I have sent, "More Deaf Ears," We Fish, We vote! to Congressman Gus Bilirakis, Senator Nelson, and our President. All are up for re-election. They need to know, We Fish, We Vote! In addition. Pam Dana, Gulf Council, & Rick Scott, Governor of Florida, also were sent copies of the following:
"MORE DEAF EARS" DOES NOT = STAY IN OFFICE. WE FISH, WE VOTE!
"Let your reps know the You Fish / You Vote, and that if they want to keep THEIR jobs, they had better act on this crisis." Capt. Thomas J. Hilton
To Pam Dana, Gulf Council
Pam, thought you would be interested in this. Captain Hilton says it like it is! Bob H.
"There are issues with the states issuing snapper stamps. I pushed a while back for a snapper stamp to be based on the hugely successful federal duck stamp. The monies generated funded the purchase of millions of acres of duck habitat AND gave the feds a good handle on how many hunters were hunting. Of course, it fell upon deaf ears."
"Last year I gave the Gulf Council the OFS Permit Plan which is modeled after the existing HMS Permit system. It would use cell phones (web access or texting) to provide almost real-time data on how many fishermen are fishing out of which port and catch how many/what type fish. Roy Crabtree is steadfast in his position that it really doesn't matter what kind of plans we come up with, we won't get any more days fishing. MORE DEAF EARS."
"The point is that the feds/enviros have teamed up to put the squeeze on us, reducing our seasons/bad limits to whatever point in time where fishing simply becomes untenable so that they can then justify implementing their end game - Catch Shares / Sector Separation."
"Until we get relief at the Congressional level to hold the NMFS accountable for THEIR actions, we really have little to look forward to regarding offshore fishing opportunities getting any better."
"Let your reps know the You Fish / You Vote, and that if they want to keep THEIR jobs, they had better act on this crisis." Capt. Thomas J. Hilton
I am sorry but,"MORE DEAF EARS" has already gone way too far.
Bob Harbison Native Florida Fisherman & Hunter
