Coastal Conservation Association (CCA)

Conservationists Applaud Sen. Hutchison

Capitol Ideas
By Pat Murray
TIDE
Mar/Apr 2005

In 1999, concerned CCA members in Georgia were the first to sound alarms over a strange new device, benignly labeled a Marine Protected Area (MPA), being proposed for Gray’s Reef, a popular recreational fishing destination. Details were vague at the time, but rumors were swirling that federal agencies were considering the use of an MPA to arbitrarily close down the area to all fishing.

From that innocent first report, the MPA debate grew into one of the most contentious issues in CCA’s history.

The MPA issue picked up considerable steam on May 26, 2000, when President Bill Clinton signed Executive Order 13158 defining Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by Federal, State, territorial, tribal, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.”

The order did little other than establish a policy to encourage and promote the use of MPAs, but, unfortunately, it provided just enough information to spark an intense debate among different user groups, including recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and environmental organizations.

It quickly became obvious that some groups intended MPAs to be implemented as no-take zones in which all fishing, regardless of its impact on the resource, is prohibited in a particular area, forever.

This was something very different and frightening. There was nothing that clearly defined the types and uses of MPAs. There were no hard guidelines and standards for implementing, evaluating, monitoring and removing closures of this nature. MPAs were being proposed as a way to circumvent the entire fishery management process and effectively lock the public out of a public resource with little public involvement in their creation, implementation and monitoring.

CCA realized how critical it was to enact guidelines governing the use of MPAs and joined forces with the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) to the draft Freedom to Fish Act, a set of common sense requirements governing the use of MPAs. It was introduced in the 107^th and 108^th sessions of Congress. It became the subject of dozens of articles not only in TIDE but in every major fishing magazine in the country and several prestigious newspapers.

CCA members responded to the threat of losing the areas they had cherished and protected with vigorous support of CCA’s legal defense fund. A lawsuit filed by CCA in 2001 halted the closure of the Madison-Swanson and Steamboat Lumps areas in the Gulf of Mexico and represented the first significant victory for anglers. The resolution of this case essentially stopped what was becoming a freight train of MPA closures on all coasts.

The staying power of CCA and the support of its vast grassroots system have been critical factors in this long fight, which at last seems to have come to a successful conclusion. Just before Christmas, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee reported legislation that reauthorizes the nation's most important marine fisheries law, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2005. Of critical importance to anglers is a section inserted by Texas Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison that provides guidelines for the establishment of no-fishing zones.

“Proper fishery management has achieved great results in the protection of our resources. We cannot let improper management measures unfairly threaten recreational fishing opportunities,” Sen. Hutchison said. “Fishing is a timeless recreational sport enjoyed by millions of Texans and fishermen nationwide. This legislation will ensure that no-fishing zones remain a tool of last resort. Passage of this language will ensure recreational fishermen’s rights are protected along with the environment. ”

The guidelines inserted by Sen. Hutchison specify that the level of regulation should be appropriate to the conservation problem being addressed. They require that fishery closures managed under the act are based on the best scientific information available and also call for assessments of the benefits and impacts of the closure in relation to other management measures.

“Sen. Hutchison has always been a strong supporter of marine conservation in Texas and a true ally for all recreational anglers. Her tireless pursuit of this key piece of legislation is a testament to her dedication to sound fisheries management,” said Will Ohmstede, chairman of CCA Texas.

Sen. Hutchison took up the cause for proper fisheries management and first introduced Freedom to Fish legislation in 2000. Since then, she has championed the concerns of recreational anglers and continued to support legislation that defined marine reserves not as a silver bullet, but as one possible tool to manage marine resources.

The effort to include guidelines on marine reserves in the Magnuson-Stevens Act was sustained by lengthy dialogue among recreational and environmental groups to determine how, when and under what circumstances this new tool should be used.

“CCA and many other groups spent considerable time and energy discussing the use of marine reserves,” said Fred Miller, CCA Government Relations Committee chairman. “But it was Sen. Hutchison who insisted that there be guidelines for the establishment of these areas in any reauthorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act. Without her by our side for the past five years, recreational anglers across the nation would not have won this fight.”

Sen. Hutchison indeed deserves our thanks for her history of standing up for recreational anglers. With her support, the tenets of the Freedom to Fish Act have finally taken a significant first step. Now all that remains is for Magnuson-Stevens to pass the House and for the President to sign it.

The threat of MPAs has been a focus for CCA for many years, and the conclusion of this issue will be a welcome end to an extremely complex matter. The entire experience has proven once again that when recreational anglers are united in conservation, no challenge is too great.