Recreational Anglers May Threaten Fish Stocks

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, August 27, 2004 (ENS) – Recreational fishing accounts for nearly a quarter of the total take of the nation's overfished stocks, finds a new study released Thursday that casts doubt on the perception that recreational saltwater anglers do not have much impact on the nation's fish stocks.

"The large impacts of recreational fisheries surprised us, and they may startle many people, including fishermen, concerned about the health of our oceans," said co-author Larry Crowder of Duke University. Crowder and his team have come to believe that sport fishers should be subject to stricter regulations.

The study, published in the journal "Science" and funded by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is the most comprehensive assessment to date on the impact of recreational saltwater fishing in the United States.

The study notes that past estimates found recreational fishing accounts for about two percent to three percent of total U.S. landings.

But if fish caught and used for fish sticks and fishmeal, such as pollock and menhaden, which account for half the commercial catch, are removed from the equation, the recreational take rises to 10 percent nationally, according to the study's authors.

"If you focus in on the populations identified by the federal government as species of concern, it rises to 23 percent," said lead author Felicia Coleman of Florida State University, referring to the percentage of the catch taken by recreational fishers.

Species of concern are those considered by NOAA Fisheries to be overfished or experiencing overfishing.

Recreational fishers may account for as much as five percent of the total U.S. catch. (Photo by William B. Folsom courtesy NOAA Fisheries)

The study says recreational landings exceed commercial landings in a number of major fish stocks.

It finds recreational fishing accounts for 59 percent of the total take of red snapper and 56 percent of gag in the Gulf of Mexico, 93 percent of red drum caught in the South Atlantic and 87 percent of bocaccio on the Pacific Coast.

But critics say the numbers are not surprising and the author's conclusions are misleading.

"The study is based on an erroneous premise - that there is a perception that recreational fishing does not have an impact on fish stocks," said Mike Sissenwine, science director for NOAA Fisheries.

Fishery managers and policymakers are aware of the impact of recreational fishing on individual stocks, Sissenwine said, and consider that impact when making management decisions on allocations and restrictions.

"I do not think the study offers anything to the science or to the fisheries management of fish stocks," Sissenwine said.

The researchers contend the current regulatory scheme does not consider the combined impact of more than 10 million saltwater recreational anglers, who spend billions of dollars each year on their sport.

Regulation of recreational fishing is mostly the domain of state authorities and it varies from state to state.

Most current management focuses on the individual fisherman - setting limits on the number and size of fish one person can bring in - without restricting the number of people allowed to fish.

"While the individual may take relatively few fish, we show that a few fish per person times millions of fishermen can have an enormous impact," said co-author Will Figueira of Duke University, currently at the University of Technology Sydney in Australia. "Their aggregate impact is far from benign."

Size limits and bag limits are well intentioned, but "lead to discarding of fish that are likely dead or dying," Crowder added. "Unlike hunting on land, where hunters are licensed and the total take is controlled or managed by license lotteries, similar controls for saltwater recreational anglers simply do not exist."

The study's authors have presented a picture that is disingenuous, according to Michael Doebley, legislative director for the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

Recreational saltwater anglers follow regulations set by federal fishery managers who set catch limits and allocate total catch in order to maintain the viability of individual stocks, Doebley said.

"The recreation community has for decades voluntary called for conservation measures to rebuild fish," Doebley said. "The motivation behind this paper and the substance of it does not pass the straight face test."

Recreational fishing targets large, top-level predatory fish in the ocean and environmentalists fear widespread removal of these fish will create dramatic changes in ocean food webs. (Photo by William Folsom courtesy NOAA Fisheries)

The White House and the Congress are considering more than 200 recommendations issued by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which determined that the nation's ocean policy is a haphazard mix of federal, state and local authorities and regulations.

The Commission found this haphazard approach has caused widespread mismanagement under a framework ill equipped to respond to new environmental, economic and policy challenges.

As a result many species are overfished, coastal wetlands and estuaries that serve as nurseries are polluted and disappearing, commercial fishing interests are suffering, and invasive species are gaining a stronger foothold in many ecosystems.

Of the 894 federally managed fish stocks, 76 are classified as overfished, and 60 are experiencing overfishing.

Carl Safina, president of the Blue Ocean Institute, says this latest study demonstrates that "everyone has to be part of the solution."

"There is little use in commercial and recreational fishers pointing fingers at each other," said Safina, an author and self-described ardent recreational fisherman. "Commercial fishing is not all bad and recreational fishing is not all good. A fish does not care if you are a commercial or recreational fisherman. It only cares if it is surrounded by water - or on ice."