Saving Seafood

Donofrio Steps Down as RFA Executive Director

July 7, 2021 — The following was released by the Recreational Fishing Alliance:

After 25 years at the helm of one of the very first and most effective political action organizations fighting for the rights of U.S. saltwater anglers, Jim Donofrio will officially step down as Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) on December 31, 2021.

In a letter submitted to the RFA Board of Directors (Board) dated July 2, Donofrio announced his plan to retire at the end of the year, saying he was looking forward to fishing, hunting with his dog Joplin, and spending time with family and friends. His official letter of resignation outlines many of the RFA victories in the recreational fishing community since RFA was first established in 1996, while thanking the Board for their guidance and crediting national members, sponsors and supporters for work on behalf of the RFA’s quarter-century old mission, “To safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs and ensure the long-term sustainability of U.S. saltwater fisheries.”

Donofrio is credited with creating the first IRS recognized 501(c)(4) political action organization focused squarely on the needs of saltwater anglers, the recreational fishing industry and our marine resources. His unique vision to provide the community with a political voice at the state and national level was something unique to the legislative and regulatory process that governs how recreational fisheries, and fishermen, are managed.

“No one has fought harder for the rights of the saltwater angler,” said Viking President and CEO Pat Healey. “Jim has been an incredible asset for us, and the RFA wouldn’t be what it is today without him. We can’t thank Jim enough for all he has done,” Healey added.

A full-time professional captain in the 1990’s, Donofrio was logging hundreds of onboard hours per year when he became intimately aware of how regulations impact coastal fishermen, businesses owners, manufacturers and retailers. The value of his experience as a captain became apparent as he and the RFA grew into a disruptive force while engaging in battles over pelagic longline gear, a proposed endangered species listing for white marlin, and passage of the Sustainable Fisheries Act which led to the reauthorization to the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson) in the late 1990’s.

“I remember when the concept of the RFA was nothing more than an idea along the docks with fellow captains, when the concept of an advocacy group for recreational fishermen by recreational fishermen was first discussed,” said Nick Cicero of the Folsom Corporation, a former Jersey Shore captain himself and now a member of the RFA Board. “Jim’s vision and dedication to that cause will never be forgotten.

“From day one, Jimmy was a bulldog in our corner. No one fought harder for the recreational fishing industry than Jim Donofrio,” said RFA board member and White Marlin Open tournament director Jim Motsko. “He was effective because he did it and saw it; he was on the water. He is going to be deeply missed.”

“Jim’s greatest legacy is his unique ability to effectively voice the needs, concerns and rights of both those of lesser economic status and those who own an 80-foot sportfisherman,” said RFA general counsel and US ICCAT commissioner Ray Bogan. “He has always maintained a ‘no man left behind’ approach to fishery management and access. He doesn’t just remember where he came from, but he cherishes it and has fought incessantly to project the voice of those who wouldn’t otherwise have a voice.”

After founding RFA in 1996, Donofrio went on to establish and maintain strong working relationships with members of Congress – on both sides of the aisle – as well as with fishery managers and scientists during a 25-year political career. Recognizing that coastal fishing issues were non-partisan in nature, Donofrio worked effectively alongside democrats and republicans alike and was invited to testify before Congress numerous times on behalf of the recreational fishing community.

“There’s no better advocate for New Jersey’s fishing industry than my friend Jim Donofrio,” said Congressman Frank Pallone (D-NJ). “In the 27 years that I’ve known him, he’s always been dedicated to fighting for the recreational fishing industry in our state. He has worked to make sure that fishing regulations were based on facts and were fair to the hardworking fishing communities along the Jersey Shore. I wish him all the best for a relaxing retirement.”

“I am sad to see Jim Donofrio leave the RFA after many years of serving fishermen in the state of New Jersey and across the nation,” said Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ). “He was a vital resource for our fishermen, and we had the good fortune to work on issues that beneficially impacted the state of New Jersey. I wish him the very best in his future endeavors.”

Richard Pombo, former republican Chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, called Donofrio “a trusted friend” on federal fisheries issues. “I have worked with Jim for over 20 years on every issue impacting the RFA. He has always been a passionate advocate for fishermen and extremely well versed in very complicated Federal laws.”

As someone who made a living on the water for much of his career, Donofrio was also able to maintain close working relationships with members of the commercial fishing sector, even as the two sides battled over gear and fish allocation issues. After spearheading national rallies on Capitol Hill attended by thousands of commercial and recreational fishermen seeking Magnuson reform, even those on the opposing end of RFA efforts came to respect his tenacious but fair approach in fighting for the recreational community.

“I remember the day back in 1996 when Jim cold-called me at the magazine to tell me about a new organization he was forming that he said was going to become the ‘NRA of salt water fishermen’,” said Barry Gibson, former editor of Salt Water Sportsman and now RFA’s New England Director. “I was initially kind of skeptical, but from the get-go he tackled some pretty thorny controversies and I was impressed with the results. Few people have the understanding of both the management and political sides of recreational fishery issues he has, and that’s why he’s been so effective.”

“It’s still remarkable to me that Jimmy went right from captain to Capitol Hill, launching what pretty much became the NRA for recreational fishing while creating a model for political action at the grassroots level,” said Jim Hutchinson, Jr., managing editor of The Fisherman Magazine. “Jimmy always understood the huge impact politics has on recreational fishing, and not being what you’d call a shy man, his persistence at all levels of government staved off a lot of dangerously restrictive regulatory measures.”

As Bogan noted, “Jim has ruffled a lot of feathers in the process, but he’s been committed to calling out inequities, hypocrisy, and unacceptable compromises that limited recreational fishermen’s access to fishery resources.”

According to the RFA, Donofrio will continue to lead the political action team through the end of 2021, and will further assist the Board with the organizational transition into 2022.

N.J. fishing groups worry offshore wind will adversely affect their industry: ‘This is our farmland’

April 19, 2021 — Capt. Hank Lackner docked a 100-foot trawler in Cape May on a recent day after unloading a catch of squid that might end up as calamari on someone’s plate just about anywhere in the United States.

Lackner fears that offshore wind farms coming to the waters off the New Jersey coast in the next few years could threaten his business. Other commercial and recreational anglers, along with the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA), a political action organization, share his concerns.

They worry that wind farms with their soaring turbines could disrupt fish habitat, reroute fishing lanes, and force sport anglers farther out to sea.

Lackner, of Montauk, N.Y., believes that the farms will narrow the currently wide-open pathways to the vessel he docks at Cape May so often that he calls it his second home.

“We have no power,” said Jeff Reichle, chairman of Lund’s Fisheries, a processor of scallops and squid in Cape May that employees 300. “We’re being bulldozed here. It’s just being rammed down our throats.”

He also has attended meetings, and concludes the wind industry and its government backers have all the clout.

Reichle said he is not opposed to offshore wind and was part of a group called Fisherman’s Energy that tried to install five turbines a few miles off the coast of Atlantic City. He said that project, had it succeeded, might have generated data that could have shown potential impact on marine life.

Read the full story at The Philadelphia Inquirer

Enviros Push for “National Monuments” Off Northeast Coast that Could Ban Recreational Fishing

November, 2015 — A coalition of environmental groups including the Pew Charitable Trusts, the Conservation Law Foundation, and the National Resources Defense Council, is pushing hard to create a half-dozen “marine national monuments” in the Atlantic Ocean that would prohibit commercial fishing and could ban recreational fishing as well.

The coalition is encouraging President Obama to use his authority to designate the monuments through the Antiquities Act of 1906, which was created to “protect the objects of historic and scientific interest” and is supposed to be limited to “the smallest area compatible with proper care and management of the objects to be protected.” Through the Act, a president can unilaterally create these areas without any public or congressional oversight or input. A number of presidents have exercised this privilege in the past, yet most monuments have been designated on land or in the Western Pacific Ocean.

At the time of this writing the areas under consideration are not completely clear, but appear to include at least three canyons – Lydonia, Gilbert, and Oceanographer – along with four seamounts to the south, as well as Cashes Ledge some 50 miles offshore in the Gulf of Maine. Other canyons and seamounts are also reportedly under consideration.

It is clear to many of us, however, that the coalition’s intent in creating these monuments has little to do with historical or cultural preservation. As Maine’s Gov. Paul LePage put it, the monuments designations “would serve only one purpose – excluding commercial fishing from certain segments of the ocean.”

The recreational sector, however, needs to be very careful – and skeptical as well. At least one attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) has suggested that recreational fishing would likely be allowed in the monuments, in order to garner support from sport fishermen, and indicated that it would be a real “win” for the recreational sector if just the commercials were prohibited in these areas.

But the rec sector isn’t taking the bait. “Just because a couple of environmental groups claim they wouldn’t oppose recreational fishing in the monuments doesn’t mean that sport fishing would be allowed once the final regulations are drafted in D.C.,” explained Frank Blount, chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council’s (NEFMC) Groundfish Committee and a party boat fleet owner in RI. “There’s no way to predict what the language in any monument designation will entail. We need to oppose the whole idea, right from the get-go.”

One of the biggest problems with the Antiquities Act of 1906 is that it strips away the open, democratic processes that protect these areas yet can allow sustainable and appropriate fishing activity. The open federal Fishery Management Council system is the vehicle by which this is best accomplished, and in fact the NEFMC has already implemented strong protections for Cashes Ledge, where most commercial fishing is already now prohibited. And in June, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to protect 38,000 square miles of marine habitat in order to protect deep-sea corals.

A marine monuments designation, in contrast, would nullify these existing management actions, and deny the public any input into what new restrictions might, or should, be enacted. “Instead, it all becomes purely political,” says Jim Donofrio, the RFA’s Executive Director. “Whoever has the most influence on the administration and the president will get what they want in the way of restrictions in these areas. This is no way to manage our publicly-owned marine resources. We already have a transparent process via the Magnuson-Stevens Act. It’s certainly not perfect, to be sure, but it at least allows for public participation.”

Read the full story at Making Waves, the official publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance