienced anglers fishing snapper waters report the most abundant population in more than 20 years.
It must be noted that the regulators were not solely at fault in the red grouper blooper nor the snapper flapper; they were required by federal law to shut down the fisheries based on the harvest data, but the data system itself is so poor that the results were highly suspect by all accounts, and maybe 180 degrees wrong.
The new "phone book" would at least allow federal researchers to talk to individuals who are actually on the water and hopefully have at minimum a basic understanding of what is going on there.
According to Allen, the public can comment on the proposed rule through Aug. 11. Visit countmyfish.noaa.gov; send a fax to (301) 713-1875; or mail a letter to an address on the Web site. Questions can be addressed by e-mail to gordon.colvin@noaa.gov.
Allen said the rule is expected to be finalized by Nov. 1.
Under the plan, anglers who buy a state saltwater license would be exempt from the registry requirement. In fact, entire states can request exemption if they have a saltwater license; seven coastal states do not.
Apparently, Florida's rule allowing resident shore, bridge and pier anglers to fish saltwater without a state license would not be an issue, because the registry requirement applies only to federal waters - more than 3 nautical miles into the Atlantic, and more than 9 nautical miles into the Gulf. Anglers fishing aboard charter boats would be exempt under the boat license, according to the NOAA.
Be that as it may, all other anglers who do not have a state license and who fish federal waters will have to register, providing their name, address, telephone number, e-mail and the general area they fish. Registered anglers receive a card proving they have signed up. Some of these anglers will be called for the annual surveys under what is being called the Marine Recreational Information Program.
While the first two years of the registry would be free, the feds are authorized to begin charging a fee for the required registration after 2010; in effect, it becomes a federal license to fish. Fees would be from $15 to $25, Allen said. (Note that, as described, those with state licenses should not, in theory, have to buy this license - we hope.)
Bottom line is, this is likely to provide far better data than federal regulators have had available, but at the cost of more bureaucracy and perhaps another federal fee.
