I received this from JB Kasper who write for the Fishermen Mag and several papers. A very good article.............most interesting is that the Commercial Fishery reached their Quota in 17 hrs, once the season opened bngh bngh But there is a shortage of Summer Flounder
Fluke fisherman still wading through issue of regulations
Trenton Times, Sunday January 27, 2008
By J.B. Kasper
The furor over the proposed fluke regulations, and the fluke situation in general, continued on Monday evening, as the Save the Summer Flounder Fishing Fund held its third public meeting at the Elks Lodge in Manasquan. The packed meeting hall saw some 300 plus angry sportsmen updated on the group’s progress in fighting the bad science based, totally uncalled for restrictions being placed on the recreational fishing community.
Before we go any further, it should be noted that the first phase of the commercial fluke season opened a few days ago and commercial fishermen reached their quota in an estimated 17 hours. That’s right- 17 hours, not 17 days. Some boats which were not able to get out for a second haul on the continental shelf dropped their nets along the edge of the Mud Hole and filled their holds with a plenty of fish. This only goes to prove that there is no lack of fluke as radical environmental groups claim. Even the National Marine Fisheries Service agrees that the fluke population is in the best shape it has been in since statistics first started being kept. When a fishery grows four times what it was when a management plan was put in place, that’s a success story, not a fishery that is in trouble.
The real problem with the fluke regulations is with the language that was written into the Mangnuson-Steven Act (MSA). Both recreational and commercial fishermen were betrayed by politicians in Washington when they gave into environmental groups who insisted on unattainable goals to rebuild the fluke bio-mass and other fisheries when the act was re-authorized. The MSA has turned into a disaster for both recreational and commercial fishermen and all the businesses that they support. The management plan for the fluke fishery, which is based on a 1930's management model for Pacific Halibut, is so absurd that the majority of the reputable scientists in fisheries management have said the plan is not in the best interest of fishermen or the fishery. At a December meeting of the Congressional Sub-Committee on Fisheries, several scientists from Rutgers, Woodshole and other reputable marine scientific research centers told the committee that the goals of the management plan are unrealistic and unattainable. Some even question if the fluke population was ever as big as the 215-million pound spawning biomass, which the plan calls for by 2012. The data on which the management plan is based, MRFFS, has been condemned by just about every scientific organization in the country, including the national Academy of Science.
In light of this faulty management plan and the inflexibility of the MSA, Congressman Frank Palone (D-Monmouth) gave attendees a rundown on legislation he is introducing into congress in Washington to make the MSA more flexible. In order to effect changes in the MSA, Congress would have to re-open the MSA and hold hearings on the proposed changes in Palone’s bill. Congressman Palone said this will be very difficult and will require massive support from the states involved and the public in general. No one is questioning that the fluke stocks are not in trouble, however, the environmentalists have a hefty war chest and are insisting that the Feds enforce the provisions of the MSA to the letter, even though they are unattainable.
State Senators Sean Kean (R-Monmouth) and John Adler (D- ) also spoke at the meeting and said they are going to introduce a resolution into the New Jersey Legislature to draft a statement outlining how important the fluke fishery is to the state and their support for Congressman Palone’s legislation in Washington.
One of the big surprises at the meeting, and a welcome one at that, was the announcement by a representative from Rutgers Sea Grant Extension that they are pledging $70,000 to go for the scientific research that will be needed as part of the SSFFF plan. This research will be a major part of the needed science and will be used in conjunction with the data being compiled by the Partners for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Science and the SSFFF own research scientist. It will be used to disprove the data now being used by the National Marine Fisheries Service to formulate their management plan. Once the science is gathered it will be submitted for review to the leading scientific groups in the county. Once the data is reviewed and certified, it will be submitted to NMFS and hopefully they will agree with the science. If not accepted by NMFS, the group is prepared to take legal action.
Unfortunately, all this will take time, an estimated one to two years. This is why it is important for all fishermen, whether they fish for fluke or not, to voice their support for the legislation that is going to be introduced. While the fluke fishing is the main concern at this time, the environmental groups, many of which are avowed anti-fishermen and anti-sportsmen, and most of which know nothing about marine fisheries, have every intention of taking the same route to close down other fisheries. Blackfish, sea bass, porgies and weakfish are already on their hit list and some of the environmental groups have already started their assault on these fish. Groups like the Audubon Society, Marine Fish Conservation Network, the Pew Trust, etc. have millions of dollars in their war chest, and have every intention of using the money to take away the rights of recreational and commercial fishermen to harvest fish from the ocean. They do this with no regard to social-economic considerations, or the rights of individuals to harvest fish for the table. This is why they are demanding that the fed strictly adhere to the unreasonable provisions of the MSA.
It was pointed out by Tony Bogan, whose family has been in the party boat business for over 70 years, that if the goals of the management plan can be met, as an example, over a fifteen year period and still keep people in business and provide for the sensible harvesting of fish by humans for the table, why would any group want to achieve the same results in ten years and put people out of business and keep people from harvesting fish for the table?
It was also pointed out that the environmental organizations get big money, in the way of grants, and they need issues to keep the money coming in. Also pointed out by several speakers was that while many local environmental groups do excellent work and are assets to their communities, the national groups could care less about the small man and what’s right for the fisheries. In many cases they are reactionaries looking for issues to bring in money to their groups no matter what the cost to the common man. Just such the case is the fluke fishery, which by every scientific account is in the best shape it has been in since the Feds started keeping records.
Make no bones about it- this is a do or die struggle for our fishing rights. It’s that serious! The SSFFF is asking all sportsmen to join them in countering the attempts to destroy our fishing rights. They need and deserve your support on a massive scale to write, call, e-mail, fax or personally talk to your legislator and voice your opinion. You can get information on your legislators on a state and national level at their website at
www.ssfff.net as well at JCAA -
www.jcaa.org and RFA-
www.joinrfa.org.
You can reach us with your fishing or hunting reports, comments or questions by e-mail at jb.kasper@verizon.net or jbkasper@hotmail.com; or by mail at J.B. Kasper c/o The Times, 500 Perry St., Trenton, NJ 08605.
