Pogie Ban bill for NC

[Robja]

Box,

Hope you don't mind me posting this here. Although I'm not a member of CCA this is something I do support. When the McMullens family down at Ocean Isle Fishing Center sent out a call to ban Pogie fishing off Brunswick County The grass roots effort led to the ban off SE North Carolina. As Lyndon and other members can attest it has made a big difference in Brunswick County since the Pogie population has bounced back which has led to better fishing. I hope you will click on the link below to send your representatives an email to show your support for the ban. From the past ban it seemed the majority of REps from the coastal counties were on board for Bonners Bill but it took people from inland to contact their reps to get it thru. If you support this cause please click the link at the bottom.

Thanks,

Robja




CCA NC Supports House Bill 1344-Ban on Menhaden Reduction Fishing


The menhaden (aka pogie, bunker, etc.) reduction fishery is a large industrial commercial fishing activity that harvests hundreds of millions of pounds of menhaden each year to be used in oils and animal feed. These fish are not consumed by humans but do represent the most significant forage fish for species from striped bass, king mackerel, flounder, to weakfish, red drum and tuna. Currently, the Omega Protein plant in Reedville, Virginia is the only reduction plant on the east coast. This reduction fishery is very efficient at decimating menhaden schools and shows little regard for other species (by-catch) as was the case just this past June when a major fish kill off Cape Lookout found hundreds of Red Drum washed up on the beach, all due to the affects of the commercial harvest of menhaden.

There are no longer any menhaden reduction facilities in North Carolina. Omega Protein boats can come to our state waters, harvest our fish and North Carolina receives no benefit as these boats return to Virginia. We are then left to deal with the clean up, and our states’ coastal inhabitants are left without the very food they need to survive. What happens next…the predator species go elsewhere in search of food. This is most noticeable in the king mackerel fishery, as thousands of tournament anglers up and down our coast can attest to.

Today, two North Carolina counties have successfully enacted local bans on this reduction fishery (Dare and Brunswick), and the positive effect on the fisheries in these two areas is very real and substantial. In addition, North Carolina is one of two states that do not have statewide restrictions on the East coast!

CCA NC strongly supports legislation to ban Menhaden Reduction Fishing in North Carolina. House Bill 1344 prohibits the taking of menhaden in state coastal fishing waters for the purpose of reduction. Please take a few moments to e-mail all of the members of the Marine Resources and Aquaculture committee and your local House Representative and tell them that you support HB 1344.


Click the link below to log in and send your message:
http://www.votervoice.net/link/targe...c35671105.aspx

[Bird Dog]

I wish they would ban it here in Virginia too, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. The Omega plant is the largest employer in the county and I'm sure they keep the politicians happy with some generous contributions.

[clt_capt]

If I'm not mistaken, G W Bush is a major stakeholder in Omega...


I went to the CCA Page and sent emails to my Reps. Surprisingly I have already gotten one response - "Thanks for bringing this to my attention" - But it is a response...

[Robja]

If I'm not mistaken, G W Bush is a major stakeholder in Omega...


I went to the CCA Page and sent emails to my Reps. Surprisingly I have already gotten one response - "Thanks for bringing this to my attention" - But it is a response...

your right I think W is a big stockholder

[seapower]

This goes back to my commercial day's, this is one of the most "self-serving" group's I've ever seen. These guy's (who's number's are way down, compared to the past) have been catching menhaden before most of us were born. The fish they're after are the large fatback's (they don't live forever). First thing here along the NC Outer Bank's was to push them offshore, when a well known female new's anchor moved into town and decided she didn't like them along "her" beach. These guy's are making a living the same way they alway's have, never been an issue. Why was this fish not pushed into extinction when there was 5 times the boat's on any given day after them? And no they don't go after any other type of fish, can't use them. Many don't know what this fish is used for, alot goes into protein in animal feed. Chicken farm's use alot of it for example. This fishing that everyone get's their short's in a twist over is cyclical in nature. Anytime there is a seemed shortage of fish the commercial guy get's slammed.
I know this will tick a few off, but so be it, the truth is the truth. The Pamlico Sound used to have a very sustainable fishery that included gillnet's, pound net's,shrimper's, crab potter's, crab trawlers, oyster fisherman. Now to the delight of more than one CCA member, the number of fisherman, boat's and gear are way, way below 1/2 (that's on the very generous side, I'd say less that 1/3) of what it used to be. They've closed down area's to commercial gear, the net results is there are LESS fish,crab's, oyster's, etc... now than back in the day when we were supposedly "killin" everything. This is not what I think, this is what I know. I did my share of "destruction" for close to 20 year's right here in NC, have an idea of what I speak. If it weren't for the drum and the speckled trout you'd have nothing. Let there be a good freeze with some snow mixed in and you can kiss your trout good bye, until another crop get's big enough to catch. Grey's, spot, croaker, flounder, sea mullet where are they???? There is next to no commercial pressure on them now.
Any time you try to cut another man's throat for your own benefit, it comes back to bite you. That's how I see it. Commercial guy's aren't the "boogey man" they are made out to be. Frank

[N2theBlue]

This goes back to my commercial day's, this is one of the most "self-serving" group's I've ever seen. These guy's (who's number's are way down, compared to the past) have been catching menhaden before most of us were born. The fish they're after are the large fatback's (they don't live forever). First thing here along the NC Outer Bank's was to push them offshore, when a well known female new's anchor moved into town and decided she didn't like them along "her" beach. These guy's are making a living the same way they alway's have, never been an issue. Why was this fish not pushed into extinction when there was 5 times the boat's on any given day after them? And no they don't go after any other type of fish, can't use them. Many don't know what this fish is used for, alot goes into protein in animal feed. Chicken farm's use alot of it for example. This fishing that everyone get's their short's in a twist over is cyclical in nature. Anytime there is a seemed shortage of fish the commercial guy get's slammed.
I know this will tick a few off, but so be it, the truth is the truth. The Pamlico Sound used to have a very sustainable fishery that included gillnet's, pound net's,shrimper's, crab potter's, crab trawlers, oyster fisherman. Now to the delight of more than one CCA member, the number of fisherman, boat's and gear are way, way below 1/2 (that's on the very generous side, I'd say less that 1/3) of what it used to be. They've closed down area's to commercial gear, the net results is there are LESS fish,crab's, oyster's, etc... now than back in the day when we were supposedly "killin" everything. This is not what I think, this is what I know. I did my share of "destruction" for close to 20 year's right here in NC, have an idea of what I speak. If it weren't for the drum and the speckled trout you'd have nothing. Let there be a good freeze with some snow mixed in and you can kiss your trout good bye, until another crop get's big enough to catch. Grey's, spot, croaker, flounder, sea mullet where are they???? There is next to no commercial pressure on them now.
Any time you try to cut another man's throat for your own benefit, it comes back to bite you. That's how I see it. Commercial guy's aren't the "boogey man" they are made out to be. Frank

no offense dude...but if you think that was a "sustainable" fishery you are insane. the Commercial guys all but wiped out stripers until the ban was put in place. Yes it is cyclical, we all agree with that. But you know what, there has been a HUGE difference this year in the fishing off Brunswick County. There is more bait on the beach than I have ever seen and the fish have followed them. You know why there are less fish now than when you were killing them? You killed them all! It takes much longer for a fishery to come back than it does to kill it. Why was it not pushed to extinction in the day? The huge commercial pogy boats do a lot more damage than they did back in the day. Helicopters, spotter planes etc. allow them to do all kinds of damage. Each of these large factory ships catches a lot more than 5 of the older boats. There is no real answer, but an unlimited fishery is outrageous. Banning the fishery is the best answer, but that would obviously have a pretty big ripple effect. At least put a quota on it though. Look at what has happened to florida since the gill net ban took place, and the sword fishery down there since they banned sword fishing in the florida straits. There is too much evidence to ignore that shutting down or at least limiting commercial fisheries helps stocks recover.

[clt_capt]

Frank,
I can only speak from my experience... I grew up in Fla - before the inshore net ban. I spent every possible minute fishing - Notice I said fishing - NOT Catching.

It didn't take too many years for that to change - for the fishing (catching) to radically improve after the net ban.

I also kept my boat in Southport for a number of years - While the reduction boats were working the area - Again - it didn't take long for improvements in the fishing to become evident after the pogy boats stopped.

One of the biggest issues I have with the pogy boats is not that they catch a lot of fish - it is that they seem to have little respect for the fishery - If they happen to run across a large school, they will kill the entire school - whether they have capacity or quota available - and discard the rest as "bycatch"

That bycatch washes up on the beaches - Frankly I think that is the only real reason that the Brunswick county ban took hold - It affects Tourism - Not because our lawmakers care much about the fisheries.

I would really love to see our lawmakers actually really give a shit about the fisheries and adopt a reasonable balance for commercial and recreational, while at the same time protecting nursery areas...

At best current fishery management policy is a joke...

My $.02

[seapower]

This is not an arguement, just a different point of view. Every fishery has an impact, regardless if it's commercial or recreational. I agree that nursery area's should be off limit's, and believe it or not I agree to some point about the "over use" of gillnet's, especially in nursery area's. But that being said I used the Pamlico Sound as an example of very little commercial fishing pressure (as compared to 20 years ago). The net result is there are less fish now than back when it was being "destroyed". Guess what I'm saying is there are other factor's in play that you can't see. It's easy when your not catching any fish and you look up and see a commercial guy out there and assume that he is the only problem.
I've been on both sides of the fence and recognise there are issue's. One of the most aggrivating, stupid, make us all look bad thing's is when gear is left behind. I know what a "ghost" gillnet can do, it's wrong, and the owner should be fined heftily. But just like in any thing else that has to do with the outdoor's, it's the very few that make us all look bad. I remember when the guy's would be surf fishing for blue's and seeing the dumpster's filled with the catch, it wasn't everybody doing that either.
Any way I've got to hit the road, I've got welfare recipient's to provide for. Frank

[Robja]

Frank,

I respect your opinion and you made some good points. I myself am not a fan of CCA. They sponsered a King tournament down my way and I did not fish because I don't agree with them most of the time. As for banning the big boats pogie fishing I can agree with that. Like N2theBlue said we have more pogies than I can remember off Brunswick beaches since they were banned. I remember before the ban one of the big pogie ships was off Oak Island and they caught so many they couldn't get their nets up so they dumped over 200 tons of pogies back in the water and they washed up on the beach back in 1984. You live on the coast and you have seen the developement and these fish being filter feeders help water quality in addition to providing forage for predator fish. My gripe is not about the small commercial guy in a 25 ft boat netting some off the beach but with the big ships with spotter planes netting them all. Its amazing the difference in our fishery in Brunswick County in such a short time since the ban. I think there are still a couple of large reduction boats up around Morehead but the one we had at Oak Island has long since closed because they wiped the fish out. As they were recovering the ships came out of Morehead and Virginia because Basnight got them banned off Dare county.
I am in no way against commercial fishing because the little guys have to make a living too. I am just opposed the the big boys taking all the fish because it hurts the little commercial guy just as it does the weekend anglers.

[seapower]

I can't and won't dispute what you guy's saw down there, with the ton's of fish washing up on the beach. I can only say I haven't seen that myself, after fishing around them for year's. It's a shame that group's get lumped together. Let one guy with an "orange" hat get out of line after a few drink's, and it won't be long before "all hunter's I know are drunk's".
Almost all the guy's I know, that are worth their weight in salt, try to be responsible to the resourse. That said there are some out there I wish could be made an example out of. They make everyone else look bad. Frank