Fluke Fishing Permit After 09/06/10

[paul-e]

"We have a special RSA permit that allows us to continue Fluke fishing after the normal season ends on September 6." 

This is the message on the site of one of the NJ Party Boats out of Atlantic Highlands.

What's the deal. Anyone know ?

[IrishAyes]

It is a RSA (Research Set Aside) permit. There is no more than 3% of the quota for a particular species (rec & comm) set aside to auction off. The comms used to be the only ones who bid on it, now the party and charter boats are bidding also.

The $$$ from the auction goes into research that the government does not fund. I believe the research is done by independent companies and the government does not get any of the $$$.

Capt TB can explain it in a whole lot more detail than I can, but that is the short version.

To me, it sounds like a good thing.

[Capt. Carl]

my problem with this is....ya tellin me they cant do enough research during the open seasons of all the states combined(for federal research?)...its such a low quota in lbs overall...why even do it?....and your telling me the mates and captains on these vessels are going to extract data from each fish caught anyway?  ...i beg to differ
instead of R.S.A....how about we change it to F.S.A(fillets set aside) and let everyone do some research and take their "research" home to eat!
sounds like a money maker to me!

[Noworries2009]

It's the same as a 50/50, your local church  charity, club or whatever uses to raise money. The 3% quota set aside gets sold to raise money,to fund research.IT's been around for years, I've seen boats in the 1990's use it.

[Capt. Carl]

exactly....MONEY....not RESEARCH

[paul-e]

Thanks for the info guys.
Never heard of this before.
And yes, isn't $$$ always involved even in the name of science. The head-boat owners are trying to make a living like us all.

This is some more info I found about the permit and rules.

"To be as brief as possible, there are quite a few requirements for the boats, paperwork, including names and addresses of those who catch RSA fish, proof of angler fishing on a permitted boat such as dated RSA stamp on tickets, certified scales for weighing, notification of fishing and return time to NJDEC (so they can meet the boat at the dock at their will, ergo the reason for no cutting fish) and yes NO FLUKE CAN BE CUT until we are docked. Also we will fish under the same regulations, size and bag, as in season. These restrictions and regulations are quite burdensome, and I hope do not inconvenience the anglers too much, but I think they are worth the effort as September is a good month for Fluke catching. It will be a challenge that we are willing to take on. The up side of the paper work is that the information collected will be considered "scientific" and will contribute to research into the fisheries."

[Capt. Birch]

my problem with this is....ya tellin me they cant do enough research during the open seasons of all the states combined(for federal research?)...its such a low quota in lbs overall...why even do it?....and your telling me the mates and captains on these vessels are going to extract data from each fish caught anyway?  ...i beg to differ
instead of R.S.A....how about we change it to F.S.A(fillets set aside) and let everyone do some research and take their "research" home to eat!
sounds like a money maker to me!

A review of the facts about the RSA program may change your opinion. Who and were does all this money for reseach come from during the season? Remember ear marks are evil and a waste in many peoples opinions. Who is going to hire the people and pay the checks. What if ever penny from the sale of RSA permits went into research for just that fishery.  I must say with my limited knowledge of the RSA program I have to disagree with just about everything in the above post.