Tag: Advocacy

Arizona House of Representatives Passes Boater Education Legislation Overwhelming Support Moves the Bill to the Senate

Minneapolis, MN, March 13, 2024 – On Monday, March 4th, the Arizona House of Representatives voted to pass H.B. 2149: watercraft operation; minors; safety education, in a 40-17 vote. Favorable passage out of the House now sends this piece of legislation to the Senate, where it must also move through the Committee process and ultimately […]

Advocacy Update: Final North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule Delayed Until 2024

The long-awaited final North Atlantic Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule will likely not be finalized by the end of 2023, according to Janet Coit, Assistant Administrator of Fisheries at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This rule, which proposes to put in place a 10-knot speed limit on all vessels 35 feet or larger […]

MRAA, Dealers Share Concerns at American Boating Congress

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 16, 2023 – Last week, the recreational boating industry, including the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas, visited Washington, D.C., for the annual American Boating Congress (ABC) hosted by the National Marine Manufacturers Association. MRAA staff, members of the MRAA Board of Directors and several MRAA members brought marine industry issues to […]

A New Restriction May be on the Horizon for Gulf Coast Boating: Petition to Establish Rice’s Whale Vessel Speed Zone

Impediments to boating access, in the forms of mandatory speed zones or restrictions on boat type or activity, stand to have a major impact on your business by either keeping boaters off the water or disincentivizing folks from buying boats. As the proposed Right Whale Vessel Speed Rule, which would mandate a 10-knot speed restriction […]

Proposed Vessel Speed Rule Will Hamper Recreation, Do Little for Right Whale

• Recreational boating and fishing community submit comment, ask NOAA to pause rule WASHINGTON, D.C., October 7, 2022 — Monday, the Marine Retailers Association of the Americas and other leading organizations representing recreational fishing and boating in the United States urged the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to pause its proposed North Atlantic Right Whale […]

Tokowicz, MRAA Advocacy Efforts Highlighted in ‘Boating Industry’ Magazine

As part of Boating Industry magazine’s report on sustainability within the marine industry, Associate Editor Jamie Stafford spoke with MRAA Government Relations Manager Chad Tokowicz. Under the header “Retailers” on page 24 of the August / September issue of the magazine, Chad shared the MRAA’s advocacy efforts and its approach to sustainability, conservation and legislative […]