Recent news that NOAA planning to close black sea bass fishing has hit local anglers in a big way. Over the last several years there have been many battles fought about how to make sure species are not being overfished and how to make sure fish stocks are being kept at healthy levels. Most of the closures thus far have not affected large groups of anglers. Do not get me wrong, there are many people the fish offshore for snapper, grouper and other bottom dwellers, but many of these species are out of the range for a large portion of the fishing population, while black sea bass are readily available just outside the Charleston jetties and do not require all of the tackle and large boat to pursue. Anglers that have been affected by the offshore closures have been arguing for the past several years, that closures are a drastic measure and the science that is being used to drive these closures is flawed at best. Decisions are being using data that is 10 years old and most anglers believe that bag limits and tighter slot sizes will work without shutting down entire fisheries. There is a high level of distrust among recreational anglers that regulations are designed to cater to special interest groups that want fishing outlawed and each time another closure is announced another victory is scored by these groups.
There have been many heated discussion over the years about what needs to be done and while the folks that would prefer to see these closures take place are very organized, the recreational fishing interest are very much fragmented and lack organization. There is infighting among organizations that were formed with the recreational interest in mind and recreational anglers lack the power of a common mission and goal in order to make their, very big voice, heard as one. Anglers have also become aggravated with each other. Those who have a strong interest in offshore bottom fishing have taken shots at anglers who do not bottom fish offshore saying they should have gotten more involved on their behal