Why It Matters: The recreational boating and fishing community understands the importance of protecting North Atlantic right whales (NARW) and fully supports efforts to do so. However, a new rule under final consideration by the White House Office of Management and Budget implementing a 10-knot speed limit for all vessels 35 feet and longer will…
Why It Matters: Recreational anglers in North Carolina generate over $40 million in funding for conservation through the “user pays – public benefits” structure of the American System of Conservation Funding (ASCF). Therefore, ensuring access for recreational angling is critical to maintaining sustainable fisheries. Recreational anglers are also a potentially strong resource for collecting biological…
Why It Matters: The pipeline of college graduates entering a field of natural resource management with a state or federal agency and who also come from an angling or hunting background has gone from a gush to a trickle in recent decades. Biologists and managers who grew up hunting and fishing tend to have a…
Why It Matters: July 12th marked the beginning, and the end, of the 2024 South Atlantic red snapper season. Unfortunately, we are stuck under a federal management paradigm in the South Atlantic that rewards a rapidly rebuilding red snapper population with fewer red snapper fishing opportunities, with the season totaling one day this year. Sound…
July 8, 2024 (Salem, Oregon) – The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is pleased to report that as of last Friday, Oregon Initiative Petition 3 (IP-3) officially did not qualify for the 2024 ballot. CSF has been and will continue to be a leading voice against this misguided effort to ban all hunting, fishing, trapping, and ranching…
Why It Matters: As the 118th Congress enters the fourth quarter, much of which will be occupied by campaigns and the election, the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) is pushing hard for our remaining priorities to be in a position for passage before everything wraps up. Four such bills were heard in a House Natural Resources…
Why It Matters: Like in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf), red snapper are an extremely popular reef fish in the South Atlantic. Unfortunately, we’re stuck under a federal management paradigm that rewards a rapidly rebuilding red snapper population with fewer red snapper fishing opportunities. Last week, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced a 1-day…
Several actions are underway to ensure that removal is just an option and that artificial reefing is also an option.
Gulf of Mexico’s rigs make great artificial reefs. Let’s keep that valuable fish habitat in the water.
In the hidden depths of California’s coastal waters, an overlooked world of marine life thrives beneath the shadow of towering oil rigs.
Why It Matters: State legislative sportsmen’s caucus leaders along the Atlantic Coast understand the importance of protecting North Atlantic right whales (NARW) and fully support efforts to recover the species. However, a proposed rule regarding vessel speed reductions along much of the Atlantic seaboard will create significant access barriers for offshore anglers and boaters for…
Why It Matters: With marine fisheries management highly variable by state along the Atlantic Coast, it is imperative that any harvest reporting requirements be carefully developed to provide credible data. If a mandatory reporting program is developed correctly, reliable catch information could enhance the sustainability of North Carolina’s marine resources and provide additional access for…