Dr Block BFT meeting this Mon 22nd!!!!!

[softcrab]

as it attempts to explain the mysteries of the Ocean.

ADMIN--- Do we have the membership, enough numbers, to have any political clout?

I like the idea of closing longlining in the Gulf. I am prepared for restrictions on my activities.

[WAHOONBOX]

Washashore,

Could you do me a favor since you seem very good at dropping into all these topics and hitting everyone really hard on points. I would like it if you could start a new topic sometime and tell us about washashore !

MAYBE IF HE WOULD ESTABLISH HIS CREDENTIAL HERE...SORT OF A PROPER INTRODUCTION....MAYBE THEN I WOULD KEEP MY MOUTH SHUT ABOUT MR. WASHEDOUT .....BUT UNTIL THEN............

I DON'T MIND A MAN STATING HIS "CRITCAL IDEAS" ...BUT I FEEL SORRY FOR THE MAN WHO MAKES EACH AND EVERY POST A BIG OL HAMMER


DUDE...START YOUR OWN THREAD...AND BASH AWAY ....BUT TO JUST SIT BACK 24/7...365... AND JUST WAIT ON THE MOMENT TO BE A SMART BOY........PALEEESE.....


~~~~~~~~~~~

ON THE BRIGHTER SIDE..........THIS THREAD AS REALLY OPENED UP WITH SOME GREAT THOUGHTS AND REVEIWS....ESP FROM THE NEW ENGLAND GANG....5 STAR

[Capt. Jon Tennant]

The 2 stock theory is bullshit-always has been. It's long been held by the real scientists in pelagic fisheries that tunas don't know a damn thing about lat/longs. They go where they want to go. Hydro-acoustic studies and satellite archival tag studies prove that-it's old news. The "line" over which the fish go is a political line, not a real one. It was set up in the '70's as an appeasement to the European scum who catch tiny, year 1-3 fish. Guys from Maine to the Cape have had their tags showing up in Euro fish markets for 40 years on small fish. One thing that hack Block is right about is that mixing between east and west fish is FAR more prevalent than anyone has admitted until now. We in the states have been stocking the Euro fishery for decades. The US/Canada/Japanese quota has never been the problem-Ever. Look at the fucking numbers! EU-over 50 metric tons-western allowance, less than 2200. Do the math, for crying out loud. It's the Euros who have fucked this fishery to death. What you southern boys need to get through your skulls is that our elected officials and the idiots they appoint to "represent" fisheries interests do not represent the fisheries for US. From the failures of Dick Stone to the most recent idiot at NMFS in Bill Hogarth, they aren't willing to force the issue of Euro over-fishing that everyone knows is happening. Tell the Spaniards that we won't take their fucking olive oil if they over-fish. Tell the fucking Guineas who sell pans to cook 1 year old fish in the street that they can keep thier fine Ci-aaaaanti. Tell the Frogs they can take a bath in their fucking cabernet id they overfish. Tell the Croats who are developing a fishery in 10-20 pound bluefin that they can keep whatever shit they want to import to the states at home. Go ahead, find one politician who will fight with his back to the hill of fisheries in the US, then get back to us. It's not that hard to figure out, but if you start a conversation by saying there are 2 stocks of bluefin tuna, then you start way behind the line, Carolina. That ship sailed YEARS ago and it took all our fish with it. Best regards,

Washashore

Washashore,

Even though the way you come off in your posts is a little hard to take, I do agree with a lot of what you said. As far as the 2 stock theory... its no longer a theory the DNA has proven it fact.

Molecular Genetic Studies of Population Structure
In addition to electronic tagging efforts, population structuring has been studied through the use of genetics. Population subdivision was examined through sequencing of 860 base pairs of the control region of the mitochondrial genome. A total of 160 samples obtained from the known spawning grounds in the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea were analyzed. Bluefin tuna populations from the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea were found to be genetically distinct based on Φst, sequence nearest neighbor and AMOVA analyses, supporting the hypothesis that these two major spawning areas are independent stocks. These data are in agreement with electronic tagging data that indicate distinct migratory paths of the Gulf of Mexico and Mediterranean Sea spawning populations.

Besides that you are 100% correct... The EU has destroyed this fishery ( i liked the way you put it better ) and our sorry ass excuse for a government is a joke when it comes to looking out for our country's fisherman. I grew up in a small shrimping community and have witnessed a whole way of life disappear as our so called representatives stood by allowing import farm raised crap to be dumped on the us market which has virtually ended the domestic shrimp industry. You don't have to tell this southern boy a thing about that. I don't want to stop fishing for them anymore than you, but if something doesn't change now for the future, I don't think any of us will have this to worry about. My reason for getting involved in this is that I for one have no faith in our government or any of these green groups with their nose stuck in every problem in the world to be of any help in protecting the fish. If something needs done I would rather it be done by the ones the fishery affects most... the ones its most important to... the ones that want to bluefin to be around the rest of their lives... us. I have talked to Dr. Andre Boustauy from the Tag-A-Giant group & invited him to the board to help answer every ones questions better. I hope he will join in and share some of the things we saw and learned at the presentation. I'm staying out of the "hack" thing but I can say the research the Tag-A-Giant team has accomplished and the results from which are simply amazing.

Lets hear what everyone thinks? How good was you season? What do you think is going on with the fishery? Does anything need changed and if so what? Looking for ideas...

[Capt. Jon Tennant]

With all the fish thats been killed by the captains and crews on this board, it sure seems there should be a lot more input/ideas/interest in this.

[Junior11]

capt. john, Its kind of hard to further restrict the most restricted member of ICCAT anmymore... We have had the tightest restrictions since this fishery started. Truth is Canada is having banner years, and it seems to keep getting better every year, when reciprocally our fishery gets worse every year. Atleast one of the major migration routes of these fish has them going right up the east coast and continuing to Canada. 15 years ago the fishing here was better than that in Canada because the fish stopped and had bait to eat in the gulf of Maine. Why would you drive an hour to go to a Mcdonalds when you could drive to one 10 minutes away. Lets worry about protecting our forage fish. That is the only difference between here and canada, is that they have been smart enough to protect their herring and Mackeral stocks. Although Mackerel are beginning to decline up there too which I attribute the our friends the midwater trawlers once again. They are hammering the mackerel out off NY and NJ as we speak, and its no secret that they are also a migratory fish. Jeffries ledge used to be lined up and down with boats, herring, and whales, and tuna would blow through... Now you have to search up and down the bank looking for the smallest pocket of bait, maybe a whale, and if you mark a couple tuna fish a day its a good day. Its JOKE there is no reason for any preditory fish to be there, there is nothing to eat. It fills in in June and then its gone by june 15th every year... some more fills in from time to time and you get a 3 day "bite" (which consists of maybe 5-10 fish a day out of the whole fleet) then the midwater boats find the bait, wipe that out, game over. We are however restricting our selves and most peopel are unaware to it. Other countries are taking our Quota that we dont use and its being re distributed to Canada and some european countries, its like a budget, you dont use it, you lose it. So if we continue to have feeble landings in comparisson with our quote we wont be allowed to fish for these fish anymore while the same amount will be killed worldwide, whether its us or other countries.

[gottaflylee]

With all the fish thats been killed by the captains and crews on this board, it sure seems there should be a lot more input/ideas/interest in this.

What has been amazing to me on this thread Capt. Jon is for the first time I can ever remember is seems that we are in agreement that we as comerl. fishermen need to take some major steps to keep this fishery alive by closings in the Gulf, bigger fish mins. (going to 90" as min size taken) as well as area closings (zone 3 I think) I've been around this stuff a long time and this to me is amazing to see. I guess it goes to show were not a dumb as people think we are...also goes to show that not all want to kill them all till there all gone!

[Capt. Jon Tennant]

Junior11,

The scientist pretty much gave the same explanation as for the fish not stopping in the gulf of maine & traveling on to canada where there is bait. Washashore is right in that the tunas don't give a hoot about lat/long or "traditional" places when it comes to feeding. It seems that only during spawning they will return to the same places regardless to the availability of bait. I should have been more clear as to tighter regulations. If & only if the time area closers were in place, the US, Canada, & Mexico could then as a group have complete control of the western stock of Bluefin tunas. This would allow for a recovery of these fish without the raping of the fishery by the longliners in the mid atlantic & gulf. Just doing this would be a major victory for the BFT. As was stated by the scientist, the size regs and or quota restriction would be placed on all countries that fish on the western stock to allow the larger fish a chance to spawn as well as fill in the generation gaps that now exist. The bait is a major problem in the gulf of maine but the tuna are well on their way gone forever and the science proves it. If the fish are history it won't matter if the bait is asshole deep to a giraffe. If the fishery is not trouble, can anyone provide any proof as such? I hope like hell the science is wrong... I hope I'm wrong... but deep down I think we all know better.

[captcl]

If you read up on some of the history(as I'm sure many of you have) the Noa-Scotia gbt was really hot til the late 60s, consistently! This would promote the colder water shot, but what made it stop so quick?This important to us all. thanks guys great thread.

[Caveman Sportfishing]

Was down in MHC until last night with limited computer access and did not arrive until Tuesday so I missed the meeting but have enjoyed the imput by those that have posted. I agree with many things that have been said and learned some new things also that I did not know. There is no question the shad are not around off MHC as a few years ago plus the warming water temperatures ect. No one memtions that the Japanese trawlers decimated the GBT in the Gulf 30 years ago and then sold many of their boats to the EU countries. We rely on the July smaller bft migration off the Cape May, DE and MD coasts for our tuna fishery and have for at least the last 15 years or so and always wondered why hardly any of these fish every show up down off the Southern Outer banks in the winter. 50-170 lb fish. Anyways thanks for the information about the meeting and sorry I was not in MHC to attend.

[Patudo]

Washashore states: "We in the states have been stocking the Euro fishery for decades."

But if you read Capt. Jon's notes carefully this assertion, is just not true. In fact it seems the opposite is true...

Here is the relevant bit: "The Med fish will travel to the west atlantic as small fish, stay here mixed with the Gulf fish until they become old enough to spawn at anywhere from 75" to 85" and will then seperate from the gulf fish and return to the east atlantic to spawn in the med.... These are the fish that really fired off the NC fishery for bluefin in the beginning & provided the great fishing every one remembers. At the same time across the ocean in the med, tuna farming and the mass over-catches to support them were just getting started as well. The great fishing we were experiencing were mainly on the med fish before they returned home to spawn and live out the rest of there lives in the east atlantic. These "recruits" have been in the west atlantic since small and were essentially the main thing in our fishery. Now the "recruits" have been mostly caught & put in pens before they could ever make it out of the med. This leaves us with only the small population of gulf fish to fish on."

This basically says that if the western Atlantic fishermen can get their house in order (protect the BFT spawning areas in the Gulf of Mexico and so on) Fishing for BFT in the US and Canada will continue to be possible even if the Europeans kill off the eastern Atlantic BFT.