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VIEW FROM THE HELM
by Dennis
O’Hern
2008 will be a critical year
for fisheries management. In the South Atlantic and the Gulf of Mexico,
severe restrictions on gag and other grouper are slated to be implemented by
the Councils. Gulf anglers face the specter of prime offshore fishing
areas’ control being usurped by the National Marine Sanctuary people under a
plan code-named 'Islands In The Stream'. The Sanctuary people are already saying
“nothing will change”. If that is the case, then why are they doing it?
Offshore fishing effort is
plummeting. Boats, tackle, bait… all are down in sales as is the
infrastructure supported by recreational fishing. Record high fuel prices and an
assurance of continuing escalation of fuel prices will surely conspire to
reduce offshore effort.
The Gulf Council meets in St.
Petersburg Jan 28-31. MARK YOUR CALENDARS FOR WEDNESDAY, January 30,
1-5:30 pm FOR PUBLIC INPUT. YOU NEED TO BE THERE! More Information is
below. Stand up, be counted and make a difference. Are you a registered
voter? Time to remind the regulators about the
"..government of, by and for the people". We, my friends, ARE the people.
And we shall prevail.
Gag and Red Grouper
continue to confound the logical thinker. Red Grouper are recovered
(and were NOT in trouble when our bag limit went to two fish, then one).
Where is our restored bag limit? Gags appear healthy by ALL anecdotal
evidence (DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR? DIDN'T WE TELL THEM THIS ABOUT RED
GROUPER?) yet we face a 40% reduction in landings, achieved via a one gag
bag limit and a longer closed season. What is the impact on our
economy and our heritage?
Amberjack are slated to be
reduced. The Council has heard your message of keeping one fish per angler
for the recreational angler.
One of the Gulf Council’s own
members, Dr. Bob Shipp, testified to Congress that the Red Snapper stock is
healthy in the Gulf. This is in direct contrast to the National Marine
Fisheries Service declaration of overfished and overfishing occurring. Why
does NMFS ignore the facts?
The rush is on to force IFQs
(Individual Fishing Quotas) on the recreational fishery. This is a bad idea
for large, multi species fisheries like the grouper/snapper complex, which
seems to be the first target of the multi-million dollar recreational IFQ
push.
Are you a registered voter? Time to remind the ivory
tower occupants about the "..government of, by and for the people". We, my friends, ARE the
people. And we shall prevail.
One more thing…. Check out
the FRA ANGELS 2008 CALENDAR. Wow! Go to
www.thefra.org/calendar.htm to see for
yourself. Get yours now and support the FRA.
Dennis O’Hern
Executive Director
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SPECIAL THANKS FOR SPECIAL EFFORTS
ARMOR
BAGS ARMOR is THE manufacturer of high quality travel and
transport bags for the dive, fishing and outdoor adventure enthusiast. The
bags are bullet proof and Dave, Sean and the gang are ROCK SOLID. Go
to ARMORBAGS.COM to find a dealer near you.
SPEARFISHING PLANET
www.spearfishingplanet.com Thanks, Chris
and Howie!
FRA ANGELS
– THANK YOU, WOMEN OF
STEEL. You make the FRA look AWESOME!
GULF COUNCIL MEETS IN ST.
PETERSBURG, FL JANUARY 28-31
PUBLIC INPUT TO BE TAKEN
January 30, 1:30 – 5:30 PM
YOU NEED TO SHOW UP FOR THIS!
Speak about the opportunity
that drives you to fish. Speak about your current on the water experiences
with gag and red grouper and red snapper. Tell them that you want your Red
Grouper back NOW. Tell them that the Islands in
the Stream plan is an insult and that the Council needs to fight the plan. Tell them that YOU are a
voter and angler. Remind them that we said that Red Grouper was OK and we
were proven right.
CLICK HERE FOR A POWERPOINT
AND GUIDANCE SHEET FOR PUBLIC INPUT
There is a great publication
available which explains the Council Management Process. Request this booklet, titled
Navigating The Council Process.
Email the Gulf Council for your free copy.
Get it before the next
Council meeting! Include your name and mailing address so the Council
can send you one.
action item: ATTEND THIS
MEETING click here for agenda,
documents available and directions.
action item:
REQUEST
THE BOOKLET
GAG AND RED GROUPER
There will be some new gag
restrictions coming at us this year. The NMFS has yet to publish any
documents regarding the economic impact statement or any materials backing
up its contention of the need for a 40% reduction in gag landings. It is
the FRA’s concern that the rule will be implemented by emergency interim
rule shortly after this Council meeting.
Offshore fishing effort is
off 35% from 2004. Gag landings are down a similar percentage. Why then,
is NMFS looking for a 40% reduction? This further limiting of our
opportunity to fish will reduce offshore effort to historic lows and destroy
the boating and fishing industries built on the idea of Florida being the
fishing capital of the world. click here for Fishing
effort and Gag landing estimate CHARTS AND FIGURES for the last 26 years.
Red Grouper remains severely
restricted a full year after the stock assessment showed that Red Grouper
was fully recovered in 2004, before any bag limit reduction ever took place
( the FRA told NMFS this in 2005). So, where is the restoration of our bag
limit?
action item: ATTEND THE
COUNCIL MEETING or
write the Council an email regarding this issue
ISLANDS IN THE STREAM PLAN MOVES FORWARD DESPITE OPPOSITION
The plan to turn a large
portion of prime fishing area in the Gulf of Mexico into a Marine Sanctuary
is being presented (again) to the Gulf Council. The Gulf Council and the
Federal Marine Protected Area Advisory Council have both written letters
protesting the advancement of this plan through any other than normal,
established procedures for created Marine Protected Areas.
Further, what does the
Sanctuary designation do for an already heavily regulated fishery? It
would seem to do only two things, both counter-intuitive: circumvent
the existing process for designation of Marine Protected Areas and burden
the fishery with an additional, unnecessary layer of administration and
expense.
Download the PLAN,
the letters
of concern from the Gulf Council and the MPA Council, and the
response
from DOC Secretary Gutierrez. Just click the hot link for each document.
action item:
WRITE TO YOUR
LEGISLATORS
action item:
EMAIL a request
for a copy of the latest proposal to Billy Causey (Who IS Billy Causey?)
RECREATIONAL RED SNAPPER IFQs
AND RECREATIONAL IFQs IN GENERAL
The push to saddle the
recreational Red Snapper fishery with IFQs (Individual Fishing Quotas) is
on, being powered by Environmental Defense, PERC (Property and
Environment Research Center, whose thinking goes like this: ‘Private
property rights encourage stewardship of resources.’
www.perc.org ).and
the new commercial Red Snapper IFQ millionaires.
While IFQs have a place in
fisheries management, it is not in the management of a large
multispecies fishery with cyclical stocks. Where would IFQs be a good
idea? In the Goliath Grouper fishery, with a very limited number of fish
available, this sort of tag or IFQ system would be useful to control
harvest. In larger fisheries, such as the grouper/snapper complex, the
traditional methods of controlling recreational harvest include bag limits,
size limits and, where warranted, seasonal closures.
action item:
Email
the Gulf Council and inform them of your concern about recreational IFQs
AMBERJACK
The Council heard you and has
chosen a one fish per angler per day limit with a minimum fork length of 31
inches. No closed season. The council will take final comment on this
action at the January Meeting. Make sure that you remind them about
one fish per angler.
action item: Speak
at the Council meeting in St. Pete or
Email your comments to the Council
OPPORTUNITY – THE DRIVER OF THE RECREATIONAL FISHING SECTOR
As regulations tighten up on
the recreational sector, the NMFS and the Councils seem to be ignoring a
glaring error in their calculations, that of the economic value of
OPPORTUNITY for the recreational angler. The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires
them to manage the fishery for optimal yield. Optimal yield refers to not
only the fish stocks, but the economic and social impacts of fishing. We
are witnessing a historic decline in offshore effort due to fuel prices, a
decline which we do not see reversing for some time.
The rec sector’s landing are
sensitive to the quelling of this opportunity. Reducing bag limits and
seasons creates a soaring cost of an offshore trip. The cost will continue
to limt/errode offshore effort. It is incumbent upon the regulators to take
this into account when creating new regulations. The Red Grouper, having
been declared recovered, are still over-restricted and NMFS simply does not
care and is not motivated to give any of the landings back to the
recreational OR commercial sector.
action item: Email
Dr.
Crabtree and POLITELY request the current documents being used to
project the need for a 40% reduction in gag landings
AND a copy of the Economic Impact Statement for the proposed Gag grouper
rules. You are entitled to receive, at your request, a printed copy which
will be sent to you if you provide your mailing address.
MRFSS- Marine Recreational
Fishing Statistical Survey
The data collection and
landings estimating system for the Recreational fishery, MRFSS, is being
rebuilt and even renamed. The new MRIP, Marine Recreational Information
Program, is being developed using full input from various user groups and
affected stakeholder groups.
AQUACULTURE IN THE GULF
There is a generic
Aquaculture Amendment being advanced through the Gulf Council. It appears
to pave the way for further study on the development of offshore fish farms
in the Gulf of Mexico. Many things would need to happen before a permit
would be issued to Aquaculture companies.
The process includes
assurances of pollution control, escapement and security concerns being
addressed. Click here for an
Aquaculture Amendment Question and Answer sheet from the Gulf Council in pdf
format. It answers many questions and is a worthwhile read.
Don't forget to support the FRA. Anything you
can do for the FRA will help defend your fishing rights. Feeling generous? DONATE now!
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