2.) Embrace of recreational fishing groups
There’s a not-so-underground feud between recreational and commercial fishing groups in the United States, and with limited quota available for several of the country’s most popular seafood species – in particular red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico and striped bass along the Atlantic coast – tensions have been amplified.
Before the presidential election, the recreational sector had sought an end-around on the management of red snapper fisheries in the Gulf, aiming to wrest control of the Gulf states’ quota by supplanting federal authority over the fishery with a state-based management scheme.
So when Jim Donorfio, the executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a lobbying group representing recreational fishermen in the United States, said he “couldn’t have been more pleased,” with Trump’s election, the U.S. commercial fishing industry was put on notice that a new chapter in the feud is set to begin.
“We look forward to working with the Trump administration to correct issues with the Magnuson–Stevens Act,” Donofrio said in a press release. “We have to be mindful of how we treat our fragile ocean fisheries, and at the same time ensure that we don’t continue to allow recreational fishermen to be pushed aside and mired in red tape while special interest clears the way for commercial groups and environmental extremism.”
While it’s rare to see a political movement that rails against both industry and environmental extremism, it was exactly that movement that elevated Donald Trump to the presidency. Judging by the exuberant endorsement RFA and other recreational fishing groups gave Trump, they expect the scales of quota management and other regulatory issues to tip in their favor.
“We’re excited about this new direction, and look forward to some positive changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act that will benefit our sector, along with a new attitude towards fishery management,” Donofrio said.
The Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, a group representing commercial red snapper fishermen, warned the potential precedent the red snapper legislation sets may be used to roll back federal regulations of regional U.S. fisheries.
"From the pollock and halibut fishermen in Alaska to the cod fishermen in Maine and Massachusetts, your fishing and charter businesses will be put at risk when rogue state bureaucrats go to strip you from the protections you have under the Magnuson[-Stevens] Act and force this plan on you against your will,” the organization’s deputy director, Eric Brazer, said in a press release.
This issue, with potentially major consequences for domestic fisheries, is one to keep an eye on.
