|
PUBLIC INPUT ON GAG CLOSURES BEGINS MAY 2nd
Gulf
Council pushes forward with public input, despite a lack of documents
for the public to examine prior to the hearings, which start on May 2nd.
Hearings
will be held on
·
Amendment 32, gag and red grouper - Includes A SLOT LIMIT
for gag.
·
spiny lobster
·
generic annual catch limits and accountability measures -
Lowering the bar for all fisheries
A schedule
of the meetings including their locations is available on the FRA
website at
www.thefra.org/gagaction2.htm .
Check the schedule for the nearest locations and the dates for each
hearing. In St. Petersburg, there are three hearings within eight days.
While we understand this is a tremendous drain on your time, we strongly
urge you to attend all of the meetings in your area.
Your
attendance will be noted by Congress, our governor and your state
legislators. We need to be on the record. The FRA ACTION PLAN will
include submitting comments to the Gulf Council and sending copies to
your federal and state legislators. We will provide the contact
information with the PLAN.
In the
meantime, we know that the DATA IS FLAWED, the SCIENCE IS OUTDATED and
UNNECESSARY REGULATIONS KILL JOBS AND STEAL OUR RIGHT TO FISH.
FRA LIVE
BROADCAST: PUBLIC INPUT SEMINAR
The FRA
will be holding an ONLINE live public input seminar on Sunday evening,
May 1 at 7:30 PM eastern (recording available immediately following the
broadcast). We will discuss the three Gulf Council Issues up for public
comment. We will have the ACTION PLAN and other documents available for
download on the broadcast page. Between now and the broadcast, we will
be accepting questions via e-mail. We will do our best to answer most of
the questions during the broadcast. Watch the broadcast at
www.theFRA.org. Email questions
to
fra@tampabay.rr.com with QUESTION
in the subject line.
As
documents become available for Amendment 32 and the Annual Catch Limits
amendment, we will post them on the FRA website at
www.thefra.org/gagaction2.htm.
It is worthy of note that the documents will be available for less
than one week prior to the hearing, which is far from timely.
If the
actions of the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Gulf Council
are allowed to continue, we might as well just give our fisheries to the
greedy fish thieves and take up a less challenging sport.
For every
one of you who actually do take action, there are roughly 25,000 other
anglers who need to take action to protect their sport, their fisheries
and their rights. Let's all reach out to THREE of our friends and get
them to take that action. They can start by watching the LIVE TOWN
MEETING.
PROPOSED
GAG INTERIM RULE SETS UP A TWO MONTH ANNUAL GAG SEASON
Ignoring
calls for a current stock assessment, National Marine Fisheries Service,
with the complicity of the Gulf Council, has once again performed an end
run on the rulemaking procedures by declaring this an 'interim rule'.
To hell with public input, it seems.
TAKE
ACTION NOW
#1-The
comment period for the gag interim rule ends on May 6th. You
should immediately request a written copy of the draft environmental
assessment, the draft economic impact statement and the Initial
Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IFRA) for the proposed gag rule. Also
request a full copy of the proposed rule and any available summary.
Insist on a printed copy, as you should not have to pay for ink and
paper to print this out.
You can
decline any electronic copies or 'downloadable files'.
Email your
request to Peter Hood at
peter.hood@noaa.gov or call him
at 727.824.5305.
Suggested
email text:
Mr. Hood-
Please send me
printed copies of the
draft
environmental assessment and an initial regulatory flexibility
analysis (IRFA ) for the proposed interim Gag Grouper Management
Measures. I would also like to have a full copy of the proposed
rule along with any available summary.
You can mail them
to me at (YOUR ADDRESS). Please expedite, as the comment
period is very short.
I do NOT wish to
receive the documents in electronic format.
Thank you.
Suggestions
on which pages to read will be posted here next week,
#2-
Gulf Council Public Input begins on May 2nd, yet the documents are not
available to the public until at least Monday, April 25th. You
should TAKE ACTION and request that the printed copies of the proposed
Amendment 32 and the Generic Annual Catch Limits Amendment be sent to
you as soon as they are completed. You will want to reference
these documents before making your public comment. Email your request to
charlene.ponce@gulfcouncil.org
or call 813.348.1630.
Suggested
email text:
Mrs. Ponce -
Please send me
printed copies of the proposed Amendment 32 and Generic Annual Catch
Limits Amendment, as well as the Spiny Lobster public hearing
documents.
You can mail them
to me at (YOUR ADDRESS). Please expedite, as there is
little time for review.
I do NOT wish to
receive the documents in electronic format.
Can someone answer
me as to why the public has only one week to read and review these
documents before commenting on them?
Thank you.
Suggestions
on which pages to read will be posted here next week,
TUNE
IN ON MAY 1ST, 7:30 PM EASTERN FOR THE LIVE SEMINAR!!
www.thefra.org
SAVE THE DATES!!
MACKEREL HEARINGS POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
- 4/19/2011
Gulf Council Conducting Public Hearings on Several Proposed Amendments
Three
hearings in eight nights in St. Pete alone? Are they kidding? Wow.
Gag and red grouper, spiny lobster, annual catch limits, mackerel and
more.
Here
comes the deluge of regulations. Looks like an attempt to overwhelm the
public and turn them off of the idea of even showing up.
The
Council’s disdain for public input is made obvious by this scheduling.
Let Congress know what our money is being spent on.
Have a look below. Pick two of the nights
to show up. BE THERE. YOU NEED TO BE ON THE RECORD WHEN YOU ASK
CONGRESS TO LOOK INTO THIS BEHAVIOR.
FRA Action plan
to follow. Have YOU had enough yet?
FROM THE GULF COUNCIL:
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has scheduled a series of
public hearings on the following proposed amendments:
MACKEREL HEARINGS POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
- 4/19/2011Amendment 18 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagic Resources (Mackerel)
contains alternatives for actions to set Annual Catch Limits and
Accountability Measures for Gulf group king mackerel, Gulf group Spanish
mackerel, and Gulf group cobia.
MACKEREL HEARINGS POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
- 4/19/2011
It also contains measures to remove
cero, little tunny, dolphin, and bluefish from the fishery management
plan, revise the framework procedure, and separate cobia into Atlantic
and Gulf migratory groups.
Joint
Amendment 10 to the Spiny Lobster Fishery Management Plan
establishes Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures for
Caribbean spiny lobster. This amendment includes additional actions
addressing modifications to the Fishery Management Unit; updates to
protocol for Enhanced Cooperative Management; regulations regarding the
possession of undersized lobsters as attractants for the commercial trap
fishery; permit requirements for tailing spiny lobster; sector
allocations; limiting spiny lobster fishing areas to protect threatened
corals; and requirements for gear marking of all spiny lobster trap
lines.
Generic
Amendment for Annual Catch Limits/Accountability Measures (ACLs/AMs)
contains actions to delegate management of selected species to the other
agencies; remove selected species from the fishery management plans;
group species for purposes of setting annual catch limits and annual
catch targets; establish an acceptable biological catch control rule, an
annual catch limit/annual catch target control rule, a generic framework
procedure, initial specification of annual catch limits and annual catch
targets for stocks still in need of such specification, the
apportionment of the black grouper, yellow tail snapper, and mutton
snapper stocks between the Gulf and South Atlantic Council
jurisdictions; set commercial and recreational allocation of black
grouper within in the Gulf Council’s jurisdiction; and establish
accountability measures to keep catch levels within their annual catch
limits or take corrective action if they exceed the limits.
Reef
Fish Amendment 32
will establish annual catch limits and annual catch targets for 2012 to
2015 for gag and for 2012 for red grouper. The amendment contains
actions to establish a rebuilding plan for gag; set recreational bag
limits, size limits and closed seasons for gag/red grouper in 2012;
consider a commercial gag and shallow-water grouper quota adjustment to
account for dead discards; make adjustments to multi-use IFQ shares in
the grouper individual fishing quota program; reduce the commercial gag
size limit; modify the offshore time and areas closures; and establish
gag, red grouper, and shallow-water grouper accountability measures.
 
 |
Meeting dates and locations
All hearings will begin at 6 p.m. local time and will conclude no later
than 9 p.m. The meeting schedule is as follows:
Monday, May 2, 2011
ACLs/AMs
Hilton
St. Petersburg Carillon Parkway
950 Lake Carillon Drive
St. Petersburg, FL
ACLs/AMs
Clarion Hotel
12635 South Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers, FL
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Best Western
7921 Lamar Poole Road
Biloxi, MS
Tuesday May 3, 2011
Amendment 32
Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Parkway
950 Lake Carillon Drive
St. Petersburg, FL
Amendment 32
Clarion Hotel
12635 South Cleveland Ave
Fort Myers, FL 33907
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Fairfield Inn & Suites
3111 Loop Road
Orange Beach, AL
Wednesday May 4, 2011
Amendment 32
Banana Bay Resort
4590 Overseas Hwy
Marathon, FL
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Boardwalk - Royal American Beach Getaways
9400 S. Thomas Drive
Panama City Beach, FL
Thursday May 5, 2011
ACLs/AMs
Banana Bay Resort
4590 Overseas Hwy
Marathon, FL
Monday May 9, 2011
Mackerel/Spiny Lobster
Sirata Beach Resort
5300 Gulf Blvd
St. Pete Beach, FL
ACLs/AMs and Amendment 32
Renaissance Riverview Plaza
64 South Water Street
Mobile, AL
ACLs/AMs
Boardwalk - Royal American Beach Getaways
9400 S. Thomas Drive
Panama City Beach, FL
Tuesday May 10, 2011
ACLs/AMs and Amendment 32
Hilton
5400 Seawall Blvd
Galveston, TX
ACLs/AMs and Amendment 32
MOVED WITHOUT PROPER NOTICE FROM:
Best Western
7921 Lamar Poole Road
Biloxi, MS
MOVED WITHOUT PROPER PUBLIC
NOTICE TO:
Four Points Sheraton
Fais DoDo Room
940 Beach Boulevard
Biloxi, MS 39530
228-546-3100
Amendment 32
Boardwalk - Royal American Beach Getaways
9400 S. Thomas Drive
Panama City Beach, FL
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Amendment 32
Harte Research Institute
Conference Room
6300 Ocean Drive
Corpus Christi, TX
ACLs/AMs and Amendment 32
MOVED WITHOUT PROPER
NOTICE FROM:
Hilton Garden Inn
4535 Williams Blvd
Kenner, LA
MOVED WITHOUT PROPER PUBLIC NOTICE TO:
Crowne Plaza Airport Hotel
Harry Lee A Room
2829 Williams Blvd.
Kenner, LA 70062
504-467-5611
Thursday, May 12, 2011
ACLs/AMs
Plantation Suites & Conference Center
1909 Highway 361
Port Aransas, TX
Monday, May 16, 2011
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Fisheries Research Lab
195 Ludwig Annex
Grand Isle, LA
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Hampton Inn
506 West Bay Area Blvd.
Webster, TX
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Mackerel
POSTPONED WITHOUT EXPLANATION
Plantation Suites & Conference Center
1909 Highway 361
Port Aransas, TX
|
FRA will be at
King of the Beach
Thanks to our sponsors:
TAMPA BAY
SPEARFISHING CLUB
E-SEA RIDER
Marine Bean Bag Chairs
FLORIDA SKIN DIVERS
ASSOCIATION
|
