NOAA Heeds Pallone’s Call for Independent Review of Recreational Fishery Data
LONG BRANCH, NJ – Yesterday, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) heeded Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.’s (NJ-6) call for an independent review of recreational fishery data to ensure that fishery managers are collecting the best information possible based on scientific data. The agency, in their plan to implement the National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy, announced that they are committing to a National Research Council review of the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) to assess whether the information being collected and analyzed is scientifically sound, statistically robust, collaborative, and transparent. Congressman Pallone has repeatedly called for reforms in federal law to help New Jersey’s recreational fishermen who can face restrictions in their catch limits based on insufficient data and poor science.
Through MRIP, fisheries managers are counting and reporting on recreational catch and effort levels. Through the program, anglers report on their fishing activity and fisheries managers use statistical analysis to project ongoing catch levels. Recreational fishermen have long expressed strong concerns with the implementation and accuracy of the program.
“I am very glad to see that NOAA agrees that we need a full review of the MRIP program. I have been concerned that problems in this program have led to reduced fishing opportunities for recreational anglers and want to make sure that they receive fair treatment,” said Congressman Pallone. “Last year, I offered an amendment to force NOAA to move forward with a National Research Council review of the Marine Recreational Information Program which was adopted by the Natural Resource Committee’s legislation to reform the Magnuson-Stevens Act. While that bill did not become law, I am pleased to see that NOAA took notice of my important amendment and will move forward with the NRC. This review will give us important insights into how we can continue to improve recreational fisheries management and make sure that recreational fishing flourishes in New Jersey.”
Pallone has been a longtime advocate for improving recreational data collection and has pushed NOAA to improve its collection methods and how it analyzes data. In the 112th Congress, Pallone introduced the Flexibility and Access in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2011, which would have required a National Research Council study of the marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP).
Last Congress, Pallone secured adoption of an amendment during consideration of the Magnuson-Steven reauthorization bill at the Natural Resources Committee requiring the National Research Council to issue a report on improvements that have been made and need to be made with respect to recreational fishing data collection and MRIP. The announcement of NOAA’s plans to commission an objective, independent analysis of their data collection practices is a step in the right direction to help them understand what is actually happening with fishing at different intervals and ensure that we are not needlessly closing healthy fisheries.
“Recreational fishing opportunities are ultimately tied to NOAA’s ability to accurately monitor how many people are fishing, how often they go fishing and how many fish they catch through its recreational data collection programs,” said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director and Founder of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. “While attempts to make improvements to these programs have been undertaken by NOAA Fisheries as prompted by the 2006 reauthorization of MSA, it is essential that a non-bias, third party expert such as the National Research Council conduct a thorough review to quantify if actual improvements to accuracy were achieved. We are pleased to see that many of the priorities included in Mr. Pallone’s amendment are addressed in the National Recreational Saltwater Fisheries Policy Implementation Plan, most notably, the initiation of a National Research Council review of the Marine Recreational Information Program to evaluate current recreational fisheries catch and effort data and science.”