I got this email from the FRA a while back.
QuoteDisplay MoreThe South Atlantic Council voted 9-4 to pass Amendment 17A which closes unprecedented amounts of prime fishing area.
Opposed were Ben Hartig, Rita Merritt, Tom Swatzel and Charles Phillips. We thank them for their actions, wisdom and insight .Sadly, Florida's George Geiger and Mark Robson supported the closure.
Dr. Crabtree told the Council a story about how he would 'front end load ' the framework of 17A so NMFS could respond rapidly should the new Red Snapper stock assessment show a need for changes. The new assessment will be completed in less than six months, yet the majority opinion, lead by enviros and NMFS persuasion, voted to destroy people's lives, their communities and economy.
Yesterday's public input saw congressman Mica's aide implore the Council NOT to impose 17A. Two other congressional aides were on hand, as were some 300 people who echoed the Congressman's message, to no avail. What drives the force that steamrollers congress and the people? Who is orchestrating the assault on the fishermen? Who flaunts their disregard for the will of Congress? Who indeed?
Thanks to all who commented and showed up at last night's public input. Your voice was heard and will carry all the way to Washington, DC.
Denny O'Hern
Executive Director
Fishing Rights Alliance
Dennis@theFRA.org
727.692.6902
Here's an article that explains it further.
QuoteDisplay MoreWednesday's approval by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council sends the restrictions to the National Marine Fisheries Service, putting them on track to take effect in December. The council, a regional board that advises the federal government on fishing regulations, approved the proposal by a 9-4 vote.
Red-snapper fishing had been under a temporary ban since January from the Carolinas down to Florida. A federal study declared that red snapper in the Atlantic is being overfished.
The latest regulation makes that ban permanent and takes red-snapper protection one step further, by barring fishing of other snapper and grouper species to avoid any unintentional deaths of red snapper.
Fishermen, both recreational and commercial, have staunchly opposed any fishing restrictions. Hundreds of people protested at the council's meeting in Orlando, with scores of people telling the council during four hours of public comment Tuesday that the ban will devastate the local economy. They say the red-snapper population is the healthiest it has been in decades and said the science guiding the ban is flawed.
Many urged the council to postpone a ban until an assessment of the red-snapper population is done in December. Council chairman Duane Harris said the council had to pass regulations that would take effect before the temporary ban expires in December and to meet a 2010 deadline to end overfishing.
"I just hate the impact on the fishing community, but red snapper is going to be closed for some time," said Harris, who hoped the new assessment will show a healthier red-snapper population that could lessen the restrictions. "We do care, but we have a law we operate under, and we do the best we can."
Though the snapper and grouper ban has no relation to fishing closures because of the Gulf oil spill, that environmental disaster is already harming the Gulf Coast fishing industry. Fishermen said the Atlantic ban will seal their doom.
Denny O'Hern, executive director of the Fishing Rights Alliance, said the ban could send the industry into a "death spiral."
"It is unnecessary and draconian. It will have a permanent impact on communities and local economies," he told the council Tuesday night.
Holly Binns, manager of the Pew Environment Group's Campaign to End Overfishing in the Southeast, said Wednesday that the ban is crucial for the long-term recovery of red snapper. The federal report found that red snapper has been overfished for 40 years and that most of the fish are younger than 5, a sign that the population lacks the older, more fertile fish needed to perpetuate the species.
"We understand this is a difficult time for some fishermen now, but this plan will help secure future fishing opportunities and a healthy ocean ecosystem that benefits tourism and all of our coastal communities," she said.
Roy Crabtree, southeast regional administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, said restrictions in a similar ban in the Gulf were eased after a few years. He said protecting red snapper for a few years could be enough to allow some fishing to resume.
Hundreds of recreational and commercial anglers at the hearing, however, couldn't stomach any ban. The Central Florida Offshore Anglers Club presented a petition with more than 10,000 signatures of those opposed. Commercial fishermen lamented the loss of their livelihoods and the end of their culture and family traditions.
Already, the red-snapper ban has hurt the fishing industry, scores of people said. A study by Georgetown Economic Services, a consulting firm hired by the American Sportfishing Association, found that 1,200 bait-and-tackle stores in the Southeast have lost $10 million in sales.
"Charter captains will be bankrupt. Bait-and-tackle shops will close down. Boat builders will be out of businesses," predicted Richard Wilson, a recreational fisherman.
Many speakers, and some council members, said the ban should be postponed until the new red-snapper assessment is done. The last assessment, completed in 2008, found that red snapper is overfished, requiring drastic fishing restrictions to protect it and give the species a chance to rebuild.
Anglers sharply disagreed, saying the red-snapper population is the most abundant in decades.
"It was totally irresponsible for the council to request this regulation when they clearly knew that it was based on bad science," said Dave Heil, a Winter Park attorney who has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Recreational Fishing Alliance. "Our calls for the council to wait until the new data was available fell on deaf ears."
Capt. Robert Johnson, a charter fisherman in St. Augustine with 30 years of experience, is on the committee working on the new snapper assessment. Among the problems already found with the previous red-snapper report was a wildly inflated estimate that the 1960 recreational catch of red snapper was 6 million pounds, he said.
The new review will weed out incorrect historical data, fill necessary data gaps and present a more accurate state of the population that will show there are more fish, Johnson said.
He also pointed out that the new ban excludes waters off the Carolinas and nearly all of Georgia, which he said helped secure approval votes from those states' council members.
The ban area, which includes waters that start at 98-foot depths and continue eastward to ocean depths at 240 feet, is the prime fishing area.
"Short of 98 feet deep, there is nothing to fish, so they have just ended fishing. Period," Johnson said of the ban area. "The economic consequences will be huge."
In simple words the SAFMC feels that red snapper is in need of protection. Obviously there would need to be a closure on red snapper. But since hook and line fishermen can't target specific species, and while fishing for other snapper and grouper they may catch red snapper inadvertently, they're closing all snapper and grouper fishing (bottom fishing) in that area. Here's a map of the closure area which doesn't affect our area, not only geographically but also because very few of us freedive to 98ft which is the depth where the closure area starts.
How is all this a victory for spearfishing? An exemption has been accepted that will allow spearfishing of snapper and grouper in this area. The reasoning is that spearfishers can target exactly what they want to take.
Traditionally spearfishers interests with regards to fighting this kind of legislation have been lumped together with hook and line fishermen. The idea being that there's many more of them and that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. I for one am glad that a distinction is being made.
If I made any mistakes with regards to this or there have been updates, please post.