Thursday, February 12, 2009
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Bad idea to let commercial fishermen rule saltwater resources
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Last week in Cochran’s Field Reports I wrote about the financial importance of sport fishing to Virginia Beach. The latest figures show that 2,856 people make their living off recreational angling in the city and the sport brings in $218.5 million annually.
Add to that the economic impact of sport fishing in other saltwater fishing areas of Virginia, including the giant Chesapeake Bay, and you have a major industry.
At the same time the Virginia Beach figures were being reported, the Virginia General Assembly was handling legislation that would give more authority to commercial fishermen when it comes to managing the saltwater resources of Virginia.
As there are an estimated 500,000 recreational fishermen in the state as compared to about 3,000 commercial fishermen, you might expect that such an effort would get beaten down pretty quickly. The truth is, it caught sport fishermen and senators off guard and sailed through the Senate without a single negative vote.
The bill, SB 1087, is sponsored by Sen. John Miller, D-Newport News, who the Virginian-Pilot described as “a champion of the Bay [who] should’ve known better than to introduce legislation that would help return Virginia’s waters to a time when they were managed by the people who profited from them.”
The measure would increase the size of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission from eight to 10 members, but the disturbing part, it could upset the balance of the agency by mandating that three of its decision-making seats go to people with well-established commercial fishing interests.
Under the current setup, one seat is designated to commercial fishing interest and one to sport fishing. The rest are at large, but often have ties to the commercial fishing. Sen. Miller’s proposal has potential to push VMRC’s mission even further toward commercial fishing.
For a long time, the agency functioned that way. In recent years, the commission, while not perfect, has assumed a better balance, particularly since sport fishermen have provided additional income through a recreational saltwater fishing license. This gives more people ownership in the commission, which helps it meet its mission of being the watchdog of Virginia’s marine and aquatic resources for all citizens, not just commercial fishermen.
This isn’t to say that commercial fishermen are bad. Most are good, hard-working people, but their interests must be weighed with those of other citizens.
It is difficult to understand how SB 1087 sped through the Senate unscathed on a 40-0 vote. Were sport fishermen sleeping? Probably. Were Senate members so engrossed with the plight of the struggling waterman that they failed to use good judgment? Obviously. Were commercial fishermen so peeved over VMRC’s recent limit on crabs that they set out to change the way the agency makes decisions? Sounds like it.
The Coastal Conservation Association of Virginia has been leading the battle for sport fishermen. The bill likely will be debated in the House this week and next.
“While some see this as a recreational vs. commercial issue, my concern is for the resource,” said Jerry Benson Jr., vice president of the CCA of Virginia. “Our massive public marine resources in the Bay and tidal rivers should not be turned over to a special interest group who has demonstrated that they will consider only their own short-term interests.”
See Cochran's Field Reports for a look at still more bills.
