Community Port Meetings Kick Off in South Carolina on February 11 as Part of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Visioning Project
Note: Meetings are still being planned and the schedule will be updated as new meetings are confirmed. RSVP is requested if you would like to attend a meeting. The updated meeting schedule and RSVP links are available at the 2014 Port Meeting Schedule page.
The first round of port meetings will take place in South Carolina and are scheduled as follows:
February 11, 2014
Capt. Dave’s Dockside
4037 U.S. 17 Business
Murrells Inlet, SC 29576
2:00 PM - RSVP
6:00 PM - RSVP
February 12, 2014
The Ordinary
544 King Street
Charleston, SC 29403
10:30 AM - RSVP
February 17, 2014
Haddrells Point Tackle
47 Windermere Boulevard
Charleston, SC 29407
6:00 PM - RSVP
February 18, 2014
Waddell Mariculture Center
River House
211 Sawmill Creek Road
Bluffton, SC 29910
6:00 PM - RSVP
February 20, 2014
Best Western Plus
Columbia Northeast
7525 Two Notch Road
Columbia, SC 29223
6:30 PM - RSVP
For additional information about the Visioning Project and port meetings, contact
Amber Von Harten at:
amber.vonharten@safmc.net
843-571-4366
Can’t attend a meeting? Written input and ideas will also be accepted through an online comment form that will be available on the Council’s website once the port meetings begin in February. Stay tuned!
Are you attending any of these meetings?
Here are some of the bullet points I will bring to our port meetings in NC.
- Properly manage quotas with split seasons, possession limits, and by-catch allowances to avoid total closures and unnecessary regulatory discards.
- Promote the use of decent assist devices to ensure illegal fish suffering from barotrauma have the best chance of survival.
- Enhance our fisheries with appropriate artificial reef habitat in key areas that will have the greatest benefit for the most species.
- Look for ways to make full use of all cleaned seafood scraps and underutilized species.
- Work with fishermen as liaisons to collect better data and help ease the adversarial relationship that currently exists.
- Preserve our Individual Liberty and Constitutional Rights by opposing any efforts to force citizens to install spy devices on our private property.
- Officially declare that all seafood harvested in our South Atlantic federal waters are managed sustainably and create a document dealers can show.
- Allow permit holders to pick who represents us on the council to help take some of the politics out of fishery management.
- Allow fishermen to offer alternative FMPs within the MSA guidelines using the SSC?s TACs and have final approval of any regulation impacting our fishery with a 2/3 majority vote of participating permit holders.
- Set up a secure website where interested permit holders can discuss fishery issues and hold votes.
quote:
Originally posted by freefish7
- Allow permit holders to pick who represents us on the council to help take some of the politics out of fishery management.
- Set up a secure website where interested permit holders can discuss fishery issues and hold votes.
You realize this website is primarily recreationals, right? I would say that you should kill those two bullets. Unless you are talking about anyone who holds a fishing "license".
State licensed recreational fishermen should absolutely be allowed to pick who represents you on the SAFMC. I believe these picks should be based on a 2/3 majority vote of participating permit/license holders.
quote:
Originally posted by freefish7
State licensed recreational fishermen should absolutely be allowed to pick who represents you on the SAFMC. I believe these picks should be based on a 2/3 majority vote of participating permit/license holders.
That's fine. My question was around your wording "permit" which to me implied commercial permit. Thanks for the clarification.
Thanks for asking skinneej. A little communication could go a long way toward coordinating our efforts so we can all keep our freedom to fish and eat them. Do you have any ideas for the Visioning Project?