Harvesters Salutes NOAA’s New Fishing Data Collection Program

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

November 14, 2014

Harvesters Salutes NOAA’s New Fishing Data Collection Program

“Overdue, but necessary shift toward more accurate, efficient stock assessments is critical to sustaining the supply of American-caught seafood for millions”

Washington, DC – Seafood Harvesters of America President Chris Brown and Vice President John Schmidt issues the following statement on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) announcement of a new mail-based method of holding recreational anglers along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts accountable for reporting their catches.

“NOAA’s preliminary findings from an extensive, multi-year pilot project remind us of the trouble we face in assessing the impact that sports fishermen have on our fish stocks, which, in some cases, reveal total effort and catch results that are 2-6 times higher than what was reported. Especially now, as Congress gears up to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act, we must establish accountable management systems that ensure that sports fishermen abide by the same strict annual catch limits that commercial fishermen have adhered to for decades. Knowing how well mail surveys have worked for respected research firms and agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau, this long overdue, but necessary shift toward more accurate, efficient stock assessments is critical to sustaining the supply of American-caught seafood for millions of American consumers.

“Given that this program will take several more years to be implemented and used for decision-making, Congress should take the time needed to get the Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization right on allocations. Certain reallocation provisions being proposed for the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regions will set a dangerous precedent for replacing real science-driven accountability with arbitrary political dictates, which turn out to be based on significantly flawed data. If Congress is serious about protecting such an economically-critical part of our coastal communities, they cannot let our precious resources be auctioned off to whatever special interest has the biggest political bankroll.”

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Background:

 Seafood Harvesters of America (“The Harvesters”), an umbrella association representing 15 commercial fishing organizations from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico north to New England. For more information, please visitseafoodharvesters.org or contact (202) 888-6296.