Sportfishing Industry Hosts 63 Trash Cleanups During National Fishing & Boating Week
Last week, as part of National Fishing & Boating Week 2026, the sportfishing industry coalesced around a single goal – pick up trash along our favorite local waterways and improve fishing for America’s 57 million anglers. As part of this inaugural effort, known as the Million Pound Challenge, 31 companies and state fisheries management agencies hosted over 63 cleanups across the country, removing debris from rivers, lakes and beaches.
The American Sportfishing Association staff spent last Thursday at Fletcher’s Cove in Washington, D.C., where we collected over 500 lbs. of trash from the banks of the Potomac River. Organized cleanups will continue throughout the summer as we work together to reach our goal.
Click below to learn more about the Million Pound Challenge and join us in 2027 as we work towards our goal of removing 1 million lbs. of trash from our waterways.
Westerman and Huffman Introduce Bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act 250
On June 10, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Ranking Member Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) introduced the bipartisan Great American Outdoors Act 250 (GAOA 250). The GAOA 250 invests $1.9 billion annually to address deferred maintenance of outdoor recreation infrastructure on America’s public lands and waters over each of the next five years, including campgrounds, trails, boat ramps, hunting and fishing sites and other recreational sites.
“Public lands and waters are the lifeblood of the sportfishing industry and the entire recreational fishing community, which contributes $230 billion to the nation’s economy,” said Glenn Hughes, President & CEO of the American Sportfishing Association. “No other country on earth enjoys the expansive public access and diversity of fishing opportunities as those afforded in the United States. Continued investments in sportfishing and outdoor recreation infrastructure on public lands and waters through the Legacy Restoration Fund and the Great American Outdoors Act 250 are critical to advancing our nation’s fishing and outdoor recreation heritage for the next 250 years.”
Read the full press release below.
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Senator Alsobrooks Highlights Dingell-Johnson Funding During Committee Hearing
Last week, Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Brian Nesvik discussed the importance of Dingell-Johnson Act funding during a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing. Director Nesvik committed to ensuring the timely delivery of this critical funding and working with the states to continue the longstanding success of this program.
ASA appreciates Sen. Alsobrooks for her commitment to this program and Director Nesvik for his support of fisheries conservation and federal-state cooperation in fisheries management.
Click below to watch the full exchange.
Characterizing a Century of Shark Depredation in US Atlantic Recreational Fisheries
Fisheries scientists recently released a report on shark depredation, or the consumption of a hooked fish by a shark before an angler can successfully land it, in the ICES Journal of Marine Science. Notably, the report highlighted that there are more anglers than ever before, shark populations are rebuilding following three decades of management, and many target fishery species are recovering from overfishing. Thus, overlap between these three groups is likely at an all-time high. The authors also recommended that fisheries managers work directly with anglers and state agencies to further research opportunities to reduce human-shark interactions on the water, which is in line with ASA’s call for Congress to pass the SHARKED Act.
Click the link below to read the report summary.
ORR: ORR Praises Bipartisan House Action on Great American Outdoors Act 250
In The Bite: You’ve Been Sharked: The Rising Cost of Shark Depredation for Anglers
NOAA Fisheries: Updates from Partners on Engaging the Recreational Fishing Community to Restore Habitat through the National Fish Habitat Partnership
The Fishing Wire: The Coastal Conservation Association San Diego Chapter Honors Ken Franke With The 2026 Beacon Award
