A VERY interesting read for anyone on earth who has an interest in the worlds fishing stocks.
Importing Impact on Us - Spearfishing Planet
Quote from chaseJaxDisplay MoreHey guys. I just want to bring something to the board. It might get political and everyone is going to have their opinion on this but this is something I think all people who are in the water, involved with fishing, have any position on current legislation or regulations, or even eat seafood every now and then, need to think about and develop an opinion on it.
My background is that I worked on blue water charter boats since I was 16 and then at 18 worked on commercial boats for 3 years while I was in college. I have a degree Biology and a minor in Environmental studies. Most of my classmates were the ones fighting alongside NOAA and the SAMFC's generic position and I was always the "blacksheep" in class, where 9 times out of 10 I was the only one in debates backing the recreational and commercial fisherman.
Back to today... I am at my last day at my current employeer, which brings me to the actual meaning of this post. I work for a seafood importer that is based out of Miami, where importers 75% of their fish out of Mexico and the rest of it from countries out of Central America ( Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Panama, etc.). It is primarily an importer of Grouper, Snapper, Mahi, Tuna, and Swords, so all the fish that most people are aware of, especially in the Southeast. Most of you have also, been to those countries either on vacation, spearfishing, fishing, surfing, or whatever and might have an idea of where I'm heading.
I'm looking at my inventory right now at work (literally at this minute) and we have 1/4-1/2 snapper (lanes, yellowtails, and silks) by the hundreds of pounds. A couple thousand pounds of 1-3lb Red Grouper. 500lbs of 1-2 and 2-4lb American Red Snapper. 1500lbs of 1-5lb black Grouper. and about 3000lbs of 1-3 and 3-5lb Mahi. This is not an uncommong occurance. I've seen 2-4oz Hogfish fillet, mulitple hundrends to thousands of pounds of, what would be considered by Florida Fish and Wildlife, undersized snapper grouper and Mahi.
I work for one out of dozens of importers JUST in Miami and can't continue to work for this type of industry that I feel is destroying our oceans. Before working for this company I was right beside those walking on the capital when the Red Snapper ban was being passed. I've written multiple papers on the effects that these regualtions and lack of data will have on the commercial fisherman and the recreational angler. I came into this job by the love of fish and the ocean and having the opportunity to work in the arena of my passions was something I thought would be a great opportunity. I was wrong.
My problem is that most things come full circle in the world of fishing with migration habits of pelagics, current flows, and spawning happening in one area impacting other neighboring areas. A huge problem I see is that we are denying our tax paying commercial fisherman on the Atlantic coast the ability to catch ARS (until last month where they can keep 75lbs pre trip) while we are importing hundreds of thousands of pounds of the same fish out of the Gulf of Mexico out of the Yucatan. American Red Snapper are not the only example either. Grouper restrictions, seabass closures, Vermillion snapper limits, all the new restrictions and closures that were based out of some sort of gathering of data and research have had an effect on the local commercial fisherman on top of having to compete with prices from a third world country without anyone to answer to. There are barely any regulations ( and I mean BARELY) out of Mexico but still most importers use the phrase "sustainable" or "traceable", which means less than FDA approved Organic produce or meats.
It sickens me that we have these regulations put in place but cannot control what we import and hold to the laws we put in place for some sort of "scientific reasoning" in the states. Over 75% of the seafood American's eat is imported which means that it comes from a country with little or no idea of preservation (ie Mexico and Central America). I have been told by suppliers that nothing that is brought on the boat leaves the boat and ends up going to market.
I could go on and on and hopefully this can start a thread and that we as anglers, and also some of you who have contacts or relationships with people in legislation can talk about this because it needs to be discussed. I know that there is no way that the U.S. can implement any sort of laws or regulations directly in Mexico, but I can state that there was a Grouper season ( that lasts one month) that is implemented off the Yucatan that was originaly brought about by the US government talking to Mexican officials. What I DO think is a viable option and thought is that FWC can make it very difficult for importers by just stationing officers at airport terminals and checking packing list.
For example...An importer and also a wholesaler or retailer, can get fined for having undersized state regulated species (like Red Grouper or Yellowtails in Florida) even if they are imported. The problem is that this NEVER happens, for reasons I don't know exactly why.
The best way to make any sort of impact is to impact the people with the money (importers) and I think can be very simple and have a huge effect. Miami is a huge hub of importing so just starting there would be a huge beginning of trying to cut things down. Hopefully, the end result would be that importers and packers would stop buying certain sized fish and that Mexican and Central American fisherman would stop focusing on these sized fish and move on to more legitimate sizing and in turn weed out a lot of fisherman.
This is just a conversation starter and I hope that it get's some response and that you start asking question. I know that I will NEVER support seafood importers, which unfortunately means that most restraunts and wholesalers are going to get cut off my list of places to eat and buy from. It is not in the hope that my $20 is going to make a huge impact or change the world but hopefully my philosophy and the reality that those who enjoy the fruits of the ocean look to preserve it. Most of us have heard and believe that a "bad day on the water is better than a good day at work" and that translates into "being in the water and seeing what is below the surface is more important than filling the cooler" (even though thats pretty great). For the future of our fishery, the sports, and our oceans this needs to be brought up and talked about.
Thanks for reading this and I know there's a lot that I didn't bring up and that there are gaps that need to be filled but hopefully this is a good starting point.
