Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)

Fishing Policy is Bipartisan Sport
By CCA General Counsel Bob Hayes

I am often asked what impact the November elections will have on federal legislation regarding marine recreational fishing. The answer: Not much. Most folks are surprised that my answer over the years has changed so little. The reason is that changes in the way policy effects recreational fishing are influenced by who is in the White House or the State House much more than which party is in charge of Congress.

Fish policy is a bipartisan sport in the Congress. Members on the authorizing committees (Commerce in the senate and Resources in the house) and coastal senators with constituent interests are the ones predominately focused on resource issues. Most other legislators are not involved unless they are members of the Sportsman Caucus or some other organization. The fact that they are republicans or democrats is nowhere near as important as the state in which they live.

The go-to guys for the shrimp industry are Billy Tauzin, a republican from Louisiana, and Solomon Ortiz, a democrat from Texas. They support fish policies that favor commercial fishing, because their constituents are commercial fishermen.

Their party affiliation and basic philosophical leanings don’t matter; they support their constituents’ interests.

Never was this irony reflected more clearly than when Gerry Studds represented New Bedford and Cape Cod. Studds was a liberal democrat and an ardent environmentalist on almost every issue – except those that impacted the commercial fishing industry. The reason, of course, was that he had to go home, and as Tip O’Neil pointed out, all politics are local.

What does matter is who is in the White House and the State House. Most recreational fisheries are managed under regulation issued by the federal government or a state’s department of natural resources. Who appoints the people making those decisions and the philosophy behind them is critical. We have had success with both republican and democratic presidents and governors. Some of our brethren on the West Coast have not been so fortunate.

In California, recreational fishing has been closed around 25 percent of the Channel Islands, and there are proposals to expand these closures to include state waters along 20 percent of the entire California coast. Those proposals are supported by the governor – and his appointed head of DNR. Fortunately, extending these closures to federal waters will be in the near-term a decision made by a recreational fisherman, George W. Bush, and a group of people he has appointed at NOAA and the Department of Interior.

CCA will continue to push its agenda with republicans and with democrats who are close to our issues and our members. Where we can, we will work with Congressional members who may disagree with us on some issues but can help on the ones about which we care the most. The next Congress will address the Magnuson Act and the Freedom to Fish Act, both of which are vital to the enjoyment of sportfishing.

Regardless of who occupies the White House, the State House or Congress, as always, we mostly will need our members’ help to protect our interests.