The bottom line is that these guys control the discussion. I can show you in their meeting minutes that they minds were made up in the early 90’s that MPA’s were the “only way to go”. There hasn’t been a drop of innovation since then. The only innovation is how to navigate the political landscape to bring MPA’s to reality. I’m not saying these guys are idiots. I just think that they made up their mind a long time ago and all of their intellectual horsepower has been dedicated to seeing that vision come true. It’s your basic tunnel vision…
I’m sure hundreds of SSC employees have come and gone, dozens of council members have come and gone. But a few of them remain and they have had the same “answer” for 20+ years. Science, technology, and engineering have come a long way in the past 20 years.
Let’s be honest here. The game has passed them by. At some point, the old blood needs to leave and let someone else carry the torch. LONGEVITY is not always a good thing. In this case, it’s likely the number one reason why there has been no innovation in the past 20 years.
quote:
Originally posted by Courtland
Good concept. Wolf guarding the hen house is what they will say. They may be right…
Courtland, I respectfully disagree. A fox will eat and kill every last hen in the hen house, but I don't think that is an accurate depiction of reality for the majority (big assumption there, I know)...
Nobody wants to kill the goose that lays the golden eggs.
One thing the council , PEW , and EDF constantly mention is the need to protect “aggregating” areas for Warsaw and Speckled hind grouper. The more accurate term would be reproductive aggregating areas. One thing they don’t mention is the FACT that grouper fishing is CLOSED when this is happening. Wish I could be present for this meeting - but work calls. Please get the point('s) across
No doubt Delphi Waugh is one of the major puppet masters pushing an agenda of fleet consolidation and area closures. Your example of how he will blow off new ideas and offer a few “solutions” with his preferred option sounding the least ludicrous is exactly right. That is why it is so important for us to offer our own solutions to individual council members. Chris Conklin has already publicly opposed these new MPAs. I know there are other council members who do not support them or are at least willing to consider other options.
quote:
Originally posted by freefish7
No doubt Delphi Waugh is one of the major puppet masters pushing an agenda of fleet consolidation and area closures. Your example of how he will blow off new ideas and offer a few “solutions” with his preferred option sounding the least ludicrous is exactly right. That is why it is so important for us to offer our own solutions to individual council members. Chris Conklin has already publicly opposed these new MPAs. I know there are other council members who do not support them or are at least willing to consider other options.
I think it needs to go deeper than that though. I could be wrong, but I believe a lot of the suggestions come out of the SSC "Scientific and Statistical Community" and are presented to the council to vote on. Again, don't quote me on this, but I think that the SSC is hand picked by a few members on the SAFMC. If you look at this list of the SSC: http://www.safmc.net/AboutUs/TechnicalCommittees/ScientificandStatisticalCommitteeSSC/tabid/392/Default.aspx
you will notice a lot of “Science” and “Economics” titles… But again, where are the “Engineer” titles? Scientists don’t solve problems. Engineers solve problems.
So, even if you convince a council member to consider a potential solution, they will lean heavily on the SSC to examine the “scientific merit” of that suggestion, since those are the “experts” - the “experts” that Waugh has a lot of input into.
It’s like if someone came to you with a suggestion on how to improve your house, you would probably say, “Hey, that’s a great idea, let me talk to my architect”, and you would probably listen to what the architect says. In that equation, you opened the door, but the architect really made the judgement call, and that is who you need to make the pitch to.
skinneej, who do you think we should focus on? Do you think we should say who we would like to replace Jane Lubchenco at NOAA? Good leadership at the helm would help all fishermen.
There is some really great info in here as to the history of MPA’s. The ball has been rolling for quite some time.
http://www.safmc.net/Portals/0/FEP/Volume%20I%20Overview.pdf
www.JigSkinz.com
Would you guys support a few small three square mile MPAs around new artificial reef habitat that are marked by data buoys equipped with video cameras to prevent poaching?
quote:
Originally posted by freefish7
Would you guys support a few small three square mile MPAs around new artificial reef habitat that are marked by data buoys equipped with video cameras to prevent poaching?
Of course not. It's an unnecessary waste of taxpayer money. They don't even maintain our weather buoy properly because of lack of money. There is no way that they would be able to maintain a camera system. In addition, putting a few three square mile MPA's is just a "feel good" effort. It does nothing for the overall health and management of the fishery as a whole.
quote:
Originally posted by Courtland
There is some really great info in here as to the history of MPA’s. The ball has been rolling for quite some time.
http://www.safmc.net/Portals/0/FEP/Volume%20I%20Overview.pdf
www.JigSkinz.com
Thanks Courtland! This does set the stage pretty well. Check out page 16:
The potential for using Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a management tool for the
snapper grouper fishery first originated with the Council#8223;s Snapper Grouper Plan
Development Team (PDT). This technical group prepared a report (PDT 1990a) entitled
?The Potential of Marine Fishery Reserves for Reef Fish Management in the U.S. South
Atlantic.? The PDT offered this approach because they believed it was the only</font id=“red”> viable
option for maintaining optimum size, age, and genetic structure of slow growing, longlived species over the long term.
So, again, these guys have been pushing for this for 22+ years. They have their heads down, blinders on. I guess it took getting in bed with the people that had the money - the enviro groups, so that they could purchase the needed political support.
freefish7, I do have some ideas that I am not willing to post on here, but I can talk with you about them next week. Please PM me your contact details and I will give you a call next week.