On June 12, President Obama created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.  The Task Force, led by the Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), was charged with developing a national policy and implementation strategy for conserving and managing the United States ocean territory and the Great Lakes.  The policy will govern ocean and Great Lakes resource management and coordinate efforts among countless federal, state and local agencies.

The Task Force's Interim Framework for a National Ocean Policy was out for public review and comment until Feb. 12, 2010.  The single most obvious flaw in the report is the omission of responsibly regulated recreational fishing as a key activity for the oceans and the Great Lakes.  In addition, as a national policy document governing the oceans and Great Lakes, the report is skewed toward a preservationist policy of locking up public waters instead of one that promotes sustainable uses such as recreational fishing.
 

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CCA News

Formal written comments on the Priority Objectives of the National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and the Great Lakes - April 29, 2011
The recreational fishing and boating community is anxious to engage in the National Ocean Policy development to insure our community is adequately represented in this significant policymaking process. We come to this engagement trying to answer an ever‐increasing number of questions from our members, businesses and partners as to what exactly will be the impacts of this process on the interests of recreational anglers and boaters.

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Sportfishing and Boating Communities Continue to Call for Public Access in New National Ocean Policy - July 21, 2010
On July 19, 2010, the White House's Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force released its final report on a new national policy with the stated goals of ensuring protection, maintenance and restoration of the nation’s oceans, coastal areas and the Great Lakes. Over the past year, the recreational fishing and boating community provided substantial input to the Task Force, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and advocated that the social, economic, public health and conservation benefits of sustainable use of our nation’s public resources receive priority consideration in the new coastal and ocean management policy.

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U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition Comments on White House Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning - Feb. 12, 2010
These comments were prepared and signed by representatives of the following groups: American Sportfishing Association, Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society, Berkley Conservation Institute, Center for Coastal Conservation, Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, International Game Fish Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association, Shimano Sport Fisheries Initiative, and The Billfish Foundation.

Click HERE for a complete copy of the comments.

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CCA Testimony on Oceans Policy Before Senate Commerce Committee -
Nov. 4, 2009
“The focus of my comments will be on the process to establish a national ocean policy and the role of Congress; maintaining regional ingenuity; ensuring access to the marine environment; and finally promoting marine recreation as a core element of the national ocean policy.”

- Matt Paxton, CCA Federal Lobbyist

Click HERE for a complete copy of Paxton’s testimony

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CCA to Testify on Oceans Policy Before Senate Committee - Nov. 2, 2009
U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has invited Coastal Conservation Association to appear before a hearing on Nov. 4 to testify on the National Ocean Policy Task Force’s Interim Report. CCA federal lobbyist Matt Paxton will address the development of the National Ocean Policy and the role for recreational fisheries in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes stewardship.
“The Senate Commerce Committee is critical in the passage and implementation of laws that impact the oceans and fisheries,” said Matt Paxton, CCA federal lobbyist. “This is the committee that gives the Administration the legal authority to do what it wants to do with the National Ocean Policy.”

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CCA Testimony Before the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force - Oct 19, 2009
Unfortunately, the experience all too often for the recreational community is to be managed or considered after the fact.  Federal ocean and fishery management policy has historically focused solely on commercial enterprises, be it energy, shipping or fishing.  And recreational interests are simply regulated or managed in a manner to do the least harm.  This was the mind-set for years in terrestrial management until bold thinkers like Theodore Roosevelt and others championed the outdoorsman conservation ethic and managed fish and wildlife resources for the sustained enjoyment of the public.

- Jeff Angers, President
Center for Coastal Conservation

Click HERE for a complete copy of the testimony

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CCA Questions Obama Administration’s Ocean Policy - Oct. 15, 2009
A recently issued report of the White House Interagency Ocean Task Force has caused widespread concern among America’s recreational anglers. Released just weeks after the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) promised to take a “fresh look” at the federal agency’s relationship with recreational anglers, the Interim Report threatens to fast-track sweeping reforms for the management of resources in federal waters, but fails to recognize – or even mention – the conservation, economic or social contributions of recreational angling.

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Coalition letter to White House Council on Environmental Quality on National Oceans Policy - July 15, 2009
Ultimately, anglers, boaters and other sportsmen and women are the most significant funding sources for conservation and recreation in this country. Angler participation and the equipment and fishing licenses they purchase are crucial to conservation management in the United States. In fact, the U.S. user-pay/user-benefit model of fisheries conservation and management is the envy of countries around the globe.