Menhaden Boats off Ocracoke inlet

[seapower]

Comes to mind. Year's ago when I started doing some delivery work (same guy for the last 15 year's), I noticed no one was fishing on River from New York Harbor to Albany. I made a comment to a guy that was with me on one trip, "what do you notice that is missing? No one is fishing". No one was out boating to amount to much either. We aren't used to that here in NC. Now after several year's of a concerted effort I see folk's fishing all over and catching huge rock (stripers). It wasn't commercial fishing that was the problem, it was the nasty Hudson River that was the problem. I gotta say the people of that area ought to be the "poster children" of what can happen. I've seen with my own eye's how that river has changed.
I won't sit here and say that there aren't area's that can't be improved on within the commercial arena, just that the effort on the pogy's isn't anywhere it used to be. The same is true with the vast majority of effort. A huge number of commercial guy's have left the business or have simply been put out.
Some seem to take delight in the down turn of commercial fishing. I for one do not. It was the only thing I ever wanted to do for a living, it was the best thing I ever DID for a living, and I would certainly still be doing it for a living if able. Frank

[scalez]

Excellent way of presenting this Frank.

As much as I hate Omega and love the easier bait catching banning pogy boats isn't the total answer. One kill way up the Pamlico early this fall killed many, many millions of menhaden.

I witnessed the same impact in Charleston SC during the late 60's and early 70's. The lower sections of the Ashley and the Cooper were barren until the Federal government provided the adequate incentives (Clean Water Act) to industry. In the 60's it was prohibited to swim and boating was discouraged. By the late 70's the fish and wildlife (and boaters) had returned. Today water quality is good enough for permit to be caught in the harbor. Rarely, but it happens.

[Southwind]

In the early 70's there were 5 reduction plants in Beaufort and Morehead City and the shad boats were rafted 3 deep in Taylor's Creek. The scene you describe with the spotter planes and boats happened every day from Oct till after Christmas. A good charterboat catch of kingfish was 500lbs.

So what has changed? Fishing effort or environment?

[Billybee]

he Honorable Barbara Mikulski November 2, 2009
Suite 503
Hart Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510

Re: Menhaden

Dear Senator Mikulski,


Thank you for cosponsoring Senator Ben Cardin’s bill on the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

My main concern is for the menhaden. These fish are very important to the restoration. They are a forage fish and also a filter feeder of plankton that is a problem for the bay.

We do not need another study. If we stop the reduction boats now and start a five year study, we will see the benefits of the menhaden before the study is completed and see that the study is not required. We would see the large schools of menhaden return. We would also see the return of predatory fish and the water will be clearer as the menhaden remove the plankton.

All the states on the east coast of the United States have banned the reduction boats from state waters except two: Virginia and North Carolina. And North Carolina has a pending bill to do the same.

I hope you will give the menhaden the recognition they deserve.

Sincerely,


William A. Bartlett
19124 Lake Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650
301 994 0671
wbartlett@md.metrocast.net

cc: The Honorable Ben Cardin
The Honorable Elijah Cummings







The Honorable Ben Cardin
509 Hart Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510


Re: Menhaden

Dear Senator Cardin,

After reading your bill concerning the Chesapeake Bay I realized that it was not clear as to what would happen to the menhaden. Recent articles about your draft bill made mention that the menhaden reduction fishery would end if your bill would pass. Your final bill does not specify that in such terms. It mentions a study for 5 years. Does this mean that there will be no action taken on the menhaden until after a study is completed?

I have been an advocate for the menhaden for many years. I have watched them disappear from the lower Potomac River where I live. This fish have been labeled the most important fish in the sea yet there is still a major fishing industry removing millions of the fish every year. I have seen the reduction in fish and birds in my area. This fish is a known filter feeder and the main forage fish for many other fish.

Stop the reduction fleet from removing menhaden from the Chesapeake Bay now. Before any study could be completed the value of this fish to the Bay will be recognized; just as it has in every state on the east coast of the United States except two.




William A. Bartlett
19124 Lake Drive
Leonardtown, Maryland 20650
301 994 0671
wbartlett@md.metrocast.net






The Honorable Elijah Cummings November 2, 2009
2235 Rayburn Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Re: Menhaden

Dear Representative Cummings,

It is my understanding that you are going to introduce a companion bill to Senator Ben Cardin’s bill on the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

It is very import that we restore the menhaden to the bay. The menhaden have been recognized as the most important fish in the sea. That is all the more reason that the reduction boats should be outlawed from the Chesapeake Bay. This has already been done in all the state waters on the east coast except for Virginia and North Carolina (North Carolina has a pending bill to do the same).

We do not need any more studies. There is enough scientific evidence that the menhaden are essential to the bay.

The Chesapeake Bay will not be saved by the menhaden alone, but the Chesapeake Bay will not be saved without them.

Sincerely,


William A. Bartlett
19124 Lake Drive
Leonardtown, MD 20650
301 994 0671
wbartlett@md.metrocast.net

cc: The Honorable Ben Cardin
The Honorable Barbara Mikulski

[N2theBlue]

In the early 70's there were 5 reduction plants in Beaufort and Morehead City and the shad boats were rafted 3 deep in Taylor's Creek. The scene you describe with the spotter planes and boats happened every day from Oct till after Christmas. A good charterboat catch of kingfish was 500lbs.

So what has changed? Fishing effort or environment?

You can't tell me that that many redcution plants and boats didn't have some kind of effect. There are lots of problems, but the two main ones are the environment and commercial fishing. In addition to pollution, they have fished themselves out of jobs. It takes a lot longer to restore a population than it does to hurt it.

[capt. jakeg]

Good luck fighting Omega. In virginia we have been trying to get them shut down for years. We even did get a vote in which would have restricted them, but they sued the state and eventually the governor overturned the legislation. Reedville, VA is where the omega boats unload menhaden and because of it Reedville lands the largest amount of fish in the conitinental united states, second only to Dutch Harbor, Alaska. They are a huge company that has deep pockets and they spend a lot of money to make sure that politicians vote to allow them their continued rape of the waterways. There have been exptensive studies about how damaging this fishery is and it amazes me that despite the science at hand these guys are still allowed to do what they do. Most states have banned it already but VA is their last stronghold.

Heres a little math for you. Want clean waterways? One single one pound menhaden filters 7 gallons of water 24 hours a day. Last year, omega landed 110 million metric tons of menhaden into reedville.

[seapower]

We have huge amount's of menhaden here in NC that have big flesh eating sore's on them. I've seen it to the point that nearly every fish visible in the school has them. These fish all die, as do the one's (in the billion's) that die from fish kill's in our rivers. These fish never make into the ocean's food chain. This huge loss of the resource and population has nothing to do with fatback fleet's. Yes they are filter feeders, as are oyster's. The oyster populations of the Chesapeake and Pamlico Soundhave been decimated by Dermo and MSX. Again this has no relationship to commercial harvest's, this is a water quality, desease problem plain and simple. I remember back in the day when Allied Chemical was one of the biggest killer's in the Bay system. They were made to clean up their act and the area's yearly hatches started to improve dramaticaly. The reason the commercial guy's get the boney finger pointed at them continuously is because they are what you can see and are assumed to be the problem. Commercial fishing has been a viable use of the resources since the first day this Country came into existance. Look anywhere where the water quality has been addressed and acted upon and tell me that stock's haven't rebounded.
Again I'm not saying that there aren't problem's that need to be addressed on the commercial side of things. But if fish die by the score in the water they live in, you will have no recruitment to take their place. Again there is no way near the amount of fiherman or gear out there now than there was even 20 years ago. Effort has decreased through attrition, if nothing else. I'm not telling you what I've heard, I'm speaking on what I've seen first hand in the industry. If you think that the scientist's working with NMFS have all the answer's I've got new's for you. That is one of the biggest bunch of screw up's our Govt has ever created. Frank

[WAHOONBOX]

WOW....

I SEE BILLYBEE JUST JOINED UP HERE ON SFC AND IMMEDIATELY SENT LETTERS TO HIS SENATOR AND POSTED THE PROOF! I LOVE IT....THANKS FOR SHARING AND WELCOME ABOARD!

NOW TO THE ISSUE HERE..

I AM COMMERCIAL AND I AM REC'....SO I GUESS I CAN SAY I PLAY BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE HERE ..... EVERY FALL, MULLET TRACTORS HAUL NETS TO AWAITING 4X4 PICKUP TRUCKS PARKED ON THE BEACH TO BE HAULED TO MARKET....BEEN HAPPENING HERE SINCE THE INVENTION OF THE TRACTOR....IT'S CALLED A TRADITIONAL FISHERY....MANY PEOPLE AFIX THIS FISHIERY INTO THEIR ANNUAL FAMILY BUDGETS AND HAVE DONE SO LONG BEFORE MOST OF US WERE BORN.

THINK ABOUT IT, EVERY TIME ONE GOES LIVE BAIT FISHING FOR KINGS, SAILFISH OR GROUPER OR WHATEVER.......LET YOUR THOUGHTS FLASH BACK TO THE END OF YOUR FISHING DAY ......WHEN YOU BEGIN TO HEAD BACK TO THE DOCK.....AND ALL THOSE DEAD STINKIN' FLOATIES THAT ARE BELLIED UP RED NOSED IN YOUR LIVEWELL....NOT TO MENTION THE ONES YOU DISCARD THROUGHOUT THE DAY....


WE ALL WASTE ....YOU.... ME... THE WHOLE LOT OF US.


AND EVERY TIME WE DISCARD A USED UP SABIKI RIG....(AND THAT IS OFTEN!).....THINK ABOUT THOSE LITTLE FISH SKINS ON THAT GOLD HOOK