Should commercial captains be allowed to sell recreationally caught fish?

[DBRYAN]

Selling fish is commercial, not recreational. The whole phrasing off this thread seems like an oxymoron. If you want to sell fish commercially have the appropriate license. What could be harder than that?

[FS Karl Snapper]

Obviously, selling fish is commercial. The point is that if the fish is caught recreationally for personal use, it should be illegal to sell iit. Isn't that easy enough to understand?

[ACME Ventures Fishing]

Selling fish is commercial, not recreational. The whole phrasing off this thread seems like an oxymoron. If you want to sell fish commercially have the appropriate license. What could be harder than that?

Perhaps the confusion itself is yet another a compelling reason
that this practice should be stopped. Many, perhaps most, believe
that fish caught on a recreational fishing trip, under recreational
trip limits and rules, cannot be sold. That is not the case. The
overwhelming majority of us recreational anglers cannot do so.
But, "Dual Permit" holders, that is they own a boat in which they offer
Charter fishing trips, and have the permits for such, and also have
commercial permits for the same boat, have a situation in which
fish caught on a recreational trip (charter) could be sold commercially
when they get back to the fish house, should the clients either not want
the fish, or get talked out of it. This also alows this Dual permit holder
to, when Commercial limits are met, still catch and sell fish, though
under recreational bag limits.

Either way, Recreationally caught fish should be just that, and if the
client does not want to retain them, and the Captain or crew does not
want them for personal consumption, well great, it would be 'Catch and
Release', so as to be caught another day.

Commercially caught fish are just that, intended to be sold. Recreational
anglers do not have the option to fish under commercial limits, so why should
commercial fishermen partake of recreational limits?

[Fletch]

This also alows this Dual permit holder
to, when Commercial limits are met, still catch and sell fish, though
under recreational bag limits.

That is NOT true. Once the commercial TAC has been reached, ALL sale and all commercial take of that species is prohibited. And once again, under the current rules, fish caught/retained on a recreational trip and later sold by a dual license holder will reduce both the commercial TAC and the recreational TAC. Make sale of those same fish illegal and only the recreational TAC will be reduced thus causing the total pounds of commercial harvest for that species to be higher. Yes, I know, those in fantasy land believe that if sale is prohibited, more fish will be released and therefore less will be taken from the recreational TAC. I say that's bunk. Ethical dual licensed captains are already releasing those fish. It's the unethical ones that aren't. To think that those same unethical dual licensed captains will also release those same fish is very short sighted IMO. Nothing will change.

Recreational
anglers do not have the option to fish under commercial limits, so why should
commercial fishermen partake of recreational limits?

We're talking about dual license holders here. They absolutely can partake of recreational limits. They are perfectly legal to do so.

[ACME Ventures Fishing]

[QUOTE=Fletch;42356] A:Ethical dual licensed captains are already releasing those fish. It's the unethical ones that aren't.


B:We're talking about dual license holders here. They absolutely can partake of recreational limits. They are perfectly legal to do so.[/QUOTE]

A:So making the sale of recreationally caught fish illegal will NOT effect "Ethical Dual Permitted" boat
owners, but only the unethical ones, who would do so whether allowed or not? If so, all the more
reason for the rules to change, and along with it heafty fines and pentalties for doing so.


B:They are obviously allowed to partake recreationally on personal and 'For Hire' trips, but what is
currently legal, that most believe should not be, is the partaking of such with the intent to sell
it commercially.

If this is primarily going to hurt the "unethical" dual permit holders as you seem to be suggesting,
then this is a good thing. The time is comming soon when TAC's are truely going to be seperate,
and from what I've been told from NOAA, its already being worked on, so nows the time to close
this end of the loophole.

[Fletch]

You really couldn't mis-interpret my words any worse if you tried. I might as well argue with a bag of rocks.

The only people it will hurt are ethical dual license holders that only find out after they arrive back at the dock (i.e. fish have already been retained) that their clients don't want some/all of their fish. Under current rules, they are allowed to sell those fish. So they make a few extra dollars (and reduce the commercial TAC at the same time) here and there. So what? Good for them and good for the fish. In this environment, most are struggling just to stay alive anyway. These are good, honest, hard working people that the OP is doing his level best to stomp on. He's roped a few of you in on it as well so I guess he's doing an okay job.

Regarding the unethical captains, this new feel good rule won't change a damn thing. That you think otherwise, truly displays your complete lack of understanding about this industry.

[FS Karl Snapper]

You're correct, Acme. There's no such thing as a "dual" license anyway. Think how silly it is to try to think of a particular fish as being both.

[FS Karl Snapper]

It's time for Forum folks to urge the FWC to adopt the simple law banning any sale of rec caught fish.

Otherwise, we'll endure more of the confusion and sales of non-commercially caught fish...

[Fletch]

I disagree. If a charter captain holds commercial and charter permits, he should be permitted to sell those fish under his commercial permits. The Trip Ticket office in Miami can easily remove those fish from the recreational TAC and only apply them to the commercial TAC. It's a simple administrative fix.

[Mackeral Snatcher]

I don't understand why you can't see it
The fish were NOT a commercial catch.
Why should you get to sell them?