RFA Asks Commerce Secretary For Council Appointment Process - Encourages Governors To Provide Public Review & Comment
August 20, 2009 - Reacting to the latest round of appointments to the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC), the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) has asked U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to consider enacting coastwide changes to the appointment process in order to provide more public review and comment at the state level. "RFA suggests that prior to a Governor submitting a list of individuals to the Office of the Secretary, the prospective list be disclosed in the state register and be made available for public review and/or comment for a minimum of 20 days," said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the RFA. "The result would be Governors' lists sent to the Office of the Secretary that have been fully vetted at the state level by representatives of commercial and recreational fishing interests."

In an official letter to Secretary Locke and forwarded to governors and key legislators representing New Jersey, New York, and Virginia, Donofrio said the RFA was frustrated by the recent appointments to the MAFMC, "Specifically, the lack of consultation or input sought from the traditional recreational fishing stakeholders." A political action organization which represents the rights of saltwater anglers in America, RFA cited section 109-479 within the federal fisheries law, the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA), as stating that the governor must, to the extent practicable, consult with representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing interests of the state regarding the appointment of state representatives to fishery management councils.

On June 26, Locke officially announced the appointment of four new members to the MAFMC, two representing the states of Virginia and New Jersey to fill obligatory seats, with the new members appointed from New York and North Carolina appointed to fill At-large seats. The appointments caused uproar within the fishing community however, as representatives selected in Virginia and New Jersey replaced incumbent representatives of the recreational fishing community, while the New York selection removed a commercial sector seat. According to Donofrio, the selection process was in clear violation of the spirit and intent of MSA.

"The lists sent to the Office of the Secretary from the New York, New Jersey, and Virginia Governors, included names of individuals that were and remain completely unknown to the mainstream recreational and commercial fishing communities of the respective states," Donofrio said, adding "it is glaringly apparent that traditional stakeholders were excluded from state level deliberations regarding these appointments and composition of the Governors' lists."

RFA is recommending that the US Department of Commerce and individual governors in each of the coastal state coordinate a more transparent appointment process in the future, thereby allowing potential candidates to be fully vetted within the fishing community as required under federal law. Read the full letter at the RFA homepage.