A new executive order signed Sept. 17 could eventually bring significant changes to recreational saltwater fishing, including new opportunities to turn decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures into artificial reefs.
The order, “Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation,” also addresses shark depredation, federal recreational fishing data, permitting and the use of state fisheries information in federal management.
For Texas anglers, several provisions have direct Gulf Coast implications.
New Push for Offshore Artificial Reefs
One of the most notable provisions involves decommissioned offshore structures.
The order gives the secretary of the interior 60 days to establish a Federal Outer Continental Shelf Reef-in-Place Program designed to facilitate the conversion of decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures and other qualifying structures into permanent artificial reefs.
The order specifically identifies reef-in-place, topple-in-place and other approved reefing methods. Infrastructure associated with offshore wind energy facilities is excluded.
That does not mean every decommissioned Gulf platform can simply be left standing. Qualifying structures and leaseholders must satisfy applicable statutory, regulatory, environmental, navigational and safety requirements.
The Department of the Interior is directed to coordinate with the departments of Commerce and War, the U.S. Coast Guard and other appropriate federal agencies to streamline interagency review and permitting to the maximum extent allowed by law.
Another provision gives the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, working with Interior, 120 days to review and, where appropriate, revise policies and procedures governing artificial reefs within National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments.
Among the stated goals are identifying areas suitable for artificial reef development and enhancing fisheries, recreational fishing, diving and other compatible public uses.
Shark Depredation Gets Federal Attention
The order also puts a federal spotlight on shark depredation — something familiar to many Gulf anglers who have watched a shark take a hooked fish before it reaches the boat.
The secretary of commerce is directed to establish an Interagency Shark and Pinniped Depredation Task Force.
Within 90 days, Commerce is also directed to develop and implement a standardized “Real-Time Depredation Reporting” protocol.
The order calls for integrating the protocol into existing federal and state-linked mobile data collection platforms, allowing depredation events to be rapidly mapped and potentially used in fisheries management decisions.
The shark provisions go further.
The secretaries of state, interior and commerce, along with the U.S. Trade Representative, are directed to address domestic and international barriers to what the order describes as sustainable shark fisheries.
Those actions are to include assessing listings under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, directing the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to expedite Non-Detriment Findings for global export and reviewing regional fisheries management organizations, conventions, treaties and agreements.
The stated objective is to ensure their measures and actions promote what the order calls “robust commercial and recreational harvests.”
Changes to Federal Fishing Data
The order also calls for potentially significant changes in how recreational fishing activity is measured.
NOAA is directed to evaluate the statistical reliability of traditional mail-in survey systems used for recreational catch-and-effort data and their adequacy for dynamic fisheries management.
The results are to be considered in determining whether, and to what extent, those mail-in survey systems should be phased out.
NOAA is also directed to use existing and potential future platforms and technologies to deploy standardized, user-friendly mobile applications for mandatory and voluntary electronic reporting by recreational anglers and for-hire operators.
To the extent feasible and consistent with federal law, information gathered through those applications would be incorporated into a modernized federal data system processing real-time catch, effort and observational data. The order says the information would be used to inform stock assessments, establish seasonal quotas and assist rapid fisheries management decisions.
The order specifically addresses NOAA’s Marine Recreational Information Program, commonly known as MRIP.
It states that recreational access along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts has been “improperly restricted by inaccuracies” in MRIP data.
Commerce is directed to consider establishing a data-replacement threshold tied to Percent Standard Error, or PSE.
If MRIP data for a seasonal fishery meet or exceed that threshold and an affected state collects recreational catch-and-effort data with a lower error rate, NOAA would then consider substituting the state’s data for MRIP data in management decisions concerning that fishery.
Within 180 days, Commerce must also review targeted National Standards Guidelines under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
The order specifically identifies National Standard 1, dealing with optimum yield, and National Standard 2, dealing with the best scientific information available.
One stated objective is facilitating more rapid integration of state-level data into federal management decisions where appropriate.
Recreational Fishing Economics
Within 180 days, Commerce is directed to develop a comprehensive five-year strategic plan for improving the collection, analysis and application of recreational fisheries economic data.
The plan is to include clear implementation milestones and ensure the economic impact and value of recreational fishing — including for-hire fisheries and shoreside support industries — are accounted for in federal fisheries management decisions and harvest opportunities.
The executive order states that America’s overall outdoor recreation sector generates more than $1.2 trillion annually and supports more than 5 million jobs.
Permitting and Fisheries Programs
The order also targets federal permitting.
Within 60 days, relevant federal agencies are directed to evaluate existing permitting authorities with the goal of transitioning to multi-year permits with terms of at least three years.
To the extent permitted by law, those permits could include a standard presumption of renewal.
Agencies are directed to consider whether that presumption should apply exclusively to permit holders in good standing. Among the potential standards identified in the order are compliance with U.S. Coast Guard safety regulations, no major environmental or fisheries violations and a 100-percent compliance rate with applicable mandatory electronic catch-reporting requirements established under the order.
Federal agencies are also directed to develop the infrastructure necessary for a single, unified interagency Special Use Permit application, with the goal of deploying a “One-Stop” joint permit portal within one year.
Commerce is directed to identify key recreational species and work with anglers, charter captains and state agencies to gather real-time information, deploy advanced tagging technologies and improve estimates of catch-and-release mortality.
Atlantic striped bass is specifically cited as an example of an iconic recreational fishery experiencing decline.
The order requires development and initiation of at least two new pilot programs testing recreational fisheries data-collection or management approaches.
Interior and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are also directed to identify regulatory and administrative hurdles delaying disbursements from the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund and, where consistent with federal law, remove those hurdles.
What Does It Mean for Texas Anglers?
The executive order does not immediately change Texas fishing seasons, recreational bag limits or federal quotas.
Instead, many of its provisions direct federal departments and agencies to establish programs, review existing regulations, consider changes or undertake rulemaking. The order also specifies that its implementation must be consistent with applicable law and is subject to the availability of appropriations.
For Texas anglers, however, the issues involved are significant.
Turning qualifying decommissioned offshore oil and gas structures into permanent artificial reefs, tracking shark depredation in real time, reconsidering how recreational catches are estimated and potentially giving lower-error state data a larger role in federal decisions could all have implications for Gulf fishing.
How significant those impacts become will depend on how the federal agencies implement the order in the months ahead.