I received a letter letting me know I will not be serving on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Advisory Panel. I am not half as disappointed in this rejection as I am by so many fishermen who refuse to do much more than complain. I would much rather work with you guys outside of the bureaucracy to push for short-term and long-term solutions that preserve our freedom to fish and eat them while protecting our marine resources for future generations. We the People could fix our broken fishery management system in short order IF we worked together. There have been a few of you on this site willing to get involved. Please respond to this post if you have helped or would like to start. We need a coordinated plan of peaceful attack that puts pressure on our public servants from many angles to implement solutions that limit waste, keep seasons open, and enhance our fisheries. You may not know much about me or agree on every issue, but I am willing to answer any questions and listen to other points of view.
A wise Captain once told me this. “When everybody thinks alike, nobody thinks.”
A wise Marine once told me this. “If you are going to complain about something, offer a solution to solve the problem.”
Will you THINK about ways to solve problems and work together with others who actually want to do more than just complain?
I’m not an offshore fisherman, but I understand and appreciate it’s impact on us inshore fishermen. When offshore guys can’t target their species, they’ll undoubtedly target the inshore stocks of reds, trout, sheephead and put pressure on those stocks.
I truly thank those of you that fight and work for reasonable and sustainable fishing regulations.
But I wonder if more people would get involved if they better understood the issue and the language coming from the SAFMC. I read some of their bulletins and it’s like reading a law brief where each phrase, acronym, abbreviation or footnote refers to an entire study, law or regulation.
People almost need the Cliff Notes of what is going on.
Please keep up the fight, we do need folks that understand what is happening and have the wherewithal to stand in opposition to proposed over burdensome regulations.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 18 year old ( has decided being with parents isn’t cool)
1 - 15 year old (still does not mind hanging with the 'rents)
1 - wife (The Warden)
The tack that we need to employ, by not just providing reasonable solutions is to get the “money” on our side. Similar to the NRA, we need to get the backing of the fishing industry. Boat manuafacturers, fishing supply manufacturers (rods, reels, hard tackle, etc), retailers, Bass Pro Shops, Cabellas, whoever else; we need to write to them, repeatedly and get their support. This impacts them as well. If we cannot fish, we have no need for their product. We can begin in state and work our way out nationally. This is simple, we only need to explain to them our problem and what the potential consequences are. Once that is accomplished, let them know what our proposals are. It is the same on the other side of the coin, the council is being pushed by the group’s that have the money and the organization.
As freefish says, if nobody wants to really work to better the situation, then don’t be complaining when we are landlocked. If nothing else, contact your local politician.
After the VMS vote I suspected that some heads would roll. Waugh , Cupka and company were pissed. I wish we could get more fishermen and associated businesses involved. The big offshore charter guys have been mostly absent from any public comment or objections for years. Their customers fill the hotels, and their customers wives shop - take the tours and make the restaurant reservations. They, the offshore captains, will wish they’d slowed this steamroller down when the SAFMC try’s to close GTH and make it a type 1 MPA. FOREVER!
I’m on the back of a high rise in Pensacola Beach as I write this. My wife is from near here and we wanted a change of scenery from GCB/Murrells inlet where we normally spend our summer week. This place is awesome. 1/2 Ohio tags in 3 days. My brother and I were just amazed sitting on the beach noting the lack of boats. Here is what I fear, and that is the azzholes are winning. People don’t seem to care. They are wake boarding, jet skiing, inshore fishing…The outrage seems minimal here and they are taking an awful screwing. I don’t think this can be won be board appointees…etc…Only the reauthorization of MSA can change this IMO…
claim, you’re right about pressure shifting to other species when something a group of fishermen usually targets is closed. Inshore fishermen also need to be aware the feds CAN step in to close state waters or fisheries to “protect” sturgeon, turtles, or some other “endangered” species. I know most of the acronyms and language the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council uses. Feel free to ask me any questions. I’ll do my best to answer them.
jczc2414, I am working on getting some of the bigger fishing related businesses to help us defend our freedom to fish. We need to work on a plan for the Visioning Project that is easy to understand and most open-minded people will support. The bigger companies will be more willing to help when we have a finalized plan and can show many of their customers support it.
Citdeerhunter, it would be very helpful if you and everyone else went to the webpage I set up for the SAFMC Visioning Project and left a comment with your thoughts. http://www.freefish7.com/safmc-visioning-project.html Once we have a finalized “Vision”, we need to get as many people as possible to publicly support it.
natureboy, we need to let these offshore charter boats guys know about the 29 proposed Type 1 MPAs that will close some of the most productive areas along our southeast coast forever. They haven?t been paying attention or getting involved and the feds/eco-corporations are coming for their freedom to fish next.
RedStripe, you are right about not winning this on board appointees. It’s going to be up to us as fishermen and freedom loving Americans to let our public servants know what we want them to do. I am all for changing parts of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, but that is years away and we need to fight several issues right now like new MPAs and Catch Share schemes. We need to fight with positive solutions that solve problems the council leadership created in order to advance their evil freedom stealing agenda.
Is there any websites or places to go where one can easy find an index of the phrases, acronyms or abbreviations so that when we do read the bulletins, we’d have some background understanding of the nomenclature?
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 18 year old ( has decided being with parents isn’t cool)
1 - 15 year old (still does not mind hanging with the 'rents)
1 - wife (The Warden)
Abbreviations and Acronyms used by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
ABC acceptable biological catch
ACL annual catch limits
AM accountability measures
ACT annual catch target
B a measure of stock biomass in either weight or other appropriate unit
BMSY the stock biomass expected to exist under equilibrium conditions when fishing at FMSY
BOY the stock biomass expected to exist under equilibrium conditions when fishing at FOY
BCURR The current stock biomass
CPUE catch per unit effort
DEIS draft environmental impact statement
EA environmental assessment
EEZ exclusive economic zone
EFH essential fish habitat
F a measure of the instantaneous rate of fishing mortality
F30%SPR fishing mortality that will produce a static SPR = 30%
FCURR the current instantaneous rate of fishing mortality
FMSY the rate of fishing mortality expected to achieve MSY under equilibrium conditions and a corresponding biomass of BMSY
FOY the rate of fishing mortality expected to achieve OY under equilibrium conditions and a corresponding biomass of BOY
FEIS final environmental impact statement
FMP fishery management plan
FMU fishery management unit
M natural mortality rate
MARMAP Marine Resources Monitoring Assessment and Prediction Program
MFMT maximum fishing mortality threshold
MMPA Marine Mammal Protection Act
MRFSS Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey
MRIP Marine Recreational Information Program
MSFCMA Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
MSST minimum stock size threshold
MSY maximum sustainable yield
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OFL overfishing limit
OY optimum yield
RIR regulatory impact review
SAMFC South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
SEDAR Southeast Data Assessment and Review
SEFSC Southeast Fisheries Science Center
SERO Southeast Regional Office
SIA social impact assessment
SPR spawning potential ratio
SSC Scientific and Statistical Committee
Abbreviations and Acronyms used by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
ABC acceptable biological catch
ACL annual catch limits
AM accountability measures
ACT annual catch target
B a measure of stock biomass in either weight or other appropriate unit
BMSY the stock biomass expected to exist under equilibrium conditions when fishing at FMSY
BOY the stock biomass expected to exist under equilibrium conditions when fishing at FOY
BCURR The current stock biomass
CPUE catch per unit effort
DEIS draft environmental impact statement
EA environmental assessment
EEZ exclusive economic zone
EFH essential fish habitat
F a measure of the instantaneous rate of fishing mortality
F30%SPR fishing mortality that will produce a static SPR = 30%
FCURR the current instantaneous rate of fishing mortality
FMSY the rate of fishing mortality expected to achieve MSY under equilibrium conditions and a corresponding biomass of BMSY
FOY the rate of fishing mortality expected to achieve OY under equilibrium conditions and a corresponding biomass of BOY
FEIS final environmental impact statement
FMP fishery management plan
FMU fishery management unit
M natural mortality rate
MARMAP Marine Resources Monitoring Assessment and Prediction Program
MFMT maximum fishing mortality threshold
MMPA Marine Mammal Protection Act
MRFSS Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey
MRIP Marine Recreational Information Program
MSFCMA Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
MSST minimum stock size threshold
MSY maximum sustainable yield
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
OFL overfishing limit
OY optimum yield
RIR regulatory impact review
SAMFC South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
SEDAR Southeast Data Assessment and Review
SEFSC S
claim, you are welcome. Fishery management does not have to be as complicated as they make it. They want it that way to keep people from getting or staying involved. I am willing to attend the meetings and make the connections. All I need is for some fishermen to help in a few small ways. We could win this battle for our freedom to fish with 300 dedicated fishermen. Please check out this link and let me know what you think. http://www.freefish7.com/safmc-visioning-project.html
claim, you are welcome. Fishery management does not have to be as complicated as they make it. They want it that way to keep people from getting or staying involved. I am willing to attend the meetings and make the connections. All I need is for some fishermen to help in a few small ways. We could win this battle for our freedom to fish with 300 dedicated fishermen. Please check out this link and let me know what you think. http://www.freefish7.com/safmc-visioning-project.html
Good stuff. I do need to become more familiar with all the current goings-on with current regulations and MPA set by the SAFMCA. I along with several friends from our fishing club testified before the proposed black sea bass closure discussions 2-3 years ago and our opinions fell on deaf ears. It was very frustrating to hear fisherman after fisherman give empirical testimony about the catches they were making, only to be told that the best available data, which they readily admitted was flawed, was to be used to set closures, size and catch limits.
I believe after that farce of a hearing, many people threw their hands up in disgust.
“I am constantly amazed at the stupidity of the general public.”
~my dad
Equipment:
190cc Sea Pro w/130 Johnson
1- 18 year old ( has decided being with parents isn’t cool)
1 - 15 year old (still does not mind hanging with the 'rents)
1 - wife (The Warden)
Freefish,
Keep me up to date on the visioning project please. I have a hectic schedule the next couple of weeks, but I intend to create a draft “form” letter in which to approach businesses. I think that something along the lines of the pre-written letter that was used for the VMS vote would work. This will make it simpler for all to start sending to the businesses and get them moving in our direction.
It is true about the Gulf. It has been pretty much shut down. Look at their proposed snapper season - it did not happen. Why??? The Gulf side is so much shut down that nobody can even get a new license for a charter, head boat or commercial. They have placed a moratorium on new permits. Think on that everyone. More dismantling of america. If we want seafood, we will have to buy it from the Chinese - they don’t care if they fish illegally, their government will bail them out and help them to sell their fish to the US.
I know many of you have given public comments that fell on deaf ears just as many of mine have. Ignore and dismiss is the council M.O… We are facing a BILLION dollar bureaucracy with the full weight of our federal government behind it. We are also facing well funded eco-charities that have infiltrated all levels of the federal fishery bureaucracy. We need to employ guerrilla tactics in a peaceful and coordinated way if we are going to keep our freedom to fish and eat them. 300 of us could stop thousands of government and eco-charity bureaucrats from advancing their agenda. We stopped VMS by applying pressure from many different angles. We CAN stop new MPAs from shutting down traditional fishing grounds. We CAN keep seasons open longer. We CAN greatly reduce the MILLION+ pounds of real or perceived dead regulatory discards that are being deducted from our quotas every year.
Is anyone interested in discussing the kind of peaceful guerrilla tactics we need to use?
brgard Regulatory discards are fish that are caught out of season and must be released dead or alive. Example - Trigger fish season just closed and vermillion snapper just opened for commercial fishers. Since the 2 species live together on the same reef habitat you cant “not” catch triggers when fishing for vermillions. Further complicating this is the circle hook requirement. Circle hooks are very difficult to remove from triggers and often break their jaws. The fish may not be dead when released - but it certainly is not in the best of health.
The Governor of each state makes nominations and the sec. of commerce can follow the nomination or place their own person on the council. The sec. of commerce is an Obama appointee. This is where I have the problem.
1 If the NOAA councils are regional what is the sec. of commerce from where ever doing meddling in regional affairs?
2 Don’t people from lots of other states in the region come here to fish? I would love to see input from the governor’s of other southeastern states - not just NC SC GA and Fla.
So how does all this affect the rec fisherman? REDUCED LIMITS and CLOSED SEASONS. The SAFMC uses the number of regulatory discards ( a wild ass guess) to adjust the number of fish the rec fishers can catch. What an unbelievable mess! and its about to get worse The enviro groups have lots of money and lots of pull on the council. They want huge areas of ocean to close to all fishing FOREVER! I never thought my grandchildren would not be able to fish because some one caught the last fish. But they likely may not get to fish because the council has made it illegal.
BrGard, natureboy did a wonderful job explaining Regulatory Discards and I agree with his summary. Thank you natureboy.
As for SAFMC members being appointed, you and everyone else could help to get Tom Swatzel back for his final term. We have a new Commerce Secretary that we should all contact and politely ask to allow Tom to serve his third and final term on the council. Tom has done a great job representing fishermen and is willing to serve three more years. The council claims it is independent of the Commerce Department, so why did acting Commerce Secretary Kerry pick Chris Conklin to “represent” us even though the vast majority of fishermen disagree with him on how our fisheries should be managed? We, the fishermen should pick who represents us with a 2/3 majority vote of participating commercial permit holders and/or state licensed recreational fishermen.