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fly fishing, conservation and politics.

Fishing

Fishers for Fish Habitat Tour and Forum in Australia

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I was in Australia for the past couple of weeks. During the first week my wife and I had a chance to visit some of New South Wales; the South Coast, Snowy Mountains, Lake Jindabyne, Kosciusko National Park, Cooma and Cowra. We tried to stay away from the large urban areas and see as much of the more rural parts as we could.

The second week, we had the pleasure of spending 5 days with Craig Copeland and Charlotte Jenkins of Industry and Investment New South Wales. They took my wife and I on a tour of some of the fish habitat projects they have been working on. It was a great opportunity to see how our Australian colleagues are dealing with the challenges of dwindling fish habitat. We went to sites in the Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central West, Hunter Valley and wound up at Lake Macquarie for the forum.

I also had a chance to be part of a panel discussion with some notable Australian recreational fishing pros and give a presentation on fish habitat activity in the U.S., especially the National Fish Habitat Action Plan and the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture.

F4F recreational fishers panel
i sound smarter with a beer in front of me....

I even managed to get a little press coverage of my visit:  US expert says conservation is give and take.

It was a wonderful opportunity to see Australia both on our own and with some liked minded conservationists and to trade ideas and stories about two things I really enjoy, fishing and conservation.

To work hard at work worth doing…

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The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today announced that they have selected Whit Fosburgh as the new President and CEO.

Having had the pleasure of working with Whit during his tenure at TU, he is an outstanding choice to lead the TRCP.

His quote speaks volumes.

“I am honored to play a leading role in promoting the TRCP mission to guarantee all Americans a place to hunt and fish – and in so doing, as Roosevelt himself stated, ‘to work hard at work worth doing.’”

Good show TRCP and congratulations Whit!

The TRCP press release follows:

News for Immediate Release May 12, 2010

Contact: Katie McKalip, 406-240-9262, kmckalip@trcp.org

TRCP Names Whit Fosburgh New President/CEO

Policy expert and conservationist to lead the sportsmen’s group in its mission to secure high-quality hunting and fishing for all Americans

WASHINGTON – The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership today announced that Whit Fosburgh has been named president/CEO of the national sportsmen-conservation group. Formerly the vice president for program development at Trout Unlimited and director of TU’s Coldwater Conservation Fund, Fosburgh is a widely respected authority on fish and wildlife conservation policy with a broad range of experience in the nonprofit arena and natural resources management.

“We at the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership are very pleased that Whit Fosburgh is taking on leadership of our group,” said Jim Martin, chairman of the TRCP board of directors. “Whit’s expertise and breadth of experience within the sportsmen-conservation community will ably serve the TRCP, the national policy issues we seek to advance through our mission and the millions of hunters and anglers in whose interests we labor. The TRCP board of directors looks forward to working alongside Whit to drive fish and wildlife conservation in the name of American sportsmen and in the spirit of Theodore Roosevelt.”

Fosburgh joined Trout Unlimited in 1995 and played a critical role in that organization’s evolution into a conservation powerhouse, bringing to TU a wealth of experience centered on conservation policy, fundraising and program development. Prior to his time with TU, Fosburgh served as fisheries’ director for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, was chief environment and energy staff person for Sen. Tom Daschle and was a wildlife specialist for the National Audubon Society.

“The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership has set a new standard of accomplishment within the sportsmen’s community on conservation policy matters of crucial importance to our fish and wildlife populations and hunting and angling traditions,” said Fosburgh. “I am honored to play a leading role in promoting the TRCP mission to guarantee all Americans a place to hunt and fish – and in so doing, as Roosevelt himself stated, ‘to work hard at work worth doing.’”

“Whit’s reputation for strong leadership and innovative thinking, combined with his extraordinary knowledge of conservation issues important to hunters, anglers and all citizens, make him an ideal choice to direct the TRCP,” said Diane Craney, TRCP interim president/CEO. “Under his guidance, we can ensure that sportsmen-conservationists are more effectively engaged in the TRCP’s vital policy work, further the responsible management of America’s shared resources and perpetuate our unique outdoors heritage.”

Inspired by the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt, the TRCP is a coalition of organizations and grassroots partners working together to preserve the traditions of hunting and fishing.

NOAA announces New National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries

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Eric Schwabb, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, announced today that he was appointing Russell Dunn as NOAA Fisheries National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries. He also announced the appointment of 22 members from the recreational fishing community to the Recreational Fisheries Working Group of NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

Schwabb’s actions are another step toward making good on a promise by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco to create a better working relationship with America’s saltwater angling community.

At a time when concerns are being raised by the recreational fishing community about the focus and intention of NOAA and the Obama Administration with regard to fishing these announcements are both timely and welcome.

Here is Schwabb’s statement:

Statement from Eric Schwaab, NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries – Announcing Russell Dunn to new position of National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries

Today, I am pleased to appoint Russell Dunn as the NOAA Fisheries National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries and to appoint 22 members of the recreational fishing community from around the nation to a Recreational Fisheries Working Group to provide expertise on saltwater recreational fishing to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC).

These actions fulfill a pledge made by NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco to the recreational fishing community to put in place the national advisor to help lead NOAA’s efforts to create a stronger and more productive partnership between NOAA and America’s saltwater angling community.

As national advisor, Russell Dunn will work with anglers to address their interests as we build and implement an action agenda to provide for the long-term health of fish stocks and work to protect and enhance the significant social and economic benefits fisheries provide to anglers and to our coastal communities. Russell will report directly to me.

Russell, who begins the job on March 28, brings 14 years of public and private-sector experience in national and international marine fisheries policy. He is respected for his experience and dedication by leaders of the recreational fishing industry. He has been the branch chief of NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Management Division, served as a policy advisor to the U.S. Delegation to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, and worked as director of government relations at the National Audubon Society on its Living Oceans Campaign. He also worked for then- Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell. An avid angler, Russell will be based in St. Petersburg, Fla, in the heart of the nation’s largest recreational fishing region. He will serve as the national point of contact for the saltwater fishing community, and coordinate closely with both NOAA Fisheries national and regional staff.

His first duties will include helping Dr. Lubchenco and me to bring together over one hundred recreational fishing constituents and representatives from around the country, including the members of MAFAC’s recreational working group, to a national summit on April 16 and 17 in Alexandria, Va. At the summit, we will explore issues important to recreational fisheries, and identify priority actions for moving forward.

Russell takes over for Gordon Colvin who has been serving as interim Senior Policy Advisor for the past 6 months.  I would like to thank Gordon for his extraordinary service.

Please join me in welcoming Russell to this new and important role.

Eric C. Schwaab

NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries

For media inquiries, contact Connie.Barclay@noaa.gov or Monica.Allen@noaa.gov, (301) 713-2370.

For all other inquiries contact Laurel.Bryant@noaa.gov, (301)713-1276.

TU Responds to ESPN Outdoors Piece on Sportfishing

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TU members and supporters got an email from the TU leadership offering their view on the flap surrounding the Oceans Policy Task Force. There had been significant confusion about the task force was up to. TU has done a good job of helping to cut through the atmospherics and get solid information out to the membership.

Three points at the end deserve special attention:

We at TU hope that the CEQ and NOAA statements put this issue to rest. In our view, there is no evidence that the Obama Administration intended to use the work of the Ocean Task Force to undercut marine sport fishing.

Also, we would like to point out that Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, began his new position in February and is a superb conservationist and an avid angler. We wish him well and look forward to working with him in the coming months.

NOAA has invited TU to join many other sportfishing groups to participate in a “Recreational Saltwater Fishing Summit” in Alexandria, Va. in April to discuss this and other issues pertaining to marine sportfishing.

TU email follows:

Dear TU Supporters:

We wanted to take a moment to respond to a number of you who have written to us this week concerning an ESPN piece that appeared on the ESPN Outdoors website about the draft proposal recently published by the President’s Ocean Policy Task Force. The first sentence in the piece said the following: “The Obama administration has ended public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation’s oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.”

Subsequently, the Executive Producer of ESPN Outdoors issued a statement saying that the piece was an opinion piece and not a news article. That statement is linked here, as is the original published piece from the ESPN Outdoors website.

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/saltwater/columns/story?columnist=bowman_steve&id=4982359

The confusion over the ESPN article led the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the coordinating entity for federal environmental efforts, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), to issue the following statements:

Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service:

“The Ocean Policy Task Force has not recommended a ban on recreational fishing.”

“The draft reports by the Ocean Policy Task Force do not contain a zoning map and do not establish any restrictions on recreational fishing, nor make any judgments about whether one ocean activity or use is better than another. Instead, the reports set up a policy and framework for effectively managing the many sustainable uses of the ocean while upholding our responsibility to be stewards of our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.”

“As a member of the task force, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, has said, and I echo her on this, that saltwater recreational fishing is vital to this nation and NOAA is committed to building a strong partnership with America’s saltwater anglers to ensure that Americans have opportunities to fish sustainably for generations to come.”

“Saltwater recreational fishing matters to me on a personal level as a recreational fisherman, it matters to millions of Americans who enjoy this great sport and it matters to our economy. Our most recent economic report shows it supports a half million jobs and generates $82 billion in sales each year.”

“NOAA is committed to adopting policies that will ensure that current and future generations have the opportunity to enjoy the great tradition of recreational fishing.”

Christine Glunz, Communications Director at the White House Council on Environmental Quality issued statements the following statement today regarding the Ocean Policy Task Force:

“The draft reports issued by the Ocean Policy Task Force have involved extensive stakeholder input and public participation as they were being prepared, which has included the interests of conservationists and the recreational fishing community. These draft reports are not map-drawing exercises, they do not contain a zoning plan, and they do not establish any restrictions on recreational fishing or on public access, nor make any judgments about whether one ocean activity or use is better than another.”

“The Ocean Policy Task Force sincerely appreciates the conservation activities of recreational users, who have a long history of actively participating in the stewardship of the ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. The Task Force strongly believes in the ability of recreational fishermen and women to continue to enjoy these activities that are critical to the economic, social, and cultural fabric of our country. In fact, one of our main goals is to ensure healthier ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes, which will benefit all recreational activities and the communities and economies that rely on them.”

We at TU hope that the CEQ and NOAA statements put this issue to rest. In our view, there is no evidence that the Obama Administration intended to use the work of the Ocean Task Force to undercut marine sport fishing.

Also, we would like to point out that Eric Schwaab, NOAA’s Assistant Administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, began his new position in February and is a superb conservationist and an avid angler. We wish him well and look forward to working with him in the coming months.

NOAA has invited TU to join many other sportfishing groups to participate in a “Recreational Saltwater Fishing Summit” in Alexandria, Va. in April to discuss this and other issues pertaining to marine sportfishing.

We’ll be there and we’ll look forward to continuing to work with NOAA on the many challenges we face together.

Regards,

Chris Wood, President and CEO

Steve Moyer, Vice President, Government Affairs

Exploring the simplicity of tenkara fly-fishing

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New and interesting places to fish are not really hard to find. New and interesting ways to fish, especially fly-fish, on the other hand are somewhat hard to find.

A while back I read an article in Fly Rod and Reel magazine about Patagonia founder and CEO Yvon Chouinard. Chouinard was named angler of the year by the magazine and talked about his efforts to simplify his sports and life.

He mentioned that he had been given a tenkara rod. His description of the rod and the style of fishing intrigued me. That description and the notion of simplifying fly-fishing stuck with me. I was on the lookout for a tenkara rod and the “how to” of tenkara fishing.

Tenkara, a traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing, reduces fly-fishing to three basic elements, a rod, a line and a fly. It has been used for centuries in Japan’s high mountain streams to fish for Yamame trout.

The idea that such a rod and style of fishing might be applied to our own native brook trout in the mountain streams here in the Valley fascinated me.

One of Chouinard’s close friends is my good friend Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone, Mont. I called Craig and asked if he had seen Chouinard fish with the tenkara rod.

“Oh yeah, we have been fishing O’Dell crick with them, it’s a blast,” said Mathews.

Tenkara rods range from 11 to 13 feet, weigh as little as two and a half ounces and collapse down to 20 inches. The line is very light and supple, doesn’t hold water and designed to balance with tenkara rods. These light lines, resembling furled leaders, make for very delicate and precise presentations with incredible drag free drifts.

I bought a rod made by Tenkara USA from Mathews. It is their Iwana model in the 5:5 action. Action in fly-fishing parlance means how stiff or flexible the rod is and how fast or slow the rod returns to the unflexed position. In the case of the rod I purchased, the 5:5 mean it is very flexible and slow.

Tenkara rods have evolved from bamboo to modern day graphite composites. These new rods are light and strong like today’s conventional fly-rods. Tenkara USA’s rods are telescopic, with all pieces fitting inside the handle, making then easy to transport, set up and take down. The tenkara fly-line is attached to the tip of the rod with a girth hitch.

Many people upon seeing a tenkara rod think it is just a fancy cane pole and you are just “dapping” the fly. Not true at all. All the casts you would make with a conventional fly-rod are used with a tenkara rod.

I have yet to try it in the mountains but did have a chance to try it out on Mossy Creek with my wife recently. We adjusted our normal casting techniques to the slower action of the tenkara rod. Very quickly we were making precise overhead casts and getting far longer drifts with a dry fly than we would normally get.

What struck us both was how easy it would be for someone just starting out or wanting to learn fly-fishing. Tenkara makes teaching the basics very easy, getting you on the water and fishing sooner. It allows the teacher and student to focus more on fishing.

Tenkara USA’s Web site, has a wealth of information. There you can find information on the origins and history of tenkara, video’s and diagrams of casting techniques.

Perhaps the notion of a simpler life with a focus on skill rather than gear sounds good to you. Check out tenkara, you just may find you like the simple life.

You can read more of my columns at the News Virginian.com.

What’s wrong with the Magnuson-Stevens Act?

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A letter to NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco, signed by the leadership of the American Sportfishing Association, Center for Coastal Conservation, Coastal Conservation Association, International Game Fish Association, National Marine Manufacturers Association, and The Billfish Foundation asks for immediate action to address a crisis within the federal fisheries management system.

“We support healthy fisheries and good fishery management. It’s good for anglers, our business and our economy. We’ve developed common-sense administrative and appropriations proposals that address the need for timely, accurate data while preserving efforts to rebuild our marine fisheries. We see these as a starting point for actions that must be implemented to address the short and long term problems,” said Mike Nussman, ASA’s President and CEO.

“Unfortunately, what we are seeing now is crisis management rather than fisheries management and this must stop before more jobs are lost and more of the nation’s recreational anglers are unnecessarily shut out.”

The letter offered specific recommendations to address the increasing problems with implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and the chronic problems with the federal marine fisheries management system.

  • Take decisive, immediate action to improve recreational fisheries data by redirecting existing funds and personnel to focus on real-time management data.
  • Collect socio-economic data on recreational fishing in the communities most likely to be impacted by near-term or expected fisheries closures.
  • Provide federal level direction to the fishery management councils to use common-sense in their management approaches while the administration collects the requisite data to make sound management decisions.
  • Develop a recreational fishing program and staff within NMFS commensurate with the national economic contribution of recreational saltwater fishing.

According to CCA “Current efforts to revise the Magnuson-Stevens Act, including the so-called “flexibility” legislation (H.R.1584 and S.1171) do not address the shortcomings of NMFS that are negatively impacting anglers and, in fact, jeopardize a number of the true conservation gains in the Act.”

“H.R.1584 and S.1171 do not provide for better data-gathering or prevent the imposition of in-season closures when NMFS believes there is a danger of overfishing, nor do they improve recreational data and the way it is used. It just delays rebuilding,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “That is not where the problem lies.”

Read the news release here.

Read the letter to Dr. Lubchenco at www.asafishing.org/government/documents/NOAAMSALetterFINAL.pdf