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Submitting comments on regulations is an important part of the process to ensure that sportsmen voices are heard, and the Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation is here to ensure our voices are heard – loud and clear.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance Foundation (SAF) recently submitted comments in accordance with the notice of proposed rulemaking and request for comments by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in support of revisions to regulations that would remove the rebuilding plans for Queets River natural coho salmon (Queets coho salmon) and Strait of Juan de Fuca natural coho salmon (JDF coho salmon) in northwest Washington. The proposed rule represents not only successful fisheries management programs but also proper utilization of fisheries management laws and policies.
The proposed rule would remove the rebuilding plans for Queets and JDF coho salmon from regulation because of successful fisheries management and utilization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Management Act’s (MSA) process to identify overfished stocks and rebuild them as quickly as possible. We’re supportive of the proposed rule’s reflection of effective and efficient science-based fisheries management, reduction of confusing and outdated regulatory language, and advancement of flexible management options for the stocks in the future.
We agree with NMFS Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) that the Queets and JDF coho salmon stocks are no longer overfished and are rebuilt. Both stocks have achieved spawning escapement goals that exceed the level associated with maximum sustainable yield. In fact, both stocks have greatly exceeded escapement goals. The Queets coho salmon stock has exceeded its maximum sustainable yield escapement goal by over 14%, and the JDF coho salmon stock has exceeded its goal by over 30%. Not only do these numbers show that both stocks are rebuilt, but they also represent incredibly successful fisheries management. The Queets stock escapement numbers have increased 54% since the stock was determined to be overfished, and the JDF stock escapements more than doubled in the same time. Undoubtedly, the stocks are rebuilt.
The successful rebuilding of the Queets and JDF coho salmon stocks highlights how adherence to MSA guidelines, and collaboration between NMFS and regional fisheries management councils, results in efficient and effective fisheries management – including ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks – that benefits stocks, ecosystems, industry, and recreators that rely on the resource. Because NMFS and the Council followed MSA processes, worked collaboratively, utilized the best available science, and focused on the needs of the resource and the fishery, Queets and JDF stocks have been rebuilt in six years. NMFS and regional fishery management councils should look to this fishery management plan as an example of how to utilize and adhere to the MSA to implement effective and efficient fisheries management plans and policies elsewhere.
We applaud the successful rebuilding of the Queets and JDF coho salmon stocks by NMFS and the Council. This proposed rule, which we support fully, represents a successful understanding of, utilization of, and adherence to the MSA. Undoubtedly, many stakeholders – public, private, and commercial – hold significant vested interests in sustainably managed coho salmon in the Pacific Northwest. These stakeholders – including recreational anglers – have continuously worked in collaboration with state and federal agencies to ensure recreational fishing practices do not negatively impact the health of the stock or future yields. We’re happy to see those efforts pay off.
Sportsmen have been bullied long enough by animal extremists, and the Sportsmen’s Alliance will not allow it to happen any longer. Join us or donate to the Sportsmen’s Legal Defense Fund to help stand up against the relentless assault on our values and lifestyle by animal extremists. Present and future generations are depending on your willingness to fight to protect the future of hunting, fishing, and trapping.
The Sportsmen’s Alliance guarantees hunting, fishing and trapping for the American sportsman now and forever. We’re there when sportsmen need us most. We are the only organization specifically created to protect the individual hunter, angler and trapper – no matter the threat. We will never compromise when it comes to defending our way of life in the courts, in the legislatures, in the public square and at the ballot box. We make this promise to the American sportsman: we will never give up and never give in while proudly securing our future against those seeking to destroy our values, beliefs, and traditions. Stay connected to Sportsmen’s Alliance: Online, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Brian Lynn
Vice President, Marketing and Communications
Sportsmen’s Alliance
609-902-1398