Freedom to Fish Act to Clarify
Role of Marine Protected Areas

Washington, DC – Legislative efforts to delineate the role of no-fishing zones in federal fisheries management have taken another step forward with the introduction of the Freedom to Fish Act (S. 2244) by Sens. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s (R-TX) and John Breaux (D-LA). This important legislation seeks to establish basic criteria for the use of marine protected areas (MPAs) and provides for the continued use of the nation's fishery resources by recreational anglers without arbitrary closures of public waters.

“By using measurable scientific criteria, the Freedom to Fish Act will correct a system that could unfairly penalize America's recreational fishermen and provides more effective protection of our resources,” Sen. Hutchison said. “This bill brings some common sense to managing our coastal and ocean waters."

The use of MPAs has sparked intense debate among different user groups since 2000, when closures to recreational fishing were arbitrarily implemented off the west coast of Florida and in the Channel Islands of California. In response to those closures, Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) and the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) worked with congressional leaders to draft the Freedom to Fish Act, which will ensure that MPAs are only considered within the framework of traditional fisheries management. The legislation has found broad support among recreational angling groups, including the Recreational Fishing Alliance, BASS, National Marine Manufacturers Association, International Game Fish Association and Jersey Coast Anglers Association.

“This legislation does not prohibit the use of marine protected areas, but rather lays the ground rules for their use without arbitrarily and unnecessarily excluding the public,” said Frederic L. Miller, chairman of CCA’s Government Relations Committee.  “MPAs are a management tool in the box available to fishery managers.  They are not a tool to circumvent the entire fishery management process.”

“Over the last several years, many different groups, including the sportfishing community, have been pushing for stronger ocean conservation policies,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman. “But better conservation does not need to come at the expense of sportfishing. The sportfishing community will be an important ally in broader efforts to make progress for our oceans.”

CCA opposes regulations that prohibit recreational fishing unless it can be scientifically determined that recreational fishermen are the cause of a specific conservation problem and traditional conservation measures are inadequate to solve the problem.

“Recreational anglers have a long history of putting the health of a fishery ahead of their own interests within the fisheries management system,” said David Cummins, CCA president. “Ocean sanctuaries, marine reserves and MPAs all have a place within the realm of fisheries management. The tenets of the Freedom to Fish bill have a place there, too.”

For a complete copy of the Senate Freedom to Fish bill, S. 2244, as well as the House version introduced by Congressman Jim Saxton (NJ-3^rd), H.R. 2890, go to www.joincca.org.

Copy of S. 2244 (pdf format)