Center for Sportfishing Policy Releases Fisheries Management Recommendations

Along with the nation’s leading recreational fishing and boating organizations, the Center for Sportfishing Policy released A Vision for Marine Fisheries Management in the 21st Century: Priorities for the Next Administration – a collection of recommendations to improve the way America’s federal saltwater fisheries are managed.

The Vision report highlights the economic value of recreational fishing in coastal waters and how outdated federal management policies act as roadblocks for the recreation economy’s positive economic trend. Today, 10 million Americans fish for recreation in saltwater, generating nearly $74 billion in economic activity and supporting 487,000 U.S. jobs.

The report urges the next administration and Congress to enforce the Modern Fish Act of 2018 and follow through on applying management approaches that reflect the reality of demand for recreational access to marine fishery resources, the current economic activity associated with that access, and the scientific data of the light footprint recreational access has on our fishery resources. Marine recreational fishing pumps billions of dollars into the U.S. economy while only accounting for 2 percent of finfish taken from our oceans each year.

The following stakeholders contributed to the report: American Sportfishing Association, BoatU.S., Coastal Conservation Association, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, International Game Fish Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association, and Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.