(continued from above)
After the joint meeting of the Mid-Atlantic
Council and ASMFC, the ASMFC held the summer meeting in August. At this meeting
we saw preliminary data that showed that the black sea bass fishery, summer
flounder and scup might be exceeding their recreational targets. It was decided
by ASMFC Policy Board to ask the Summer Flounder, Scup and Sea Bass Board to
meet via conference call to discuss this issue. There was a conference call on
sea bass, summer flounder and scup. The controversy was regarding the Marine
Recreational Statistical Survey and how accurately it reflects what is actually
happening. Again, this data was preliminary and had not been subject to the in
house peer review. The states voted not to shut down the black sea bass fishery
based on preliminary and unreviewed MRSS data. We also realized that it would be
difficult too for the states to shut down through emergency action since this
overage would not hurt the stocks. We realized that in December we would have to
review all the data and take actions on the 2010 fishery to guarantee we stayed
within quota. What NOAA did through its arrogance is put through an emergency
action using preliminary without consulting the public. As the Governors
Appointee to ASMFC, I was not notified prior to the release. The NJ Division of
Fish and Wildlife were also not consulted or notified in advance. A release from
the Mid-Atlantic Council suggests they were not consulted or notified either.
This would not have happened during President Bush's administration. Bill
Holgarth would have consulted with at least the state directors and council
members before implementing an action like this. It seems the new director of
NOAA has decided to take unilateral action. This is not how a partnership works
to manage fisheries. The JCAA is calling on the recreational community
to notify President Obama and our members of Congress that this is
unacceptable. (Bold print here and below added by Fishing Reports Now.)
We can't have Dr. Jane Lubchenco, NOAA Administrator, taking arbitrary action
with no regard for or understanding of recreational fishing and the industry
that it supports. This just reinforces our concerns when she replaced the
recreational representatives on the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Council.
We also need for each of you to contact your Governors and Legislators,
asking them to take whatever action they can. We need for NOAA to
rescind this closure immediately. We need NOAA to get the Monitoring Committee
and Science and Statistical Committee to establish realistic quotas.
We
have all seen the stimulus packages to bail out banks and the auto industry. We
have all seen the stimulus packages that are designed to create jobs in both the
public and private sectors. These actions by NOAA on black sea bass and red
snapper in the Gulf are doing exactly the opposite. If this continues NOAA will
have created another economic crisis and increased the unemployment roles. This
time we need to avoid the problem and find a common sense solution before we
need another bailout. JCAA will keep you posted on our upcoming action on this
issue.
Questions should be directive to
Thomas Fote
Legislative
Chairman
22 Cruiser Court
Toms River, NJ 08753
Phone
732-270-9102
Fax 732-506-6409
tfote@jcaa.org |
