Whats The Count?

[Deep C]

Trying to take my mind off other issues in my world. Got thinking about the endless parade of prongings we as rec fishermen have endured in recent years. It started with Tuna going from four a trip to one over and one under if that. We watched as "slot" bass were forced on us. Fluke size has gone each year for a decade then they pack on a closed season when there are more now than at any time in history. Winter flounder were crushed by the over populating vacume cleaner bass and dogfish being protected so again we suffer with a limit of what? One?
The days of having a good time togging year round are a memory again a summer limit of 1? Offshore it started with circles and more is definately on the way and may include closure of the canyons!
Then we get the new regime... Escallation big time. Sea Bass- Closed, Amberjack-Closed, Red Snapper- Closed, Grouper- Closed, Tilefish- Mostly closed, Shark- soon to be closed... On the other end though they extended the "research" longliner sets in the Florida nursery to run for yet another year...

I know I'm missing some... How about helping fill in the blanks?

[Capt. Lyndon]

Deep, I'm not trying to start a commercial v/s recreational debate, however, the recreational sector isn't the only one getting screwed. Down this way, they have, or will be at the first of the year, closed 98% of the commercial fishery's, as well as the majority of the recreational bottom fishery's. Commercial and recreational interest's need to band together and fight these moron's at NOAA fishery's.

[Deep C]

Beautiful response... Yes the comms are affected too and yes I am a friendly when it comes to them. The evil empire needs to fall... List up what all has been taken off the table there. Lets get a good concise picture for all parties to see of the screwin we're all getting...

[Capt. Lyndon]

grouper for 4 months out of the year-comm and rec. b-liners for 2.5 months, commercial and 2 months recreational. sea bass for a minimum 6 months, possibly 12 months for the commercial sector, red snapper-commercial and recreational, I can't remember the time period right off the top of my head.
All of the bottom fish closures are bad enough in their own right, but as I've said before, what really has me scared is the pressure these closure's are going to put on other stocks that are currently listed as viable, such as king mackerel, spanish mackerel, dolphin, and wahoo. It is my personal opinion that kings will be the hardest hit, seeing as they are our most easily available trolling species, for both the commercial and recreational fishery's. I've never been able to side with one or the other since I'm a member of both groups, but as I said above, right now, we ALL need to band together and forget our past differences, otherwise, we'll be lucky if there is anything left the feds will let us fish for.

[eppefour]

I know you didn't seem to like this bill Deep but I don't see anything else that may help in the near future.

Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 HR 1584
I posted the link to one of the previous threads. I held off posting a sample letter to send but I think there is no other way right now.I'll work on it today. Outside of Lubcheko screwing the pooch and being asked to leave, I think we are screwed without legislation from Congress. NMFS is on a steamroller ride that has to be slowed down.
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This bill is active in the house. This is something you can support. Working through Congress is an alternative to working through NMFS.

Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 (Introduced in House)

HR 1584 IH

111th CONGRESS 1st Session
H. R. 1584

To amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to extend the authorized time period for rebuilding of certain overfished fisheries, and for other purposes.
http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/...-a-378404.html

[eppefour]

Print the letter, get the address from the link in the next reply and mail it. I took the letter from a letter written by NCWU . I think it's time to mobilize support for the bill. Most of our organizations are supporting it. The commercials are supporting it obviously. Our interests often coincide.

Dec 12, 2009

I would like to ask for your support of S-1255 Bill (HR 1584), which would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to extend the authorized time period for the rebuilding of certain overfished fisheries, and for other purposes.
The original Magnuson-Stevens Act included provisions for - “A national program for the conservation and management of the fishery resources of the United States to prevent overfishing, to rebuild overfished stocks, to insure conservation, to facilitate long-term protection of essential fish habitats and to realize the full potential of the Nation’s fishery resources.” (MSA; 104-297).
Provisions were made for data collection - “The collection of reliable data is essential to the effective conservation, management and scientific understanding of the fishery resources of the United States.” (MSA; 101-627).
However, because of changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 2006, the fisheries management process now often works with a one-year deadline to End Overfishing and regulators are being forced to implement laws that shut down entire fisheries without sufficient stock assessments of the fishery resource. Inaccurate data, under the term - Best Available - is being used instead of the Best Science data which would provide more precise and correct numbers for each fishery.
S-1255, a Bill introduced by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) and HR 1584 introduced by Representative Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and
co-sponsored by Walter Jones (R-NC) would allow Flexibility in the Rebuilding of American Fisheries so that complete Stock Assessments could be taken and decisions about each fishery would be based on the Best Science .
In these difficult economic times, it is important for all parties involved – fishery resource managers, commercial fishermen, charter-headboat fishermen and recreational fishermen - to have the best and most accurate statistics available to guide us in all decisions regarding the fisheries.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Yours truly,

[eppefour]

This bill is supported by RFA, Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund , North Carolina Watermen United and other fishing groups. To contact your legislator use this link. I will post a sample letter soon.

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

[SeaBiscuit]

These are strange days indeed. As I see it there is a conspiracy between government bureaucrats, environmentalists and big time commercial fishing interests to do the following:
concentrate access to commercially valuable public resources in the fewest possible hands, so as to simplify control and regulatory oversight of said resource.

This is not the design of any one administration, rather the culmination of a long conceived and carefully orchestrated plan by those who believe that public resources should not be utilized by the public.

Small time commercial fishermen and small businesses economically dependent on said fisheries (like bottom fishing charter boats on the east coast) are the first and biggest victims of this conspiracy. Your way of life has already been determined to be not sustainable by the powers behind this.

Second biggest loser group is the recreational fishermen and the multi billion dollar industry they fuel. What we recs lose are some of our rights in regards to recreation. As much as I hate to admit it, we have done little to protect such rights and much to dilute our influence contrary to the enviros and the big commercial fishing business lobbies.

All who say with bravado: "let's take our country back", or "down with Obama" crap, are simply fools who further compromise the credibility of the recreational fishing voting block.

Education and passionate political battle in defense of our rights is what we need. That begins at every home, with every local and national elected representative. Make them hear your voice. Make them understand your numbers and fear your influence. Not until we do that will we stem the one sided tide currently rising.

Cheers,
SeaBiscuit

[Big Fish Billy]

Beautiful response... Yes the comms are affected too and yes I am a friendly when it comes to them. The evil empire needs to fall... List up what all has been taken off the table there. Lets get a good concise picture for all parties to see of the screwin we're all getting...

So..........what are you saying, closing the fisheries is not a good idea? What do you want to do, catch every last fish until there is nothing left? If they don't shut down seasons and protect the fishing grounds, there'll be nothing left to go out for. Take Bluefin for example, the last one I caught was 800 pounds quite a few years back. Well the commercial guys netted 300 at a time until now a big one is 150 pounds. And the White Dove that was the commercial culprit in our area is sitting in Gloucester harbor rusting and rotting away, because there is no fish for even him to go out for. Not spurring a comm vs rec debate either, but wake up before it's too late.......if fact why don't you rig up for whales and finish them off too...

[Deep C]

The fisheries are not in a state that need the magnitude of shutdown they are in. Bad science or worse yet no science driving closures for nothing more than political posturing is destroying the sport and trade so much of this country depend on.

There were more people fishing harder in the 30's through the 60's than there are today and the stocks did just fine. Yes tighten some things but their arbitrary hog wash being shoved up our scuppers today is not the answer. Lets look at summer flounder "Fluke". It is estimated that the biomass today exceeds what it was dating back to the beginings of this country. Yet they squeeze tighter and tighter until the overpopulation kills itself off from starvation. The explosion of bass along with dogfish has decimated forage stocks and other species to near extinction.