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STEALING FROM ALL OF US!
Abracadabra - The federal fisheries managers have miraculously produced a study that claims the red grouper are not in trouble. It seems that they can produce studies to support their agenda by diabolism. "I have a vote of no confidence in the NMFS" said Capt. Moose after witnessing the shenanigans at the federal meeting in Destin Florida. "There is no end to the assault on recreational family fishing by the commercial industry. They deplete one fishery and then move on to another. A few weeks ago they said we needed ten years of rebuilding." Professional fishermen, they call themselves. The commercial industry violations of fishery regulations are massive, and there is no incentive to stop. The penalties are inconsequential, merely a tiny cost of business to many. The number of times they are not caught add up to big profits, and when they are caught, the fines are insufficient to change their mentality.
What should we do? REVOKE THE FEDERAL PERMITS FOR ALL COMMERCIAL FISHING VIOLATIONS. ELIMINATE SUBSIDIES FOR THE COMMERCIAL FISHING INDUSTRY ELIMINATE CONFLICTS OF INTEREST FROM THE COUNCILS ELIMINATE COMMERCIAL FISHING INSIDE 20 FATHOMS
These people need to be held accountable. CLICK HERE Send your comments to Moose Dear
Gulf Council Members My
name is Eric Colley II (Capt Moose). I have been following the fisheries
regulation process for a while, and I send an e-newsletter out to over
5000 people who have signed up through my website. I hold a master
certificate from the USCG but do not currently run charters. I
am writing on the Red Grouper issue. I believe that a reduction of all
commercial harvest is the best way to address the problem of overharvest.
Closing red grouper for recreational fishermen should not be an option
while allowing commercial fishermen to continue overharvesting the reefs.
The recreational sector suffers enough with the limits placed, and it is
unfair to the people of the State of Florida that you allow commercial
overharvest to continue while allowing the grouper population to plummet.
It is unfair to the people of the State of Florida that you allow this
problem to occur at all, and keeping your head in the sand has obviously
not worked. I do not think that we need to try some other plan drafted by
the commercial fishing industry to preserve their industry rather than
preserve the grouper. A
ten year rebuilding plan is unfair to the fledgling recreational
fisherman, the regular family who wants to go out for the day and have a
chance at all of catching a legal fish. The ledges and reefs are being
stripped by the professional fisherman, not the guys and girls who like to
spearfish or fish for something edible and legal. Please hear our cry, and
eliminate the real problem. Longliners
have decimated the fisheries well offshore. The group who has done the
most damage inshore, to the reef fish population, are the “commercial
divers” who hammer the reefs and wrecks relentlessly. The use of
powerheads for commercial harvest should be outlawed. If the Coast Guard
would enforce CFR 46-197 we wouldn’t have as much of a problem, but the
problem wouldn’t be eliminated. These guys have to be stopped, and I
believe that if you are really interested in protecting our fish you will
see that sometimes the right decision is the tough decision. Thank
you for reading my letter. I would like this letter read aloud into the
record at the next meeting. Capt
Moose 130
W Magnolia Av Longwood,
Florida 32750 407-461-7467
LATEST NEWS - We recreational fishermen have just handed the commercial fishing industry three of our five fish limit. Not only that, but the commercial closed season has been repealed. The NMFS and their henchmen have cheated us again. The only winners in this game are the ones who line their pockets while depleting our fisheries. The family who wish to buy a boat and go fishing are the real losers in the UNITED STATES.
NEW RED GROUPER REGULATIONS PROPOSED BY COUNCIL At the July 8-12 meeting in Sarasota, Florida, the Gulf Council voted to make the following regulatory changes in order to implement a rebuilding plan for the overfished red grouper stock in the Gulf of Mexico:
If you want to update this page, send your suggestions to: A little story about this issue from Capt Moose. I was at the meeting in Destin Florida. At this meeting, there was a lady sitting on the council who was obviously a longline sympathizer. All of her questions were aimed at protecting the gluttons. One of her comments etched forever in my mind the one fact that will remain constant. There are only a finite number of fishing holes. She was asking what would happen to these guys who had to convert to bandit fishing. She was worried that these professional fishermen would have a hard time locating productive bottom. Let me say that again, she was worried that these professional fishermen would have a hard time locating productive bottom. She may be worried about the commercial guys, but I am concerned with the family who deserves to have a fair chance to find a little productive bottom. With all the destructive fishing practices, I think we deserve a little better than the barren reefs that are left in the wake of the commercial overharvest. Please help by writing your thoughts and sending them to moose@seahunters.com
Grouper Diggers Alert! Those poor folks over in the gulf are getting raked over the coals. Read the most current information from the commercial fishing industry website: The latest news is that the longliners were to move out to 50 fathoms. Now if we get the commercial divers from killing all the fish near shore, we might get positive results. If you hear of any commercial diver getting killed, please let me know. If you know any stories from the past where divers harvesting with scuba were killed or injured, please let me know. moose@seahunters.com Gulf Grouper Diggers Alert! http://www.floridasportsman.com Radical new regulations may be coming for bottom fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. An unprecedented, four-month, August-through-November closure on all recreational fishing for shallow-water grouper--including reds, gags and other species--was among "preferred" measures selected by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council at a meeting in Mobile, AL, last week. See: http://www.gulfcouncil.org The Council was drafting a list of alternatives for rebuilding red grouper stocks, which have been shown to be overfished (read about the subject in-depth in "On the Conservation Front" in the new April issue of FS. As expected, in Mobile, the Council did in fact recommend moving commercial longlines out to 50 fathoms of water to ease the pressure on red grouper--longline boats have been responsible for the great majority of catches. For recreational fishermen, however, who as a group have been catching as little as 13 percent of the total annual landings of red grouper in the Gulf, a season closure recommendation comes as a shocker--especially as it might be combined with a bag limit reduction for red grouper from 5 fish to 2 per person. Recreational fishermen already have been subject to numerous catch reductions over the last decade, for reds as well as gags. In this latest situation, observers say, the only apparent reason the Gulf Council seems ready to tighten the season is to maintain the appearance of "fairness" to both sides of the fishery, and not because sportfishing poses a relative threat to the health of the red grouper stock. Sportsmen are urged to attend the May 13-16 Gulf Council meeting in Destin, and July 8-11 in Sarasota; click on the Council Web site, www.gulfcouncil.org, for specifics and follow the issue here online. The Council is expected to make a final decision on the plan at the July meeting. After that, the National Marine Fisheries Service will review the plan and decide whether to accept it.
Auto reply. Nobody cared to write back. Lets find out who is in bed with who. This is an auto-reply message from the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. This is to acknowledge receipt of your e-mail to the Gulf Council. If you are requesting information, your message will be forwarded to the appropriate person for a response. If you are commenting on an issue, a printed copy of your message will be distributed to all Council members and staff. When submitting comments on an issue, please include your full name, city and state, and your relevant background (e.g., commercial fisherman, recreational fisherman, etc.). If you are submitting a comment on behalf of an organization, please include the name of the organization, your position within the organization, and the size of your membership. Thank you for contacting the Gulf Council.
3-23-02 Saturday Morning I received this from the council. At least we know that they are listening. Steven Atran Population Dynamics Statistician Dear Capt. Moose: I am on the staff of the Gulf Fishery Council. I happened to come across your web site this morning, and noticed that you seemed upset at receiving an auto-reply to your e-mailed comment on red grouper rather than a personal response. Please be assured that we do respond to requests for information or documents. That's part of our job. However, your e-mail was not a request for information, but a comment on a management issue. Council staff does not make or recommend management decisions. In this case, our job is to see to it that your input gets sent to the people who are the decision-makers, the 17 voting members of the Council who are scattered around the Gulf coast. We do a mailing to Council members twice a week of materials received for distribution. I do recall seeing your e-mail included in the mail-out to the Council members last Thursday. The auto-reply was intended to be a confirmation so you would know that your comment was received and not lost somewhere in the internet (had you mailed a letter, you would have received a pre-printed post card acknowledgement). I'm sorry if you felt it was a brush-off, but we are a very small staff, and we receive a large amount of mail (letters, faxes and e-mail) each week. The auto-reply seems to be the most efficient way to let people know that their e-mail message has been received. I might also point out that we do accept e-mailed comments, unlike the National Marine Fisheries Service, whose policy is to accept only letters and faxes. Again, let me assure you that your comments have been forwarded to the appropriate people, i.e. the Council members. If you would like to discuss this or other reef fish matters, I will be in the office during normal business hours next week Monday-Wednesday, or Monday-Friday in subsequent weeks. Our toll-free number is 888-833-1844, and my extension is 227. Sincerely, Steven Atran Population Dynamics Statistician/Network Administrator Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council 3018 U.S. Highway 301 North, Suite 1000 Tampa, Florida 33619-2266 http://www.gulfcouncil.org 3-23-02 Steven Very
true, I did not ask you to reply to any specific questions. I keep
forgetting that when dealing with the government, you have to ask
specific questions. If I asked that you send to me in writing,
specific questions from each of the council, would you provide all the
data available? Some of my buddies would like to hear your opinions
and reasoning for shutting out the family who fishes for grouper,
while allowing the commercial guys to continue harvest. I have many
other questions, but I'll be limited to just a few.
Thank
you for writing back I
appreciate it very much.
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BREAKING
NEWS (12-14-02)