A tale of Red Snapper and those bad recreational fishermen.

[bman]

Got this today in my email.
I think they got the wrong guy
What do you guys think?

Red snapper fishermen need your help!

The Shareholders’ Alliance, other organizations and countless individuals have worked hard for many years to build a successful and sustainable commercial fishery for red snapper. However, the progress we have made over the years may be in jeopardy. There is a movement afoot to take fishing opportunities away from the commercial fishermen that ply the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

We need YOUR help to stop it!

Reef Fish Amendment 28 would strip nearly half a million pounds of red snapper quota away from our commercial fishermen right now plus more in future years as the stock rebuilds. Regional regulators at the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council have proposed a “reallocation” of these fish to recreational fishermen, which will roll back years of hard work, destabilize the Gulf’s red snapper fishing fleet, harm conservation of red snapper and jeopardize stock recovery, and ultimately mean fewer chances for you to eat fresh red snapper harvested by American fishermen.

The recreational fishing sector routinely exceeds its annual catch limit, sometimes catching millions of pounds of red snapper more than it is supposed to. In contrast, commercial fishermen comply with their catch limits every year. Yet Amendment 28 would reallocate red snapper away from commercial fishermen in an effort to increase the recreational fishing season by just a couple of fishing days. It is being rammed through despite the fact that reallocation will only exacerbate the problem of overharvesting by the recreational sector. It’s time that the Council started working towards real solutions. There are tools out there that can solve this problem, but the Council needs to let the recreational fishermen use them. We are continuing to work on this effort to help the recreational sector become accountable like the commercial sector.

These fishermen need your help - help us promote resource conservation and sustainability, and to keep red snapper on your plates, by making your voices heard. Join us and the thousands of concerned citizens already voicing their concerns by telling the Council to:

Oppose reallocation because it will not solve the problems in the recreational fishery, will result in further overharvesting by the recreational sector, and will cause instability in the commercial sector.
Support the Status Quo alternative in Amendment 28 .
Work with recreational fishermen to give them real solutions to promote stability in their fishery.
Follow the law and protect the red snapper resource for all users and future generations.


HERE ARE TWO WAYS YOU CAN HELP:

1. Attend a Public Meeting
Join the Shareholders’ Alliance and others to stand side-by-side with our fishermen at the following public meetings to speak out against Amendment 28 (all meeting start at 6 pm local time):


March 10, 2014
Fairfield Inn & Suites
3111 Loop Road, Orange Beach, AL 36561
(251) 543-4444

March 17, 2014
Hilton Garden Inn
6717 South Padre Island Drive, Corpus Christi, TX 78412
(361) 991-8200

March 11, 2014
Renaissance Riverview Plaza
64 South Water Street, Mobile, AL 36602
(251) 438-4000

March 18, 2014
Embassy Suites San Antonio
10110 US Highway 281 N, San Antonio, TX 78216
(210) 525-9999

March 12, 2014
Holiday Inn Select
2001 N. Cove Boulevard, Panama City, FL 32405
(850) 769-0000

March 19, 2014
Hilton Garden Inn
750 W. Texas Ave, Webster, TX 77598
(281) 332-6284

March 12, 2014
Courtyard Marriott Gulfport
1600 East Beach Boulevard, Gulfport, MS 39501
(228) 864-4310

March 24, 2014
Hilton Carillon St. Petersburg
950 Lake Carillon Drive, St. Petersburg, FL 33716
(727) 540-0050

March 13, 2014
La Quinta Inn & Suites
2610 Williams Boulevard, Kenner, LA 70062
(504) 466-1401




2. Submit Your Comments Online

Visit this link to the Council webpage and easily submit your comments online to the Council:
http://www.gulfcouncil.org/council_meet ... cation.php

Visit this link to the “Share The Gulf” program and easily submit your comments online to both the Council AND your political representatives:
http://sharethegulf.org/write-gulf-leaders/



For more information, visit the following links:

YouTube Video Summary of Amendment 28
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdiOmAFA ... load_owner

Public Hearing Summary of Amendment 28
http://www.gulfcouncil.org/docs/Public% ... _Guide.pdf

The Entire Amendment 28 and Environmental Analysis
http://www.gulfcouncil.org/docs/amendme ... 202014.pdf





-----
Eric Brazer, Jr.
Deputy Director
Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders' Alliance
(919) 451-1971
eric@shareholdersalliance.org
http://www.shareholdersalliance.org

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdiOmAFA1k8#t=0[/video]

[captkeyser]

[RCS]

How thoughtful...you should send them a letter and thank them for expressing their concerns

[MudDucker]

How sweet of them to provide you with all the links to comment against them.

I don't know who they bought their list from, but I suspect he is a recreational fisherman!

[fly n fish]

Squeaky wheel gets the grease. It is interesting how the "spin" makes rec fishermen out to be greedy dirt bags.

[Ifishtoo]

Seems sad, that recreational fishermen covers
Both:

1) you, your son, etc & your 19-22' boat
----- OR-----
2) a boat of any size, run by a captain for hire, and from 1 to 100 fare paying passengers

At one time or another, I have owned & operated each of them. I've always wished they could go further and separate these two groups. As for the commercial sector, it's a sweet deal for the fellas that now own "most of the quotas". I've been told by quota owners, they are now considered "As an investment tool".

Sure sounds like a commercial bottom fisherman's portfolio has changed drastically in a mere 15yrs. Back 5-10yrs ago, anyone ever hear a commercial snapper fisherman use the words "Investment tool"?

[generalee]

Thanks for sharing the information. The link was very convenient to submit a message supporting the recreational fishing increase. Interesting to me, the arguments against recreational fishing sound familiar to some I have used (with a few word changes) to support recreational fishing interests over commercial fishing interests.

[Scoop Sea]

Thanks for the link Bman. I submitted my comments to the Governor's Office. I encourage everyone to do the same. I guess us "outlaws" gotta stick together............

[foxtrotuniform]

... anyone ever hear a commercial snapper fisherman use the words "Investment tool"?

Word on the street is that most of the guys who were initially awarded IFQ shares (free and for life, I might add) promptly sold their shares to private investors for a windfall profit and retired.

Now, in order to catch commercial snapper, fishermen have to "lease" quota from these investors every year. And of course the investors take about half of the fisherman's profit.

My guess is that those investors and their lawyers are behind this misinformation campaign. Heaven forbid they be forced to give part of a public resource BACK TO THE PUBLIC.

[Ifishtoo]

Perhaps that is true for some of the fellas, but many smaller fellas that received IFQ's that were less than 2500 lbs/yr, sold them because they could not afford the the new costs "of monitoring equipment" such as the device that monitors and reports your location. Then there was also a monthly monitoring fee. There were other new regulations that required additional equipment expense to operate as a "commercial boat".

I know there are many charter boat captains that did some off season commercial fishing as well as charters. They sold their quotas IFQ's to others, but nowadays, the IFQ owner is seldom on or even often around a commercial boat. Those IFQ owners are a far stretch from definition of "commercial fishermen". IMHO, it all sounds much like cooperate owned farms or lands vs. a private owner.

Not so sure I would prefer corporate as my neighbor. I would be interested in what many others think. Who makes the best neighbor. Who makes for the best steward of the resource: regardless of whether it's, the Gulf waters, the forests, or farm lands?