Red Snapper limit, 1 fish per day

[Louis Rossignol]

Bobbi Walker from the NMFS e-mailed me this letter today along with some attachments. If you are dead set against the NMFS lowering our red snapper limits down to 1 fish, RESPOND ASAP.

Dear Gulf Captains and Recreational Anglers,

Some of you have contacted me with grave concern about Individual Fishing Quotas (IFQ) for the commercial red snapper fishermen and requested I develop a bulleted sheet of arguments for you to use in your comments to the NMFS. The deadline for receiving your comments is October 2 by 5 PM. You can email, fax or mail your comments. I have attached the arguments for you to use as you wish and all the contact information is at the top of the bulleted sheet. Also, if you have not contacted Under Secretary Vice Admiral Lautenbacher I encourage you to do so by email this week. You do not have to write your own letter you can just send an email to him stating that you support Orange Beach Fishing Associations stance on an emergency rule for red snapper. He needs to hear from hundreds of us or Dr. Crabtree may enact an emergency rule to lower our bag limit and shorten our season. I have attached the letter again that we sent for you to review. Please do your part and send the email today to conrad.c.lautenbacher@noaa.gov

If you know of any other captains or recreational anglers who would like to join with us please send me their email addresses and I will add them to our list.
Best Regards
Bobbi Walker
President
Orange Beach Fishing Association

[chasintail]

Why not target the shimpers.They are responsible for killing 80% of baby ARS and they destroy bottom structure.

It time the recreational guys stop paying the price.When is the meeting?

[Louis Rossignol]

Here is what I sent to lautenbacher, you may want to tone it down a little or not.

I am totally opposed to redusing the red snapepr limits for recreational fishermen. This is total BS, the commercial fisherman can catch millions of pounds, the shrimpers can kill millions of pounds of juveniles and now you want to reduce the number for recreation fishermen who do the least amount of damage to the fishery. I don't know what the commercial fishermen are paying you guys to pass such a stupid law but the whole thing stinks of corruption. The NMFS better get straight or the voters will replace you.

On another note, the amberjack limit is too low. I'm a diver, I see what is down there.
--

Rok out

[Louis Rossignol]

Tony Grogan, I have another attachment but it is too big, I need everyone on spearboard to be able to see it.

[Dive4Blood]

Why not target the shimpers.They are responsible for killing 80% of baby ARS and they destroy bottom structure.


Why not target the long liners? Their gear method produces the most bycatch, the biggest waste of the future red grouper stock.....and they also destroy the bottom structure. Why? Because highliner commercial fishing interests whether it be trawl shrimping or long lining have lots of money to buy favorable legislation pure and simple. Their puppets, the spineless bureaucratic fisheries "managers" offer up an ever tightening hangman's noose around the recreational fisherman as "proof" that they are doing something to justify their existence...whether it is valid or not. After being involved with this for a while, I have become convinced that the current system is absolutely corrupted and needs a complete overhaul.

This is an all out war folks for control of our marine fisheries resources. The other side is playing to win, and all too often I see the attitude from the recreational sector and small to medium commercial producers that either someone else will take care of the problem, or that there is nothing one can individually do to make a difference. BULLSHIT! Start today, and do what Louis is suggesting. Victory is not guaranteed, but I'll be damned if I don't go down fighting to the last *****ing porgy that they allow us to harvest. Once they take something away, you will NEVER get it back. Standing by.....

AJ Suarez

[Louis Rossignol]

I've e-mailed my senators again, I'm trying to piss somebody off. This is my letter, I suggest you do the same, meaning EVERYONE!!!

NMFS, National Marine Fisheries Service,

I sent you an e-mail 2 weeks ago concerning the NMFS's decision to "take no action" on red snapper limits. Then Dr. Roy Crabtree, decides that if the council doesn't take any action on the recreational red snapper limit he will enact an emergency ruling to limit the recreational red snapper limit down to 1 fish per day, per man and extend the closed season for recreational fishermen.I got no response.

The NMFS in my opinion is a corrupt agency that limits the recreational fisherman without a single shred of evidence of declining fish stocks while on the other hand lets the commercial fisherman have free reigns at our oceans fish stocks.

God put these fish on our Earth for everyone, not just a chosen few.

The amberjack limit they put on the recreational fisherman is ludicrous as well as grouper and the 1 red grouper, per man, per day for recreational fishermen.

I've been diving the Gulf of Mexico for 25 years, I see what's down there and have way more experience than some doctor, if you want to put somebody in charge of the NMFS it should be divers or at least people that get the sufficient data needed to perform their job and don’t waste taxpayers money on studies that result in insufficient data.

Are you going to do something about it?

[JTYDELL]

I sent my statement and a batch email off to fellow Gulf Captins and fishermen so they can help flood there inboxes.

[kaborkian]

Emailed Lautenbacher and Vitter. Hope it helps.

[jfg]

Guys and gls,
I'm all for what you are doing so don't get me wrong. Angry letters don't work in government, live bodies showing up at the council meetings does work.

I argued for years concerning a professional group, and why we were being left in the dust. My argument was to have representation on Capital hill. Well, my professional group has finally done that and we are making progress.

Another idea,; there are some great fil makers on this board. Why not a documentary produced by divers and recreational fisherman. Show what shrimpers and longliners are doing. Then show it again, and again. One more thing, there is an old aying in business and advertising. It dosen't matter what the truth is, it's the perception that counts. I bring this up because of a commercial I have been seeing. It's about shrimping. Basically the TV ad says,"Do you want to eat farm raised shrimp, or fresh Gulf shrimp"? Well, gee, let's eat US caught shrimp even if they are destroying the bottom, right? Perception. You have to become better at their game than they are.

I wish you much luck on fighting these scum bags, it is definately an uphill battle.

[Mobile Diver]

Guys and gls,
I'm all for what you are doing so don't get me wrong. Angry letters don't work in government, live bodies showing up at the council meetings does work.

I argued for years concerning a professional group, and why we were being left in the dust. My argument was to have representation on Capital hill. Well, my professional group has finally done that and we are making progress.

Another idea,; there are some great fil makers on this board. Why not a documentary produced by divers and recreational fisherman. Show what shrimpers and longliners are doing. Then show it again, and again. One more thing, there is an old aying in business and advertising. It dosen't matter what the truth is, it's the perception that counts. I bring this up because of a commercial I have been seeing. It's about shrimping. Basically the TV ad says,"Do you want to eat farm raised shrimp, or fresh Gulf shrimp"? Well, gee, let's eat US caught shrimp even if they are destroying the bottom, right? Perception. You have to become better at their game than they are.

I wish you much luck on fighting these scum bags, it is definately an uphill battle.

Jim,

That may be the best idea yet. Fishkilla or OH Producer, for example could make some videos that offer incontovertible evidence of the damage shrimpers & longliners do. It would require a substantial budget for travel & boat fuel, but the time and boat would likely be donated by a concerned party. I would surely make Mobile Diver available on my next rig trip, but there are so many boats & divers there. Maybe the FRA could raise the money & manage the budget as they are well respected in this community. Just thinking out loud.

[Bottom Dweller]

Jim,

That may be the best idea yet. Fishkilla or OH Producer, for example could make some videos that offer incontovertible evidence of the damage shrimpers & longliners do. It would require a substantial budget for travel & boat fuel, but the time and boat would likely be donated by a concerned party. I would surely make Mobile Diver available on my next rig trip, but there are so many boats & divers there. Maybe the FRA could raise the money & manage the budget as they are well respected in this community. Just thinking out loud.


HAVE BOAT, WILL TRAVEL

[SpearMax]

Tony Grogan, I have another attachment but it is too big, I need everyone on spearboard to be able to see it.


Louis asked me to help put the attached letter up, so I split the PDF file into one page parts as follows:

[chasintail]

They all know the damage longlines and shrimps trawls do.The NMFS has done the studies and publishes the material.A fukn email will be deleted.If anyone knows if and where this will be put to a vote let me know.I am good for at least 100 fisherman!

[jfg]

I have a friend that is a diver and a film maker. His profession is in movie/film making. He has been a grip, key grip, lighting, and other stuff having to do with making movies. His wife is also in the business, something like a stage manager or something.

Anyway, he has great underwater high def equipment, good scuba training,etc. With the enthusiasm of spearboard and the dedication to preserving our underwater resources, I'm sure if I told him what you guys want to do, he would get excited about it and and be willing to help out with his expertise. He also has some very good contacts. Some of you have already said in essence,"have boat will travel", well I know what a huge expense boats are, I've got boats! but I am impressed with the willingness to do whatever it takes to save the ocean, even if it costs time and money.

If you guys and gals will begin this movement in what is really happening to our ocean floors and reefs, and bycatch, poaching, etc. you will be the catalyst. Who knows what could become of this? Believe me, some politcian will latch on to this somehow to promote him or her self, or who knows, maybe a sincere politician will take this baby and run with it.

I don't get to travel to the coast that often, but I do appreciate what your concerns are. When I do get to go, I want to see reefs and fish to spear, lobsters to grab, etc. Good luck on your efforts, and if I can help by talking to my friend and getting him hooked up with all of you, who knows, a spark might catch fire.

By the way, my friend had some older friend of his dads give him two older spearguns. He wants me to go spearfishing with him. I warned him of the dangers of spearfishing, he may want to lay that camera down and just shoot fish:D

[rigdvr]

The regs wont be discussed again untill January I believe. This cat can put HIS emergency ruling into affect WITHOUT a meeting of the council or a vote, much less a meeting with public input. All he has to do is stroke a signature....

It will be difficult at best to video the effects of trawling on bottom habitat because of the bottom characteristics of the nothern gulf. The silty bottom is murked out 90% of the time. What you can get great video of is the shrimpers bycatch. They shovel dead fish for 10-15 minutes after sorting the catch. I would bet you could even get on a boat and video if you just said were making a documentary about shrimping in the gulf:)

Crabtree must go, whatever that takes should be the paramount concern here.

The big thing at the last meeting was fishery managers saying shrimping pressure is way down due to Katrina and Rita, which thinned out the fleet and effectively shut down some of the most productive shimping grounds for an extended amount of time last year. Do they not think that the fleet will not get back on their feet?

Does anyone know who makes the appointments to the council? Thats where the pressure needs to be going.

[rigdvr]

. Once they take something away, you will NEVER get it back. Standing by.....

AJ Suarez

Just like the 3 year moratorium on reef/pelagic permits that has been going on for almost 6 years now.... :stupid:

[PatMyGreen]

Interesting letter. I think it misquotes the value if the commercial fishery by more than alittle, but all in all I agree with most everything set forth by it. I don't think the view counter is functioning properly BTW they still showed zero views after I refreshed the page and I'm pretty sure I read all five.

So does anyone have any pull with the Secretary of Commerce, cause thats what we need. Appointed officials are hard to get rid of and cannot be voted out.