The Way You See It

In a grandstand move apparently aimed at raising a few more dollars more than accomplishing anything of any good to anyone involved, the CCA has filed suit to block the implementation of Amendment 29, the grouper fishery IFQ issue.

With barely even a passing nod at anything factual, the CCA has been whipping its support base into a frenzy, characterizing catch share regulation as a huge giveaway which will allocate percentage shares of the fishery directly to the commercial sector with no consideration for the recreational sector. They headline their latest press release with this disingenous but nicely dramatic statement:

“Fundamentally flawed catch share program a threat to angling”

CCA have already made it quite clear in their “Grouper Grab” effort that they won’t be happy until they have ALL of the fishery allocated to the few who can afford either the expense or the time to go catch important food resources for “fun” and recreation. They’ve made it clear that they have no respect for the average consumer of fresh fish, who doesn’t want to have to go 40 or 50 miles offshore to catch his next grouper dinner. Now, they are making it clear that they have no respect for due process and are attempting to stop the end result of years of planning and public meetings by filing a last minute dramatic but frivolous lawsuit to block something that is not going to do what they claim it will do.

Read that part once more: The coming IFQ (or catch share program) will NOT DO WHAT CCA CLAIMS IT WILL DO. Any attempt by the CCA to gather donations to help them with this lawsuit and help them with this cause should be treated exactly like what it is, fraud.

This GOM Reef Fish IFQ program, like every other one that I’m aware of, allocates the already existing commercial allocation amongst the already existing commercial fishermen. It takes absolutely NOTHING from the recreational fishermen, and in fact a bone of contention with commercial fishermen is that the recreational and commercial allocations are not set in stone. Nothing will prevent the NMFS from adjusting the recreational/commercial allocations in the future. An individual catch share does not give the fishermen the right to catch a specific poundage of fish, it rather gives each participating commercial fisherman a percentage of whatever the commercial Total Allowable Catch for each year happens to be.

Given that, why all the fuss from the CCA at this point?

Could it be that this is simply a good fund raising point as well as a bit more publicity for them?

What are their own proposals to manage the resource? Seems to be take it all away from the commercial fishery, give it all to the recreational, and don’t even think about giving the recreational sector any sort of TAC or limits.

“One of the easier positions we have dealt with involves hard quotas for the recreational fishery – we unanimously oppose them. “
CCA on their website

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In what is simply the rubber stamping of a rule we all knew was coming, NOAA has published the “Final Rule” implementing the new regulations closing the area apparently henceforth to be known as “The Edges” from January 1 to April 30th annually.

Touted as another way to protect “gag and other groupers” during spawning, the closure applies to all commercial and recreational fishing. The area, while a popular and productive area for many commercial fishermen targeting gags, is rarely fished by recreational fishermen, meaning the rule is mostly going to affect those commercial fishermen working in the northern end of the Gulf of Mexico who target the higher priced gag grouper.

In fairness, the rule is supported by a few commercial fishermen and in fact is a modification of a plan originally put forth and spoken for by a commercial fishing boat owner. However, in what is possibly coincidence, those fishermen who support the rule as well as the boat owner who proposed it, don’t seem to be fishermen who ever venture far enough offshore to fish the newly closed and historically extremely productive area. Imagine that.

Gag grouper catches have not dropped off and area closures have never been proven to actually work, making this another selective stab in the dark at trying to fix something that most likely is not even broken using unproven methodology that is going to be one more harmful blow to a segment of he commercial fishery NMFS already has on the ropes.

In other words: Business as usual.

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Thought this might be interesting. I feel I am under turtle attack !!! We had a 4th of July party to include volley ball games. Everything was going good until the night of the 3rd when these turtles assaulted the volley ball court and laid her eggs in the middle of it.We awoke on the 3rd to find they had canceled our games for up to 90 days. The good thing is they are nesting in the biggest numbers in years.

(You can click the images here for a larger view)

• Pic 1 The net and my blue house. I actually own where she nested and did not get any rent.
• Pic 2 Two nest real close look between blue and yellow tent
• Pic 3 another shot of the two nests
• Pic 4 Look at the people.
• Pic 5 Me, my house,volley ball net, sea turtle farm.

Tags: Turtle Issue(s) // Comments Off

Emergency schmergency.

The Bottom Longline industry in the Gulf of Mexico is currently in an “Emergency Closure” which has shut down an entire industy using what we have said all along were false, misleading and inflated figures.

Now, the St. Petersburg Times, in a July 2, 2009 article, has printed figures showing that the turtle nesting season currently underway is well on its way to being the best in years.  Will the enviros stop and say “Oh, wow, we were wrong about this and the people who said that the nesting numbers were cyclical and the evidence that the population has been decimated is inconlusive were obviously right.  Let those people go back to work already before they lose their homes, their boats, their families and anything else they support and care about.”

Or will they continue to lie and stretch the truth and perhaps even claim a cause and effect relationship between shutting down this vital fishery and an immediate demonstration of the fact that the sea turtle population is FAR LESS THREATENED than they have been trying to convince everyone of?

Hmmm.  I wonder.

Times article is here:  http://www.tampabay.com/news/environment/wildlife/article1014922.ece

Look at the photo while you are there.  Does anyone else see any contradiction in the fact that a few boats are being prohibited from fishing far offshore of that beach yet the volleyball game and partying goes on right on top of the actual nest?

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Yes, Senator, it is.  Has been for a long time.

What she and I are both referring to is the practice of substituting one (usually lesser priced) fish for the one listed on the menu.  Often this takes the form of “grouper” becoming catfish and “snapper” becoming tilapia.  Bland for tasty.  Frozen for fresh.  Farm raised for wild caught.  Imported for domestic.  Any and all of the above. [Read more →]

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Falsely claiming that a “re-referendum” plainly shows that the majority of reef fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico are opposed to the IFQ Program as proposed and approved in the real referendum, Food & Water Watch distributed a news release claiming that an overwhelming majority of permit holders in fact oppose the plan.

The TRUTH?  Even by polling those permit holders with minimal catch histories, they were only able to make the margin closer.  [Read more →]

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Why is Dr. Robert Shipp still a full voting member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council?

He is paid for his services by CCA, a group openly fighting to put all commercial grouper fishermen in the Gulf completely out of business.  Isn’t that enough reason for him to be asked to resign? [Read more →]

Tags: Fishing general, Government Regulation, Ranting general // Comments Off

Please show your support for the Commercial Fishermen or speak your mind about your own way of life being threatened by submitting a public comment regarding the summary closure of the longline fishery.  Follow the “read more” link for how to do this easily. [Read more →]

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While I am very happy for the West Coast salmon fishermen, to whom the new Commerce Secretary, coincidentally a former West Coast governor, released some $53 million in disaster funds I can’t help but wonder why them and not others? [Read more →]

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<The following represents the opinions of the poster, who is a commercial longline boat owner, not necessarily that of S.O.F.A. or the blog administrators.>

You have to wonder why an “environmentalist” like the guy who calls himself “Ted Williams” (he is NOT the baseball legend, nor does he have any apparent connection to the baseball legend other than using the name.) and apparently runs things on the Fly Rod + Reel Online site would fear honest debate and need to use lies and logical fallacy to rail against commercial fishermen.
[Read more →]

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