Important steps to expand outdoor access, modernize data collection and strengthen state-federal partnerships
For millions of saltwater fishermen and the added many millions of hunters across our great country, Sept. 17, 2026 should be celebrated for years.
It’s the day President Donald Trump signed two executive orders mandating major changes to a broad spectrum of federal fishing and hunting regulations that have affected the way we fish and hunt.
These executive orders, Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage and Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation, also quell the battles private recreational fishing, hunting and conservation organizations have had with federal fisheries managers in the U.S. Department of Commerce, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
In the case of fisheries management, the ongoing fight with Commerce, through the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, has lingered for most of the past 30 years.
Today, those in the recreational forefront of this confrontation called the saltwater fishing executive order a landmark “..in federal ocean, coastal and public land decision-making.”
Baton Rouge’s Jeff Angers, the former executive director of Louisiana’s CCA, breathed a deep sigh of relief after the president signed the order in the White House Rose Garden in Washington, D.C.
Angers, now the president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy, said this extensive revision in federal fisheries policies is the biggest win for recreational fishermen.
“This executive order is a historic recognition of what millions of American anglers and coastal communities have known for decades: marine recreational fishing deserves a management system built for the way Americans fish,” Angers said. “By prioritizing better data, stronger state partnerships and modern management approaches, President Trump’s order builds on our conservation gains, creating a path to more reliable access and opportunity in America’s oceans.”
Fisheries management
The saltwater fishing executive order touched on a number of confrontational topics recreational fishing and fishing trade groups have battled for decades in trying to move the needle toward a more modern approach to fisheries management.
Louisiana’s offshore anglers have first-hand experiences with these problems, first beginning with red snapper, then expanding into gray triggerfish and, more recently, greater amberjack. Limited days/seasons and limited catch, along with the federal government’s plan to remove offshore oil and gas platforms — fish-holding reefs — from offshore waters, have been burrs under their saddles.
The executive order took on those challenges to include:
- A more modern approach to collecting and disseminating recreational fisheries data, and a charge to federal fisheries managers to what Angers said is “accelerating the use of reliable state data in federal management.”
- Because most of what federal fisheries managers did was managing for the commercial fisheries sector, and its value to the economy, the executive order directs Commerce to account for the “…economic value of recreational fishing in management decisions and harvest opportunities.”
- Additionally, the order also calls for establishing a more manageable program to mimic Louisiana’s Rigs-to-Reefs Program with the new Reef-in-Place plan for eligible offshore structures.
- To offset recent federal rules implementing speed and access restrictions in certain federal waters, the new guidelines demand “…safeguarding boater access through precision technology rather than sweeping restrictions,” and charges federal managers to remove “unnecessary barriers to fishing, boating and public access.”
- Sharks was another major topic, and one recreational anglers have complained about for years because of the increased federal regulations on the taking of sharks and what it calls “pinniped depredation,” covering seals and marine mammals.
“The (executive) order also demands (federal) agencies to take the best path forward toward implementing these directives,” Angers said. “It means this is not just words on a paper for bureaucrats to slow-walk these plans. These topics are not new and it’s important for long timelines in recognizing what recreational fishing means to our country.”
Economic data
The American Sportfishing Association was among the groups pushing for these changes. For years, ASA has been the leader in recognizing the economic value of recreational fishing from fishing and trade activities.
ASA’s president and CEO Glenn Hughes said the order acknowledges recreational activities account for at least $1.2 trillion annually taking in 5.2 million jobs and that recreational fishing and boating adds $38.4 billion to the U.S. economy, with recreational saltwater anglers generating $145.4 billion and near 700,000 jobs across our country.
“This is the biggest day in marine recreational fishing in history and marks the first time in 20 years when a president has come to focus on recreational saltwater fishing,” Angers said. “What is means, now, is that it’s OK to fish and recreate on our lands and waters.”
Johnny Morris, the Bass Pro Shops founder and avid supporter of the conservation movement and the contributions of hunters and fishermen to the quality of outdoors recreation in the country, stepped up when it came to the corrections these executive orders will make.
“These actions are about expanding access opportunities and conservation, ensuring Americans have a place to hunt, fish and enjoy the outdoors, while strengthening fish and wildlife habitats that make those experiences possible,” Morris said.
Topping the list of provisions in the Reinvigorating America’s Hunting Heritage executive order was expanding “hunting on federally managed lands, including improving access to difficult-to-reach public lands and waters.”
There was more, for instance, a demand to support healthy populations of game species and restoring wildlife habitats through stronger partnerships with state wildlife agencies; improving hunter recruitment and retention by expanding opportunities for youths and veterans; and, importantly, protecting the use of ammunition and tackle with science and federal law. It also seeks to expand Sunday hunting opportunities and wild-game donation programs.
Other than CSP and ASA, organizations pushing for this executive order included the Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation, the national Coastal Conservation Association, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, the National Marine Manufacturers Association, the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, the International Game Fish Association, the Guy Harvey Foundation, the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited and Delta Waterfowl.
