Letter from RFA to the Committee:
Recreational Fishing Alliance South Carolina Chapter
www.joinrfa.org
SouthCarolinaRFA@gmail.com
March 20, 2013
The Honorable Nelson Hardwick, Chairman, and
Agriculture, Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee Members
411 Blatt Building
Columbia, SC 29201
Re: House Bill 3735 Black Sea Bass in State Waters
Dear Chairman and members of the Committee:
We appreciate your recognition of the value of saltwater fishing in South Carolina. You should support H. 3735 and allow harvest of black sea bass in state waters because we are in desperate need of help if we are to preserve any of our heritage and culture of saltwater sport fishing in South Carolina. What we are experiencing is a Federal fisheries management system that is broken and is now using an interpretation of Federal law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to implement draconian type measures on us. We are experiencing more restrictions than ever while fisheries are appearing healthier than anyone has ever seen before. Federal management is now less driven by science, and more driven by threats of lawsuits from international, well funded, environmental groups. Politics and special interests outside of our control are quite hard to explain to a young angler learning about marine life and conservation when the most abundant and healthy species of fish being caught during a fishing trip is having to be thrown back for months on end. Most have reached a point in their frustration where they have given up going fishing altogether because of this. The economic impact of this onslaught of federal fisheries closures has been significant for the state, particularly along the coast. We need to get people fishing again. Then, tackle, gear, fuel and other items will be purchased from businesses, and fishing guides and charters will see business return.
Since the 1990s, recreational anglers have been restricted to reasonable size and bag limits for black sea bass. Black sea bass have a ten year li