Volvo TAMD 41P

[CaptainAlex]

Thanks for this info, Willie - I'm warming up my letter-writing pen ...

"The current Black sea bass regulations for 2011 put forth by the ASMFC and Northeast Fisheries Science Center are totally unjustified and will cause all of us involved in the commercial, recreational, charter and headboat fishery unneccessary and undue economic hardship. We need to petition the ASMFC and Mass DMF to try and change the new regulations. According to the 2010 Black Sea Bass Assesment conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, NMFS,and Woods Hole, Black Sea Bass are not overfished, overfishing is not occuring, and the stock is above the optimal level of spawining biomass. It is ranked 4 out of 4 in the sustainability index and in fact according to the study, "An increase in fishing mortality will not result in a decrease in biomass below the optimal level of spawning biomass". Yet current proposed regulations will cut the quota by more than 40%. The sea bass stock is healthy and has remained healthy and sustainable with old regulations. Next year the proposed regulations will not allow you to catch a black sea bass until July 1 and will shut down Oct 1. The main charter and rec seasons for sea bass are May, June, Sept and Oct. We will lose three of our best four months. Last year the season was open from May 23- Oct 15th and Nov 1- Dec 31 and the years before open 365 days a year. Last year we saw a big increase in recreational landings in a much shorter season. This would lead me to believe that there were more sea bass around. The commercial boats will be cut from 200 lbs for rod and reel boats and 500 lbs for potters to a mere 50 lbs a day in the spring saving most of the commercial quota for August. In August we have many commercial and recreational options to fish for- Striped Bass, Tuna, Fluke, dogfish, just to name a few. In May we have scup which are not worth much in the spring and black sea bass. 50 lbs a day would make it economically impossible to even leave the dock to go fishing. Not only the recreational, charter commercial and head boats will be severly affected by this, tackle shops, motels resturaunts gas stations fish buyers, trap builders etc...will all feel the sting from these uneccessary regulations. My personal experience, I will lose all of my spring sea bass trips and will not be able to fish commercially for them at 50 lbs a day. The few scup charter trips I do the clients will be totally pissed off by having to throw back sea bass after sea bass over the side. I will be pissed off by not being able to go fishing for a fish that is 104% recovered and sustainable. Personally I last year was the most sea bass I have ever seen and we were seeing them in spots we have never seen them before. Dogfish is 104% recovered and getting an increase in quota to put things into perspective. Meanwhile Fluke which is ranked 3 out of 4 and only 77% recovered is also getting an increase this year.

The first thing we can do is call or email our reps to the asmfc- Dr. David Pierce 617-626-1532 or Melanie Griffith his assistant 617-626-1528, Bill Adler 781-545-6984 and Sarah Peake 617-722-2210 or 508-487-5694

There is a conference call on the 17th of Feb with asmfc we need to contacts our state reps and tell them how the shutting down of the spring fishery will effect us.
After the conference call from the 18th of Feb to the 19th of March the ASMFC will be open to public comment. This is when we need to write letters, petitions etc.....to them about their proposed regulations and quotas.

Points to focus on: May and June gone what you will lose, undue economic hardship, effects on other buisnesses
Cuts are unneccesary: According to them the stock is totally sustainable and has gotten there and remains there with the old management quotas and regulations. As the seasons get shorter, more and more sea bass are being caught- more around maybe?
In the tatoug and scup recreational spring fishery the amount of black sea bass that will be caught and not allowed to be kept."

[backman]

BSB last year in May was insane. There was a mass in Buzzards Bay that were so voracious they actually outbit both hungry bluefish and bass any time any lure sunk more than 15' deep in the water column. This was May 10th and yes it pissed me off to not be able to keep a couple for dinner.

[machaca]

yes they are endangered just like the dogfish, what a joke the same scientists at the SSC who claim that we are way too conservative and restrictive with groundfish are the ones claiming scientific uncertainty and extremely restrictive measures for sea bass Larry you cant eat one and i cant do a sea bass charter til July 1 even though they are evrywhere nice work asmfc