October 9, 2009 - In the midst of the most severe economic crisis since the Great Depression, our federal government has chosen to shut down the recreational fishery for black sea bass for the next six months (effective Monday, October 5, 2009) based on survey data that's been described as "fatally flawed" by the National Academy of Sciences (read "Fatally Flawed" Science is Killing America's Number One Outdoor Pastime special report at www. joinrfa.org.)
 
The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and our local industry allies from New York to the Carolinas are fighting back against this unprecedented and unwarranted shutdown of the black sea bass fishery by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).  RFA members throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic believe this is a battle that must be fought, regardless of the outcome and have demanded that we take action.  What is at stake is nothing less than our very future as recreational fishermen, and the future of our recreational fishing industry.
 
During the first days of the closure, a grassroots effort within the recreational fishing community resulted in a successful pledge drive of support for legal action.  At the same time, a team of qualified fisheries attorneys and industry professionals was reviewing NMFS' federal ruling and poring through pages of legal documentation to develop a proper legal strategy.  Tackle shop owners and party/charter captains up and down the East Coast, along with scores of individual anglers and RFA members who've had enough of these arbitrary federal decisions, have been making donations to the RFA Legal Defense Fund, established specifically for issues like this. 
 
Our legal team is currently working on our plan of attack; now it's time that we ask individual anglers to come together and support this effort!
 
According to the scientists' own data, black sea bass is a healthy stock - they are not overfished, no overfishing is occurring, and the most recent stock assessment places the spawning stock biomass (SSB) at 103% of their target.  In fact, the SSB has been at or above this level for the past decade.  Yet, despite this scientific information, the recreational angling community is being denied access to this vitally important fishery due to "fatally flawed" information coming from the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey, or MRFSS.  
 
What's worse is that there seems to be no end in sight to the MRFSS assault.  Today it's the complete shutdown of a healthy sea bass fishery.  Next, we can expect an impact on the summer flounder limits for 2010, and scup soon after that.  Could striped bass be next?  How about tog?  If "fatally flawed" data has not impacted your favorite fishery, rest assured it will happen soon enough if we don't take a stand today.  Where does it end if we allow the federal government to continue to use a broken system to deny recreational anglers access to healthy fisheries?
 
The RFA has assembled an experienced legal team to take on the case to overturn the federal shutdown of the recreational black sea bass fishery. The attorneys involved are fishermen themselves who have fought these battles before so they know this specialized area of the law and there's no learning curve to be climbed. They've already begun working on the case and have formulated a preliminary strategy to challenge this closure under existing federal law.
 
Litigation is inherently uncertain, and there's no way to guarantee a successful outcome. However, you can guarantee that if NMFS gets away with this closure, there will be more recreational closures to come. In the coming days, we will be drafting an official complaint which demands that the improper closure of sea bass be set aside.  
 
Now it's time we unite and show the federal government that recreational anglers will not tolerate arbitrary and capricious regulatory actions that inhibit our ability to utilize a healthy resource, thus violating the very laws set forth by the Magnuson Stevens Act. 
 
If you're a member of the recreational fishing industry who has already committed to the fight with a pledge, you can support this effort by sending a check today made payable to the "RFA Legal Defense Fund" as follows:
 
RFA Legal Defense Fund
PO Box 3080
New Gretna , NJ   08224
 
Please be sure to write "Sea Bass" in the memo of the check and make a notation on the outside of the envelope to the same effect.  Your timely response is to the benefit of us all.  The Recreational Fishing Alliance will be dedicating all checks made payable to the RFA Legal Defense Fund directly towards these legal efforts outlined above.  All donations will be tracked individually, from all groups and individual anglers. 
 
The RFA has also set up a special online account through PayPal in which individual anglers can also make a donation.  Many of the tackle shops and captains who rely on your valued service have pledged up to $500 apiece towards the fight.  As an individual angler trying to make an honest stand in a tough economy, whatever donation you can offer towards the RFA Legal Defense Fund will be much appreciated.