To All,
On Tuesday November 8th at 12 noon, Congressman Tim Scott will have a scheduled public meeting at the Geechie Seafood Dock located on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, SC. The format of the meeting will not be a Q&A but rather 3-5 mins of multiple people speaking starting with Congressman Scott who will open with an overview of the regulations and negative impact it has had nation-wide and how the fishing industry is so integral to our state and more importantly our district.
Topics;
Concerns with Magnuson-Stevens (federal fisheries management law)
o the Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) are too strict and ignore the provisions of Sec. 101 that require consideration of the economic and social impacts that such standards will have on the fishing communities.
o Strengthen language of Sec 101(b): shall- will require the economic study be done
o We need to address how these ACLs will be derived; they are currently set at the lowest level allowed maybe increase to the middle of the range that will allow for continued rebuilding of the stock?
Definition for overfished- needs to be redefined; currently too broad, needs to be more direct
Must use the sound science approach with current data
o Require data that has a reliability of 90% or greater that it is accurate
o Currently using the best available data that is sometimes years old; this is not good enough
After Congressman Scott speaks asked to speak include Captain Mark Brown of Mt. Pleasant, Captain Keith Logan of Little River, Mike Lata owner and operator of the Fig restaurant downtown Charleston and Jeremy Burnham of Atlantic Game and Tackle in Mount Pleasant.
Each of us will have 3 to 5 minutes of allotted time to bring up the economic impacts on their businesses.
A light lunch will be made available and provided by Abundant Seafood and Boat House Restaurant. Please try to make this meeting, we need as many people that are directly impacted by this and have concerns over the way the federal government is ma
