MOMENTUM

In the Holiday season, it is difficult to keep the momentum we have going forward as congress is on holiday and in a rush to end the session this year. We must keep the momentum building and we have several issues that will help us do so.
The gulf council scientific and statistical committee (SSC) and red snapper adisory panel will be meeting in New Orleans on 12-1, 2 and 3 to discuss the recent red snapper updated assessment. This means we will have a good idea on what the status of the stock will be, what the recommended allowable biological catch (ABC) will also be for 2010. Preliminary results indicate that the projected quota for the rebuilding year of 2032 is still only 15 million pounds +- which means even when the fishery is rebuilt in another 22 years we will only be able to harvest 2 to 3 times the pounds of red snapper we do today. Scarey thought.
We are also still working with other groups in the northeast and south atlantic and DC to put together a march on the capitol sometime in Fedruary when members of congress will be most available. There are a lot of logistics to be covered for this.
Also, the signs along the highway idea has been captured by folks in the northeast and they are working to spread the idea down the coast line. Wouldn't it be a great meassage for folks to see signs like "United We Fish" along our coastal highways!
Keep the message growing!