[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 50 (Thursday, March 22, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1942-S1943]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                 TRIBUTE TO J. MICHAEL ``MIKE'' NUSSMAN

 Mr. CARDIN. Mr. President, I want to take this opportunity to 
congratulate J. Michael ``Mike'' Nussman, who is retiring next week 
from the American Sportfishing Association, ASA, the trade association 
that represents the recreational fishing industry. Mr. Nussman joined 
the ASA's government relations team in 1992 and became president and 
chief executive office of the association in 2001. I am proud to call 
him a fellow Marylander.
  Sportfishing provides outdoor recreation for more than 47 million 
Americans each year. In Maryland, we are blessed with some of the best 
fishing opportunities in the Nation. From fishing for striped bass--
``rockfish''--on the Chesapeake Bay, to fly fishing for trout on the 
Gunpowder, to fishing for smallmouth bass on the Potomac, we have great 
waters and angling throughout our State. Whether casting for yellow 
perch and pickerel on the Eastern Shore or trolling for tuna and white 
marlin off Ocean City, fishing in Maryland provides opportunities for 
young people and families to get into the great outdoors and enjoy our 
public lands and waters.
  Like many other outdoor industries, sport fishing is sometimes 
overlooked as a significant job generator and economic engine. The U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service estimates that, nationwide,

[[Page S1943]]

recreational fishing generates $48 billion in retail sales, $115 
billion in total economic activity, and 828,000 jobs. In 2016, Congress 
passed the Outdoor Recreation Jobs and Economic Impact Act. Because of 
that legislation, in 2018, the U.S. Commerce Department Bureau of 
Economic Analysis included outdoor recreation's impact, including 
fishing and boating, in our Nation's gross domestic product, GDP, for 
the first time.
  Possibly the most important aspect of recreational fishing is that 
sportfishing manufacturers, anglers, and boaters pay for most of State 
fish and wildlife agencies' fisheries conservation and boating 
programs. Through special Federal excise and fishing license sales, 
anglers and boaters are providing more than $1.2 billion each year in 
funds that are allocated to the States
  Much of this progress is due to the leadership of Mr. Nussman, who 
hails from Crownsville, MD. While ASA has been a trade association 
since 1933, it has really been in the past 25 years--a period that 
coincides with his tenure--that the organization has assumed more of a 
leadership role in the angling community.
  With the support of ASA, the aforementioned excise taxes have been 
expanded to cover programs such as wetlands restoration, boating safety 
and infrastructure, and the establishment of the Recreational Boating & 
Fishing Foundation, RBFF. In fact, Mike Nussman led the effort to 
establish RBFF to turn around a decline in recreational fishing 
participation, which started to appear in the 1990s. The most recent 
data indicate an upward trend in recreational fishing, including among 
more diverse and urban communities.
  Mr. Nussman's success should come as no surprise. He worked for the 
Senate Commerce Committee and then-Chairman Fritz Hollings of South 
Carolina. Mr. Nussman was the lead professional staff member for the 
subcommittee that oversees fisheries policy, the National Ocean and 
Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and the U.S. Coast Guard. Prior to 
that, Mr. Nussman worked for the South Carolina Sea Grant Program, 
earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in science, and an MBA from 
the University of South Carolina.
  Mr. Nussman's tenure at the ASA also has improved the organization's 
business operations. The sportfishing industry's annual trade show is 
now the largest in the world. His leadership has made the organization 
financially strong, helping it weather economic downturns. He has also 
served on numerous boards of directors and advisory groups, from the 
Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership to the Blue Ribbon Panel on 
Sustaining America's Diverse Fish and Wildlife Resources. He has served 
as a U.S. Commissioner on the International Commission for the 
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
  Trade associations serve a unique role by allowing companies in the 
same industry to come together to express their views on issues 
affecting the entire industry. They are an important segment of our 
U.S. private sector and provide a legal, accepted mechanism to allow 
small and large companies in an industry to have a common voice when 
working with the Congress, the Executive, the States, and local 
governments. When Mr. Nussman joined the ASA, he brought special 
expertise as a former Senate staffer to the recreational fishing 
industry and conservation communities. So upon the occasion of his 
retirement, I think it appropriate that he be recognized and 
congratulated today for a job well done. Anglers and sportfishing-
related businesses in Maryland and across our Nation can be thankful 
that he has been at the ASA helm.
  I wish him all the best as he begins the next chapter in his life 
which will include, presumably, even more time for fishing.

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