Symposium Marks Start of Dialogue on New Management Strategies for Bay's Fisheries

Annapolis, MD- Recreational anglers gathered in Annapolis, Maryland, tonight to signal the beginning of a new dialogue in Maryland fisheries management. The event, a symposium titled “Saltwater Fisheries Management for the 21st Century”, sponsored by the American Sportfishing Association, Campbell Foundation, FishAmerica Foundation, Maryland Legislative Sportsman’s Foundation, Middendorf Foundation, Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, and the Coastal Conservation Association of Maryland (CCA MD), brought together a panel of experts to discuss innovative ways to address the evolving economic and environmental challenges facing state fisheries managers.

The assembled audience reflected both the diversity, and common concerns, found among the Chesapeake Bay’s stakeholders. Recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, charter boat captains, tackle shop owners, and officials from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources were all present to listen and share their views on the future of Bay management.

Sherman Baynard, Chairman of CCA MD’s Fisheries Committee, opened the proceedings by outlining the challenges facing all of the Bay’s user groups as well as the professionals tasked with overseeing the resource. Continued population growth and development have placed environmental strain upon the Bay, and coupled with a management philosophy that traditionally puts commercial interests first have contributed to a decline in many of the Bay’s resources. That decline has not gone unnoticed.

Recreational license sales have declined in the state as the quality of the fish stocks has deteriorated. The loss of those fees, some 50,000 licenses over the past five years, has led to a direct reduction in revenue to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the very agency tasked with ensuring the future of the Bay’s fisheries. Likewise, commercial watermen struggle to remain profitable in an environment where they must work harder to make less.

“This cycle cannot continue forever, it’s not sustainable,” said Baynard. “The quality of the fisheries available to recreational fishermen is declining, the agency tasked with addressing these problems is underfunded, and the problems grow daily while the old answers that have contributed to this situation remain the same.

“These are modern problems that demand modern solutions. We need a new paradigm. The resource can be managed to ensure adequate commercial harvests while simultaneously raising the quality of fish available to recreational anglers, but it will require a new way of thinking on the part of resource managers.”

The assembled panelists, moderated by Bruce Mathews, President of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, outlined what form this new way of thinking may take. Brad Gentner, an economist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, presented findings from a study reporting on the significant economic value of recreational fishing. Steve Early, Assistant Director of Fisheries for the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, provided an overview of the past and future issues that impact the Bay’s fisheries. Dick Brame, CCA’s Atlantic States Fisheries Director, shared results from previous reform efforts in North Carolina to demonstrate what had worked, and what had not, in prior reform processes. Russell Nelson, a fisheries scientist with extensive experience in implementing management reform at the state level, concluded the formal presentation with a discussion on the cooperative ways in which the stakeholders could work together to achieve positive results. The floor was then opened for questions.

“We have an obligation to educate lawmakers and decision makers about the merits of providing the citizens of Maryland quality recreational fisheries because that is where the future lies,” said Robert Glenn, Executive Director of CCA MD. “The days of market hunting disappeared as times changed, and the days of managing the Bay primarily for commercial interests needs to pass as well. The economic value that recreational anglers bring to the state of Maryland cannot be denied.

“We've spent a lot of time over the years attacking mismanagement of one species after another, often winning crucial victories. We've become a very effective roadblock. However, we need to change the state's strategies for managing all of its fisheries in a comprehensive fashion. Only then can we be more than a roadblock and become a partner with DNR working together for progressive management. Economically, socially, and ecologically it is in the state’s interest, as well as the interest of all Marylanders concerned about the Bay’s future vitality.”