Recreational Fishing Alliance
Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. / 888-564-6732
For Immediate Release
June 7, 2010
RFA LEGAL DEFENSE FUND RAMPS UP FOR FINAL RUN AT NMFS
Summary Judgment on Federal Challenge Expected by Summer's End
New Gretna, NJ - Those who read the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) Spring Newsletter emailed out on May 24th may have noticed the open letter sent recently to national tackle manufacturers and wholesale distributors on behalf of the RFA Legal Defense Fund. RFA is pleased to report that at least one reel manufacturer has already pledged to place part of that financial burden upon their shoulders.
According to Jim Hutchinson, Jr., RFA's Managing Director, Atlas Reels is making a significant pledge towards the RFA Legal Defense Fund this Saturday, June 12 at the 4th Annual High Point Striper Shootout in Harvey Cedars, NJ. "I want to personally thank the folks at Atlas Reels for being the first reel manufacturer to step up and pledge support for efforts to protect our fishermen and our fishing communities," said Hutchinson. "For a brand new manufacturer out their butting heads with the big corporate behemoths, I think this pledge from Atlas Reels says a lot about their company."
On November 4, 2009, the Recreational Fishing Alliance filed suit in federal District Court on behalf of the recreational fishing community, seeking declaratory and injunctive relief with "expedited consideration" against the Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce, NOAA and NOAA Fisheries (NMFS). In a 39-page legal brief, the plaintiffs maintain that the sea bass closure is "unprecedented for a fish whose stocks are considered rebuilt, not overfished, and not subject to overfishing," while charging the federal government with instituting a closure "largely based upon the misapplication and misuse of a fatally flawed angler survey which NMFS itself has acknowledged is not to be used for this type of decision."
According to Herb Moore, one the lead attorneys for the RFA and their fellow plaintiffs, the unprecedented midseason closure of sea bass was proven hopelessly flawed when NMFS turned around this winter and increased the 2010 quota for black sea bass by nearly 61 percent, proving its inability to properly manage fisheries. "It's what we've said all along, there was no justification for shutting down this fishery in the first place," Moore said at that time.
"Yes, the Mid-Atlantic black sea bass season has reopened, and I'm proud to say that it was the tireless work of RFA staff, volunteers and our allies in the local fishing communities, coupled with the wide shadow of our lawsuit, that helped turn a scant 60-day season into a more respectable 200-day season for 2010," Hutchinson wrote in a recent letter to RFA Legal Defense Fund supporters. He further adds that this particular legal challenge is not just about one fishery in one region however, and cites a new proposal by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) which hopes to make midseason closures an administrative tool for fisheries management in the future.
"This (legal challenge) is about putting an end to NMFS wanton disregard for our recreational fishermen and the industry they support, and ensuring this won't happen again in the future," Hutchinson added.
After careful review of the Administrative Record filed by the government, which accounts for all documents the Court will consider in making its decision, the RFA legal team discovered that NMFS failed to submit the minutes of an MAFMC December 2008 meeting which are adverse to their defense of this case. "The government would not consent to adding these materials to the Administrative Record so we filed a motion to supplement the record on April 23 which we expect will be decided by the Court any day," Hutchinson said.
Within two weeks of the Court's decision on that motion, RFA expects to file a motion for summary judgment of the case. At that point, the national, political action organization's legal team expects the case will ultimately be decided on cross motions for summary judgment within the next few months, an effort which the RFA said will require significant legal time and expense.
Thus far, local businesses, individual anglers, captains associations and fishing clubs have raised nearly $30,000 in support of the ongoing legal challenge against NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce, but RFA says what's noticeably absent in this effort is national support from those who stand to gain the most from a successful challenge, the national tackle manufacturers. "We've had a handful of financial supporters from the tackle industry, including Sea Mar Tackle, the Folsom Corporation, our friends at Save the Fisherman sportswear and Atlas Reels, but the businesses footing the bill so far are all the local folks who are essentially living week to week in the fishing and boating business," Hutchinson said.
As National Sales Manager for the Folsom Corporation, a major international fishing tackle wholesaler Nick Cicero stressed the importance of getting everyone in the fishing industry engaged in this particular challenge. "What's so important about funding this legal avenue is that we as anglers and industry members need to make every effort to ensure that NMFS is prevented from ever implementing preemptive and scientifically unsubstantiated closures again."
"To continue to allow the regulators the unchallenged authority to close seasons because of the potential possibility of anglers exceeding quota is a recipe for disaster," Cicero added.
For more information on the RFA Legal Defense Fund and to view the original complaint as well as the RFA's recent motion to supplement the Administrative Record, visit
www.joinrfa.org.
About Recreational Fishing Alliance
The Recreational Fishing Alliance is a national, grassroots political action organization representing recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry on marine fisheries issues. The RFA Mission is to safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs, and ensure the long-term sustainability of our Nation's saltwater fisheries. For more information, call 888-JOIN-RFA or visit
www.joinrfa.org.
