SaltyCajun.com - Jindal on feds and red snapper

Feds grossly mismanaging red snapper stocks, Jindal tells CCA convention
red snapper
The federal government is being overly strict with management of Gulf red-snapper stocks, Gov. Bobby Jindal told the Coastal Conservation Association Friday. Jindal wants control of the species transferred to the states. (Capt. Tommy Pellegrin)
Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune By Todd Masson, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune
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on February 06, 2014 at 8:45 AM, updated February 06, 2014 at 4:41 PM
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal had some harsh words for federal fisheries managers and President Barack Obama during a speech at the annual convention of the Coastal Conservation Association.
Jindal on Friday told CCA members that it's time for the federal government to transfer red-snapper management to the states.
For nearly the last decade, area anglers have been hamstrung by tight fishing regulations despite an apparent abundance of the fish. That puts in jeopardy a significant chunk of the 82,000 jobs along the Gulf Coast that depend on the recreational-fishing industry, Jindal said.
"Because of this impact, I'm so disappointed that our federal fisheries managers continue to ignore these facts in their approach to setting public policy," he said. "I've got two problems with the federal government's approach to red-snapper management.
"First, their season limitations are unscientific. Second, their approach was to allocate a smaller percentage of what they viewed as a smaller population of fish.
"Now, like a lot of what goes in in D.C., this doesn't make sense."
Jindal praised the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission for going rogue last year and establishing a state season that had more days and looser restrictions than the federal season. As part of that initiative, the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries also established a harvest-estimate program called LA Creel Survey that was lauded on a national level.
"The National Marine Fisheries Service recognized our recreational landings of red snapper from the LA Creel Survey as the best available data over the results from their own survey," Jindal said.
The improved counting method was partly responsible for the feds deciding to open a fall season last year, Jindal said.
Anglers from the five Gulf states have been critical of the federal government's perceived mismanagement of the Gulf's red-snapper stock. That criticism is especially acute in the western Gulf since populations seem more abundant than ever off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.
Western-Gulf anglers frequently report an inability to successfully catch other species of fish because there are so many red snapper. Jindal would like to see control of the fishery transferred from the federal government to the five Gulf states.
"We shouldn't have to settle for overarching subpar management of these resources by the federal government," he said. "Our state has proven we can do a far better job at managing our fish and providing greater access to them for our fishermen. No one understands our fisheries better than state and local managers.
"We're not going to go away. We're not going to bow down to the federal government."
Jindal said the state is working to increase the overall number of fish rather than attempting to divvy up a limited pie. He offered no specifics, but hinted that part of the problem is the federal government's idle-iron policy that forces oil- and gas-exploration companies to remove platforms that are no longer producing hydrocarbons.
These platforms provide vertical structure that is attractive to sea life, including red snapper.
"We realize that environmental and economic objectives don't always have to be in contrast with each other," Jindal said.
The scientific community is split on whether artificial-reef structures actually improve fish populations or merely attract fish, making them more accessible to anglers.
The governor closed his speech by taking some shots at Obama.
"The president gave an important State of the Union speech this week, and I was reminded of Ronald Reagan's first inaugural speech," Jindal said. "At the beginning of his speech, he noted something. He said, 'The states created the federal government, not the other way around.' It would be good if folks from D.C. would remember that sometimes."
Jindal's attack then turned more personal.
"It would be good if our constitutional scholar in the White House would actually read the constitution," he said. "I'm not one for lawyers or lawsuits or anything like that, but if I were him, I'd file a lawsuit and demand my money back from Harvard Law School. I'm not sure what they taught him in three years."

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Todd Masson can be reached at tmasson@nola.com or 504.232.3054.
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