National Marine Fisheries Service : the NMFS-specific plan to meet the goals and objectives of the Recreational fishery resources conservation plan, 1996-2001

C 55.302: G 53/996- 2001

NATIONAL MARINE
FISHERIES SERVICE

THE NMFS-SPECIFIC PLAN TO MEET

THE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF

THE RECREATIONAL FISHERY RESOURCES

CONSERVATION PLAN

1996 - 2001

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Index

SECTION

INTRODUCTION

Importance of Recreational Fisheries
NMFS Role in Recreational Fisheries

President Clinton's Executive Order on
Recreational Fisheries

Pennsylvania State University
Libraries

MAY 2 9 1997

Documents Collection
U.S. Depository Copy

PAGE

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National Recreational Fishery Resources
Conservation Plan; Goal Statement

NMFS Recreational Fishery Policy to
Achieve the National Goal

PLAN IMPLEMENTATION

Implementation Strategy I

Outputs: - Fish Stock Management and Restoration
- Habitat

Implementation Strategy II
Outputs: - Access and Facilities

Implementation Strategy HI
Outputs: - Education and Outreach

Implementation Strategy IV
Outputs: - Cooperative Programs

Regional Support Activities
Evaluation

Introduction

Importance of Recreational Fisheries

* Recreational marine fisheries and related industries are supported by annual direct expenditures from sport
fishing of more than $7 billion.

* Nationwide, the sport fishing industry provides for more than one million jobs. The multiplier effect of
these industries provides for billions of dollars in economic activity to the U.S. economy.

* Clearly, healthy fisheries greatly benefit the nation. These valuable resources must be managed to ensure
that their benefits are sustainable.

NMFS Role in Recreational Fisheries

* The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the stewardship of our nafion's living
marine resources and their habitat extending over more than two million square nautical miles of ocean and
coastal areas known as the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

* NMFS' major activities include surveys of stocks, collection of catch data, research on living marine
resources, protecting marine habitats and endangered and threatened marine species, protecting marine
mammals, setting marine fish harvest quotas and other regulations necessary for conservation and manage-
ment, and investigating seafood quality and safety issues.

* This plan is designed to build upon and strengthen NMFS commitment to the goal of providing for in-
creased recreational fishing opportunities nationwide through the conservation, restoration, and enhancement
of marine systems and fish populations, increasing fishing access, education and outreach, and increasing
partnership opportunities. This plan is an outline of agency actions to overcome obstacles to healthy marine
fishery resources and to help safeguard the valuable cultural and economic benefits that marine recreational
fishing provides. While it is directed at enhancing recreational fishing opportunities, achievement of its
objectives will benefit all users of our nation's marine fisheries resources.

President's Executive Order

on

Recreational Fisheries *

On June 7, 1995, President Clinton signed Executive Order 12962 - Recreational Fisheries. The Executive
Order recognized the social, cultural, and economic importance of recreational fishing to the nation and
directed Federal agencies to "improve the quantity, function, sustainable productivity, and distribution of
U.S. aquatic resources for increased recreational fishing opportunities." Further, the Executive Order
established the National Recreational Fisheries Coordination Council consisting of Secretarial designees
from the Departments of Commerce, Interior, Agriculture, Defense, Energy, and Transportation, and the
Environmental Protection Agency. The Coordination Council, in cooperation with Federal agencies. States
and Tribes, and after consulting with the Federally chartered Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Coun-
cil, was directed to produce the Recreational Fishery Resources Conservation Plan. The Conservation Plan
was unveiled on June 3, 1996 and set forth a 5-year agenda for Federal agencies that established:
( 1 ) measurable objectives to conserve and restore aquatic systems; (2) actions to be taken by Federal
agencies; (3) accountability measures; and (4) evaluation criteria.

The Conservation Plan directs each Federal agency to develop an agency-specific implementation plan that
identifies actions needed to meet the goals and objectives of the Plan.

Additionally, the Executive Order directed NMFS and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to de-
velop a policy that will reduce conflicts between the administration of the Endangered Species Act of 1973
( 1 6 U.S.C. 1 53 1 et seq.) and recreational fisheries. NMFS and FWS published such a policy on June 3,
1996.

* Executive Order 1 2962 - Recreational Fisheries, is printed in its entirety as Appendix A to The Recre-
ational Fishery Resources Conservation Plan.

National Recreational
Fishery Resources
Conservation Plan

Goal Statement from the National Plan:

"Provide for increased recreational fishing oppor-
tunities nationwide through the conservation,
restoration, and enhancement of aquatic systems
and fish populations, and by increasing fishing
access, education and outreach, and partnership
opportunities."

NMFS' Recreational Fishery
Policy to Achieve the
National Goal

I. Fish Stocks and Fisheries Habitat - Rebuild
and maintain fish stocks and protect, enhance, and
restore habitat critical to marine recreational
fisheries. Ensure that fisheries management deci-
sions affecting the status offish stocks consider
recreational fishing interests and that the data for
making such decisions are collected and analyzed
using the best available science.

II. Public Use - Support and encourage pro-
grams and projects designed to enhance marine
recreational fishing opportunities for the public.

III. Public Education - Support, develop and
implement programs designed to enhance public
awareness and understanding of marine conserva-
tion issues relevant to the well-being of marine
recreational fishing.

IV. Partnerships - Establish and encourage the
establishment of partnerships between govern-
ments and the private sector to advance aquatic
resource stewardship and enhance recreational
fishing opportunities.

Plan
Implementation

Implementation Strategy I

miamiiiamiimmimmim.

important fish stocks and their habitat.

3

OUTPUTS; Fish Stock Management and
Restoration

Prevent overfishing of currently healthy
recreationally important fish stocks during the
effective years of the Plan.

Rebuild recreationally important fish stocks to
levels consistent with producing maximum sustain-
able yield (MS Y). For example, restore, where
appropriate, recreationally important stocks to
levels attaining or exceeding 20% spawning
potential ratio (SPR).

Develop quantitative economic and social infonna-
tion on recreational fisheries and, based on this
credible scientific data, develop effective models to
be used by NMFS to ascertain the economic and
social impact of fishery management decisions on
the recreational community.

Complete research initiatives on tunas, billfishes,
and sharks that will significantly enhance knowl-
edge of stock relationships, species interactions,
gear avoidance behavior and vulnerabiUty, and
geographical ranges.

When and where appropriate, establish partner-
ships for promoting catch and release programs as
a management tool for conservation of
recreationally important fish stocks.

OVTFUTS; Habitat

Develop, and provide to Regional Fishery Man-
agement Councils, essential fish habitat (EFH)
guidelines that will assist in amending Fishery
Management Plans in accordance with the require-
ments of the Magnuson-Stevens Act as amended
by the Sustainable Fisheries Act of 1996.

\n conjunction with the Regional Fishery Manage-
ment Councils, identify and characterize critical
habitats for recreationally important species under
federal management.

Complete baseline habitat inventories by the year
2001.

Implementation Strategy II

Develop opportunities for increasing recre-
ational fishing access and facilities in the
mann^rtvimn^^

OUTPUTS ; Access and Facilities

Provide the Army Corps of Engineers with revised
monitoring guidelines and criteria to be used for
projects which include the use of artificial reefs for
Federally permitted marine construction projects.

Complete Memoranda of Understanding (or
similar agreements) with the states and industry to
encourage environmentally responsible acquisition
and/or expansion of public access opportunities for
anglers and boaters.

Establish partnerships with appropriate organiza-
tions to provide for environmentally responsible
expansion of recreational fishing opportunities for
both young and elderly Americans.

Establish partnerships with appropriate organiza-
tions to provide for environmentally responsible
expansion of recreational fishing opportunities for
differently-abled Americans.

Establish partnerships with appropriate organiza-
tions to provide for environmentally responsible
expansion of recreational fishing opportunities for
citizens of the inner cities.

Implementation Strategy III

Promote public education and support fmj^Kk
marine resource conservation and angling »
ethics. m

OUTPUTS ; Education and Outreach

In addition to NMFS Headquarter' s Recreational
Fishing (IRF) positions, establish Recreational
Fishing Coordinator responsibility as collateral
duties in an appropriate functional area in each of
the NMFS Regional Offices.

Create recreational fisheries public outreach
sections at all Regional offices.

Establish Marine Resources Merit Badge within
Scouting and other similar programs.

Establish a liaison with the National Association of
Science Teachers (NAST) to incorporate marine
fisheries resources conservation into curricula and
cosponsor teacher workshops with Sea Grant and
National Marine Educators.

Hold annual public meetings in conjunction with
state coastal zone management programs to obtain
the recreational fishing community's input and
involvement and to incorporate recreational fishing
issues into marine resource agendas.

In partnership with States, industry and the Sport
Fishing and Boating Partnership Council (SFBPC),
NMFS will develop, promote and distribute a
"Code of Conduct for Recreational Fishing."

Establish and publish procedures for ensuring the
prompt and efficient notification of the public of
issues of importance to the marine recreational
fishing community.

Implementation Strategy IV

Work cooperatively with State and Tribe
governments, industry, user and conservation*
groups and other potential partners to ad-
vance marine resource conservation, enhance 1
recreational fishing opportunities and estab-
lish cost share programs. j

OUTPUTS; Cooperative Programs

Establish criteria for NMFS to cosponsor youth,
senior, inner city, and differently-abled fishing
toumaments.

Establish, utilize and/or augment cost-share educa-
tion programs with the Interstate Marine Fisheries
Commissions.

Participate in joint efforts with other Federal
agencies and the States to maintain, restore, and
enhance recreationally important anadiomous fish
runs.

Ensure that reports and publications resulting from
NMFS research on recreational fisheries are
communicated to the public in understandable
ternis using the world wide web and other appro-
priate means.

REGIONAL SUPPORT
ACTIVITIES

(These activities are not currently funded and
are listed for future consideration as funding
permits).

* Support the preparation and distribution (utilizing
Saltonstall/Kennedy grants and other similar
funding sources) of videos or other appropriate
media on recreational angling ethics and practices
in regional context.

* Support the establishment of NMFS Regional
mini-grant programs (approximately $10 to $20K)
for local nonprofit conservation groups to support
recreational fishing educational activities.

* Support the publication and distribution of
Regional marine recreational fishing handbooks,
containing information such as Ucense require-
ments, time of openings/closings, when and where
to fish for certain species, fishing ethics, etc.

* Promote programs for increasing recreational
fishing data by increasing current, and establishing
new, tag and release partnerships.

* Support expanded acquisitioii and reliability of
recreational fisheries statistics, and their subsequent
incorporation into a recreational-specific public
information document.

EVALUATION

Each year at the end of March, as required by Executive Order 12962, a report will be provided to the
Sport Fishing and Boating Partnership Council, utilizing currently captured and reported data, that will
indicate progress made and whether more marine recreational fishing opportunities are being provided.

Additionally, NMFS is taking strong steps, in cooperation with the Interstate Marine Fisheries Commis-
sions, States and stakeholders, to increase recreational fisheries data reliability, increase data comparability
and accuracy, and allow for better and faster sharing of marine recreational fisheries data.

"The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as
assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased and not

impaired in value''

- Theodore Roosevelt

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