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fishawk
Posts: 263 Deckhand
Will the NMFS red snapper stranglehold end soon?
fishawk
Posts: 263 Deckhand
President Trump's government downsizing/cutbacks are proposed to include the Department of Commerce, which includes the National Marine Fisheries Service/NOAA, and will implement major reductions in funding, with programs under their jurisdiction either being eliminated or transferred to other agencies.
I sincerely hope these measures will take away the stranglehold that the corrupt National Marine Fisheries Services/NOAA has enjoyed while sticking it to us sport fishermen for many years.
Roy Crabtree, you POS, you're fired!!!
Go hug a red snapper you crook!
I sincerely hope these measures will take away the stranglehold that the corrupt National Marine Fisheries Services/NOAA has enjoyed while sticking it to us sport fishermen for many years.
Roy Crabtree, you POS, you're fired!!!
Go hug a red snapper you crook!
A jerk on one end of the line waiting on a jerk on the other end of the line.
Replies
I read that also ..................... but will believe it when I see it. :Popcorn
Hey Trump won...anything is possible. Lets make Florida reef fishing GREAT AGAIN!
I i remember correctly, Louisiana recently took control of red snapper limits in federal waters. There should be a way to model floridas regs to align with their approach.
They're some hearty fish. I can only think of one time out of about 50+ ARS one summer where one didnt make it. The dead discard numbers were complete crap and the report itself admitted the statistics are "extremely difficult to validate". Having done my fair share of statistical analyses, I have an extremely difficult time figuring out how they validated those numbers, that is until I looked at the income for commercial & charter boats during snapper season...
I've been told that back in the 60's and whatnot people would catch ARS inshore, around bridges and whatnot. Now, I cant verify that by any means. But if it's true, and decent ARS used to live in/nearshore, then why not introduce more structure to state waters along the central Florida coast? Structure is structure, and frankly the fish don't care how deep it is, well, sort of... but so long as they can find cover they'll hang out. Then, implement rules preventing spearfishing/commercial fishing near them, or "zones" such as what's down in the keys and it could be a good start.
They'd only be within 3mi of the coast (which is crap because its 12nm in many other states) so they'd be easier to patrol/enforce, it'd give us recreational anglers a fair shot at state-legal snapper (I've caught plenty in 40-50ft, not huge, but in the 10lb range), more structure for cobia to linger on, mangroves, lobster, kings, etc. I'm certain there's things I've overlooked, but if we cant get a federal season then why not take control of it by at least creating the opportunity to make certain species more attainable? Is it cheap? No, but i think there'd be a real economic impact to doing this.
What sets the 3 mile precedent on the east coast of florida when its 9 in the gulf? Is it the proximity to the bahamas/cuba?
FACT SHEET - Recent Regulatory Changes for Mackerels & Cobia (February 2016)
Commercial:
OPEN effective January 1, 2017.
Size Limit: 33 inch fork length
Trip Limit: 2 fish per person/day regardless of the number of trips or duration of a trip.
Regulatory Remarks:
Drift gillnets are prohibited.
Must be landed with heads and fins intact.
Minimum size limit=33" FL; Daily possession limit=2 per person.
Authorized gear includes automatic reel, bandit gear, hand line, rod & reel, and pelagic long-line
Commercial snapper grouper vessels must have onboard NMFS approved sea turtle release gear and follow smalltooth sawfish release protocol. See the Handling and Release Protocol from NOAA Fisheries or call 727-824-5312.
Annual Catch Limit (ACL) – This species is managed under an ACL. See current information on Commercial ACLs (quotas) from NOAA Fisheries.
Additional Updates:
Recreational:
CLOSED, effective January 24, 2017. The fishery will remain closed through December 31, 2017.
Note: NMFS implements accountability measures (AMs) for Atlantic migratory group cobia that are not sold (recreational) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the Atlantic. In 2015 and 2016, recreational landings of Atlantic migratory group cobia (Atlantic cobia) exceeded the stock annual catch limit (ACL), and therefore, AMs for the recreational sector are triggered for 2017. NMFS closes the recreational sector for Atlantic cobia in Federal waters on January 24, 2017, and it will remain closed for the remainder of the fishing year through December 31, 2017. This closure is necessary to protect the resource of Atlantic cobia. For more information, see:
Federal Register Notice 82 FR 8363
NOAA Fishery Bulletin
Size Limit: 33 inch fork length
Trip Limit: 2 per person per day. Note: Florida state regulations only allow 1 per person/day or 6 per vessel/day, whichever is less.
Regulatory Remarks:
Drift gillnets are prohibited.
Must be landed with head and fins intact
Minimum size limit=33" Fork Length; Daily possession limit =2 per person.
Note: Florida state regulations allow only 1 per person/day or 6 per/vessel per day, which ever is less. FWC Division of Law Enforcement uses the following guidelines for possession limits in FL state waters:
A person who is observed fishing in state waters is subject to state rules.
A person who claims to have fished in federal waters and returns to port without stopping in state waters (and thus is not observed fishing in state waters) is subject to federal regulations.
A person who claims to have fished in federal waters, but who is observed fishing in state waters, is presumed to have caught the fish in state waters and will be subject to state rules.
One day possession limit.
Charter/headboats require a permit for Coastal Migratory Pelagics.
Annual Catch Limit (ACL) – This species is managed under an ACL. See current information on Recreational ACLs from NOAA Fisheries.
Additional Updates:
History of the 2016 Season: The fishery was closed on June 20, 2016. The season reopened on January 1, 2017. The closure was for the Atlantic Migratory group of cobia from Georgia to New York. The closure was put in place by NOAA Fisheries because the 2015 recreational and total harvest was exceeded. Additional information about the 2016 season can be found here:
NOAA FB16-018
2016 Cobia FAQ
^this
Based on email discussions I've had with council members since the meeting last Tuesday night, I have doubts that we will get an ARS season in 2017. The model was ran multiple times with various arguments adjusted down and the numbers still didn't look good.
I want to be clear that they did NOT say we wouldn't have a season. I'm simply reading between the lines...
-- Tug McGraw on getting a raise
Get Down Fishing Charters - Port Canaveral, Florida
Do you believe their models are correct?
When the anecdotal observations of thousands upon thousands of anglers are at odds with the scientific model, something(s) within that model needs to be re-visited. Real people - most of them who are much smarter about fisheries science than me - constructed the model. It is all too easy for their personal biases to manifest within the model to achieve the results they desire. I trust its construct but not its output. Regulatory agencies in general have the ability to impose regs that have the full force and effect of law yet lack congressional oversight and intervention. Political leanings can, do and have influenced their actions. Hopefully the new admin in DC will follow through on his word to ease this burden. It was even mentioned by the council last Tuesday night so maybe there's hope.
The biggest points I focused on with my comments last Tuesday concerned discard mortality and the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) reviewers. Discard mortality in the model is much higher than what is anecdotally observed. The numbers in the last stock assessment (as best as I remember) were 49% for commercial, 41% for charter for hire and 39% for recreational. Now, they did indicate that they had lowered these numbers by about 10% across the board (well, at least for recreational according to what I read) but that is still too high. Personally, I see about 10% at most in my experience. I also pointed out that they hold all the cards concerning ARS to include formulation of the model and all of its assumptions, inputs (sampling) to the model (we don't contribute cause we can't keep any) to resulting regulations and restrictions. They constantly say at these meetings that their hands are tied due to the Magnuson-Stevens act. I mentioned that they do have the power to adjust assumptions (such as discard mortality rate, SPR, etc) within the model so they do have some power. One other thing I mentioned is that the model assigns these mortality rates with impunity. I can fish the same exact location, using the same exact techniques and kill different numbers of fish depending on whether I am fishing commercially, as charter-for-hire or recreationally. It really makes very little sense.
I also asked for, and received, the names of the CIE reviewers who validated the model. I was concerned about this because I learned last year that the CIE is comprised of a 70+ percent foreign membership. It's alarming that foreigners, who may have biases of their own, are being utilized to validate a model that has had such a drastic impact on an American fishery. The 3 reviewers were from Canada, Norway and the UK. I haven't had a chance to research their backgrounds yet.
I will say that the feedback I received at the meeting as well as via emails with council members within the last week was encouraging. They ARE communicating and appear to be doing so freely and openly. It is refreshing. One member even mentioned that he believed the 2 fish/20" minimum that was instilled in 1992 appeared to have been working. It seems that they are trying to find a way to give us back some semblance of a season at some point in time.
That said, they also shared that they had performed 2 additional "what if" runs of the model with the SPR lowered (from 30%) to 20% and 27% (SPR for the Gulf) and with FMax at approximately 20%. The results of these what if runs indicated that they could not rebuild the stock with a 50% probability of rebuilding within the allotted time frame (paraphrase). So, based on that comment, I don't think we're going to get a season this year...
-- Tug McGraw on getting a raise
Get Down Fishing Charters - Port Canaveral, Florida
They now have the Coast Guard up here looking for violations.
Fishing beautiful Destin / Ft Walton Beach area!