Last week, a $3.3 million groundbreaking study to assess the South Atlantic red snapper fishery was announced by U.S. Reps. John Rutherford (R-Fla.) and Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.). Rutherford and Murphy led a bipartisan effort that secured the funding for the research. Modeled after the “Great Red Snapper Count” in the Gulf of Mexico, this study is a group project between the University of Florida, North Carolina State University, Texas A&M Corpus Christi and NOAA Fisheries. The 30-month project will estimate…
Read MoreEarlier today, nearly 200 people attended the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation’s (CSF) first virtual policy briefing of the year to discuss the importance of including the hunting and fishing community in the development of policy related to the global 30 by 30 initiative. The 30 by 30 initiative aims to conserve 30 percent of global lands and waters by 2030. To date, much of the interest to achieve this ambitious goal has been focused at the state level, however, efforts at…
Read MoreThe American Sportfishing Association(ASA) today announced its support for two bipartisan bills to help restore land and water surrounding abandoned mines that would otherwise threaten fisheries and nearby communities. The Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Amendments Act of 2021 and the Revitalizing the Economy of Coal Communities by Leveraging Local Activities and Investing More Act of 2021 (RECLAIM) were introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Reps. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) and Glenn Thompson (R-Pa.), and Reps. Cartwright (D-Pa.) and Hal…
Read MoreAs of today, 42 hunting, fishing and conservation organizations have taken a significant step forward for conservation by officially joining as signatories to the “Hunting and Fishing Community Statement on the 30 by 30 Initiative.” The coalition gained 29 new signatories since the coalition’s establishment in October. The “Thirty by Thirty Initiative” (30 by 30 Initiative) seeks to establish a goal of protecting 30% of the planet’s lands and waters by the year 2030 and is linked to global land…
Read MoreSens. Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) reintroduced the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act which aims to align state and federal policy to support the modernization of California’s swordfish fishery. The California drift gillnet fishery is the last remaining fishery in the country using these types of large mesh gillnets – which are a mile long and indiscriminately catch anything in their path. Last Congress, this legislation received unanimous support from the Senate and passed the House by a…
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