RFA & ALLIES WILL SUE TO REOPEN SEA BASS
FISHERY
"Unprecedented" Federal Closure Forces
Recreational Fishermen Into Legal Action
October
9, 2009 - In the midst of the most severe economic crisis since
the Great Depression,
our federal government has chosen to shut down the recreational fishery
for black sea bass
for the next six months (effective Monday, October 5, 2009) based on
survey data that's been described as "fatally flawed" by the National Academy of Sciences
(read "Fatally
Flawed" Science is Killing America's Number One Outdoor Pastime
special report at www. joinrfa.org.)
The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and our local industry allies
from New York to the
Carolinas are fighting back against this
unprecedented and unwarranted shutdown of the black sea bass fishery by the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS). RFA members throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic
believe this is a battle that must be fought, regardless of the outcome
and have demanded that we take action. What is at stake is
nothing less than our very future as recreational fishermen, and the
future of our recreational fishing industry.
During the first days of the closure, a grassroots effort within the
recreational fishing community resulted in a successful pledge drive of
support for legal action. At the same time, a team of qualified
fisheries attorneys and industry professionals was reviewing NMFS'
federal ruling and poring through pages of legal documentation to
develop a proper legal strategy. Tackle shop owners and
party/charter captains up and down the East Coast, along with scores of
individual anglers and RFA members who've had enough of these arbitrary
federal decisions, have been making donations to the RFA Legal Defense
Fund, established specifically for issues like this.
Our legal team is currently working on our plan of attack; now it's
time that we ask individual anglers to come together and support this
effort!
According to the scientists' own data, black sea bass is a healthy
stock - they are not overfished, no overfishing is occurring, and
the most recent stock assessment places the spawning stock biomass
(SSB) at 103% of their target. In fact, the SSB has been at or
above this level for the past decade. Yet, despite this
scientific information, the recreational angling community is being
denied access to this vitally important fishery due to "fatally
flawed" information coming from the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey,
or MRFSS.
What's worse is that there seems to be no end in sight to the MRFSS
assault. Today it's the complete shutdown of a healthy sea bass
fishery. Next, we can expect an impact on the summer flounder
limits for 2010, and scup soon after that. Could striped bass be
next? How about tog? If "fatally flawed" data has
not impacted your favorite fishery, rest assured it will happen soon
enough if we don't take a stand today. Where does it end if we
allow the federal government to continue to use a broken system to deny
recreational anglers access to healthy fisheries?
The RFA has assembled an experienced legal team to take on the case to
overturn the federal shutdown of the recreational black sea bass fishery.
The attorneys involved are fishermen themselves who have fought these
battles before so they know this specialized area of the law and
there's no learning curve to be climbed. They've already begun working
on the case and have formulated a preliminary strategy to challenge
this closure under existing federal law.
Litigation is inherently uncertain, and there's no way to guarantee a
successful outcome. However, you can guarantee that if NMFS gets away
with this closure, there will be more recreational closures to come. In
the coming days, we will be drafting an official complaint which
demands that the improper closure of sea bass be set aside.
Now it's time we unite and show the federal government that
recreational anglers will not tolerate arbitrary and capricious
regulatory actions that inhibit our ability to utilize a healthy
resource, thus violating the very laws set forth by the Magnuson Stevens
Act.
If you're a member of the recreational fishing industry who has already
committed to the fight with a pledge, you can support this effort by
sending a check today made payable to the "RFA Legal Defense Fund"
as follows:
RFA Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 3080
New Gretna, NJ 08224
Please be sure to write "Sea
Bass" in the memo of the check and make a notation on
the outside of the envelope to the same effect. Your timely
response is to the benefit of us all. The Recreational Fishing
Alliance will be dedicating all checks made payable to the RFA Legal
Defense Fund directly towards these legal efforts outlined above.
All donations will be tracked individually, from all groups and
individual anglers.
The RFA has also set up a special online account through PayPal
in which individual anglers can also make a donation. Many of the
tackle shops and captains who rely on your valued service have pledged
up to $500 apiece towards the fight. As an individual angler
trying to make an honest stand in a tough economy, whatever donation
you can offer towards the RFA Legal Defense Fund will be much
appreciated.
Visit www.joinrfa.org and look for
the DONATE button on the homepage to support the RFA Legal Defense
Fund.
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