I wish Al had hit 'em harder while they were up against the ropes.
A) If sea bass is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, why did the Council vote yesterday to knock 50 days off our 2011 season?
B) When the bag limit conversation came up, I think Al should've offered an immediate compromise - we'll cut our bag limit in half if you give us back the additional 50 days, how about it?
C) Why is MRFSS still being used to gauge recreational harvest and contribute to overall stock assessments when NOAA was supposed to have this program replaced in 2009? The question should've been posed on national television, why are our Councils still using "fatally flawed" data to manage the recreational fishery?
D) While Council should be proud to have so many healthy fisheries, why are the harvest limits lower today than at any point in history despite the fact that these stocks are so healthy, and what do you say to fishermen standing in the unemployment line to make them feel so darn good about this healthy resource?
E) Mr. Robins said that overfishing is not occurring, but I'd like to hear the statutory definition of "overfishing" explained in full on national television so that these reporters get an idea about it actually means.
F) Finally, with Commerce Secretary Locke coming on the program immediately after, a great question would've been concerning the fishing industry's lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of all of the above points, putting the onus then on him to address the fishery management situation in America based on all these legal wranglings over sea bass, red snapper, catch shares and the New England groundfishermen.
Too many niceties for me on SquawkBox - more like PuffBox to me!
