Yesterday, the mailman brought the IFQ Referendum Ballot via registered mail. If you didn’t get yours yet, or don’t get it very soon you might want to ask why not.
Today, the emailman brought FB08-067 which is titled:
Gulf of Mexico Commercial Grouper/Tilefish Individual Fishing Quota Program Referendum Being Conducted
It states the obvious and provides a couple of generic links to the NMFS sites where you can then search (often fruitlessly) for the information they tell you they are linking to. Ain’t bureaucracy great?
NOAA Fisheries Service is currently conducting a referendum to determine if commercial grouper and tilefish fishers approve of a Grouper/Tilefish individual fishing quota (IFQ) program for the Gulf of Mexico. Referendum ballots were mailed to 301 eligible voters on December 5, 2008. Eligible voters are those individuals who possess an active or renewable commercial Gulf of Mexico reef fish permit with combined average annual grouper and tilefish landings of at least 8,000 pounds (gutted weight) during 1999-2004 (with the allowance of dropping one year). Referendum ballots are due by 4:30 p.m. eastern time on January 5, 2009. Results of the referendum will be posted at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov and announced at the January 2009 Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) meeting.
The following information pertaining to the referendum and the proposed IFQ program can be found at (http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov):
- Final rule for Amendment 29 which contains referendum procedures, schedule, and eligibility requirements
- Letter from the Council requesting a referendum and explaining the rationale for eligibility criteria
- Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico which evaluates the IFQ program components
- Frequently Asked Questions about the referendum and the proposed IFQ program
- List of eligible voters
- Sample referendum ballot
- Link to the Council’s “Worksheet to Calculate Potential IFQ Shares and Allocation”
Individuals on the list of eligible voters who did not receive a ballot by mid-December should contact NOAA Fisheries Service at the phone number above (Editor: That was 866 485 7627).
Eligibility for the IFQ program is not the same as eligibility for the referendum. Individuals who did not qualify to vote in the referendum will still qualify to participate in the IFQ program (if approved), provided they have an active or renewable commercial gulf reef fish permit and annual average grouper or tilefish landings of one or more pounds during the qualifying period (with the allowance of dropping one year). NOAA Fisheries Service estimates over 1,000 individuals will qualify for the proposed IFQ program.