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Sport Fish Restoration Administrative Program |
| The Federal Aid in Sport Fish
Restoration Act, sponsored by Congressman John Dingell and Senator Edwin Johnson, was
enacted in 1950, having been modeled after the Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act,
passed in 1937. The Sport Fish Restoration Program proved to be an extremely valuable
source of funding for fisheries work important to the states. By the late 1970s, expanded
efforts by the states to address fisheries problems and needs began to outpace the
availability of funds. Efforts began in 1979 to increase the revenues collected through
the program. By 1984, sufficient support was garnered to allow passage of an amendment to
the Sport Fish Restoration Act, sponsored by Senator Malcomb Wallop and then-Congressman
John Breaux. That amendment provided for a three-fold increase in revenues under the Act
in its first year, amounting to $122 million. Growth in revenues has continued through
1996, with around $350 million being collected. This figure includes revenues collected
under the 1990 amendment to the Act which provides for a major wetlands restoration,
management, and enhancement program. Currently, revenues to the Aquatic Resources continue
to increase, a testament to the lasting popularity of recreational fishing. Traditionally it has been thought that the magnitude of commercial fisheries activities overshadowed those of the recreational sector, to the point that management information such as fishing harvest and effort and other pertinent data were not required for the recreational sector. It has become increasingly clear that such is not the case, as participation, harvest, and impact on fishery resources from recreational activities has increased significantly in the past two decades. The dramatic increase in recreational fishing activities created a need for data by which to formulate and initiate management actions needed to insure long term survival and availability of important marine fish species. Such species include, but are not limited to, red drum, spotted seatrout, flounders, black drum, sheepshead, striped bass, the mackerels, reef fishes, and croaker. All of these species are thought to be in need of management actions which will decrease total fishing and habitat related mortality. This situation places a great burden on the available manpower and funding of the states. Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration funds play a vital role in that regard. America's sport fisheries received a great boost with the passage of the 1984 Wallop-Breaux Amendments to the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act. One of the major purposes of the legislation is to conserve and restore America's sport fishery resources and provide enhanced fishing opportunities for the nation's anglers. The Wallop-Breaux Amendments to the Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act were key provisions of the entire Tax Reform Act of 1984. The Wallop-Breaux Amendments created the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund and enlarged the original D-J constituency from sport anglers to include the boating community, transferring federal motor boat fuel tax receipts and import duties on pleasure boats and yachts into the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund. The Fund was created with two accounts to serve two constituencies, namely the Boat Safety Account and the Sport Fish Restoration Account. A user pays/user benefits approach is the key element of the Wallop-Breaux Program. The program pledges the transfer of fishing and boating excise taxes and motorboat gas taxes (user pays) to the improvement of boating and fishing programs (user benefits). The user pays/user benefits approach has sustained public support for the program because the taxes paid lead directly to improved fishing and boating. Beyond the user pays/user benefits concept, two other features of the Wallop-Breaux legislation are particularly important for Gulf of Mexico fisheries programs. The first concerns the split of funds between marine and freshwater projects within coastal states. Project expenditure requirements, which are based on the amount of angler participation in different fisheries, provide for an equitable distribution of funds between freshwater and saltwater projects in coastal states. These expenditure requirements emphasize the importance of marine recreational fisheries and the vital role that the states play in marine fisheries conservation. The second feature of the Wallop-Breaux legislation that is important for marine fisheries allows for the use of administrative funds and cooperative grants to develop multi-state sport fish restoration projects. This multi-state project option is pertinent to Gulf sport fisheries because the great majority of these fisheries are based on migratory species which cross state and federal boundaries. In particular, special projects carried out through interstate compacts such as the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission (GSMFC) and funded under the administrative portion of the program have been of great benefit to the states in the management of these interjurisdictional fishery resources. Since its inception in 1987, the GSMFC Sport Fish Restoration Administrative Program has focused on four major program components. They include coordination of anadromous fish restoration activities, state artificial reef programs, fisheries data programs, and interstate fisheries management planning. Beginning in 1996, the Program has begun to coordinate fishery habitat activities and is working cooperatively with the Gulf of Mexico Program and the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force to address nonindigenous and aquatic nuisance species issues. These are program areas in which each Gulf State has ongoing activities. By combining the expertise from the states and appropriate federal agencies on working committees, issues and project activities of common interest among all the agencies can be addressed in a broader and more long-term fashion.If you need additional information concerning this program, please contact James Ballard at the GSMFC office at (228) 875-5912 or via e-mail. List of upcoming meetings and available documents. |
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