Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) legislative director Michael Doebley sends this report. I will provide any clarifications and extra relevent info in {xxxx}.

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Greetings,

It has been a busy and interesting few weeks here in DC.
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{The following concerns congressman Gilchrest's bill to amend and re-authorize the Magnuson Act. It is still very important that this act be delayed until next year like what was originally promised. Our next best chance to delay this legislation is to have it killed in the full resources committee. Washington State representatives Adam Smith and Jay Inslee are on this committee. Please call or write them (e-mails to federal legislators get deleted) and tell him to vote against the Gilchrest legislation. The key point to bring up is that we have well publicized salmon problems and a huge crash of Pacific coast rockfish populations yet we have had no West coast hearings on the most significant fisheries legislation in the country. Contact information is available at http://www.house.gov/adamsmith/contact/contact.html and http://www.house.gov/inslee/contact.htm }

The full resources committee markup of the Gilchrest Bill is scheduled for June 26th. About ten amendments were offered at the subcommittee mark-up a few weeks ago. We expect numerous others to be introduced at the full committee level. We will try to get a list of these out within the next few days.

RFA representatives met with a member of Mr. Gilchrest's staff last week. In summation:

Mr. Gilchrest will consider revising the defintion of 'recreational fishing' to read:
-'Fishing for sport, pleasure, and/or food.'

Mr. Gilchrest will not support and will oppose:
-Removing ambiguous language that will guarantee continous and equal representation for recreational fishing interest on the regional councils.
-Mr. Saxton's amendments that call for rolling time and area closures for the Atlantic longline fleet that will substantially reduce the number of white marlin caught as bycatch.

Several affiliates have been asked to sign a letter of support for all of the "Tauzin amendments"{as in congressman Tauzin from Louisiana}, and in opposition to several other amendments. RFA does support the "cumulative impacts" amendment for National Standard #6 (intorduced by Mr. Ortiz but from the Tauzin discussion draft). This change will call for study of the economic and social impacts of regulations (while maintaining the primacy of NS #1) and includes the recreational community.

The concept behind Mr. Tauzin's Science improvement amendment that will require independent and confidential peer reviews of NMFS stock assesments is valid. But in its current form goes too far.

A) It could potentially stop action taken to assure a healthy forage base.

B) Stop a stock assessment if the information is not considered to be timely. Stock assessment data need to be timelier but the language in this amendment does not define ‘timely’. This leaves wiggle room for all assessments to be rejected.

C) Allows for science that is generated or paid for by the commercial sector to be included.

D) Allows for scientists who are directly employed by the commercial sector to sit on peer-review committees.

E) Allow individuals with no qualifications as scientist to sit on the peer review committees.

F) Allows for the rejection of assessments if they are inconsistent with industry generated science.

G) Allows for the use of anecdotal information. While information from fishermen can be useful, allowing claims by fishermen that “there are more fish than there have ever been” as the reason for rejecting a stock assessments is faulty.

This language makes the amendment unacceptable at this time. RFA will seek changes to this amendment that preserve the core idea of making the best available science better.

Additionally,

1) Many of the orgs and individuals who have signed the letter are actively opposing the Hunter Longline Bill. {Congressman Duncan Hunter from California introduced legislation that would ban pelagic drift longlines along the Pacific coast from the Mexico border to the Canada border. It was met with considerable resistance from congress and will be modified to only include California because it has no chance to pass otherwise. The Pacific Northwest currently has no fisheries of this type and we will be monitoring the situation closely.}


2) Signers are stating their opposition to the Hefley “Seabed Protection Act" amendment. This amendment will require gear modifications for roller gear to protect critical habitat areas.

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National Audobon Society is circulating a pamphlet that urges Congress to vote "no" on the Freedom to Fish Act. The fron cover of the pamphlet looks like a tackle box. When you open the "box", you get about 1,000 words on why Freedom to Fish is a bad idea. The title is, "The Freedom to Fish Act - when 99% of the ocean just isn't enough". The overall theme is that recreational anglers are greedy.

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There was a hearing on the Marine Mammal Protection Act last week. Most of us who have fished or live on the West Coast are aware of the growing problem with aggressive sealions. Bob Fletcher of the Sportfishing Association of California, who served as a witness at the hearing, pointed out several incidents where sealions have attacked people on the piers in San Diego and incidents where sealions have taken gamefish off of anglers lines. I know from my own experience that sealions have learned to lay in wait at the Ballard Locks fish ladder in Seattle to pick off salmon returning to spawn. Seals in Puget sounds have become adept at picking slamon off of anglers lines, too.

A noise-maker device was developed that will discourage sealions from approaching boats and hopefully could be used at 'chokepoints' such as the Ballard locks. However, under the current defintion for harrasing marine mammals, these devices can not be used. The RFA is certainly not encouraging that marine mammals be harmed or intentionally harassed in any way. However, sealions and harbor seals taking fish off of lines or raiding bait pens is a learned behavior. If a noisemaking device has been developed that will make these animals uncomfortable enough to avoid these boats and other areas, we believe the devices should be allowed.

Of concern to anglers on the East Coast, particuarly in the Mid and South Atlantic area is the work being done by the Bottle Nose dolphin take-reduction team. The TRT is reporting several incidents of dolphin mortality that are being attributed to recreational rod and reel gear. Specifc reports include dolphin mortality being attributed to jigs and while surf fishing with eels.

Consdering that the goal of the TRT is zero mortality, the potential consequences can be of great concern. We will keep an eye on this as the TRT continues it work.