Five-Year Review of the Contribution of Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration to Monitoring and Managing National and Northeast Saltwater Fisheries

The 1984 Wallop-Breaux amendments to Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Act (SFR) required coastal states to spend their funds on freshwater and saltwater projects in proportion to the estimated numbers of their resident freshwater and saltwater anglers.  During the five-year period FY 2006-2010, $286 million was spent on SFR saltwater projects nationwide.  This represented 17 percent of SFR funds across all 56 states and territories and 35 percent of SFR funds of the 28 coastal states and territories.  These national saltwater expenditures included 5 percent for aquatic resource education, 12 percent for boating access, and 83 percent for “other purposes.”  Survey and management projects accounted for 71 percent of this “other purposes” category, with development projects accounting for an additional 21 percent.  Coastal states from Maine to Virginia spent $77 million, or 33 percent, of their SFR funds on saltwater projects.  These Northeast saltwater expenditures included 6 percent for aquatic resource education, 14 percent for boating access, and 80 percent for “other purposes.”  Eighty percent of Northeast SFR saltwater grants for “other purposes” supported survey and management projects, primarily to evaluate the population status and utilization of marine sport fishes as per interstate fishery management plans.  The remaining 20 percent supported a wide range of saltwater activities including environmental review, coastal habitat restoration, shore fishing access, species propagation, outreach, and administration.  While the overwhelming majority of Northeast SFR saltwater projects occurred in coastal waters for marine species and rivers for anadromous species, there was some work outside state territorial waters for artificial reef development, recreational fishing statistics collection, and research on species like grouper and tilefish.