United We Fish

Best Available Science

2010-05-04T12:02:00.001-05:00

Freedom To Pay

2010-04-24T08:19:00.003-05:00

We have been warning about the dangers of "marine spatial planning, marine protected areas, and payments for ecosystem services schemes". Below is some information on what it takes to get permission to take photographs or video in a marine protected area in Belize. The lines for the area were drawn on a chart and complete control over all access to that area was turned over to a non governmental organization or NGO.

FILMING GUIDELINES
Friday, April 16, 2010 at 11:50am
FILMING/PHOTOGRAPHY/MEDIA VISITS at Marine Protected Areas Co-managed by
Southern Environmental Association (SEA)

Southern Environmental Association "is a non-governmental organization
(NGO) that continuously works towards improving stewardship and the
environmental integrity of key marine areas in southern Belize (Laughing
Bird Caye National Park, Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve and
Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve) through effective, collaborative
protected area management, community involvement and strategic
partnerships for the benefit of all stakeholders". In order to preserve
the environmental integrity of marine resources and to ensure the
enjoyment of those resources by current and future stakeholders,
Southern Environmental Association has developed the following
guidelines as they relate to filming, photo shoots and media visits
within the marine protected area boundaries of Laughing Bird Caye
National Park, Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve and Sapodilla
Cayes Marine Reserve.

These guidelines are in accordance with the policies of Southern
Environmental Association and were developed to prevent potential
deleterious impacts to the marine ecosystems within the protected areas
and the disruption of visitor use.

FILMING/PHOTOGRAPHY PERMITS

Permits are required to access marine protected areas for professional
/commercial photography and filming activities and media visits to
ensure protection of resources and to prevent significant disruption of
normal visitor uses, or when they involve props, models, set dressings,
professional crews and casts.

In general, filmmakers and photographers seeking to produce film or
photography within the marine protected areas for personal or
non-commercial purposes are not required to apply for a permit. However,
such filmmakers and photographers must supply to Southern Environmental
Association with a detailed description of activities in a prescribed
format developed by Southern Environmental Association.

News media wishing to access the marine protected areas for
entertainment or to cover breaking news events will need to consult with
Southern Environmental Association to determine if a filming permit will
be required.

Prior to submitting an application to Southern Environmental Association
for a FILMING PERMIT, filmmakers and photographers with definite plans
to shoot commercial films, photographs, documentaries or media spots in
Belize must submit a FILM LICENSE APPLICATION to the Belize Film
Commission.

To apply for a FILMING PERMIT, please complete and submit a Southern
Environmental Association filming permit application form to the
Development Director (contact information on last page of these guidelines).

Applications must be submitted to Southern Environmental Association for
processing of simple requests at least two weeks prior to the
anticipated commencement date of any filming or photography activities.
Requests that involve multiple locations, complex logistics and
extensive coordination may require a processing period of four weeks.
Applications are processed in the order in which they are received.
Priority will not be given to urgent requests. Submission of an
application does not automatically guarantee that a FILMING PERMIT will
be granted.

A non-refundable processing fee of US $50.00 must accompany each
professional/commercial photography and filming activities application.
Payment can be made in the form of a cashier's check or money order and
must be payable to Southern Environmental Association. Approval of
applications for a FILMING PERMIT is subject to a schedule of fees that
will be payable upon the granting of the permit.

SCHEDULE OF FEES

Protected Area Entrance Fee

A park entrance fee is required for all visitors to enter any of the
three marine protected areas co-managed by Southern Environmental
Association. These fees are to be paid for each entry into the protected
area and will allow access to the protected area only for the duration
of the filming/photography schedule agreed to by Southern Environmental
Association and the applicant in the FILMING PERMIT. The entrance fee
does not automatically grant exclusive rights to film crews,
photographers or media personnel to access any location within any of
the respective marine protected areas. Grantees of a permit must remain
within the specific designated locations to conduct all activities as
agreed to by Southern Environmental Association and the grantee in the
permit agreement.

Laughing Bird Caye National Park US $10
Gladden Spit & Silk Cayes Marine Reserve US $10
Sapodilla Cayes Marine Reserve US $10

Whale Shark Zone Entrance Fee

All visitors to the Whale Shark Zone at Gladden Spit & Silk Cayes Marine
Reserve are subject to an entrance fee. This fee is to be paid for each
entry into the Whale Shark Zone and will allow access to the protected
area only for the duration of the filming/photography schedule agreed to
by Southern Environmental Association and the applicant in the FILMING
PERMIT.

Whale Shark Zone Entrance Fee US $15

Administrative Fee

An administrative fee will be levied to cover the cost associated with
the actual site usage. These fees are as follows for Laughing Bird Caye
National Park, Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes Marine Reserve and Sapodilla
Cayes Marine Reserve:

. Photographers shooting 1-4 days are subject to an administrative fee
of US $500 with US$ 100 for each additional day.

. Film crews shooting 1-4 days are subject to an administrative fee of
US $2000 with US $300 for each additional day.

PROHIBITED ACTIVITIES

All activities within the marine protected areas must be conducted in
accordance with the respective rules and regulations that govern each
marine protected area. Upon approval, permit grantees shall be supplied
with a list of prohibited activities, as laid out in the regulations for
each marine protected area, which has the potential to damage or
significantly alter marine resources.

RESTRICTIONS AND CONDITIONS

Diving Activities

Southern Environmental Association will determine the extent of
allowable dives, including dive depths and schedule for dives. If
filming / photographing activities are taking place within the Whale
Shark Zone, film crews are required to adhere to the Whale Shark Zone
Guidelines, inclusive of time allotted per dive, maximum depth and hours
permitted to dive.

Vessel Requirements

Film crews, photographers and media personnel must rent a dedicated boat
and shall use the services of a captain and assistant approved by
Southern Environmental Association. A list of approved boat captains and
assistants shall be supplied upon request.

Film crews are allowed a maximum of four (4) crew members in the water
at any given time, of which, one is to be an approved guide. Crews are
to have at least two (2) people on the boat, which shall include the
boat captain and boat captain's assistant. Film Crews are allowed a
maximum of two (2) cameras or videos in water per dive. In an effort to
mitigate any potential disruptions to the ongoing ecological processes
at this site, requests for crew sizes exceeding six (6) individuals must
be reviewed and approved on a case by case basis by Southern
Environmental Association.

It shall be the responsibility of film crews, photographers and media
personnel to carry satellite phones and radios in their emergency kit as
a safety precaution.

Supervisory Staff Requirements

Filming within the Whale Shark Zone at Gladden Spit and Silk Cayes
Marine Reserve must be accompanied by at least one whale shark
accredited Dive Master or researcher approved by Southern Environmental
Association. It will be the responsibility of film crews to cover this
individual's fee for the duration of the filming activity.

Should Southern Environmental Association allow overnight stays at the
Protected Areas, the film crew must be accompanied by an approved
guide/dive master to supervise all night activities. The film crew would
have to cover this individual's fee.

The Southern Environmental Association reserves the right to monitor
activities as specified and agreed to in the permit.

Filming/Photography Permit Conditions

Upon approval, permits shall be developed by Southern Environmental
Association which shall contain detailed terms and conditions of the
permit and will be developed on a case by case basis. The permit shall
also include Southern Environmental Association's policy for the payment
of fees. The permit will only be considered a valid agreement upon
signing by Southern Environmental Association and the permit grantee.

Southern Environmental Association reserves the right to request copies
of the final production of video or photographic development to use for
non-commercial purposes (i.e. educational, scientific, etc) that will
enhance and promote the management of the marine protected areas that it
co-manages.

DENIAL OF REQUEST FOR PERMIT

Requests for a FILMING PERMIT may be denied if it is the opinion of the
Southern Environmental Association's Executive Director, Protected Area
Manager or other qualified technical consultants that the proposed
activities:
. Represents a potential harm or impact on the protected areas' natural,
cultural or recreational resources or may create health or safety risks,
or disrupt visitor use and enjoyment;

. It is determined that supervisory requirements for the proposed
activities will place unreasonable burdens on protected area staff,
regardless of the applicant's willingness to pay for supervisory costs;

. The proposed filming or photography would conflict with visitors'
normal use of the marine protected area.

TERMINATION OF PERMIT

All filming or photography permits issued by Southern Environmental
Association are "revocable" on 24 hours notice or WITHOUT NOTICE if the
terms of the permit are violated. Deliberate infractions of the terms of
the filming permit or the deliberate making of false or misleading
statements concerning intended actions in order to obtain a permit are
causes for immediate termination of the permit and cause for possible
prosecution. Permits will be revoked if damage to resources or
facilities is threatened, or if there is a clear danger to public health
or safety.

Completed application forms for FILMING PERMITS within Marine Protected
Areas co-managed by Southern Environmental Association can be sent with
cashier's check or money order for US $50 made out to Southern
Environmental Association to:

Development Director
Southern Environmental Association
Placencia Village, Stann Creek District
Belize Central America

For questions or additional information, please forward to:
info@seabelize.org

A Must Read --Bypass NOAA

2010-04-22T23:46:00.000-05:00

cathleen mackay
Lawmakers demand higher fish catch limits: By Steve Urbon NEW BEDFORD — New England's congressional delegation Thu... http://bit.ly/aEtdQq
Today, 23:37:37 – Flag – Lik

Over The Target

2010-04-21T16:58:00.000-05:00

When you are taking flak you know you are over the target. Below is an article by none other than Ted Williams. Many will know the name. Ted unloads on the United We Fish effort with both barrels. Read it below.

http://www.flyrodreel.com/magazine/2010/the-bomb

The vitriol from Ted aroused my curiosity. Would Ted have connections to some nefarious group? Visit the link below scroll down to "The New Guardians" which is a .pdf file penned by Ted Williams. The article is copyrighted. Now do you think EDF might have paid Ted for it's use or did he just allow them to use it at no cost? Either way you now you know Ted a bit better.

http://www.edf.org/article.cfm?ContentID=601

Divide and Conquer Strategy

2010-04-16T17:12:00.002-05:00

"Divide and Conquer Strategy, also known as “Divide and Rule Strategy” is often applied in the arenas of politics and sociology. In Divide and Conquer Strategy one power breaks another power into smaller, more manageable pieces, and then takes control of those pieces one by one. It generally takes a very strong power to implement Divide and Conquer Strategy. In order to successfully break up another power or government, the conqueror must have access to strong political, military, and economic machines."

Read this New York Times article about it's use in our fisheries.

Red Snapper Controversy

2010-04-13T08:38:00.000-05:00

New England Fishermen And Catch Shares

2010-04-12T09:10:00.000-05:00

Disgusted

2010-04-07T16:41:00.002-05:00

Folks if you do not find out who is teaching your children and what they are being taught soon you are going to regret it in ways you can't even imagine. Below is a link to a website. Spend some time looking at it very carefully. Your children are being targeted by these ecofacists that are bent on the destruction of the recreational and commercial fishing heritage.

http://www.bluefront.org/files/solutions.php

Join CCGF

2010-04-01T06:43:00.001-05:00

I would like to suggest to all our friends and followers here at Fishermans Voice and United we Fish Blogspot to please dig deep and join or contribute to Conservation Cooperative of Gulf Fishermen http://www.conservationfishermen.com .. Bob Zales and Pam and Ken Anderson work tirelessly for our rights to fish, especially here on the Gulf Coast. They are the ones that speak directly with Congressmen and Senators along with the NMFS and NOAA. They travel to all the meetings and were a big part of organizing the Rally in Washington. While we may have gone to the rally for a day—They were there for nearly a week –having meetings with our elected officialsto get US some backing.
Please take some time out to look at their website—join up or at least make a contribution. http://www.conservationfishermen.com
We need to help them to help us. These are OUR lobbyists! They need a little funding so we can stave off the likes of Pew and EDF and all the disinformation they put out in articles!

Thanks,
Tom Adams--850-381-1313

2010-03-28T13:56:00.000-05:00

HELP GET THE RIGHT PEOPLE On THE GULF COUNCIL—I like Larry Abele since he has the scientific background and he is Bob Zales choice as well!!

________________________________________
Gov Crist's appointments office has come up with a list of four candidates for Florida's At-Large representative to the GMFMC Gulf Council, for consideration by the Secretary of Commerce and Director of NMFS. This list is on its way to the Sec Commerce as we speak.

Martin Fisher - a commercial guy who owns three boats. I did some checking around and I hear that he's a west coast version of Tony Iarocci. Tony is a commercial fisherman who is on the South Atlantic Council. If you look at his voting pattern, he has consistently voted no on regs that will hurt recreational fishermen. I've known Tony since 2001 and he's a good guy. If Martin Fisher is anything like Tony Iarocci, we can work with this guy to curtail the non-stop outpouring of harmful regs from the Gulf Council that are based on fiction. He is the #1 choice of the 100 Fathom Fishing Club.

Larry Abele - a scientist/ professor at FSU. He is the #1 choice of Bob Zales, a fellow recreatioinal angler that many of us know and respect. Some would say that as a scientist, Abele could demolish the fictional "science" coming from the Gummint scientist careerists working for the Gulf Council. He is the # 2 choice of the 100 Fathom Fishing Club.

Jerry Smalley - he admits he is an Enviro. 100FFC doesn't want him, period.

Colecchio - Folks, don't forget for one minute that this guy is desperate. He will say anything and do anything to get appointed by Gov Crist to the Gulf Council so that he can lord it over us peasants.

Let me ask you this - do you want someone like Colecchio who is out of touch with offshore recreational fishermen's concerns to represent you on the Council? Do you want someone who is a meatpuppet dancing to the tune of the Florida Guides Association and the CCA to represent you? Both FGA and CCA do a great job with backbay inshore issues but both are out of touch with offshore issues. The RFA is the nationwide leader for offshore recreational fishermen's rights. Every time CCA gets involved with offshore issues, they invariably come out in favor of the Council amendment that will do the most harm to recreational fishermen. Do you want an out-of-touch guy who is a backbay, flyfishing, catch & release, flatsboat tarpon guide to represent your offshore bottomfishing & pelagic interests? . Not only that, but Colecchio has a decade-long pattern of abusive, personal attacks against anyone who disagrees with him. We need someone on the Council who can work well with others and be effective. Even if Colecchio was omniscient and all-knowing (which he is not), his toxic, abrasive personality guarantees that the other Council members will turn a deaf ear to him. 100FFC doesn't want him, period.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

If you want to see the right person selected for the Gulf Council, it's vital to contact the Secretary of Commerce, the Director of NMFS, the NMFS Assistant Administrator for Fisheries and the Florida Governor's Appointments Office. Here is the contact info you need to make your voice heard.

US Dept Commerce, Secretary Gary Locke, 1401 Consitution Ave NW, Washington DC 20230 fax 202-482-5685

cc: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Director Jane Lubchenco, 1315 E. West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910

cc: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Asst Administrator for Fisheries Eric Schwaab, 1315 E. West Hwy, Silver Spring, MD 20910

cc: Florida Governor's Appointments Office, Mavis Knight, Capitol Building, Room 705, Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 Mavis.Knight@EOG.MyFlorida.com

Please contact them and be heard

EDF Fascism

2010-03-28T08:29:00.001-05:00

Pay attention to this as this is what we have been telling everyone we are up against.  On this link on the left side near the top you will read about 60 fishermen, 23 Environmental Defense Fund(EDF) staff, and 89 meetings.  This is 1 EDF staff person for 3 fishermen.  

There is no limit of money that edf will spend to take you off the water and destroy your lively hood, your communities, and a way of life we have all enjoyed.  After seeing this, there cannot be any doubt of how EDF is working against you.  Apparently they will spend their last donated foundation dollar to put you out of business.
For those of you in the Gulf, some of these 60 fishermen were from your area
of Destin, Orange Beach, and other Gulf locations.

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=48250&redirect=catchsharesaction

EDF Fascism

2010-03-28T08:20:00.005-05:00

Pay attention to this as this is what we have been telling everyone we are up against.  On this link on the left side near the top you will read about 60 fishermen, 23 Environmental Defense Fund(EDF) staff, and 89 meetings.  This is 1 EDF staff person for 3 fishermen.  

There is no limit of money that edf will spend to take you off the water and destroy your lively hood, your communities, and a way of life we have all enjoyed.  After seeing this, there cannot be any doubt of how EDF is working against you.  Apparently they will spend their last donated foundation dollar to put you out of business.
For those of you in the Gulf, some of these 60 fishermen were from your area
of Destin, Orange Beach, and other Gulf locations.

http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=48250&redirect=catchsharesaction

Lets write a letter about Catch Shares-HELP

2010-03-24T18:25:00.003-05:00

The letter below is from Jim Busse, owner of Seafood Atlantic in Cape Canaveral. He's been working pretty hard on fighting the IFQ stuff.

Can we get this on FB and on the blog? There is an Opposition Form attached, very simple. It can be printed out and mailed to the address below or feel free to also add my address: DC Marine Services, 4733 Floramar Terrace, New Port Richey, FL 34652. I'm guessing that originals are best, but if you want to fax them to my office that should be ok too. The fax # is 727-938-6633 (Viking Fleet office).

There is a meeting in Sebastian, FL on Monday (3/29) opposing catch shares. Dave and I plan on being there. I'll send along more details as I find them out. Any questions, give Dave a call. 727-836-0050

Lisa
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Seafood Atlantic
Date: Mon, Mar 22, 2010 at 6:18 PM
Subject: OPPOSING CATCH SHARES
To: bryant001@centurytel.net

AS BOARD MEMBER OF SFA ECFS, I'M ASKING ANY AND ALL, EAST COAST, WEST COAST, COMMERCIAL, RECREATIONAL,FISHERMEN AND WOMEN, ANY RELATED BUSINESS, ANY INDIVIDUAL THAT DOES NOT WANT OUR FISHERIES PRIVATISED, TO SIGN THIS"OPPOSITION FORM".

WE WILL TAKE THEM TO OUR CONGESSIONAL LEADERS, LOCAL REPRESENTATIVES,AND WE INTEND TO SUBMIT AS MANY AS WE CAN TO THE JUNE 6 SAFMC MEETING IN ORLANDO FL. AS PUBLIC COMMENT.

IF EACH ONE OF YOU TOOK 50 COPYS OF "OPPOSITION", PASSED THEM OUT TO NEIGHBORS, FREINDS, FELLOW FISHERMEN AND RELATED BUSINESS OWNERS,GOT THEM FILLED OUT AND BACK TO US BEFORE JUNE 5TH, WE WOULD PROVE, AS A WHOLE,OUR POSITION ON CATCH SHARES.

GET ALL COPIES BACK TO US ASAP (EAST COAST FISHING SECTION, 111 W. GRANADA BLVD. ORMOND BEACH, FL. 32174) OR JUST GET THEM BACK TO HULLS, KINGS,SEAFOOD ATLANTIC,BUTCH OLSON,INLET,OR ELAINE.
THEY WILL DO THE REST.

WE NEED AS MANY PERSONAL LETTERS AS WE CAN GET, FROM GULF PARTICIPANTS,AS TO WHAT CATCH SHARES, ITQ.IFQ'S HAS DONE TO YOU.

HOW HAS YOUR LIFE AND WAY OF DOING BUSINESS CHANGED?

WE ASK YOU TO TAKE THE TIME. HELP US HERE ON THE EAST COAST TO SLOW DOWN AND STALL OUT CATCH SHARES. WE DONT WANT THEM OR NEED THEM.

PLEASE EMAIL TO SEAFOODATLANTIC@GMAIL.COM

THANKS, JIM BUSSE
seafood Atlantic
520 Glen Cheek Dr
Cape Canaveral, Florida 32920
Ph: 321 784-0333
Fax: 321 784-1391

--
David S. Campo

Interesting Post

2010-03-23T08:23:00.000-05:00

Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning
from Gridleak
3/13/2010 12:33:46 PM

Rated:

...

http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives/oceans/interim-framework

From Page One: Article II. What is Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning

“CMSP is a comprehensive, adaptive, integrated, ecosystem-based, and transparent spatial planning process, BASED ON SOUND SCIENCE…”

Authors note: Article III goes on to make much ado regarding the importance of scientific knowledge and data to obtain a balanced framework for the oversight of the waters in question stating on page 2 “Scientific understanding and information are central to achieving an integrated and transparent planning process”.

However...

From Page Eight: Article VII, Paragraph 7: “CMSP would be guided by the precautionary approach as defined in Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration, “Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation.”

Authors question: So... who determines “threat” when science can’t prove there is a threat? Obama perhaps? PeTA? Also who determines "cost effective" to rectify an unscientifically provable threat? If it can't be proven as a threat by what definition will we know when the threat has been eliminated and can quit throwing money at it?

Author’s comment: With that one paragraph one might as well throw out everything that has been said so far regarding science. The bureaucracy will have the authority to ignore science… and do what it pleases buried deep within page eight of the document.

From Page Nine: Article VIII: Geographic Scope of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning

“The geographic scope would include inland bays and estuaries in both coastal and Great Lakes settings. Inclusion of inland bays and estuaries is essential because of the significant ecological, social, and economic linkages between these areas with offshore areas. Additional inland areas may be included in the planning area as the regional planning bodies, described in Section IX below, deem appropriate. Regardless, consideration of inland activities would be necessary to account for the significant interaction between upstream activities and ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes uses and ecosystem health. Likewise, consideration should also be given to activities occurring beyond the EEZ that may influence resources or activities within the EEZ.”

Author’s question with emphasis added by author: Notice those last two sentences “REGARDLESS, consideration of inland activities would be necessary to account for the significant interaction between upstream activities and ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes uses and ecosystem health. Likewise, (regardless?), CONSIDERATION SHOULD ALSO BE GIVEN TO ACTIVITIES OCCURRING BEYOND THE EEZ THAT MAY INFLUENCE RESOURCES OR ACTIVITIES WITHIN THE EEZ”

Ummm, did the task force just claim authority over everything clean to the top of the Rocky Mountains and the continental divide with that statement? Will a newly discovered energy source on the Eastern Slope of the Rockies be deemed a threat to the Great Lakes?

Before you answer, this is addressed later in the article…

“Land- based Activities and Their Relationship to CMSP

Although the geographic scope of the CMSP area in the United States would not include upland areas UNLESS A REGIONAL PLANNING BODY DETERMINES TO INCLUDE THEM, the health and well-being of the Great Lakes, our coasts, and the ocean are in large part the result of the interrelationships among land, water, air, and human activities. Effective management of environmental health and services, maritime economies, commerce, national and homeland security interests, and PUBLIC ACCESS NECESSITATE connecting land-based planning efforts with ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes planning”.

Would that be regional planning bodies as established under this program?

Unfortunately time limits me. This gets us through page ten of the 35 page proposal.

Gridleak

Too much red tape, again

2010-03-23T07:58:00.001-05:00

FALL RIVER —

The trailer boat pulled into the South Watuppa pond parking lot and headed for the boat ramp. When it approached the yellow tape line cordoning off the ramp, the operator was approached by an environmental police officer. The driver was asked to produce all the baits he had on board and to fill out a questionnaire detailing the last bodies of water he had launched in. After the 15-minute inspection, he was presented with the option of driving his trailer into the neutral decontamination bath (for a prescribed fee) or turning around and going home. If that sounds a bit outrageous it just might be today, but perhaps not in the future.

Recreational and commercial fishermen have been oppressed by an onslaught of restrictive government regulations, the vast majority of which are the result of flawed data. In this writer’s not so humble opinion, the defective science that has been employed over the past several years in the management of the summer flounder and black sea bass fisheries is not dissimilar to the contrived data used by the an environmental movement that is hell bent on crippling our economy.

Read the entire article.

Is Recreational Fishing Obama’s Next Targeted Villain?

2010-03-21T11:29:00.000-05:00

This is a very good article with lots of links for explanations and education
Is Recreational Fishing Obama’s Next Targeted Villain?

Senator Lemieux

2010-03-20T16:14:00.002-05:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bS8VRSDUuuE Great conversation with Dr Lubchenco

If you're Lazy like me

2010-03-20T10:10:00.000-05:00

http://southernoffshorefishing.org/mailform/contact-fishery.shtml
Try this link and go to the submit blank letter and write in what you want--It goes out to all these folks with one click

James W. Balsiger: Acting Assistant Administrator of Fisheries
NOAA Mary M. Glackin: Deputy Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere
William J. Brennan Ph.D.: Acting Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere Acting
NOAA Administrator:
Samuel D. Rauch III NOAA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs
Dr. Steven A. Murawski: NMFS Director of Scientific Programs Chief Science Adv
Dr. Mark Holliday: Director NOAA Fisheries Office of Policy
Alan Risenhoover: Director Office of Sustainable Fisheries
James H. Lecky: Director Office of Protected Resources
Patricia Montanio: Director Office of Habitat Conservation
Dr. Roy E. Crabtree: NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Administrator
Frederick C. Sutter III: Deputy Regional Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Regional Office
Dr. Bonnie J. Ponwith: Director Southeast Fisheries Science Center
John Oliver: Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries

David Peluso: Executive Assistant to Gus Bilirakis (R 9th FL)
Josh Gifford, Environment Legislative Assistant to Rep. F. Allen Boyd, Jr, (D 2nd FL)
Harry Glenn: Chief of Staff to Representative Bill Young (R 10th FL)
Representative C. W. (Bill) Young | FL Representative (R - 10)

Fishing Gone?

2010-03-18T01:39:00.000-05:00

Fishing Gone?

House Aides Mull Plans to Overhaul, Codify NOAA

2010-03-17T09:05:00.001-05:00

The 17-year veteran of the House added: "If the fish people don't like our organic act, that's fine. There is always something fishy somewhere. I hope you can do what you can to persuade anyone, we are not invading on their jurisdiction and not trying to change their activities."

Read the article and stop this now!

From the Town Landing: Drawing the line on spatial planning

2010-03-17T08:54:00.001-05:00

Ocean Policy Task Force for implementing its staggeringly broad mandate is marine spatial planning. Old wine in a new bottle, marine spatial planning will use lines on charts to reduce conflicts among the myriad activities carried out at sea. Think shipping lanes, fisheries-management areas, dynamic area-management zones for right whales, offshore energy (wind) farms-all with lines in the water.

Read the entire article.

New letter from RFA

2010-03-16T06:24:00.000-05:00

Is Recreational Fishing Being Banned? 3-15-2010
gengberg March 15th, 2010

Is Recreational Fishing Being Banned?Editor’s Note: Over the past week, comments regarding the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force have kicked off a heated discussion regarding unjustified rumor-mongering and an unvarnished bias against the administration by the “right-wing media”. Today, a response from the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

A recent national opinion piece has ignited a firestorm concerning the efforts of the Obama Administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and its involvement in implementing a policy of “marine spatial planning” that could ultimately effect the management of and public access to the nation’s natural public resources. The column comes three weeks after the closing of the public comment period by the Presidential task force and on the heels of the historic fishermen’s rally at the Capitol on February 24 coordinated by the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and its allied groups.

Recent press releases issued by some sportfishing industry and angling conservation groups have expressed dismay at the unwillingness of administrators to listen to their recommendations. None of this comes as a surprise to the RFA. More troubling is that some of these same insiders have shown a willingness under past administrations to accept use of executive privilege in managing coastal access while fruitlessly participating in the new administration’s new bureaucratic task force process.

“The goal of the key players in the process, specifically the Pew Environment Group and its minions, is to attempt to implement through Executive Order what they had failed to accomplish through the legislative process,” said Jim Donofrio, RFA Executive Director. “We welcome those organizations who feel disenfranchised by the task force to join us in working to prevent what is the usurpation of the management of this nation’s fisheries, oceans, coastal waters and the Great Lakes for ideological reasons,” Donofrio said.

The Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force led by the White House Council on Environmental Policy was established by President Obama on June 12, 2009. According to the Presidential memorandum, the task force was charged with developing a national policy for the protection, maintenance and restoration of U.S. oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes. “It will also recommend a framework for improved stewardship and effective coastal and marine special planning,” the White House said in June.

The same month the task force was established, Donofrio was invited to testify before congress in opposition to legislation sponsored by California Democrat Rep. Sam Farr (H.R. 21), a bill which would establish a new national policy for our oceans. In a release issued last fall, Donofrio said the RFA was unnerved by glaring similarities of the new report and Rep. Farr’s H.R. 21, the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act (aptly referred to as Oceans 21). “This appears to be an attempt by the Executive branch to circumvent the established legislative process and enact policy that failed as legislation 5 years in a row,” Donofrio said, adding “RFA believes enacting laws through Executive order and proclamation sets a dangerous precedence.”

Oceans 21 has failed to gain Congressional support because of its ability to restrict access to public resources while creating a new bureaucratic hierarchy with unprecedented power to regulate fisheries and implement ocean zoning without oversight or public input. The RFA has been in the forefront of exposing Oceans 21 and is a leader in preventing its passage. On June 18, 2009, the RFA was the only national fishing organization that testified before Congress in opposition of the bill.

“Recreational fishermen have been watching fisheries management in this country literally get hijacked by preservationists,” Donofrio said this week in response to the national news headlines indicating the president was going to ban recreational fishing. “I don’t think this president would consider banning recreational fishing outright, but it’s clear to us that the Obama Administration would like to severely restrict recreational fishing.” Donofrio said RFA and others are troubled by the number of staffers within the Administration who have direct ties to Pew.

RFA said the good part about the recent headlines is that people are opening their eyes to the fact that “the fisheries management system is broken” and in need of repair. “Are we concerned about realities regarding the task force? Yes we are, and that’s the hijacking of H.R. 21, a bill that would set up such an incredible bureaucratic infrastructure that Americans would indeed have a hard time finding fishing opportunities,” Donofrio said.

Records show that groups like Pew and the David & Lucille Packard Foundation have used funds to support implementation of marine protected areas, denying public access to large areas of coastal waters. “Years ago, Pew and Packard had a dream of creating blanket marine reserves across the country through the legislative process, but that quickly fell apart when Congress wouldn’t support it so they moved into the states,” Donofrio said. “True, they found certain governments like California very supportive of efforts to institute blanket closures, but they never gave up their goal of getting us all off the water by whatever means possible,” he said. Donofrio explained that Pew-funded groups worked hard to push rigid “overfishing” language into the Magnuson Stevens Act during the 2006 reauthorization debate.

“Essentially, Pew was able to create these de facto reserves which make fishing opportunities so incredibly hard. Take for example red snapper and other important snapper/grouper which are off limits to recreational anglers in the south Atlantic despite rebuilding progress,” Donofrio said. “Pew’s stacked the task force deck, and they’ve even got one of their Pew Fellowship award-winners as head of the fisheries service, it’s certainly troubling.”

Dr, Jane Lubchenco, who the President appointed to run NOAA Fisheries in 2009, is also a past member of the Pew Oceans Commission, the steering committee of the Joint Oceans Commission Initiative, and a director of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, SeaWeb, and Environmental Defense all of which are Pew funding recipients. Dr. Lubchenco also serves as Trustee Emerita of the David and Lucile Packard Foundation.

“Dr. Luchenco currently sits atop a growing number of appointees who are pushing an agenda of ocean zoning, catch shares and Draconian regulatory actions that are severely hindering our ability to fish with resulting negative impacts on the economy and significant job losses,” said Donofrio who pointed out that it’s been this apparent “takeover of fisheries management” which led to the fishermen’s rally in Washington DC on February 24 which drew an estimated crowd of over 4,000 fishermen in support of the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act (H.R. 1585 and S. 1255).

RFA Contact: Jim Hutchinson, Jr. (888) 564-6732

Fishing , Conservation , Outdoor and DNR Legislation

Right on Senator Vitter

2010-03-15T07:11:00.000-05:00

Sunday, March 14, 2010
Read this carefully...it's another DEM "take-away" !!

Dear Friend,

This week I wrote President Obama a letter expressing my sincere concerns with his administration's efforts to unilaterally exclude fishing in waters off Louisiana's Coast.

President Obama has created the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force under the guise of protecting our lakes, oceans, coasts and their ecosystems and resources. This task force is working on a secret zoning plan that would give it a say over what activities get to happen on public lands and waters, and they would make these decisions without any public input.

The Obama Administration is proposing to use the most far reaching and questionable legal authority it can conjure to achieve what a handful of special interest groups have always wanted -- limiting the access of U.S. resources to U.S. citizens. And coastal states are set to suffer the economic and social impacts of an agenda-driven administration that does not have fishermen's interests in mind.

There has been virtually no public or Congressional input before using this questionable legal authority to decide to cut off fishing access. ESPN covered this issue earlier in the week and the strong outrage that is beginning to resonate throughout the country over this unbelievable activity by the administration.

Fishing is a social, cultural, and economic bellwether for the health of a great many Louisiana communities. Unilateral action by the Obama administration to sever fishing from the soul of Louisiana by zoning off our oceans arbitrarily is an outrageous federal reach into the state of Louisiana, and I assure you I'll keep fighting against it.
Sincerely,

David Vitter
U.S. Senator
Posted by The Old

More fuel to the fire

2010-03-15T07:05:00.000-05:00

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Hook, line & sinker: Bad policy
Buzz up!Monday, March 15, 2010
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A redo of federal policy on use of marine, Great Lakes and inland waters bears close watching by recreational anglers, the industry that serves them and Congress.

Changes suggested in the Ocean Policy Task Force's "Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning" will be implemented by executive order once the final report -- expected this month -- is out. Those changes likely won't be good for folks who fish and the more than 1 million jobs they support.

They're rightly concerned -- about bigger, more bureaucratic, more "top down" government; undue influence wielded by environmental extremists under the guise of "science;" public input as mere formality; and little if any regard for economic impact.

ESPN Outdoors columnist Robert Montgomery goes so far as to warn that the feds "could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing some of the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes and even inland waters."

Fortunately, anglers and their allies already are working to counter injurious policy changes the Obama administration may order. If this White House does go hook, line and sinker for bad policy, it will be up to Congress to cut bait so Americans can keep on fishing without federal meddling.

Angry Fishermen

2010-03-14T15:47:00.001-05:00

Bad Weather Coming

2010-03-13T20:02:00.001-06:00

With three quarters of the world’s fisheries in distress and nearing depletion, there is an urgent need for the international community to increase efforts to halt the decline of fish stocks. According to the report of the Secretary-General prepared for the resumed Review Conference (document A/CONF.210/2010/1), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated that the majority of straddling fish stocks -- highly migratory species and other high-seas fish stocks -- are considered to be either fully exploited or overexploited. This means that fisheries are operating close to or above the optimal effort that is sustainable in the long term, and there is no expected room or potential room for further expansion. For overexploited species there is a risk of stock depletion.

Read it. What more can one say.

Bad Weather Forecasts

2010-03-13T19:42:00.000-06:00

Many of you know how often NOAA has been completely out or whack with weather forecasting that makes the quote below all the more hilarious.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.

Hubris knows no bounds and it is extremely dangerous.

Short Shark Season--From Lisa Steelman

2010-03-12T12:31:00.000-06:00

--------------------
Subject: commercial shark season

Tom,
I just tried to post this on Fishermen's Voice page, but was unable. Please pass this info along as you see fit. Thanks so much!!

Dave just got off the phone with Margo Shulze-Haugen (Highly Migratory Species Div, NOAA).

Shark season is f*cking over on march 17th in the gulf. This is devesating for us. Because of weather temps, etc. this will limit Dave's season to less than 7 days. Shark is his primary harvest.

Margo Shulze claims that the quota has been met by Louisiana since the opening of the season on Feb 4th (in one month? really??). She also said that (AND I QUOTE), "The fishermen tell me that they only want a few week to a month season because they want to fish for something else." She also said that in the long line commericial shark fishery that we have the ability to catch large coastal's WITHOUT catching small coastals. Dave says BULLSH*T.
She said, "WE HAVE TO GO BY OUR SCIENCE AND THE DATA GIVEN BY THE FISHERMEN". Well, something isn't jiving here.
The minute Dave hung up with her, he called Madiera Beach Seafood (his main buyer). Bobby Spaeth called her right away and was told that she's out of the office until Monday. She knew to expect Madiera's phone call. How convienient.

Dave told her that NMFS and NOAA will not win. He told her that, "THE FISHERMEN WILL NOT GIVE UP, AND WE WILL NOT QUIT FISHING"

Here is Margo's contact information. Now is the time to let her hear our voices!! Flood that inbox!!!!!

(301)713-2347
margo.schulze-haugen@noaa.gov
--------------------

Gone, Fishing?

2010-03-11T08:50:00.000-06:00

Will Obama’s ocean-policy task force remain in lockstep with radical greens?

So Pres. Barack Obama’s “Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force” has decided that the opinions of America’s 60 million anglers aren’t worthy of its consideration.

This task force, headed by the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), was charged with drafting a national ocean policy of marine spatial planning to manage U.S. ocean territory and the Great Lakes. Its recommendations — due out later this month — could be enacted by executive order.

Here’s why anglers, and freedom-loving Americans, should be alarmed: Without input from recreational anglers and the conservation groups that represent them — such as Trout Unlimited, the U.S. Recreational Fishing & Boating Coalition, and the Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies — decisions made under this new national oceans policy could be used to close saltwater and freshwater recreational-fishing areas.

Read the more.

Obama’s war on fishing?!?!?!

2010-03-09T22:09:00.001-06:00

By Michelle Malkin • March 9, 2010 05:00 PM

Longtime readers know I love to fish and have been at war with the anti-fishing nuts at PETA for years.

JWF flags a story today from ESPN about Obama regulatory maneuvers that look to limit fishing access:

Read the blog.

Fishermen’s fear: Public's 'right to fish' shifting under Obama?

2010-03-09T21:00:00.001-06:00

Sport fishermen worry about an eroding 'right to fish' as the Obama administration shifts fishing policy to include United Nations objectives. Proponents say fishermen have much to gain by zoning uses of ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes ecosystems.

Thank you notes

2010-03-09T15:38:00.001-06:00

PLEASE SEND A THANK_YOU TO OUR RALLY SUPPORTERS and Speakers

Faxes will be much stronger than emails—If we can load up their faxes. They will remember us! Please ask all of your friends and members of you group to please fax ALL these folks that stood up for our rights to fish and to help us change the Maguson Act. We all need to thank them personally and help to rally more support. If you cant fax please email or write. If I forgot any speakers please update.

www.conservationfishermen.com

http://unitedwefish.blogspot.com www.joinrfa.com fishermans voice—on facebook,twitter,utube

Thanks—Tom Adams 850-381-1313

_____________________________________________
From: Pam Anderson [mailto:pamheartsofhope@aol.com]
Sent: Sunday, March 07, 2010 9:44 PM
To: 4tomadams@gmail.com
Subject: Fwd: legislators and speakers

Here is info on the legislators we spoke to plus a list of speakers, which may not be total but to the best of memory. The first 4 are from FL, the rest from where they are listed. You can find their fax numbers by going to www.thomas.loc.gov and finding their web sites. I placed “spoke” by those who did. The rest were contacted by our team, the ones who spoke at the rally except for Senator LeMieux were contacted by others. When contacting to thank please state our appreciation for their attention and continued effort to conduct hearings and to reform Magnuson.

Senator LeMieux: Frank_Walker@LeMieux.senate.gov, fax 202-228-5171, LeMieux spoke

Senator Nelson: susie_perezquinn@billnelson.senate.gov , fax 202-228-2183, also Stratton_Kirton@billnelson.senate.gov

Congressman Boyd, Josh.Gifford@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-5615

Congressman Miller, Elizabeth.McErlean@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-3414

Congressman Bonner, AL, Matt.weinstein@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-0562

Congressman Cassidy, LA, michael.biagi@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-7313

Congressman Carol Shea-Porter, NH, robert.moller@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-5822

Congressman Donna Christensen, VI, makeda.okolo@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-5517

Congressman Inslee, WA, Celina.cunningham@mail.house.gov, fax 202-226-1606

Congressman Kratovil, MD, ben.abrams@mail.house.gov, fax 202-225-0254

Senator Shelby, AL, Laura_Friedel@shelby.senate.gov, fax 202-

Senator Sessions, AL, Melissa_shute@sessions.senate.gov, fax 202-

Senator Maria Cantwell: WA, jeffrey_watters@cantwell.senate.gov, fax 202-228-0514

Senator DeMint, SC, Jacqueline_gelb@demint.senate.gov, fax 202-228-5143

Senator Schumer, NY, spoke-202-228-3027

Senator Scott Brown, MA, spoke

Senator Gillibrand, NY, spoke 212-688 7444

Senator Hagen, NC, spoke 202-288-2563

Senator Burr, NC, spoke 202-228-2981

Congressman Pallone (NJ), spoke 202-225-9665

Congressman Frank (MA), spoke-202-225-0182

Congressman Tierney (MA), spoke 202-225-5915

Congressman Adler (NJ), spoke202-225-0778

Congressman Macintire (NC), spoke 202 2255773

Congressman Brown (SC), spoke 202-225-3407

Congressman Jones (NC), spoke 202 225-3415

Congressman Putnam (FL), spoke 202 225 0585

Congressman Mica (FL), spoke202 225-0821

Congressman Wittman (VA), spoke 202 225-4261

Congressman LoBiondo (NJ), spoke 202-225-3318

Capt. Bob Zales, II

bobzales@att.net

Ph 850-763-6242

Fax 850-763-3558

Critcial Mass

2010-03-09T13:54:00.002-06:00

Folks the story is breaking nationally on ESPN's story on what is going on with our nations fishery resources.

Gateway Pundit Blog
http://gatewaypundit.firstthings.com/2010/03/obamas-latest-assault-on-freedom-new-regulations-will-ban-sport-fishing/

Free Republic Forum
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2467036/posts

Matt Drudge - lower right corner of the homepage
http://www.drudgereport.com/

G. Gordon Liddy - Radio Host Interviews the ESPN author
You have to let the audio play for quite a while. If someone can edit and upload a link to just this segment please let us know!
http://live.radioamerica.org/loudwater/player.pl?name=ggl&url=http://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/feeds.radioamerica.org/loudwater/ggl/000001195_000_000000006.mp3

Well said Mr. Gurney!

2010-03-08T19:29:00.001-06:00

Fascists for Fish

by Letters to the Editor on Mar 8th, 2010

The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative has come to to the North Coast, skirting the laws and making up the rules as they go. The MLPAI obeys the law only as they see fit, all the while being held accountable to none that they break. It’s the opposite of real democracy, where the will of the people is the motivator for change, where public officials are charged with the duty to carry out that will, and are held accountable when they break the law.

The MLPAI seeks to take control of large areas of the coast, supposedly to regulate fishing and food gathering, in a state where fishing is already so tightly regulated that for most of the year a local coastal resident cannot go out on the ocean to catch a fish. These new closed areas will allow the take of fish and marine life for so-called research purposes, but what constitutes research is not clearly defined. The privileged few will be allowed to take fish to supply large commercial aquariums, owned by the very people who sponsored and funded the initiative. A gross conflict of interest exists that so far has not been addressed.

The MLPAI is led by privately funded public relations and policy experts, masquerading as a true public agency. The staff are funded by multi-billion dollar private foundations that conceal the amount, sources and distribution of their funds. Money is being channeled through the director and managers of this program to individuals and local government entities, without public scrutiny or accountability. Bribery and coercion have become commonplace.

The MLPAI administrators laud themselves for their “transparency,” but corruption always seeks to be invisible. Lies and deception are by their very nature “transparent.” The transparency of which they speak is that of the bullet proof glass in the armored car that will carry away the legacy of a once free ocean, and the rights of the people guaranteed in Article 1, Section 25 of the California Constitution. Theirs is the transparency of the thick glass walls of the corporate funded aquariums. It’s the transparency of the invisible lines of money, power, and real estate interests, who desire ownership and control of the ocean for their own benefit. When the truth is revealed, the lies that concealed it will always be revealed as “transparent.”

The legitimate concerns over the MLPAI are many. Concerns about public-private graft and the corruption of democratic process. Concerns that pie-in-the-sky solutions based junk science will not yield desired results, even after we have been bamboozled into giving up our free rights to open ocean access. Concerns that issues influencing the marine environment beyond fishing are not being addressed, and that blaming fishing for the problems our oceans are facing is a smokescreen for corporate takeover and control of the oceans. Concerns about flagrant conflicts of interest. Concerns of political subterfuge, where back room deals are being made to trade off the ocean in exchange for the waters of Northern California rivers. Concerns that oil and energy interests are backing the initiative. Concerns that the corporate powers who funded the MLPAI process with tens of millions of dollars of private money will inevitably want their pay-off in the end.

The MLPAI is an Enron style scam that is being perpetrated on the unsuspecting people of California, and has coerced those opposing it into taking part against their better judgement. It has cynically taken advantage of the efforts of well meaning scientists and environmentalists to take part in a flawed process that is already generating junk science to prove the necessity of a solution to problem that does not exist. The MLPAI has corrupted the very idea of science, seeking to prove unsound hypotheses with insufficient data in an effort to blame fishing access as the cause for the collapse of marine ecosystems, and proposing to take away fishing rights in areas that are already not being fished, all the while ignoring the real problems of ocean ecology.

Many miles of the California Coast are already closed behind the gates of private property, effectively making the issue of marine protected areas a moot point. To take away access in more huge areas and turn it over to corporate interests will, in the long run, have the opposite of the intended effect. The ocean is a public trust and a public commons, not to be relegated to private dominance and control as is being done with the MLPAI.

With the implementation of the MLPAI, we have been told that we are just giving up small parts of our ocean, that we are sacrificing just a little chunk of our constitutional rights, whether we like it or not, to this public-private partnership. We have been told that the killing of a blue whale by the MLPAI’s unlicensed and illegally operating sonar mapping vessel was just an accident, for which they are not responsible. We are told that the Brown Act and Bagley-Keene laws do not apply to them. We are told that armed guards at all their official meetings and workshops to stifle public outrage and opposition is standard operating procedure.

As this illegal act is forced upon us, we are losing not only just a little bit of our once free ocean, we are also sacrificing some of the very principles and decency upon which this nation was founded.

David Gurney
Fort Bragg, CA

Culled out

2010-03-08T19:01:00.001-06:00

The Obama administration will accept no more public input for a federal strategy that could prohibit U.S. citizens from fishing the nation's oceans, coastal areas, Great Lakes, and even inland waters.

This announcement comes at the time when the situation supposedly still is "fluid" and the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force still hasn't issued its final report on zoning uses of these waters.

That's a disappointment, but not really a surprise for fishing industry insiders who have negotiated for months with officials at the Council on Environmental Quality and bureaucrats on the task force. These angling advocates have come to suspect that public input into the process was a charade from the beginning.

Read it and weep.

$10 million funding boost seen as 'buying everyone off'

2010-03-08T08:57:00.000-06:00

Lubchenco holds firm on May 1 'catch share' launch $10 million funding boost seen as 'buying everyone off'

By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer

The Obama administration's avowed plan to advance a fishing policy aimed at putting "a significant fraction" of the fishing captains in the northeast groundfishing fleet out of work is on track, according to testimony by captains.

"This is the face of consolidation; no one is going to make it," Gloucester Capt. Al Cattone said of the government's push through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to launch its "catch share" regulatory format here May 1.

"I got nothing; I'll be catching one third of the fish I caught previously," said Capt. Joe Orlando. "Because of the reallocation, we got screwed."

Read the entire article.

Thanks Senator Richard Shelby!

2010-03-07T21:11:00.001-06:00

Can you say corruption?

2010-03-07T08:16:00.003-06:00

Just when you think marine management can get no worse imagine a strategy that encourages corruption on a grand scale. Marine protected areas or MPA's offer just such an opportunity and they are being pushed for by environmental non government organizations or ENGO's.

Evidence shows MPLA corruption
Jim Matthews
www.outdoornewsservice.com
03/06/2010

ONTARIO - The first wave of hard evidence documenting the corruption and conflict of interest that's guided the implementation of the 1999 Marine Life Protection Act surfaced at the meeting of the California Fish and Game Commission at the DoubleTree Inn this past week.

The commission accepted public testimony again on the so-called Blue Ribbon Task Force's recommended ocean fishing closures and protected areas along the Southern California coast before adopting a final plan. During Wednesday's testimony, documentation was provided that proved that two members of the Blue Ribbon Task Force, Bill Anderson and Greg Schem, lied to the commission at a recent meeting about having a business association.

Read the entire post.

Pew what is that smell?

2010-03-06T15:33:00.003-06:00

Many anglers have become aware recently of the involvement of Pew Charitable Trusts in fisheries management. Below is a synopsis is just what the organization is courtesy of www.discoverthenetworks.org.

PEW CHARITABLE TRUSTS
2005 Market Street
Suite 1700
Philadelphia, PA
19103

Phone :215-575-9050
Email :info@pewtrusts.com
URL :http://www.pewtrusts.com

Assets: $197,741,615 (2005)
Grants Received: $232,032,960 (2005)
Grants Awarded: $198,477,867 (2005)

The Pew Charitable Trusts (PCT) are comprised of seven individual funds established between 1948 and 1979 by the four children of Joseph N. Pew, founder of the Sun Oil Company, and his wife Mary A. Pew.

Mr. Pew and his immediate heirs were politically conservative, as were most of the causes that PCT supported in its early years. In recent decades, however, leftwing staffers have taken control of the organization, radically transforming its ideology and funding philosophy. Particularly responsible for this change was the late neurosurgeon Thomas W. Langfitt, who served as PCT's President and Chief Executive Officer from 1987 through 1994.

Rebecca Rimel, who joined the Trusts in 1983 as Health Program Manager, ascended to the positions of President and CEO in 1994 when Langfitt, her mentor, retired. She became the Executive Director in 1998.

PCT currently identifies its three major objectives as: (a) "to support the arts, heritage, health and well-being of our diverse citizenry and civic life, with particular emphasis on Philadelphia"; (b) "to inform the public on key issues and trends, as a highly credible source of independent, non-partisan research and polling information"; and (c) "to inform and advance the debate on issues that matter to the long-term health and well-being of the American people, [and] when the case is compelling, we advocate for change."

In March 2004 the Pew Global Attitudes Project, a series of worldwide public opinion surveys on a broad array of subjects, polled people in the United States and eight foreign nations regarding their views about the Iraq War and concluded: "A year after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq sent anti-Americanism soaring, the United States finds itself still unpopular, feared, and mistrusted around the world. ... Resentment of America and its policies -- even of Americans themselves -- has intensified, not lessened, in the last year." The researchers added that in Jordan, Morocco, and Pakistan, "the public supports suicide bombings against Americans in Iraq, and Osama bin Laden is still far more popular than President Bush in those three countries." The Pew Global Attitudes Project is chaired by Madeleine Albright, who served as U.S. Secretary of State in the Clinton administration.

PCT supports a host of organizations that are passionately anti-corporate and anti-capitalist, while it simultaneously holds many millions of dollars worth of investments in major corporations. For instance, while PCT invests in Exxon-Mobil, it grants money to Greenpeace, the Ruckus Society, the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Public Citizen, Global Exchange, the EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund, Friends of the Earth, the Sierra Club, the World Resources Institute, the World Wildlife Fund, the Wilderness Society, the Environmental Defense Fund, Trust for Public Land, the Environmental Working Group, the Rainforest Alliance, the Izaak Walton League of America, the Rainforest Action Network, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Nature Conservancy, and a host of other environmentalist groups that view Exxon-Mobil as an ecological menace.

PCT is the largest funding source for the Tides Center, having given the latter nearly $109 million between 1990 and 2002. Other PCT grantees include: Physicians for Social Responsibility; the Institute for Policy Studies, the Council on Foundations; the Brennan Center for Justice; Planned Parenthood; the Conservation Law Foundation; National Public Radio; the Union of Concerned Scientists; the National Environmental Trust; the Consumers Union; the Urban Institute; the National Trust for Historic Preservation; the Brookings Institution; the Center for Biological Diversity; the Center for Science in Public Participation; the Aspen Institute; the Liberty Resources; the Criminal Justice Reform Education Fund; the Alliance to Save Energy; the AIDS Law Project; the Homeless Advocacy Project; Lighthawk; Global Trade Watch; the Green Party; the Center for Rural Affairs; the Juvenile Law Center; Population Action International; Action AIDS; the National Right to Work Legal Defense and Education Foundation; the Center for Responsive Politics; the Center for Public Integrity; the Worldwatch Institute; the Western Environmental Law Center; Zero Population Growth; Environmental Media Services; SeaWeb; the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse; the Center for Science in the Public Interest; and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

In addition to earmarking enormous sums of money to fund the projects and activities of the aforementioned organizations, PCT also proposes its own policy solutions in a number of areas:

Global Warming: Reasoning from the premise that pollution from human industrial activity is causing drastic climatological changes, PCT declares: “The United States is the world’s largest emitter of global warming pollution, accounting for roughly 25 percent of global emissions to date. No strategy to address global warming can succeed without substantial and permanent reductions in U.S. emissions.” Working in partnership with the Energy Foundation to promote “the adoption of state and regional policies that curb global warming pollution,” PCT seeks “to advance the climate change debate through analysis, public education and a new cooperative approach with business.”

Wilderness Protection: Since the early 1990s, PCT “has been investing in public education and advocacy efforts to mobilize support for improved management of and strict protection for old-growth forests and wilderness areas on public lands in North America.”

Foster Care Reform: In 2003, the Trusts launched a policy initiative “to help move children in foster care more quickly and appropriately to safe, permanent families and prevent the unnecessary placement of children in foster care.”

Protecting Ocean Life: “Our marine work is aimed at preserving the biological integrity of marine ecosystems and primarily focuses on efforts to curb overfishing, reduce bycatch and prevent the destruction of marine habitat.”

Pre-K Education: Seeking “to fundamentally change the way this country invests in education for its three- and four-year-olds,” PCT directs large sums of money to “policy-focused research” and “public education campaigns” that “demonstrate the value of high-quality preschool for all three- and four-year-olds.” It also targets its funding to “organizations committed to advancing quality pre-Kindergarten for all three- and four-year olds.”

State Sentencing and Corrections: Founded on the axiom that the American criminal-justice system is infested with inequities and racism, PCT’s Public Safety Performance Project, launched in 2006, “supports in-depth research and public and policy-maker education to help states increase public safety, manage corrections spending, and hold offenders accountable." The project has three main objectives: (a) to help states collect and analyze data about who is admitted to their prisons, the lengths of their sentences, their rates of recidivism, and the implications of this data for public safety and state budgets; (b) to aid states in understanding how their existing sentencing, release and community-supervision policies compare to those of other states; and (c) to "explore policy changes that will increase public safety and deliver a solid return on taxpayers’ investment.”

In a related effort, PCT’s Death Penalty Reform program finances the Justice Project Education Fund, which “works to advance reforms that would ensure fairness and accuracy in the administration of capital punishment.” According to the Justice Project: “Since 1976, more than 100 people have been wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in the United States.” PCT granted this initiative $1 million in 2003, and another $1 million two years later.

PCT is a member organization of the International Human Rights Funders Group (IHRFG), a network of more than six-dozen grantmakers dedicated to funding leftwing groups and causes.

Must see video!

2010-03-04T22:06:00.001-06:00

http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_jcalpro&Itemid=60&extmode=view&extid=324

Anglers Dock in D.C. to Voice ConcernsBy Bennett Roth Roll Call Staff March 1, 2010, 12 a.m. Sporting a gray ponytail and gold chain with a small anc

2010-03-04T07:46:00.000-06:00

By Bennett Roth
Roll Call Staff

March 1, 2010, 12 a.m.

Sporting a gray ponytail and gold chain with a small anchor pendant around his neck, captain Dave Tilley hardly fits the image of the K Street lobbyist.

But last week the burly 42-year-old fisherman drove up from North Carolina to Washington, D.C. — the first time he had ever been to the nation’s capital — to persuade Members of Congress to change a law that he claims is threatening his livelihood.

Florida's Senator LeMieux: Fisherman are losing their Livelihoods

2010-03-03T18:45:00.000-06:00

Taking on water.

2010-03-03T11:46:00.001-06:00

The plight of the planet's oceans was a focus of the conference, with numerous discussions of acidification, marine reserves and the newly implemented concept of "marine spatial planning," an effort to map the oceans' topography, biota and habitat, then translate that into a kind of zoning plan for human use (an approach specifically mandated by the Obama administration last year).

This is a must read.

Times are changing.

2010-02-28T10:56:00.000-06:00

Images from DC

2010-02-28T10:26:00.001-06:00

Click here to see our image collection from the United We Fish Rally in Washington DC.

2010-02-27T13:57:00.002-06:00

Please become a fan of We Fish We Vote on Facebook. It is a great asset in the fight against overly restrictive federal regulations on our nations recreational and commercial fisheries.

Click here to visit them on Facebook.

What a week it has been!

2010-02-27T09:36:00.003-06:00

Below is a summation of news from the net for this week. More to follow.

Florida Senator Nelson Wants Re-Examination Of Fishing Restrictions
AHN | All Headline News
Bill Nelson, D-FL, has asked the Senate Commerce Committee Tuesday to examine fishing regulations, in particular the ban on red-snapper fishing and ...
See all stories on this topic

Fishermen rally in DC
Pensacola News Journal
Eller said time lines set by the law have effectively tied the hands of fisheries regulators, who have slashed season lengths for red snapper and other fish ...
See all stories on this topic

Special Series: "Fished Out" Part 1
WJHG-TV
Last year the Marine Fisheries Service closed the Red Snapper season early, saying the 6. 9 million pound quota had been reached. ...
See all stories on this topic

Quotes from Florida Today - News, photos, topics, and quotes
Amanda Leland of the Environmental Defense Fund said she understands ... We have one guy who was a red snapper fisherman for us and now he is moving to ...

Fishermen rally against federal catch limits
We have one guy who was a red snapper fisherman for us and now he is moving to Mexico. ... Charles Schumer · Environmental Defense Fund ...

Local News Senator Calls For Review of Fishing Ban
WOKV
The Feds recently closed off huge areas of our coastal waters to red snapper, grouper and amberjack fishing. But local fishermen say the catch is better ...
See all stories on this topic

EDFish » Fishermen Express Concerns in Washington Today; Catch ...
Instead of pushing fishermen off the water to restore the red snapper fishery in the ... Red snapper populations are now rebounding, meaning more fish for ...

Orlandoweekly.com - NEWS+FEATURES: Fish Tales
Jeanna Merrifield questions the motives of conservationists like Pew. ... tuna, snapper, stone crabs and scores of other species – some imported, but most local . ... His other prize on this day is coveted royal red shrimp, an oversized ...

It's My Cast – Pompano, Pythons and Protesters | Articles at Reel ...
By Bill Hubbard
Port Canaveral (AP) Following lengthy public hearings, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has shut down the Red Snapper fishery Jan. 1 from Key West to No. Carolina until May 1. Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act the council is ...
Reel-Time.com - http://www.reel-time.com/

Fishermen enlist members of Congress to oppose red snapper ban
Orlando Sentinel (blog)
By Ludmilla Lelis Still reeling from a federal ban on fishing for red snapper, Central Florida captains and fishermen joined more than 2000 people at the ...
See all stories on this topic

Ban Sends Fishermen To Washington
WESH Orlando
Red snapper fishing was banned. Bans were also enacted for 11 grouper species and vermillion snapper. The limits are impacting the fishing industry and the ...
See all stories on this topic

Fishermen protest law that closes many areas to fishing
Kansas City Star
4 to June 2 to allow stocks of red snapper to replenish. The period can be extended for another six-month period. Fishermen fear long replenishment periods ...
See all stories on this topic

Members of Congress are heeding their protest.
Orlando Sentinel
The ban on red snapper is the key Florida species that is fueling the anger of anglers, both recreational and commercial, who say the current 6-month ban is ...
See all stories on this topic

Change fishery rules, spare fishing jobs, chorus says
Florida Times-Union
“This red snapper issue is forcing the issue in Washington,” said Duane Harris of St. Simons Island, Ga., chairman of the South Atlantic Fishery Management ...
See all stories on this topic

Thousands of Fishermen Rally in Washington, DC
WCIV
Others say the problem is the overfishing of the Red Snapper. The South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council says their population is dying out. ...
See all stories on this topic

'I fish, I vote:' Local fishermen march on Washington (PHOTO ...
The Northwest Florida Daily News
... Panama City and Mexico Beach either rode a bus or flew to the rally. “This is amazing,” captain Mike Eller of Destin said as he scanned the crowd. ...

Fight is on
Charleston Post Courier
He had been running as far as Florida to catch golden tilefish because the offshore bottom here has been closed to catching red snapper and grouper, ...
See all stories on this topic

LoBiondo Speaks at Fishermen's Rally - Cape May County Herald
anglers in California, or the shutdown of red snapper and amberjack down south, our community has been divided by preservationist tactics for too long. ...

Rep. Pallone tells N.J. fishermen that fisheries "science is ...
In the Gulf, it's red snapper." Organized by the Recreational Fishing Alliance, ... and the PEW Environment Group, a major backer of fishery reform efforts. ...

The Billfish Foundation today joined a coalition of marine ...
Given NOAA's recent ban on recreational fishing for red snapper from North ... All have some roots back to PEW. Would not surprise me one bit that they have ...

"Share a Little Sunshine" - CapMel.com Fishing Forums
Pew's puppet, NOAA, through the use of outdated, non scientific, ..... CCA does not support the red snapper closers on the east coast as it was presented ...

TheTandD.com | Fishermen rally against federal catch limits
... off the Massachusetts coast and those who fish for red snapper in the Carolinas. ... Environmental groups, meanwhile, say the government should allow anglers greater ...

Fishermen march on DC
The News Herald
Panama City, Mexico Beach and Destin were represented with more than 35 captains and deckhands, many who spent 18 hours on a bus traveling to Washington. ...

Gulf Coast fishermen join Washington protest against red snapper limits
al.com (blog)
In the case of red snapper, "the fishery has recovered, and we keep getting shorter and shorter seasons," Rowell said. "It doesn't make sense. ...
See all stories on this topic

Angry Anglers March on Washington
Orange Beach
In addition to these two bills, there is a proposed House Bill, HR3307, which specifically addresses the Red Snapper Fishery in the South Atlantic ...
See all stories on this topic

Rep Mica Blasts Red Snapper Ban at Fishermen Rally
BigNews.biz (press release)
Mica introduced legislation to reverse the recent ban on Red Snapper fishing in the Southeast Atlantic Marine Fishery until a new stock assessment based on ...
See all stories on this topic

Fishermen go to Washington to protest ocean fish restrictions
Palm Beach Post (blog)
Historical data overestimated the size of the red snapper population, creating a false target when setting a goal to rebuild the stock. ...
See all stories on this topic

Heritage and Environment - CITY COUNCIL LIVEBLOG : TheDestinLog.com
By tsketo
“From the bottom of my heart, I'm a fisherman, and I've never seen more red snapper and amberjack in the Gulf of Mexico than there's ever been,” Barker said. Barker said fishing regulations based on old data are destroying our heritage, ...
CITY COUNCIL LIVEBLOG - http://liveblog.freedomblogging.com/

Oyster Radio News: Senator nelson calls for review of federal ...
By Snakeman
On Tuesday, Nelson requested that the Senate Commerce Committee examine the ban on red-snapper fishing and fisheries closures in Florida. He also asked for a determination of whether federal officials are using reliable data to support ...
Oyster Radio News - http://oysterradio.blogspot.com/

Gregg Holshouser, outdoors columnist: SAFMC to rehash closed fishing area off ...
Myrtle Beach Sun News
Amendment 17A's intent is to end overfishing of red snapper and the council is considering closing massive areas of the Atlantic Ocean to all bottom fishing ...
See all stories on this topic

Press Releases on Justmeans - Fishermen Express Concerns in ...
You are now following Environmental Defense Fund. ... fishermen in the Southeast U.S. are just beginning to feel the cost of a closure on red snapper. ...

OUTH ATLANTIC FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL
We had four letters received; one from Environmental Defense Fund for .... Some of them have talked to a few of the red snapper fishermen who don't like ...

Fishermen to March on Washington - The Aquatic Network
expenditure of many millions of dollars by the Pew Charitable Trusts, ... anglers in California, or the shutdown of red snapper and amberjack down south, ...

Thousands protest federal fishing restrictions
By m.trocchi@soundingspub.com (Mike Trocchi)
Fishermen from several Atlantic states turned up to blast federal bans on red snapper, grouper and other species that feed their livelihoods. They shouted, "Where's the data?" and waved signs that read, "United We Fish" and "I Fish. ...
Trade Only | Boating News for... - http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/recentnews

Senator Nelson Files Bills To Curb Red Snapper Restrictions
WCTV
Bill Nelson unveiled two pieces of legislation today to stop the federal government from imposing restrictions on red snapper fishing off the state's ...
See all stories on this topic

Senator Nelson Files Bills To Curb Red Snapper Restrictions
Sen. Bill Nelson unveiled two pieces of legislation today to stop the federal government from imposing restrictions on red snapper fishing off the state's ...

Buck on the Bus — DC trip a time to remember
Destin Log
We have folks from Mexico Beach, Panama City, Lynn Haven and Destin. ... Chuck Guilford of Mexico Beach, formerly of Destin, says he's going to DC because ...

Red Snapper Management
Recently the National Marine Fisheries Service has taken a serious PR hit over the pending rules concerning the south Atlantic's red snapper fishery.

Fishermen Say Federal Policies Leave Them Idle
Capitol News Connection
Right now there is a temporary federal ban on catching red snapper off Florida's East coast. The same goes for grouper. In the Gulf of Mexico, ...
See all stories on this topic

Florida Senator Files Bills to Change Red Snapper Restrictions
WCTV
And he's heard several stories from fishermen who say the red snapper population is actually better than it's been in years. He says, "It's important that ...
See all stories on this topic

Keys fishermen get their voices heard
KeysNet
"Recent fishing bans on red snapper and shallow-water grouper enacted by [federal fishery managers] are devastating to our Florida fishing industry," she ...
See all stories on this topic

What a trip!!!

2010-02-26T17:41:00.001-06:00

Sorry for the delay in posting since the trip to DC. After a day to recover and a major PC disaster we are back up and will have plenty of pictures, videos, and links to post over the next couple of days.

Stay tuned and thanks to all that helped with the effort!

Anglers head to Washington to voice concerns

2010-02-21T09:43:00.001-06:00

By FRANK SARGEANT

Tribune correspondent

Published: February 21, 2010

America's anglers are mad ... and they're not going to take it anymore.

What is reputed to be the first "Fisherman's March on Washington, D.C." is slated for Wednesday. It's an effort by dozens of recreational and commercial fishing groups to direct the attention of the federal government toward what the anglers say is gross mismanagement of fisheries in federal waters.

JOIN THE RALLY – GET ON THE BUS!

2010-02-18T07:37:00.000-06:00

A national grassroots effort is currently underway to get coastal fishermen to the rally in DC on February 24th. If you or your group is organizing one of these bus trips to Washington, please let your bus company know that all buses entering DC are subject to a $50 permit fee. Visit http://dmv.dc.gov/info/trippermit.shtm for all required bus permit information.

DELAWARE

The Delaware Fisherman's Alliance has chartered a bus leaving from Old Inlet Bait and Tackle in Rehoboth Beach at 9 a.m. Call 302-227-7974 for more information.

FLORIDA

The Panama City Boatmen Association from NW Florida has received contributions from the Destin Charter Boat Association and several businesses from Mexico Beach, Panama City, and Destin for a bus leaving Panama City, FL the morning of 2-23 and returning after the RALLY IN DC. We have 50 seats available and could accommodate up to 80 on a larger bus. Except for food and sharing a hotel room outside the beltway the ride is free for those who contact us. Contact Bob Zales, II at ccgf@att.net for info.

MARYLAND

The Frederick and Atlantic Coastal chapters of the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association are currently working on an organized effort to get anglers DC for the rally. For details, contact MSSA Executive Director Dave Smith at MSSA at 410-255-5535.

NEW JERSEY

Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund, United Boatmen, Marine Trades Association of New Jersey and the RFA-NJ chapter are helping coordinate buses in and out of DC on February 24. Tickets are $32 per person and can be purchased by visiting the following port locations.

Bogan's Deep Sea Fishing Center - Brielle, NJ

Atlantic Highlands Marina - Atlantic Highlands, NJ

Wildwood Fishing Center - Wildwood, NJ

Sportsmen's Center - Bordentown, NJ
_____________________

The Chum Bucket Bait & Tackle shop at 381 Route 9 in West Creek has a bus leaving at 8 a.m. at a cost of $30 per person. Call 609 294 2500 or visit The Chum Bucket Bait & Tackle
_____________________

A bus will be leaving Long Key Marina at 104 Main Street in Waretown at 6:15 a.m. sharp at a cost of $30 per person. For information CLICK HERE or call 609-693-9444.

_____________________

Grumpys Tackle in Seaside, NJ is organizing a bus. The address is 906 NE Central Ave • Seaside Park, NJ 08752 • Contact Thomas Hansen (best time weekdays noon till 6 PM) • Phone 732-830-1900 • Fax 732-830-1978 Grumpys Tackle

NEW YORK

The Viking Fleet has organized a bus departing Viking Dock at 462 West Lake Drive on Montauk Harbor at 4 a.m. at a cost of $40 per person. The bus will also stop at 395 Country Road 39A in Southampton (Hampton Jitney Main Location) at 4:30 a.m. and at 460 Country Road 111, Manorville (King Kullen Parking Lot) at 5:30 a.m. Call the Viking Office at 631-668-5700, ext 0. Montauk Harbor, Montauk, New York or CLICK HERE FOR DETAILS/TICKETS

The United Boatmen of New York have organized a pair of buses leaving from Captree Basin in Captree State Park, and from Sheepshead Bay in Brooklyn. Tickets Cost $40 per person and can be purchased online through the United Boatmen of New York website.

NORTH CAROLINA

The North Carolina Fisheries Association (NCFA) is planning a bus trip to Washington DC to participate it the “FIX Magnuson” rally on February 24. NCFA currectly has two buses filled leaving from the Outer Banks area, with a third bus now being filled. One leaving from New Bern is already sold out and the second is currently being filled. There is also a bus from Ocean Isle that is already filled. The cost for a seat on the bus will be $60 with limited seating; the buses hold 47 people. Please call Peggy at NCFA at 252-633-2288 for information.

There are a few spots left on the first bus leaving from Hampstead. Please call Randy McKinley at:
Home 910-270-4518
Cell: 910-612-5260.

PENNSYLVANIA

Individual angler Phil Nichols has spearhead a Southeast PA effort around Montgomery County, with anglers one pick up in Pennsburg and a second in King of Prussia. Tickets are almost sold out as of February 1 – for details call 215-260-0952 or e-mail Phil at philjam@enter.net

VIRGINIA

The Virginia Beach Fishing Center is sponsoring a bus to go to Washington DC on February 24th. The bus will leave the Fishing Center at 7:00am Wednesday morning and will return some time that evening. We need your support. The bus is limited to 50 people. If you would like to go, there is a sign up sheet at the Fishing Center. Hope to see everyone there

As per the US Capitol police, “there is no parking available for private automobiles, buses, or other vehicles on Capitol Grounds. Buses may utilize Garfield Circle, at the intersection of First Street and Maryland Avenue, S.W., and Union Station, at 50 Massachusetts Avenue, N.E., to drop off passengers.” Bus companies and bus drivers can contact Union Station authorities for drop-off and parking information at 202-898-1950. Click here to download additional bus parking information for the DC area.

Please keep an eye on this page for additional bus pick-up locations as they are made available.

Fishermen say federal law kills jobs

2010-02-18T07:30:00.000-06:00

By JAY LINDSAY - Associated Press Writer

BOSTON -- Fishermen from around the country are planning to pack the steps in front of the U.S. Capitol this month to demand changes to a federal fisheries law they say is killing jobs and eroding fishing communities.

Organizers of the "United We Fish" rally expect up to 3,000 people at the Feb. 24 protest, including a bipartisan roster of congressmen and fishermen from as far away as Alaska.

The rally comes as various issues roil the fishing business, including questions about uneven law enforcement, restrictions on key recreational stocks and a switch to a new system of regulating Northeast fishermen.

The man behind the curtain.

2010-02-12T14:58:00.003-06:00

What a long strange journey it has been to understand what is driving the decision making process with regards to marine fisheries management. The push for "catch shares" and "marine spatial planning" by NOAA is a necessary step in the implementation of an agenda. The puzzle was who's agenda. If your curious take a close look at the videos in the link below. Look also at the website where they were hosted. Lastly take a look at the website's partners.

http://www.ecosystemmarketplace.com/pages/dynamic/article.page.php?page_id=7444&section=news_articles&eod=1

Wild On Fishing

2010-02-08T17:24:00.001-06:00

Wild connection Radical preservationist group could have hand in management plan

Comment Email Print Share

By Robert Montgomery
ESPNOutdoors.com

Whether you're attending a magic show in Las Vegas or dealing with government, it's always a good idea to "watch the other hand" if you really want to know what's going on. Both magicians and politicians are masters of deception and misdirection.

That sad fact of life has become abundantly clear to the recreational fishing community, as its advocates intensify their efforts to keep public waters open and accessible to anglers. And as they push, they need anglers all across America to push with them.

This is necessary because, as ESPN previously reported, environmental/preservationist groups are pressuring Obama to by-pass Congressional oversight and act unilaterally in approving a management strategy for our oceans, coastal waters, and Great Lakes.

This comes at a time when the recreational fishing community had been led to believe that a public and transparent process would follow the recommendations of his Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and decisions would not be made without careful deliberation.

Because of administration ties to these groups and support for their agendas, issuance of an Executive Order almost certainly would mean closure of public waters to recreational fishing under the guise of a "spatial planning" strategy.

It also would mean that the administration successfully deceived the angling community that a fair and open process would be used to develop a management plan.

To speak out against issuance of an Executive Order, go to the Keep America Fishing web site and send a letter to Obama, your elected officials, and the task force.

"Clearly the environmental community is making a push on this," said Gordon Robertson of the American Sportfishing Association. "We can't let just their voices be heard. We must make them listen to the recreational fishing community as well."

In response to this concern, Andrew Winer, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told angling advocates, "I want to assure all of you that the rumor remains incorrect and that there is no plan to issue an Executive Order before the public comment period is closed."

The big problem with that is deadline for public comments on the task force's management framework proposal is Feb. 12.

"If an Executive Order were to be issued — and we hope that it won't be — it shouldn't be for months," said Gary Kania of the Congressional Sportsmen Foundation. "A deliberative process is needed before decisions are made, with consideration given for all of the comments that have been made.

"We're meeting with the members of the Congressional Sportsmen Caucus to raise this issue. Enhancing Congressional oversight is what's needed. Let's get them involved in something of this scale."

And while anglers seem to have been deceived about the fairness of the process, they have been misdirected as well. While they have focused their energies solely on dealing with the task force, a federal agency has been conspiring with a low-profile, but radical preservationist group, The WILD Foundation, to create a "marine wilderness" management plan that very well could interconnect with the task force.

WILD's objective: "We believe that at least half of the Earth's surface (land and water) needs to be permanently protected in an essentially wild condition, in a manner that keeps all of life interconnected."

Its partner: The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

If WILD has its way, anglers would be denied access by motorized boats to half of the nation's oceans, coastal waters, and Great Lakes, with the way opened via the task force for similar limitations on inland waters.

"You could have to paddle for two miles to fish in a marine wilderness area," Robertson said.

Here's what WILD says on its web site:

"WILD has teamed up with its U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) colleagues to work closely in seeking public input, with WILD spearheading the non-governmental community through the MWC (Marine Wilderness Collaborative, and the USFWS driving government agency participation through the Intergovernmental Working Group on Marine Wilderness."

The recreational fishing community didn't learn of this partnership until early February, although WILD posted information regarding the project on its web site on Dec. 18.

"It's standard procedure for the Fish and Wildlife Service to reach out to non-governmental organizations for partnerships," Kania said. "But this is a pretty radical agenda that the WILD Foundation is proposing.

"What we want to know now from Fish and Wildlife is how long we have to comment on this."

In trying to keep anglers out of vast areas, what WILD and other groups fail to grasp is "how conservation works," Robertson said. "It's paid for by the people most interested in it. If they can't be involved, they'll be less interested, and the end game would be much less investment in fisheries management."

Through license fees and excise taxes on fishing equipment, anglers contribute millions of dollars annually for fisheries research and habitat improvements, as well as coastal wetlands planning and restoration. Additionally, they assist resource agencies in numerous ways, including data collection to determine status and management strategies for sport species.

Denying access to the nation's 60 million anglers not only would collapse this life-support system for our fisheries, it would devastate the economies of communities dependent on recreational fishing. Just as importantly, it would do irreparable harm to a family-oriented pastime that keeps us in touch with and appreciative of the natural world.

As a Senior Writer for ESPN/BASS Publications, Robert Montgomery has written about conservation, environment, and access issues for more than two decades.

Ocean Zoning?

2010-02-08T14:55:00.002-06:00

Feds plan ocean zoning, replacing 'open seas'

By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer

Well below the low-water line for news, the White House is moving to create a system for managing the space — surface and depth — of federal waters that amounts to ocean zoning and is known as "marine spatial planning."

If adopted by Congress and imposed, the new approach would force radical alteration of the historic American understanding of the "open seas" — by purpose, they would no longer be open and instead zoned for pre- and proscribed uses.

Catch Shares Cram Down

2010-02-08T08:12:00.006-06:00

Everyone needs to read this and pass it on to everyone you know. This is an excellent story. The current NOAA FY2011 Budget has a request for money and jobs to push catch shares.

PROGRAM CHANGES FOR FY 2011: (page 181 NOAA budget estimates FY 2001)

National Catch Share Program (+10 Full Time Employees and +$36,600,000): NOAA requests an increase of 10 FTE and $36,600,000 for a total of $54,002,000 and 17 FTE, to accelerate and enhance implementation of a National Catch Share Program. Rebuilding our Nation’s fisheries is essential to preserving the livelihood of fishermen, the vibrancy of our coastal communities, a sustainable supply of healthy seafood, and restoring ocean ecosystems to a healthy state. Catch share programs give fishermen a stake in the benefits of a well-managed fishery, and therefore greater incentive to ensure effective management.

Read the entire NOAA Budget Estimate

Action Alert

2010-02-06T17:18:00.001-06:00

New National Policy May Close Marine and Fresh Waters to Fishing Sooner Than You Think

Urge the President to not fast track a process that could have major effects on recreational fishing

2010-02-04T12:04:00.001-06:00

To all concerned:

Things are not going well for the fishermen at this Gulf Council meeting I am attending now in Mobile. The Science & Statiscal Committee has recommended that the Annual Catch Limit be increased by 38% for 2010, which should increase our season from 75 days to 125. They are talking about decreasing the season in 2010 due to going over the Annual Catch Limit in 2009. That would seem fair on the surface, but in 2009, we not only continued to rebuild the fishery at the rate we fished, but we overcame the status of 'undergoing overfishing', so we are rebuilding the fishery faster than expected.

There is a lot more going on, but it all amounts to NMFS taking more and more away from the recreational fishing industry with no real data to prove that it is necessary.

After asking our people to work with them to get support in our industry for complying with electronic logbooks so they could have more accurate real-time data, which we did, that pilot program is to be stricken from the budget in 2011. No discussion or warning about it... just taking the funding away. Dr. Crabtree said the next day in the meeting, but not when it was brought up in public comment, that it was removed because it was a Congressional earmark. He said that if that program is funded again, it will go back into the budget. That leaves the responsiblityi to the fishing industry to request this funding from legislators again in order for NMFS to get their data correct.

On the other hand, Catch Shares is listed as having an increased budget. The Catch Shares program will reduce the for-hire fleet and cause recreational fishing by private anglers to be available at a much higher cost to the angler. In the budget request listed on page 181, it says, "NOAA requests an increase of 10FTE and $36,000,000 for a total of $54,0002,000 and 17 FTE, to accelerate and enhance implementation of a National Catch Share Program."

Those of us who have listened to the workshop presentations and attended meetings and conference calls and read literature on this program know it will severely impact our industry and tourism. It will even negatively impact the opportunities we have to offer our great fishing to businesses that are looking for amenities that would be available for their employees as they move into Florida's coastal communities.

In the public comment period at this meeting, there was a substantial majority of participants that spoke against a potential Catch Shares Policy being enacted in the Gulf region. Those who have read the information realize it is not a policy in the best interest of anglers, businesses, and tourism. You can read the NOAA Draft Catch Shares Policy online at www.gulfcouncil.org. You can read a very informative study by Dr. Daniel Bromley regarding the negative impacts of this policy in Fisheries, Vol 34, No. 6, Perspective: Socioeconomics Abdicating Responsibility, the Deceits of Fisheries Policy.

Bill Teehan from Florida requested that information be provided by the Gulf Council to the FWC before the April meeting so they can make a determination of whether Florida be consistent in State waters with the proposed Federal regulations. The next FWC meeting is scheduled in Appalachicola February 17-18, for those who want to address this issue with them.

Consideration is being made to look at an alternative plan to split the Amberjack season to be scheduled before and after the Red Snapper season to give anglers a preferred species to catch for a longer period of time.

I am thankful we will have the opportunity in Washington, DC on Feb. 24th to bring this issue into the National spotlight with people from New England to the Keys to Texas in the Gulf and even from the Pacific Coast and Alaska.

We need flexibility in the Magnuson NOW, but we also need people in our fishery management leadership who are including the mandates of National Standard 8 in their regulatory actions, considering the social and economic impacts on the communities and individual stakeholders in the fishery.

Thank you one and all for your support of this industry.

United We Fish!

2010-02-03T18:36:00.002-06:00

If you have not sent your comments in to the Gulf Council regarding Sector Separation and Catch Shares, please do so tonight or early in the morning. They will be voting on them tomorrow. Sector separation is an attempt to split the recreational sector between for-hire and private anglers. We all fish for recreation...United We Fish! Catch shares will only help fishery managers' jobs get easier, not give us more fish. It will cause the price of fishing to go up substantially. The environmental groups are pushing hard for this policy in the U.S.

See how to vote below...

United We Fish!

Now is the time to sound off loud and clear. If you want something, you should be prepared to fight for it.

Today, you can take two specific actions.
First, we have a concern that the Gulf Council is not hearing the 6 million Gulf recreational anglers when we say NO SECTOR SEPARATION. A recreational angler should have the right to chose how they fish, be it a private boat, a hired boat with a licensed captain or from shore.
There is a small group of charter boat captains and owners who think they are entitled to all the fish that their recreational angler paying customers caught. This group is being backed by the Environmental Defense Fund in order to bring catch shares to the recreational fishery. They must be stopped.

Send a short email to the Council TODAY (they will vote tomorrow morning on moving forward with this unconstitutional concept). Email to Gulfcouncil@gulfcouncil.org

Here is all you need to say (OK to put more in if you like):

Dear Gulf Council-

My name is___________. I am a (recreational angler, charter captain or commercial fisherman) and I am OPPOSED to any idea that gives a boat captain the right to MY ACCESS to the fishery.
Again, I OPPOSE SECTOR SEPARATION. I also OPPOSE any concept of recreational catch shares.

Thank you,

Your Name

Second, there is a petition online that you should sign. The petition is a concerted effort lead by the Central Florida Offshore Anglers, the Halifax Sportfishing Club, the Sebastian Inlet Sportfishing Association and the Florida Sport Fishing Association. It is about the South Atlantic Red Snapper closure.
Go to http://www.deep-blue-sea.org:8080/examples/servlet/petition

2010 red snapper season will be the shortest ever

2010-02-03T09:35:00.000-06:00

MOBILE, Ala. -- In December, the National Marine Fisheries Service official in charge of red snapper regulations warned that, despite a seemingly robust population, the 2010 season may be shortened because recreational anglers exceeded their quota by 1.7 million pounds in 2009.

Roy Crabtree's warning proved prophetic Tuesday, during the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Mobile. The Reef Fish Management Committee voted to increase the total allowable catch to 6.945 million pounds, but cut the season to between 51 and 60 days -- making for the shortest snapper season ever.

Read more.

Bay County Approves Fisheries Resolution

2010-02-03T09:17:00.004-06:00

Local anglers claim the region's economy has taken a hit because the National Marine Fisheries Service is using flawed data in making stock assessments.

They believe decisions to close red snapper and amberjack seasons last year were based on an inadequate collection process.

Tuesday, commissioners passed a resolution urging the fisheries service to re-examine the process and relax some regulations.

Bay County commissioner Mike Thomas said, "The restrictions are so tight. People know we need restrictions to take care of that but we just want to make sure that the information that they're using to make their decisions is appropriate, gathered and used properly."

The resolution will be sent to the Florida congressional delegation.

Link.

Salt Water Fishing in Florida By the Numbers

2010-02-01T09:14:00.002-06:00

The numbers according to the Recreational Fishing Alliance:

• Ripple effect -- $5,123,992,575
• Salaries wages and business earnings -- $1,568,389,759
• Federal Tax Revenue -- $378,902,841
• State and Local Tax Revenue -- $311,265,319
• Jobs -- 51,588
Each saltwater sports fishing trip on Florida's Water is valued at an average of $350.00 Dollars

James Donofrio
Executive Director
RFA (Recreational Fishing Alliance)
c-202-236-4867
o-888-JOIN-RFA

Bay County Commission to Vote on Fishery Resolution

2010-02-01T08:16:00.003-06:00

Bay County commissioners will approve or reject a resolution urging Florida's congressional delegation to push for funding to improve the National Marine Fisheries' data collection process.

The money would be earmarked for a new, full-blown stock assessment of each Gulf Coast species managed by the fisheries.

Local anglers have argued the National Marine Fisheries data process is flawed and it is having a negative effect on coastal communities.

Fishermen say the closure of red snapper and amberjack seasons last year hurt the local economy.

The commission will take up that resolution during its regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.

Link

For Immediate Release

2010-01-29T17:52:00.004-06:00

WASHINGTON –U.S. Senator George LeMieux (R-FL) today urged his colleagues to amend federal law to allow for more flexible and science-based timelines for fisheries closures in an effort to reduce the negative economic impacts felt by the recreational fishing industry. The effort that Senator LeMieux publicly endorsed on Thursday requires fisheries rebuilding to be completed on a timeline that allows fish stocks to recover without unnecessarily harming the livelihood of recreational fishermen and the fishing industry in general.

“Fishing communities are losing millions of dollars each year because of rigid laws requiring the closure of entire fisheries for extended periods of time – regardless of whether the fish stock has recovered,” LeMieux said. “Basing closure decisions on sound science and environmental conditions will ensure that fisheries are rebuilt in a way that helps to keep fishing communities economically viable, without compromising the goal of protecting fish stocks.”

Senate bill 1255, the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act authored by Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY), will amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act to allow fishery management plan managers to specify a time period for rebuilding fisheries that is both practical and efficient. The bill maintains the requirement that overfishing be ended within one year but it gives regulators the option of allowing fishing for strong species in a fishery that is currently barred to protect the weakest stock.

BACKGROUND:
Summary of S.1225

Amends the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to allow fishery management plans the flexibility to specify a time period for rebuilding the fishery that is as short as practicable.
Maintains the requirement that overfishing be ended within one year.

Allows exceptions to the requirement that fisheries be rebuilt in ten years based on the biology of the stock of fish or other environmental conditions.

Gives regulators the option of allowing fishing for strong species in a fishery that is now barred to protect the weakest stock.

Allows exemptions to the requirement that fisheries be rebuilt in ten years when the rebuilding program cannot be effective only by limiting fishing activities or when such exemptions will minimize the economic impacts on fishing communities.

Obama admin proposes major spending for fishery cap-and-trade plan

2010-01-29T14:23:00.002-06:00

New York Times

By ALLISON WINTER, Greenwire

Published: May 11, 200

The Obama administration is proposing significant new spending on a proposed cap-and-trade regulatory scheme for fisheries -- a major overhaul in fishery management and a bid to halt the decline of wild fish stocks.

In its fiscal 2010 budget request, the administration is asking for $18.6 million for "catch-share programs."

Catching Your Share

2010-01-28T17:08:00.001-06:00

pcbdaily.com

January 25, 2010

Have you ever been deep sea fishing? Until last summer, I hadn’t. Which is rather surprising, since I grew up here on the Gulf Coast and spent most of my impressionable days on the deck of one boat or another. It was a warm day in late May. The first few catches were decent B-liners (Vermillion Snapper). The next week Red Snapper season opened and I’m still not sure who was more hooked, me or the fish. The fight at the bottom of the line made dinner taste that much better. I’m not alone. Offshore fishing is big business.

Read more.

North West Florida League Of Cities Fishery Resolution

2010-01-25T15:47:00.003-06:00

A Call To Action

Bob Jones Commentary

2010-01-23T10:47:00.002-06:00

The frustration toward government manifested itself yesterday in Massachusetts and sent a message we have pushed for a long, long time. There wasn't one simple issue that swept the rug clean, and it wasn't necessarily democrat versus republican because Senator Brown never used republican on his literature or on his bus driven around the state. He didn’t even mention republican in his acceptance speech that I could tell. He spoke to the independents and it was the independent voters who elected him a US Senator. The voters don’t like many of the administration's policies ranging from health reform to global warming to handling of terrorists and maybe even the fishing mess in Massachusetts.

There were thousands of fishermen and fishing businesses totally disenchanted with what NOAA/NMFS has done to them for several decades. There have been outrageous, almost punitive actions by NOAA/NMFS and the New England Fishery Management Council on scallops in particular and minimal fishing days and fewer opportunities in general. I won't make their arguments; I'll leave that to the New Englanders.

In our world here in Florida we are very frustrated with government because of the actions taken against us by NOAA/NMFS, especially in the current red snapper/grouper controversy. The issue boiled down to a "them vs. us" and they pulled out all stops to make sure “they” won when they banned red snapper fishing. They might feel they taught the fishermen a lesson through heavy-handed fish politics but all they did was strengthen our resolve. The sad part of this situation is we have always called for honest science and nothing more. We have shown the flaws in the science NMFS and the South Atlantic Council used to force their will on us. When we hired Dr. Frank Hester, a world-class certified marine scientist, he was called a charlatan by a NOAA/NMFS scientist for questioning NMFS computer models, assumptions and lack of data in the 1940’s on which they made important stock assessment decisions.

These thoughts ran through my mind last night as I was trying to sleep and I wanted to share them with you because we have known each other so long. I mentioned to you earlier that NOAA/NMFS actions chased me from the Democratic Party to the Independent Party. Maybe the frustrations I had is portend of things to come.

What will it take to get Congress interested in what the agency has done to us, is currently doing to us and wants to do to us in the future? When will the agency let us see through the dark glass barricade?

There is a big story here but we can’t seem to get traction because of the power of the agencies that need the oversight.

Sincerely yours,

Bob Jones
Southeastern Fisheries Association Inc

Thanks U.S. Senator LeMieux

2010-01-23T10:25:00.000-06:00

ESPN - RFA pushes for flexibility bill

2010-01-23T08:26:00.001-06:00

Action hoped to aid recreational anglers, those dependent on fishing for livelihood

While some in the fishing industry advocate a more measured and diplomatic approach to a federal management strategy that is closing ocean fisheries to both sports anglers and commercials, the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is coming out with both guns blazing.

"Management has been a mix of policy based on emotions and agendas based on politics, with a little science," said Jim Donofrio, RFA's executive director. "This needs to be fixed."

National Association of Charterboat Operators Endorsement

2010-01-23T08:22:00.000-06:00

Dear NACO Member,

Your board voted at the annual meeting to fully support the march on Washington February 24, 2010. Below is information related to this march and a place to sign a petition supporting the flexibility. Please join with us to tell Congress they have to make changes NOW.

As we are sure you are well aware, the Magnuson Stevens Act and subsequent NMFS restrictions have had a crippling impact on both the recreational and commercial fishing industries and are in dire need of revision. On February 24, 2010, a united gathering of recreational and commercial fishermen and fishermen's associations-United We Fish- is scheduled on the steps of the Capitol building in Washington DC, to rally support for an amendment to the Magnuson/Stevens legislation through the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009.

We realize it's a long way to DC, but it is vital to America's fishing industry that this Act gets passed and that our legislators know how much support is behind it. Please consider helping to make this event more widely known by promoting it to your members and the wider public and help ensure the future of recreational fishing for current and future generations. For more information, please visit:

http://unitedwefish.blogspot.com/

Please consider writing and encouraging members to write to their Congressional representatives in support of the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act. It is in need of support in both the House and the Senate. They can also sign this petition that will be presented to Congressmen and women at the rally on Feb 24th : http://fs16.formsite.com/FixMagnusonNow/form793561462/

Please pass this information on to other people and groups who will be affected by this legislation.

Keeping You Informed
National Association of Charterboat Operators

Update On DC March

2010-01-22T18:28:00.001-06:00

Here is the summary from the conference call we had on Wed. Sorry for the delay. For those who have web sites where the United We Fish is listed I will have more info you about the issue of UWF being trademarked and what to list on your site. The owner is being cooperative about this and we will be able to continue using UWF as none of us are attempting to profit from it's use.

Information on bus parking will be provide shortly as we are waiting on info from Jim Donofrio. Info on the issues we are supporting and pushing will also be provided soon.

Bob

MEMORANDUM

TO: Jeff Deem, Jim Hull, Mitch Roffer, Dennis O’Hern, Maggie Raymond, Bob Jones, Jim Bussey, Bob Zales, Bob Spaeth, Rusty Hudson, Adam Nowalsky, Dave Heil, Pam Anderson, Nils Stolpe, Greg DiDomenico, Dave Smith, Tony Bogan, Capt. Mark Brown, Ray Bogan,, Jeff Reichle,Wes Covington

FROM: Jim Donofrio

RE: March on DC Organizers Conference Call (Organizers)

DATE: January 21, 2010

Setup – Jim Donofrio has been in contact with CSI, a DC based event coordinating firm. Through this group, an 18’ x 26’ stage, 20 chairs, sound system, and diesel generator has been rented for the rally. CSI will begin setup at approximately 8am and should have it completed by 11am. Capitol Hill Police indicated that the Area 1, the original rally location, is being reseeded and this will require the location of the rally be moved to Area 2, Upper Senate Park. This location is on the west side of the US Capitol. Jim is also working with CSI to have a banner made for use during the rally. Total cost is $11,750.35. (A separate request has been emailed to all Organizers to help defray the cost of the system.)

Banners/Flags -- As indicated by Jim Donofrio, a large banner will made for the rally with the slogan, United We Fish™. RFA has a limited agreement with the owner of United We Fish™. to use the slogan for this one time “for the purpose of marketing and promoting” the rally in DC on 2/24/2010. We ask that Organizers pass along to groups that United We Fish™ is trademarked by another party, and that the slogan not be used on any shirts, signs, stickers, or other tangible items without first contacting that party.

Jim Donofrio has purchased 250 ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ Gadsden Flags which he will hand out at the rally. The Capitol Hill Police have very specific rules about signs. All supports for signs must not exceed three quarters (¾) of an inch at their largest point, have dull ends, and made entirely of wood. There can be no nails, screws, or bolt-type fastening devices protruding from the wooden supports. These items may not be used to offer any item for sale, to solicit contributions or contain any form of advertising.

Any display of signs, banners, placards, and related items is strictly prohibited inside all Capitol Buildings so signs must be taken care of proper if you intend to meet with members of Congress. Jim Donofrio suggested that any signs have their city and state listed so legislators can identify that their constituents are represented in the crowd.

Buses – For those attending that will be arriving by bus, it will be necessary to direct the buses to let you off at Union Station. As for parking, Jim will contact a local bus company to inquire about offsite parking and get back to everyone. Current estimates indicate that at least 12 buses are confirmed coming from the New Jersey New York area with additional buses expected to come from Virginia and Maryland. Union Station is a few blocks to the northwest of the US Capitol and the rally area.

The following link is to a map of the area, http://www.uscapitolpolice.gov/special_events/map.pdf The rally will take place at Area 2 (Upper Senate Park) on the map. We are informed that bathrooms are close to this area.

Letters of Invitations – Several legislators have already confirmed their attendance at the rally. Senators Schumer and Lemieux will be on stage at 12pm but will need to leave around 1pm for a Leadership Lunch. Representative Pallone, sponsor of HR 1584, will also attend. The RFA is contacting several other members of congress about attending through written invitations. There are 25 cosponsors of the House bill, 7 are from Florida. The complete list can be viewed at the following list, http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d111:1:./temp/~bdtSgq:@@@P|/bss/111search.html/ Jim Donofrio suggested that organizers review the list of cosponsors and reach out to those in their respective states. Letters should go out as soon as possible and be followed up with phone calls to the member’s scheduler.

Master of Ceremony -- Jim Donofrio suggested that Ray Bogan be designated as the emcee for the rally. Many of the organizers have worked with Ray through ICCAT, the regional councils and other fishery management forums. Ray’s family has a tremendous history in the party boat fishery and he is a practicing attorney with a great deal of experience in fisheries and maritime law. Those who have heard Ray debate fisheries issues know that he is extremely articulate and knowledgeable about fishing and our industry.

Message -- Over the coming weeks, a one page briefing paper will be distributed to Organizers. The paper will have a simple, concise message that addresses the major issues that are impacting our sport and industry. Regardless of the region or fishery, nearly all of our problems are linked to Magnuson and the need for better science. It is extremely important to have a unified, simple message when speaking to the media leading up to, during and after the rally. Pew holds significant control over the media so it will be important that we choose our words carefully or they will be used against us to minimize the importance of the rally. Issues can be discussed in greater detail with members of Congress or staff.

Bob Jones indicated that they already have talking points on the issue and may be used as a starting point. These will be circulated to those on the call. Once finalized, these bullets should also be circulated to rally attendees in advance of the rally and passed along to those coming by bus. It will be important for Organizers to stress to their groups and attendees the importance of staying on message (“more science, less arbitrary deadlines”)

Meetings – It is important to reach out members of Congress from your district or state that are not supporting the Flexibility or Red Snapper bills and try to schedule meetings around the rally as soon as possible.

Coordination – Email addresses and cell phone numbers will be distributed to everyone on the call. Nils Stolpe, Jim Hutchinson and Capt. Adam Nowalsky will spearhead a simple website initiative for the event with media & outreach information, as well as specifics for those planning to attend. United We Fish™ Network will forward all visitors to the www.unitedwefish.com website directly to the web address that we provide, in exchange websites of Organizers using the United We Fish™ must direct link back to www.UnitedWeNetwork.com, accompanied by text to read "United We Fish™ trademark is property of United We Network™” Stolpe/Hutchinson/Nowalsky will work out kinks with web address to ensure seamless process.

Capt. Bob Zales, II
bobzales@att.net
bus. ph 850-763-7249
fax 850-763-3558

"The charm of fishing is that, it is the pursuit of
what is elusive, but attainable; a perpetual
series of occasions for hope."

quote on a wall of a ladies clothing store in Islamorada, FL.

Snowe Blasts NOAA for Law Enforcement Miss Management

2010-01-21T13:45:00.002-06:00

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe, Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, today blasted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the egregious mismanagement by the Office of Law Enforcement for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). According to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce Inspector General, there are systemic nationwide issues adversely affecting NOAA’s ability to regulate the fishing industry. In addition, the report found that these same issues have “contributed significantly to a…dysfunctional relationship between NOAA and the fishing industry – particularly in the northeast.”

“I am appalled at the stunning breadth and depth of the Inspector General’s findings of gross mismanagement within all levels of NOAA’s law enforcement community,” said Senator Snowe. “That the Agency would allow its agents to continue running roughshod over hardworking fishermen, employing a law enforcement force consisting of 90 percent criminal investigators when the vast majority of its cases are civil in nature is by all accounts a travesty.”

“At her confirmation hearing before the Commerce Committee, Dr. Lubchenco pledged to help ‘rebuild the climate of trust’ between the National Marine Fisheries Service and our fishing communities. I understand she is directing her agency to take steps to rectify these deep flaws in its enforcement practice. I pledge to do all in my power, including pursuing legislative action, to ensure that our fishermen are treated fairly while necessary regulatory enforcement practices are carried out.”

NOAA OIG_1_21_10

Sound Science For Fisheries Management

2010-01-18T17:53:00.000-06:00

By GEORGE LEMIEUX

WASHINGTON

The recent decisions to close Florida fisheries to recreational fishing fishermen are disappointing and threaten the livelihood of a great number ofFloridians. Besides the lack of sound science on which to base these decisions, closures of the South Atlantic grouper and red snapper fishery in January and the Gulf of Mexico grouper fishery in February come during
Florida's peak recreational fishing and tourism months.

These closures will add to the problems of already difficult economic times, not only for fishermen, but for those local business owners and families who depend on the recreational fishing industry and connected services for their livelihoods.

Recreational fishing is an important part of Florida's economy and a way of life for many Floridians. Recreational saltwater fishing in Florida has an economic impact exceeding $5.3 billion annually and supports more than 54,000 jobs. I understand the necessity of making tough choices in order to maintain the fishery for the benefit of future generations, but drastic
measures, such as fishery-wide closures, should be based on sound science.

The fish stock monitoring systems that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) uses to base its management decisions is antiquated. For example, one component of the monitoring system gathers data through phone calls to coastal area households. A small number of surveyors are tasked with randomly calling households hoping to find active fishermen to poll. Not only does this sampling methodology fall short of covering more than a limited number of recreational fishermen, it relies primarily on fisherman recall and a willingness to share valid data.

n 2005, Congress convened a special hearing to examine the data collection process and charged the National Research Council (NRC) with conducting an in-depth analysis of the data collection methods used by NMFS. After much review their conclusion was not surprising. The NRC report called the process "fatally flawed," saying the monitoring systems had "serious flaws in design or implementation" and the "collections methods of recreational fishing surveys do not provide adequate data for management and policy decisions." That report was released five years ago and the data collection system remains the same today.

We need to improve the outdated systems currently used to manage our fisheries. Through more modern data collection, state and federal fishery managers will have access to the resources necessary to support sciencebased and proactive fisheries management decisions for the fisheries off Florida's coasts. Every Floridian wants our fisheries to be managed responsibly to ensure their continued vitality, but we also want the science behind these tough choices to be modern, consistent and sound.

George LeMieux is a Republican U.S. Senator from Florida.

Fishermen Talk to Senator

2010-01-13T10:02:00.001-06:00

LeMieux speaks with fishermen about fishery management

2010-01-13T09:00:00.001-06:00

DANIEL CARSON / News Herald Writer

PANAMA CITY — Government regulations imposed on recreational fishing for red snapper, amberjack and other Gulf of Mexico fish have decimated the region’s charter boat industry, area fishermen told Sen. George LeMieux, R-Florida, Tuesday during his Bay County visit.

Thanks!

2010-01-11T16:58:00.003-06:00

We can't thank the folks that are helping to fight this battle enough. As you can see from our new banner again ordinary people are doing extraordinary things to protect and preserve our coastal communities and their fishing heritage.

Thanks to Rick Prentice with Image Link for our new page header!

NMFS Meeting Panama City Beach

2010-01-11T10:20:00.002-06:00

National Marine Fisheries Service Meeting
Thursday January 14 2010
Panama City Beach
Boardwalk Beach Resort
6:00 pm

Please attend this meeting and forward this information to all parties interested in protecting their coastal communities from the devastating impact of overly restrictive fishing regulations by the federal government.

A massive show of public support for the following issues is badly needed:

Say no to "catch shares"! The radical environmentalists are pushing for adoption.
Say no to " sector seperation"! The radical enviromentalists are pushing for adoption.
Say no to vessel monitoring systems! The radical enviromentalists are pushing for adoption
Say no to fish traps in the Gulf!
Say yes to better data for better management!
Say yes to passage of the Pallone bill HR-1584 and the Shumer bill s-1255
Tell your story about how more restrictions are not needed and economically devastating. "Standard 8" requires the economic impact of regulations to be considered.

We need a huge crowd at this meeting.

March on Washington Press Release

2010-01-10T09:23:00.004-06:00

Here is something you can do today to help fight back! Click on the link below to send a letter of support to the legislators standing up for you. Please forward this to all your contacts.

Fix Magnuson Now!

Press Release 1-9-10

Rationalization Of Crab Stocks In Alaska

2010-01-07T14:11:00.002-06:00

FISHERMEN TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON

2010-01-02T10:49:00.001-06:00

"United We Fish" To Seek Congressional Support On February 24

December 16, 2009 - In a historic show of solidarity, recreational and commercial fishermen will gather together on the steps of the Capitol on February 24, 2010 from noon until 3 p.m. in an organized demonstration against the unintended negative impacts of the Magnuson Stevens Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the federal fisheries law which was revised in January of 2007. Coordinating the march under the flag of United We Fish, rally organizers are hoping to see a large show of force in defense of coastal communities.

"The closures keep coming and it's good to see the collective fishing communities and industries, both recreational and commercial, calling for scientific based Magnuson reform," said Jim Donofrio, Executive Director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA). "We are all in this together." Donofrio cited recent closures of amberjack, black sea bass and red snapper fisheries as examples of what he calls a "broken" federal fisheries law.

The groups organized through United We Fish are hoping to prove to legislators just how many American anglers and business owners are truly being impacted by the overly restrictive management requirements created by MSA based on non scientific arbitrary deadlines. According to Bob Zales of the Conservation Cooperative of Gulf Fishermen (CCGF), the time-specific deadlines mandated by MSA coupled with flawed data collection methods are forcing anglers off the water. "We fully support real science based management and the conservation of our marine resources while also being able to sustain recreational and commercial fishing activities, providing locally caught seafood, sustaining small family businesses, and supporting our coastal communities."

This effort is being coordinated by many organizations and individuals including but not limited to the RFA, CCGF, SSFFF, United Boatmen of New York, United Boatmen of New Jersey, New York Sportfishing Federation, Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association and the Fishing Rights Alliance. "Some people have asked 'why, it's winter'," said Donofrio who said he's gotten the required permits and expects a large crowd in DC on February 24th, regardless of weather. "We can't let seasons stop the momentum, and if we wait any longer none of us will be fishing. Many members of Congress will be standing shoulder to shoulder with us," Donofrio said.

Nils Stolpe, a consultant to the commercial fishing industry and columnist for SavingSeafood.org said that over the past three decades since the original Magnuson Act was established, fishermen have been gradually phased out of the fisheries management process, regardless of sector. "The scientists have been put in charge, and as the list of closures and restrictions up above painfully demonstrates, the Act has been turned into a weapon that is now being used against fishermen and fishing communities."

U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) first introduced the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2008 in the 110th Congress to incorporate "limited flexibility" into federal fisheries management. More than 100 fishing groups and industry members from around the country pledged their support for the legislation and the bill's 19 bipartisan coastal cosponsors, but the bill languished during the volatile economic climate in advance of the presidential elections in November of 2008.

Realizing that fisheries closures would continue without congressional intervention, in March of this year, Rep. Pallone and fellow Representatives John Adler (D-NJ), Henry Brown, Jr. (R-SC), Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL), Barney Frank (D-MA), Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R-NC), Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), Frank LoBiondo (D-NJ), Mike McIntyre (D-NC), Michael Michaud (D-ME), Solomon Ortiz (D-TX) and John Tierney (D-MA), reintroduced the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009 (HR 1584). Twenty-five total co-sponsors have since pledged support to date including Rob Andrews (D-NJ), Timothy Bishop (D-NY), Allen Boyd (D-FL), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Peter King (R-NY), Rob Wittman (R-VA), Jo Bonner (R-AL), John Mica (R-FL), Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH), Clifford Stearns (R-FL), Donna Christensen (D-VI), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), and Ander Crenshaw (R-FL).

Following a letter-writing campaign by the RFA-NY and members of the New York Sportfishing Federation, senior Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York announced his Senate version of the bill (S.1255). Currently, the Senate bill to correct the flaws in MSA has no co-sponsors, which is something United We Fish organizers are hoping will change in February.

"New York's Senator Schumer is as concerned about his fishing constituents as he is about the fish, just as Congressmen Pallone, Frank, Jones, LoBiondo, Kennedy, Adler and others in the House of Representatives are," said Stolpe. "Hence they have formed the nucleus of a growing movement in Congress that, in spite of the editorial opinion of the New York Times and the expenditure of many millions of dollars by the Pew Charitable Trusts, is aimed at preserving recreational and commercial fishing, the lifestyles of millions of fishermen, and the tens of thousands of businesses and hundreds of fishing communities that they support," Stolpe added.

Organizers from within the recreational fishing sector are hoping to get commitment from all user groups and across varied state and regional boundaries. "This is much bigger than any one state issue or individual grievance," said RFA's Managing Director Jim Hutchinson, Jr. "Whether it's our restrictive fluke fishery in New York, the arbitrary closure of state waters for our anglers in California, or the shutdown of red snapper and amberjack down south, our community has been divided by preservationist tactics for too long. It's time to unite the clans in defense of our coastal heritage and traditions," Hutchinson said.

"We need to let Congress and NOAA know that we are the collective voice of the recreational fishing community and the collective voice does not accept the current broken management system which wreaks such havoc on all of us and our businesses," said Donofrio, adding "The goal on February 24th will be to get all of our congressional friends to attend."

"At this point Senator Schumer and his Congressional colleagues in the House deserve the thanks and the support of every one of us who fishes, whether for fun or profit," said Stolpe.

The United We Fish rally is set for 2/24/10 at noon at the Capitol. For details as they become available, sign up for the RFA's email newsletter on the homepage at www.joinrfa.org.

Link to original post.

Grouper, Snapper Fishing Bans Leave Fishermen Reeling

2010-01-02T10:43:00.001-06:00

Reported by Greg Pallone

PORT CANAVERAL -- Two fishing bans are about to go into effect on the Atlantic Coast, and opponents said it will destroy the fishing industry.

On Jan. 1, there will be no grouper fishing in federal waters from North Carolina to Florida.

A red snapper ban lasting 6 months and possibly up to 34 years begins Jan. 4.

It’s the result of a federal mandate to repopulate what they call overfishing.

The United We Fish Rally is the first time recreational and commercial fishermen, along with businesses along the Eastern Seaboard will protest together.

Fishermen Sell Boats, Cut Inventory to Cope with Ban

2009-12-29T08:44:00.001-06:00

Jennifer Lindgren Taren Reed Created: 12/28/2009 6:24:26 PM Updated: 12/28/2009 6:46:40 PM

ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. -- In one week, there will be no more fishing for red snapper off the Southeast Atlantic coast. Already, those invested in the fishing industry are making changes to their businesses.

Read more.

The Times They Are a-Changin' - by Nils Stolpe

2009-12-22T15:31:00.000-06:00

Fishermen have finally concluded that it’s time for long overdue changes, and that the place to go is Congress.

It’s been a long time coming, but it appears as if a critical number of fishermen have finally reached the conclusion that the way things are heading, there’s not going to be an acceptable fishing future for any of us, that it’s time for some long overdue changes, and that the place to effect those changes is in Congress.

Astounding new limits on black sea bass

2009-12-22T15:28:00.001-06:00

By Mark Sampson • December 22, 2009

OCEAN CITY -- A few days ago, a bit of news came across my desk that was so shocking that I first assumed it had to be a fake. I spent a lot of time surfing different sites to make sure that what I was reading was true. Unfortunately, the story checked out.

Read more.

A letter from Charlie Crist

2009-12-22T13:57:00.000-06:00

Thank you for contacting Governor Charlie Crist's Office and sharing your concerns about recent decisions by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council ("the Council"). The Governor asked that I respond on his behalf.

Governor Crist supports the Council's efforts to protect our precious natural resources; however, the Governor believes this action will have serious ramifications for Florida's recreational anglers and our economy. The requirement to establish strict catch limits for all federally managed species that are undergoing "overfishing" by 2010 is affecting Florida in ways that were not anticipated. A closure effectively puts Florida's fishermen out of work in an already challenging economic time and would severely diminish the multi-million dollar annual contribution the South Atlantic fishery makes to Florida's economy.

Governor Crist has contacted Charles Davis, Chairman of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to encourage a prompt review of the science used to validate the Council's decisions in the fishery management process. The Governor also contacted U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and asked that the Department do everything possible to lessen the impact on Florida's anglers while still protecting our natural resources.

Rest assured, Governor Crist is committed to ensuring that necessary steps are taken to rebuild fish population in all waters adjacent to Florida, but firmly believes that a fishery-wide closure must be a last resort only after all other options have been exhausted.

Thank you again for taking the time to contact Governor Crist. Please do not hesitate to write again to share your concerns and ideas about issues that are important to you.

Sincerely,

Warren Davis
Office of Citizen Services

Transferable Rights of Recreational Fishery: An Application to Red Snapper Fishery in the Gulf of Mexico

2009-12-20T09:15:00.001-06:00

Transferable Rights of Recreational Fishery: An Application to Red Snapper Fishery in the Gulf of Mexico -

A readers response to "Feds hope strategy boosts Gulf fishing"

2009-12-20T08:15:00.004-06:00

Mr. Tresaugue,

I read your article yesterday in the Chronicle regarding the upcoming Catch Shares fiasco. There are some issues I would like to address;

1) Catch shares have already been in utilized in the Gulf FOR 3 YEARS NOW through the IFQ program which did away with the 10 day seasons/trip limits and replaced those with an allocation of the quota...the commercial snapper fishermen have not been "competing in derby-style openings" since January 1, 2007. The push underway CURRENTLY is to expand the Catch Share concept into the RECREATIONAL sector which, in my opinion will drastically change our fishing rights and heritage. I don't want to have to go to Walmart to purchase tags (at unknown prices) for each fish that I or my son intend to catch. These fish belong to EVERY American and should NOT be put on the auction block to the highest bidder. Additionally, since this concept is being pushed by well-funded environment.orgs such as EDF and others, there is the possibility that the shares would be bought by these green groups and not used at all. The average-Joe fishermen wouldn't stand a chance in competing at the auction block for these shares.

2) The Catch Shares concept revolves around the privatization of a public resource which could then be traded and sold as commodities, an ideology pushed hard by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Lubchenco resigned as vice chairman of EDF — known for its penchant for merging investment and environmental principles — to become President Obama's nomination to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Once confirmed by the Senate, she unfurled her commitment to catch shares and drafted Monica Medina, a former NOAA chief counsel in the Clinton administration,from the Pew Environment Group to organize a national catch share taskforce. Its final report is on Lubchenco's desk. It seems the green environmental.org (EDF) has infiltrated the federal government to the highest levels to force their view of the world upon the rest of us.

3) Given our nation's recent disastrous experience with the unintended and negative consequences of deregulation and poor oversight of financial and real estate markets, I do not trust our federal government to introduce this concept into the fisheries, especially when it is not needed. There has been an 18% drop in saltwater fishing participation in the years 1996 to 2006, with a 15% decline from 2001 to 2006. This shows a steep downward trend in participation in the latter half of that 10 year span. This SHARPLY contradicts what the NMFS claims to be happening, especially since they have cut the snapper season by 2/3, cut our limits in half, and forbid captain/crew from retaining fish since this report. The NMFS wants you to believe that there has been a 300% INCREASE IN EFFORT in 2008 and 2009 according to THEIR figures that shows that recreational anglers caught over 4 million pounds of snapper. Makes you wonder why there is such a strong push for Catch Shares and/or Sector Separation when there is clearly no need. http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/fhw06-nat.pdf

4) This a "paradigm shift" in the approach to managing the bounty of the sea, is being pushed by EDF-affiliated financial advisers with ties to Milken and Lehman Brothers - 2 of the most notable names related to failed financial schemes. Incredibly, people are actually listening to them; "Two months before the Environmental Defense Fund achieved a political policy triumph with the vote last week to transform the New England groundfishery from a commonly held resource into negotiable commodities, a bullish EDF executive was urging institutional investors to buy these catch shares. EDF vice president David Festa's projection was a 400 percent return on the investment, based on what he said was recent experiences with the imposition of catch shares in other fisheries. A consultant to EDF spoke of returns of 10 or even 20 times investment. "It's not telecom money, but it's real money," Festa advised a small but influential private audience of mutual and hedge fund managers and ENGO —or environmental non-government organization — officials at an April 28 panel on "Innovative Funding for Sustainable Fisheries and Oceans." The panel was part of the 2009 Milken Institute Global Conference in LosAngeles, "the largest gathering of capital markets in North America..." You can read the whole story here; http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_181090419.html

5) Currently, the Gulf snapper quota is divided into 51% commercial and 49% recreational portions. There is a plan on the table to be addressed by the regulators in early 2010 called the "SOS Plan", which is again being pushed by EDF to carve out a 57% portion of the recreational quota and gift it to the charter-for-hire industry. The SOS Plan would reduce the CFH sector by eliminating most of the part-time charter operators. The plan would introduce Catch Shares into the recreational sector and severely restrict access to the fishery to private recreational fishermen,which would then be limited to 21% of the total Gulf quota even though they are the majority stakeholder in the fishery. This has HUGE economic consequences which have not been addressed at all.

6) Federal regulators are citing the Magnuson-Stevens Act as reason for pushing Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures even though the same MSA has mandated implementation of a better data collection system PRIOR to such action. The NMFS has thumbed its nose at Congress by ignoring this Congressional mandate even though it was required to be in place by January 1, 2009. Congress understood the importance of upgrading the existing MFRSS system (which data has been proven to be fatally flawed), PRIOR to implementing any new Annual Catch Limits or Accountability Measures such as Catch Shares. It is negligence to the highest degree to continue to use outdated data collection methods, especially when directed by Congress to CEASE DOING SO, and it is my belief that this is Contempt of Congress and should be prosecuted accordingly.

7) Lastly, going back to the existing IFQ program in the Gulf, the federal government "gifted" a portion of our public resource (Red Snapper) to a small group of commercial fishermen. This gift is now worth millions of dollars to some of the lucky recipients. I recently talked to one commercial IFQ holder and asked him how much would he take for his IFQ quota - his answer? He wouldn't take even $10 million dollars! I then asked him how much he paid for those IFQ shares - his answer? "Thirty five years of my life!" In other words, he paid $0 for this gift, yet we all somehow owe him "reparations", "welfare money" or "bailout$$" due to his decision to work as a commercial snapper fisherman. This fisherman can now sit on his rear and "lease access to the resource" to the tune of hundreds of thousands of dollars annually, personally profiting substantially from the government action, while not contributing a thing to the NGP other than driving the price of fish to the consumer higher and higher.

This is the real story Mr. Tresaugue. There is a LOT of money to be made on the converting the wild harvest of our fisheries into negotiable catch shares, creating a fish futures commodity market, and will forever change fishing that I, and my children, will know it.

We are leading an effort here in Texas to develop our own sustainable fishery in Texas State Waters working in partnership with TPWD. Texas State Waters are not subject ot federal regulations, and TPWD has proven to ably manage our wildlife resources infinitely better than the NMFS.

You can read more about it at www.Reef-Man.com.

Sincerely,Tom Hilton
hilton@reef-man.com

What Does Fishing Mean To You?

2009-12-18T09:23:00.000-06:00

Conservation Corner

Written by Gary Caputi - RFA

Recreational Fishing Alliance

To millions of Americans it’s the ability to go to the beach or get on a boat, enjoy a day on the water and maybe keep a few fish for the table within the limits of current regulations. What makes fishing such a universal pastime is its availability to everyone regardless of age, race and wealth, but open access is being challenged from a very unlikely source.

At the April meeting of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Dr. Russell Nelson, on behalf of the Coastal Conservation Association, presented a paper outlining a new scheme for managing fisheries that, if put into practice, would change recreational fishing into something unrecognizable. It is an attempt to bring recreational fishermen into a system that the Environmental Defense Fund calls “catch shares” and federal fishery managers call Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQs).

After reading this paper I was struck by the realization that there are some among us who believe recreational anglers aren’t already paying enough for the “privilege” of fishing. In case you’re not keeping score we’re already required to purchase a saltwater fishing license and if you’re a nonresident the fees are becoming usurious. We not only pay sales tax on every piece of tackle we purchase, we also pay a 10-percent excise tax that goes to the Wallop-Breaux Fund. If you purchase fuel for your boat at a marina or other waterfront location you pay an 18.5-percent federal excise tax on that, too. As a group, anglers pay hundreds of millions of dollars each year in user fees and special taxes to support conservation, management, enforcement, restoration and access projects…but apparently that’s not enough.

Under this proposal recreational anglers would be required to enter a competitive bidding process for the opportunity to purchase tags for the fish they want to catch. Tag auctions will be open to anyone – commercial and recreational harvesters, fish brokers, environmental groups – and the tags would be sold to the highest bidders. According to the paper, tag holders can take the fish home and eat it, give them as Christmas presents, or take their fish to a market, effectively wiping out the distinction between the commercial and recreational sector. The proceeds from the auction would be earmarked for management and enforcement because, obviously, we aren’t paying enough already.

The paper, titled A Free Market Based Approach to Managing Red Snapper and Other Marine Fishes, provides a framework that limits access to only those with the time to enter the auction and the financial means to make a high enough bid to obtain tags. In case you’re wondering how much that might be, since the quota system was introduced the price that commercial anglers get for red snapper has increased from $2.75 per pound to over $4 per pound, while the National Marine Fisheries Service reports IFQ shares selling for between $10 and $20 per pound.

This paper was presented as a formal response to the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council’s question “Is there a better way to manage U.S. shared commercial and recreational fisheries?” The formula it contains goes against the very grain of what sport fishing has been and most anglers hope it will be in the future. While there are provisions in the MSA reauthorization that have caused significant socioeconomic harm to recreational fisheries, the law has and can continue to work in the future by addressing those provisions.

In a recent press release the RFA called the scheme the “pay to play” version of fisheries management. In many ways it mirrors a management approach being espoused by the Environmental Defense Fund and other Pew Charitable Trust funded organizations, yet the paper claims this program “is simple and arguably the most fair and equitable approach.” The operative word is “arguably” because the fairness is an illusion where recreational fishermen are concerned!

“With the changes to the MSA endorsed by the RFA and found in proposed legislation currently introduced in Congress the MSA can not only rebuild fisheries but provide for equitable distribution of allowable harvest,” said Jim Donofrio, RFA Executive Director.

“Most of the problems currently encountered by managers are the result of arbitrary rebuilding deadlines and a lack of flexibility as dictated in the most recent reauthorization,” Donofrio explained, adding “with these corrections we can continue to see stocks increase, as Gulf of Mexico red snapper have in recent years, without losing the open access process that has been inherent in recreational fishing.”

Fishermen To Protest In DC

2009-12-17T08:37:00.002-06:00

We are getting good exposure for the March on Washington on Feb 24, 2010. We have our work set out for us because the more media attention we get the more the enviros will be coming out after us to stop our efforts. Our momentum is steadily growing with more and more groups and people requesting information wanting to join the movement. It's time to over come the millions of dollars spent to push us off the water. By joining together and staying UNITED we can effect positive change for us and our marine resources. The time is now.

Spread the word and make plans to attend the event with others from across the country who share your concerns. More info will be provided as it is developed. A lot of folks are working together for the common good of us all.

Gloucester Daily Times

December 16, 2009

National fishermen's protest set for Feb. 24

By Richard Gaines
Staff Writer

The date of a national demonstration by fishing interests in Washington, D.C., has been set for Wednesday, Feb. 24.

Originally scheduled for Feb. 17, the announcement of the changed date was made Monday by the Conservation Cooperative of Gulf Fishermen, one of the organizers of the event.

CCGF spokesman Capt. Bob Zales said the change was made because Feb. 17 was discovered to fall during a congressional recess.

The protest has drawn national interest. Along with Zales' organization, the Recreational Fishing Alliance, an umbrella group representing states' recreational fishing organizations, United Boatsmen of New York and New Jersey as well as the organizers of the commercial fishermen's protest held in Gloucester in October at the regional offices of the National Marine Fisheries Service are expected to attend.

The target of the protest is Congress at a time when efforts are under way to modify the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act to allow more flexibility in the setting of rebuilding deadlines for overfished stocks. In its reauthorization in 2006, Congress required most stocks to be restored by 2014.

Congressman Barney Frank, whose House district includes New Bedford, has scheduled a caucus of East Coast congressmen and -women for tomorrow to consider how best to proceed.

Frank voted against the Magnuson-Stevens' reauthorization, which among things, shifted the authority to establish maximum allowable catches from the regional management councils, made up of gubernatorial appointees and statutory members, to their science and statistical committees.

In practice, the shift of authority has produced more conservative catch limits, according to Frank and industry figures. And Frank has questioned the wisdom of such rigid deadlines for the completion of rebuilding programs.

"The protest is about flexibility and upholding National Standard 8," said Amanda Odlin, who, with her husband owns and operates two commercial boats out of Boston. Odlin was the lead organizer of the protest that, in October, drew more than 300 fishermen and their supporters to NMFS' regional offices in Gloucester's Blackburn Industrial Park.

The Magnuson-Stevens Act contains 10 national standards or goals.

The text makes clear that rebuilding takes precedence.

But Standard No. 8 states that "conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the conservation requirements of this Act — including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks — take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities in order to provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts."

That economic impact is being raised by a number of fishing industry backers, and fishing community leaders.

"The overly restrictive management requirements created by the reauthorized Magnuson Act based on non-scientific arbitrary deadlines are forcing anglers off the water, eliminating commercial fishing, preventing consumers from purchasing locally caught fresh seafood, destroying small family businesses, increasing unemployment and adversely affecting coastal communities," Zales wrote in his announcement of the change in the demonstration date.

Along with Frank, U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe has also initiated action to free up more fish for New England's commercial fleet. The Maine Republican's approach is legislation to recognize that a U.S.-Canadian management arrangement along the ocean border through Georges Bank is an "agreement," a structure with higher legal impact than the current "understanding," and in the process exempts the effort from Magnuson-Stevens

The impact of that measure would be to allow more yellowtail flounder caught on the U.S. side of the boundary.

Losses from the more conservative catch limits on yellowtail flounder have been projected to reach $100 million because the control of yellowtail by the New England Fishery Management Council also indirectly limits the harvest of scallops, the premier cash stock that yellowtail lives among on the ocean floor.

Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or via em-mail at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com

In The Net

2009-12-17T08:35:00.001-06:00

NOAA "Champions" another closure. No red snapper fishing until ...
Soon after NOAA's announcement about the red snapper closure, Holly Binns, manager of the Pew Environment Group's Campaign to End Overfishing in the ...

Recreational Fishing Alliance
Administrator, the former Pew Fellowship Award winner has championed the complete recreational closure of black sea bass, amberjack and red snapper. ...

Jacksonville Mobile Edition
Recreational Fishing Alliance challenges red snapper closure ... Lubchenco “the former Pew Fellowship Award winner ¦ has championed the complete ...

Anglers Are Lawyering-up - www.ifish.net
Dec 4, 2009 ... Soon after NOAA's announcement about the red snapper closure, Holly Binns, manager of the Pew Environment Group's Campaign to End ...

Red Snapper News - Spearboard Spearfishing Community
Red Snapper News Upper Gulfcoast. ... The PEW people and the fish huggers don't pull this crap and it makes them look more reasonable, plus they want to ...

Interview: Pew talks to Sport Fishing - Page 2 - Saltwater Fishing ...
PEW is pushing in favor of this proposed 35year closure on both red snapper and shallow water grouper in the southern atlantic (South ...

InTheBite -
Dec 15, 2009 ... "The current management of red snapper in the South Atlantic and Gulf ... to greater populations of red snapper, the Pew letter calls these ...

Feds ban fishing for red snapper for six months | StAugustine.com
Dec 4, 2009 ... Most red snapper are caught by sportsmen, government regulators say. ... An endorsement of the ban came quickly Thursday from the Pew ...

United We Fish: Interview: Pew talks to Sport Fishing
Interesting views and comments posted here about Pew Charitable Trusts. ... Gulf Council to Convene on Red Snapper · Too many catches with Catch Shares ...

North Carolina Fishing Reports - - It's Official.. Red Snapper Ban ...
Red Snapper Ban - But Jane Lubchanco was nonimated by Obama to head NOAA. And she recently recieved a big recognition/award from the PEW people. ...

EDFish » South Atlantic Council Carefully Considers All Impacts of ...
Dec 16, 2009 ... Red snapper in the Southeast is said to have been overfished since ... There is no magic answer for red snapper and other fish in trouble ...

Proposal on fishing limits focuses on a smaller area | North ...
The leader of Pew's red snapper campaign said Friday that regulators should make certain whatever rules they adopt are strong enough to be effective. ...

Red Snapper Interim Rule passes, RFA files lawsuit
Dec 3, 2009 ... "Unfortunately, the red snapper population has not been able to reach .... the stocks. and to change the way noaa and pew interact with the ...

Officials Announce Five-Month Red Snapper Fish Ban | Boat Work Times
Commercial and recreational fishing for red snapper in federal waters off the ... Holly Binns, manager of the Pew Environment Group's Campaign to End ...

United We Fish: Red Snapper not "overfished"?
Dec 6, 2009 ... Red snapper assessment suggests overfishing is ending in Gulf of Mexico ... Interview: Pew talks to Sport Fishing ...

Red Snapper Interim Rule passes effective January 4 - Georgia ...
The interim rule for Red Snapper passed today. .... Y'all should see the PEW petition suppoting the ruling and the passing of 17a and 17b, which ironically ...

RED SNAPPER - A SIMPLE PLAN - Page 3 - 2CoolFishing
Sure, some folks would love it if we simply designated red snapper as a sport .... Pew environmentalists are goading administrators at the National Oceanic ...

Red Snapper ban FL to NC - IH8MUD.com
Most red snapper are caught by sportsmen, government regulators say. ... An endorsement of the ban came quickly Thursday from the Pew Environment Group, ...

1st sea bass now... - PierandSurf.com
close black sea bass, amberjack and red snapper. Gee, thanks. It is also important for you to know that the doctor is a Pew fellowship award ...

NOAA to move faster to reform commercial fishing - Nation AP ...
Dec 10, 2009 ... Fishermen are reeling in bigger and more mature red snapper - a sign that ... Lee Crockett, federal fishery policy chief for Pew Environment ...

It's time to stop Magnuson from being a weapon against fishing communities - by Nils Stolpe

2009-12-13T10:57:00.001-06:00

Countless management initiatives are being imposed on fishermen who are looking at fisheries that are healthier today than they have been in decades.

A reduction in sea scallop landings of thirty percent. A total closure of the Gulf of Mexico recreational amberjack fishery. A reduction in spiny dogfish landings of twenty-five percent. A total seasonal closure of the recreational sea bass fishery in the Northeast. A total closure of the red snapper fishery in federal waters from Florida to North Carolina. Recreational summer flounder restrictions that have decimated the for-hire fleet. Massive West coast rockfish closures based on less than adequate science. A looming lobster bait crisis stemming from a massive though biologically unnecessary reduction in herring landings. One hundred and thirty thousand tons of uncaught groundfish TAC. A labyrinth of MPAs off California established wherever catchable fish are found. And the list could go on, and on, and on….

Read more.

New Noaa Report--Getting Better

2009-12-12T10:32:00.000-06:00

--- On Fri, 12/11/09, Gulf Council Press Release wrote:

From: Gulf Council Press Release
Subject: Gulf Council Press Release: NOAA News Release - Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Recovering
To: "Gulf Council Press Release Mailing List"
Date: Friday, December 11, 2009, 2:29 PM

Contact: Kim Amendola FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
727- 551-5707 December 11, 2009

Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper Recovering

Science-based management has helped end overfishing for iconic fish

A recent scientific update on Gulf of Mexico red snapper shows that fishermen may be able to catch more fish next year. This news shows that when fishermen follow management measures based on science, they lead to rebuilding of fish populations and increased opportunities to fish.

“The update showed harvest levels were still a bit too high in 2008; however, scientific projections are promising for 2009, indicating that the stock may improve enough to support higher harvest levels,” said Dr. Bonnie Ponwith, Southeast Fisheries Science Center director for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “This is very exciting news and is evidence of how science and management can work together to protect our natural resources.”

Historical records indicate fishermen have targeted red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico since the late 1800s as a subsistence fishery. However, fishing pressure became too great throughout the mid-1900s as coastal populations increased and saltwater sport fishing became more popular. Heavy fishing since then brought this population to a level that could not be sustained or reproduce as much as it could.

In response to the poor condition of this once prolific population, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council began to address the issues in the mid-1980s. The actions taken by the council have ranged in variety and degree, from adjusting recreational size limits to implementing a catch share program for commercial fishermen in 2007.

“This has been our most challenging fishery issue in the Gulf of Mexico to date,” said Dr. Roy Crabtree, southeast regional administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “The Gulf Council deserves a lot of credit for making some very difficult decisions and commercial and recreational fishermen deserve equal credit for complying with the regulations to help this species recover.”

The red snapper population is still a long way from making a full recovery, but reducing fishing pressure has expedited the recovery process and continues to provide long-term benefits to the fish, as well as to those dependent upon it for business and recreation. As the species’ condition continues to improve, fishermen are reporting red snapper in areas where they haven’t been seen in many years, such as off of Tampa Bay, Fla., and southward.

The scientific update was completed by a panel of experts selected by the Gulf Council and comprised of academic, state, and federal scientists. This panel presented their results to the Gulf Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee in early December.

The Gulf Council may review this information at their next meeting in February in Mobile, Ala., and make a recommendation to NOAA’s Fisheries Service to increase the current red snapper catch levels. The update suggests the current catch level can be increased from five million pounds to slightly more than 6.9 million pounds.

While this is good news, an increase to the total allowable catches may not support an increase to the length of the recreational fishing season. Preliminary data indicate the recreational fishery exceeded its annual quota by more than one million pounds in 2009. Any decision regarding the length of the 2010 recreational fishing season will need to take into account final information on the extent of that overage. NOAA's Fisheries Service will determine the length of the recreational season early next year; however, the season will begin on June 1.

NOAA is committed to responding as quickly as possible to any Gulf Council proposals to reward fishermen for their sacrifice while ensuring continued success in rebuilding this population.

It is important to note that red snapper are managed separately in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic (North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida’s east coast). Earlier this month, NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced a temporary rule to protect red snapper in the South Atlantic as its population is in poor condition, much like the Gulf of Mexico population once was. The temporary measures for the South Atlantic become effective on Jan. 4, 2010, and will not apply in Gulf of Mexico waters.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth’s environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov.

FISHERMEN TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON, DC

2009-12-12T09:04:00.000-06:00

The below Press Release was sent out yesterday by CCGF. Please plan to attend and provide the info to your friends. More info will be provided as it is developed.

Press Release

FISHERMEN TO MARCH ON WASHINGTON, DC

For Immediate Release, December 10, 2009:

Recreational and commercial fishermen, support business owners, families, and community leaders will gather at the steps of our Nation’s Capitol on February 17, 2010 from noon to 3 PM to show congress a united front of the impacts caused by the unintended impacts of the Magnuson Stevens Conservation and Management Act as revised effective January, 2007 (RMSA). The overly restrictive management requirements created by the RMSA based on non scientific arbitrary deadlines are forcing anglers off the water, eliminating commercial fishing, preventing consumers from purchasing locally caught fresh seafood, destroying small family businesses, increasing unemployment, and adversely affecting coastal communities.

We fully support real science based management and the conservation of our marine resources while also being able to sustain recreational and commercial fishing activities, providing locally caught seafood, sustaining small family businesses, and supporting our coastal communities. Please stay tuned as the details are being developed and will be provided. Make your plans to join us for this historic event and work with us in a United effort from coast to coast.

UNITED WE FISH and FISHING MATTERS

CCGF urges all elected officials to work together and to join the efforts by the leaders of other coastal states for the best interests of our coastal communities and the Nation.

This effort is being coordinated by many organizations and individuals including but not limited to CCGF, RFA, FRA, United Boatmen of New York, United Boatmen of New Jersey, MSSA and more to be announced.

CCGF is a 501(c) (6) non profit that represents recreational for-hire vessel owners and operators, supporting businesses, and recreational anglers from the Gulf of Mexico

Capt. Bob Zales, II
bobzales@att.net
bus. ph 850-763-7249
fax 850-763-3558

"The charm of fishing is that, it is the pursuit of
what is elusive, but attainable; a perpetual
series of occasions for hope."

quote on a wall of a ladies clothing store in Islamorada, FL.

Press Release: EDF Applauds New National Catch Share Policy

2009-12-11T11:06:00.001-06:00

(Washington DC, Dec. 10, 2009) A policy released today by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) charts an historic new course for the nation’s fish stocks, giving hope for the recovery of struggling fishing communities and depleted fish resources. NOAA is seeking to correct decades of failed management that has resulted in economically-depressed, unsafe, and unsustainable fisheries around the country.

Read More.

Sticker Shock

2009-12-11T10:28:00.004-06:00

We now have bumper stickers available at the following locations and are asking for a $2 donation to help with printing costs:

Bluewater Outriggers - Port St. Joe
Half Hitch Tackle - Port St. Joe
Cathey's Ace Hardware - Mexico Beach

Fishermen Protest Proposed Red Snapper Ban

2009-12-09T19:10:00.002-06:00

Fisherman and their families turned out in force at Cape Canaveral on Wednesday, waving signs that said "defend your right to fish.

Link to video.

Snapper fishing ban opponents go to businesses for support

2009-12-09T19:07:00.000-06:00

A group suing to stop a federal ban on red snapper fishing will use testimony from Northeast Florida’s fishing industry to help make its case.

Business owners from the Jacksonville area, Cape Canaveral and elsewhere are being asked this week for affidavits describing how the six-month ban scheduled to start Jan. 4 will hurt them, said David Heil, a lawyer representing the Recreational Fishing Alliance.

The New Jersey-based group filed a complaint in Jacksonville federal court Friday, asking for an injunction to keep the National Marine Fisheries Service from carrying out the ban announced last week. That would be followed by a lawsuit over whether the ban was justified

Read more here.

2009-12-07T18:16:00.002-06:00

What happened to the hope and change?

Obama Administration ignores $125 billion sportfishing industry in new ocean and Great Lakes management policy

Legal Problems

2009-12-06T10:16:00.003-06:00

Recreational Fishing Alliance challenges red snapper closure

The Recreational Fishing Alliance wasted no time in mounting a legal challenge to an interim red snapper closure, announced Thursday by the federal government and entered into the Federal Registry on Friday. Read more.

Red Snapper not "overfished"?

2009-12-06T09:59:00.005-06:00

Please keep the letters, emails, faxes, and phone calls up. You are making a difference. Check out the latest news on gulf red snapper.

Red snapper assessment suggests overfishing is ending in Gulf of Mexico