Calling all Tuna Charter Boats

[Captain Greg Sears]

My letter to NMFS 6/14/2010 I know some of you guys will not aprove but I must start trying to protect my business.

To: Director of the National Marine Fisheries and all other interested parties.

From: Captain Greg Sears (Mass Bay Guides)

I own a successful charter business based on Bluefin Tuna in Massachusetts. Do to your lack of creating a sub-category for Charter boats and your lack of monitoring recreational catch rates in the southern states, causing you to shut down the medium category fish. My Business is suffering. As I read the Magnuson Stevens Act and the rules of ICCAT you have the Authority to take quota from other sub- categories to give to a group that shows significant Economic Impact and Historic usage of the resource. You have the authority to create a sub category for charter boats and have not done so after many proposals from charter fisherman to do this. I am suggesting you have caused hardship for an industry that shows a greater Economic Impact than the Commercial sale of these fish. By creating a charter boat sub category you could take away quota from sub categories that have exploited the stocks in the past and you would lower the amount of fish being sold for profit ( A Magnuson Stevens act priority) By creating a charter boat sub category you could take fish from the medium to giant tuna from the General ICCAT quota and open a season for the medium size fish creating an economic stimulus for the charter boat industry. As I understand these fish are accepted by ICCAT in the General Quota. By putting these fish in a category that does not sell most of these fish and creates a great economic impact would appeal to the Magnuson Stevens Act. It would also help fill the ICCAT quota and keep this portion of the fish in the hands of the American Fisherman.

My business can show over $150,000 per year for Bluefin tuna charters. This is more than most hobby commercial Bluefin tuna fisherman have done in the past ten years. I have already had cancellations of charters due to your new regulations. I am subject to the commercial and recreational fishery and have no quota of my own. If either sub category (General or Recreational) fills their quota this could damage my business beyond repair. If this happens I will have no other choice but to seek legal representation in order to prove you have been negligent in your regards to Monitoring and Allocations of bluefin tuna. And to prove you have not properly fulfilled the priorities of the Magnuson Stevens Act. If you wish to avoid legal representation please convene an emergency HMS meeting and create a Sub Category for Charter boats. I am suggesting 30% of the General Quota be given to charter boats including fish from the small medium to giant stocks. This is 75% of the unused Quotas given to the commercial categories from the past years. I am also suggesting the charter boat sub category be allowed to sell one large medium or giant per day. I know this is possible and conforms to ICCAT regulations and the Magnuson Stevens Act. Please consider my proposal in order to preserve an industry and my business, not to mention the American people who rent charter boats and deserve a chance to catch these fish.


Captain Greg Sears
Mass Bay Guides
Fishing@massbayguides.com
781-545-6516
Po box 206 Greenbush Ma 02040

[dstriper]

I like the idea. The chance of this happening I fear are slim.
It makes to much sense.

[sashamy]

and what r u going to do when that special category is full? i will enter into it just to fu@k anyone who agrees to it over, i will kill a fish everyday until it is closed, I will also call in every day fish that do not exist...you are opening a can of worms here that does not need to be open...a special category for charterboats already exists with all sorts of perks like selling fish ect...if i had my way the CHB would not be able to sell any fish, then we really would see who a charterboat is versus a recreational boat....

[chathamblue30]

I am not a charter boat operater Greg,but I agree with you 100%. What they have done is to poorly manage the fishery and in effect have damaged your business/industry. They should try to make adjustments next yr not this yr for the entire fishery so one section of the country does not have a booming charter industry at New Englands expense. This is poor nmfs management and should be corrected or you should all be adequately compensated for their mistakes.

[twofinbluna]

...you are opening a can of worms here that does not need to be open...

Yup, although glad he went and posted this online so we can all see what he is trying to do. Apparently Greg wants to pick a fight.

[twofinbluna]

Greg- just out of curiosity, how long have you been chartering your boat for tuna?

[MarkP]

Can't have been in it very long. If he had been, he'd recognize the classic nmfs tactic of divide and conquer. Greg, you are WAAAYYYY off-base with that letter...

MarkP

[twofinbluna]

I heard it was only 3 years but wanted to check before I assumed that was right.

If it is right, it blows my mind that he would have the audacity to be sitting here trying to steal 30% of the historic general category quota. I have a number of issues with his letter but thats the biggest and simplest one.

[twofinbluna]

If he had been, he'd recognize the classic nmfs tactic of divide and conquer.

That too.

[stew]

I am 100% against anymore division within the tuna quota system. I do not see how another sub category is going to help. The issue is NMFS has to count these fish better and close the REC. fishery down when it gets filled. The reason the fishery is closed, ie the slot from over 59" to under 73", is because of the overage from last season. We went way over by 4 times the quota in that slot last year, therefore we caught this years fish last year. NMFS needs to change the way they count the rec caught fish and do in season adjustments and closures so we don't go over the allocatted amount for our sector. This is how they manage the Comm side of the quota and it works pretty well. It's very simple. If NMFS had done that last season it would be open now. More division and separation of user groups only leads to more limited access and not more fishing oppourtunities. I have been in the charter business for over 30 years and the economy and many other factors including regulations have affected my business. I am for fair and equitable distribution of the American bluefin tuna quota but carving it up even more is only going to give future fisherman even more limited fishing oppourtunities and that is a fact. Should the govt. look at the Rec. side and find a way to increase it? Yes I feel that option should be explored but I can not support a sub-division for charterboats. With all the CHB permits out there this would be a nightmare. I am for access to all groups, harpooners, rod and reel comm, and Recreational anglers. Not big on the sieners or longliners. Look at the dead discards in the longline category, that should get you going!?!?!? Been fishing hard for the last 4 days straight and pretty tired. I just want to go fishing for these fish on a sportfishing basis. The thrill of these fish are worth the price of my charter and I have built my business on the sport side of the fun and not on the meat side. Will I lose a few charters this year because some people might not book me because they feel they may not take meat home, yes I might. But in the long run this action by NMFS is the right and legal course of action based on the quota system and limits that we have. We may not all like it by I for one am loving pulling on big fish, tagging them and watching them swim away. Sportfishing at it's finest! Now it will be the bonus days when we get to take one home for the table and not the normal days. I have watched this cycle and I have fished through it before and my business has gone through it and it will go through it again and we will have a good season. In 2006 we released something like 80% of the tuna we caught that year because of the regulations. This is only one season. I want to see the counting system change and get more realtime and then we all might have some more personal control over how many tuna fish we all kill. I for one have been spending a ton of time trying to educate people on the how's and why's of this problem and I will continue to do so. Good luck and oh by the way... the tuna fishing out east of Chatham is red hot. I do have some openings. Feel free to call if you want to go sportfishing. I let you tag your own fish too! Capt. Eric