Sport Fish Restoration--Florida Freshwater Fishing

Animated SFR Logo

Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration (SFR) provides one of the most vital sources of funds for managing the nation's recreational fisheries. In 1950, congressmen Dingell and Johnson created the original program wherein fishing tackle is assessed an excise fee at the manufacturers' level, and resulting funds are allocated to state game and fish agencies. Monies are used to reimburse the states for three dollars of every four spent on qualifying sportfish restoration projects. The original "Dingell-Johnson" act was expanded in 1984 through the "Wallop-Breaux" amendment. The W-B Amendment established the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund that added import duties on sport fishing equipment, pleasure boats and yachts as well as tax revenue from motorboat fuel sales. In 2006, the total funding for national programs since exception exceeded $5 billion according to the USFWS's annual allotment news release. An agency-wide summary of SFR funding uses for 2006-07 highlights (PDF; 165 kb) the program uses in Florida.

In 1994, passage of the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21) authorized a National Outreach and Communications Program to increase participation in angling and boating and to impress on boaters and anglers the importance of healthy aquatic habitats. It also increased the minimum level of spending for boating access to 15% and raised the maximum allowable expenditure of SFR apportionments for aquatic education and outreach to 15%. TEA-21 further created a Boating Infrastructure Grant program (BIG) for construction, maintenance, or renovation of transient facilities for non-trailerable recreational boats (boats longer than 26 feet) TEA-21 raised the amount of Federal gas tax credited to the Aquatic Resources Trust Fund and established a “permanent” appropriation for the Boating Safety Account. The result is one of the most successful "user pays--user benefits" programs in the world.

The amount of money Florida receives is based on the size of the state and the number of licensed anglers. Since we do not charge license fees to youth under 16 or adults over 65, and many states do, we recover a somewhat smaller proportion of the funds than do other states. However, we are not likely to become one of the maximum states which receive 5 percent of total SFR funds ($13.3 million in FY 2003), because of the relative size of Florida.
SFR generated $9.1 million dollars for Florida in 2005, of which 15% ($1.4 million) provides for both fresh and saltwater boating access. Of the remaining, $7.7 million, freshwater fisheries conservation received $3.2 million (based on the estimated number of resident freshwater anglers versus saltwater anglers).

Florida freshwater fisheries’ SFR funding is used primarily to manage Urban Fisheries, the Tenoroc Fish Management Area, near Lakeland, and the Commission-Managed Impoundments in the panhandle. These programs manage and regulate fisheries to provide quality fishing experiences in areas with extremes of fishing pressure. Urban fisheries programs intensively manage small lakes and ponds by use of aerators, feeders, fertilization, stocking and other techniques that allow them to support upwards to 2,000 hours of fishing pressure per acre per year, versus an average natural lake having about 40-50 hours per acre per year. Key elements of urban fishing programs include the following: development and maintenance of fish populations for a diverse group of anglers; fishing events to increase awareness and participation by novice anglers; and reliance on cooperators to provide and maintain access and appropriate facilities to encourage family participation. Urban fishing programs are located in Duval, Orlando, Tampa-St. Pete, and the Palm Beach/Miami-Dade area.

In addition, SFR funds support aquatic education and outreach programs. Florida has over 10 million urban residents, and these programs seek to bring fishing closer to them. Aquatic education programs provide resources for elementary and secondary students to gain understanding of freshwater aquatic ecosystems, fisheries science, angler ethics, and angling skills aimed at promoting responsible life-time participation in sport fishing and resource stewardship. Two approaches are taken: direct training, primarily through the Joe Budd Aquatic Education Center (Gadsden County), and indirectly through teacher training from the Boca Raton Aquatic Education Center (Palm Beach County).

For additional information see: A History of Sport Fish Restoration's Impact on Florida's Freshwater Fisheries, written by Bob Wattendorf, for the Special Issue of Fisheries Magazine Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of SFR, which covers all 50 states and the details of the program.

The American Sportfishing Association, legislative affairs office is a good source for up-to-date information on Legislation affecting SFR and other fisheries bills.

Federal Aid maintains a website of their own that provides additional information. Specific apportionment information is also available on-line.

Take Me Fishing.org is a great general information site for recreational anglers and boaters.

Florida Fishing Capital of the World--Great Resources, Responsible Management