On April 18, recreational fishing and boating organizations praised the introduction of a bill, S.2807, which will ensure state fisheries management agencies have a say if the National Park Service considers fishing closures in state and territorial waters. Led by Sens. Bill Cassidy (LA), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks, and Marco Rubio (FL), the “Preserving Public Access to Public Waters Act” requires the National Park Service seek approval from state fish and wildlife agencies before closing state marine or Great Lakes waters to recreational or commercial fishing.
“Closing marine areas without scientific basis or an understanding of the critical role that anglers play in the economy and in funding conservation is troubling. Senator Cassidy and Senator Rubio are to be commended for this common sense approach to protect saltwater anglers from unwarranted access restrictions by requiring state fish and wildlife agencies’ approval of any closures,” said Chris Horton, Fisheries Program Director for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.
The similar bills in each chamber (H.R. 3310 and S. 2807) are the result of a recent decision by the National Park Service to implement a 10,000-acre marine reserve in Biscayne Bay, one of the nation’s most popular urban fishing areas just outside of Miami, Florida. The decision to close such a large area of popular public waters was made, despite objections from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that the reserve was overly restrictive and not biologically justified.
Similar legislation passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Sportsmen’s Heritage and Recreational Enhancement (SHARE) Act. Senator Cassidy and Senator Rubio’s bill, like the House counterpart, would safeguard the states’ authority to regulate fishing in state waters off their coastline.
Studies conducted at both the state and federal level have found that the number of hunters and trappers have been on a generally declining trend over the past several decades. To increase recruitment, retention, and reactivation (R3) of hunters and trappers, which initiative do you think would have the greatest impact?
