Commerce Inspector General to Investigate Fisheries Rulemaking

The following was released by Congressmen Barney Frank and John Tierney:


WASHINGTON - October 28, 2011- Congressman Barney Frank and Congressman John Tierney today announced that they have received the attached letter from Todd Zinser, Commerce Department Inspector General, which states that his office will review NOAA's rulemaking process concerning the fishing industry.



In a letter addressed to Frank and Tierney, Zinser writes that "based on your request, the results of NOAA's outside review, and concerns expressed to us, we will be undertaking an evaluation to address several key areas concerning fisheries rulemaking." Zinser's letter was a response to an August letter (attached) from Tierney and Frank in which they called for an investigation of the rulemaking process.



In his response, Zinser stated that one of the primary goals of the re-evaluation process would be to take into account "the socioeconomic impact of regulations on fishermen and fishing communities" as stipulated in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Frank and Tierney have long argued that this provision of the law has been all but ignored in the rulemaking process.



This most recent sign of progress follows years of effort on both the federal and local levels. Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford has worked closely with Massachusetts lawmakers in both the House and Senate to change punitive rules over the fishing industry.



"While we have had frustrations in our dealings with the federal government on behalf of the fishing industry," said Congressman Frank, "the Inspector General of the Commerce Department has been a consistent bright spot. His office did excellent work in backing up our claims regarding law enforcement and I am hoping that the investigation process will provide similarly positive results leading to improvements in rulemaking regarding fisheries management."



"For too long, concerns have been raised about the fairness and transparency of the rules and regulations impacting our fishermen. The Inspector General's decision to investigate NOAA fisheries rulemaking is a positive development, and I appreciate Mr. Zinser's willingness to conduct this important work. Congressman Frank and I will closely follow the results of the IG's review," Congressman John Tierney said.

4th Annual Fish Fry Benefit for Horry County Abused & Neglected Children

Babb Construction will be Hosting their 4th Annual Fish Fry Benefit for Horry County Abused and Neglected Children on Wednesday November 9th, 2011. The Benefit will be held in the Old Hooters Parking Lot (13th Ave. N) just off of Hwy. 17 in NMB, SC from 11 AM - 3 PM. Events such as these rely solely on the Support of Local Businesses and Community Members to make sure it is a Success...please pass this Information along to any of your Friends, Family Members, or Business Owners that you think would want to support this Great Cause. Tickets are $5.00 Per Plate (Fried Fish, French Fries, Coleslaw, and Bread). If you would be interested in Purchasing Tickets for yourself or Employees, making a Donation (Cash or Supplies), or would like further information please contact Heather Babb at 843-280-6964 or

Heather.Babb@babbcustomhomes.com! Looking forward to seeing each of you there!

Hello all –

Thank you all for participating in the Congressman’s Regulations Tour.  While it is unfortunate that there are regulations negatively impacting your businesses and industry, we are looking forward to bringing light to it.

Please excuse the repeat of information for some of you, but I’d like to send one last email finalizing the details.

The event will take place on November 8^th at Geechie Seafood on Shem Creek (258 Magwood Lane, Mount Pleasant).  The fishing stop will be last on the Congressman’s tour.  This stop will begin at noon, but we are asking that you are there no later than 11:45.

The order of the speakers will be:

Congressman Scott – he will introduce the and will speak about their impacts broadly, from a national point of view.

Capt. Mark Brown, Charleston Fishing charterboats– he will speak about the catch limit regulations more specifically and the negative impacts on South Carolina. 

Capt. Keith Logan, recreational fisherman – he will provide the impact of the regulation on his business, and locally on the Grand Strand.

Jeremy Burnham, owner, Atlantic Game and Tackle – he will provide the impact of the fishing regulations on his business

Chef, Fig - he will give the impact on his business and the other local restaurants

 As to the dress code – please wear what you would wear every day to work. 

The Congressman will then bring the tour to a close.

Again, thank you all for participating and the information you have provided! 

Best,

Tara O'Neill

Legislative Assistant

To All,

On Tuesday November 8th at 12 noon, Congressman Tim Scott will have a scheduled public meeting at the “Geechie Seafood Dock” located on Shem Creek in Mount Pleasant, SC. The format of the meeting will not be a Q&A but rather a 3-5 mins of multiple people speaking starting with Congressman Scott who will open with an overview of the regulations and negative impact it has had nation-wide and how the fishing industry is so integral to our state and more importantly our district.

Topics;

Concerns with Magnuson-Stevens

· the Annual Catch Limits (ACLs) are too strict and ignore the provisions of Sec. 101 that require consideration of the economic and social impacts that such standards will have on the fishing communities.

o Strengthen language of Sec 101(b): “shall”- will require the economic study be done

o We need to address how these ACLs will be derived; they are currently set at the lowest level allowedà maybe increase to the middle of the range that will allow for continued rebuilding of the stock?

· Definition for “overfished”- needs to be redefined; currently too broad, needs to be more direct

· Must use the “sound science” approach with current data

o Require data that has a reliability of 90% or greater that it is accurate

o Currently using the “best available” data that is sometimes years old; this is not good enough

A light lunch will be made available and provided by “Abundant Seafood” and “Boat House Restaurant”. Please try to make this meeting, we need as many people that are directly impacted by this and have concerns over the way the federal government is managing our fisheries. If you want to show our first district Congressman Tim Scott your support and that you care, BE THERE!

The address for the “Geechie Seafood Dock” is: 248 Magwood Lane, Mount Pleasant, SC. 29466 Phone: (843) 478-5078

Article with map and directions  http://www.charlestoncitypaper.com/charleston/geechie-seafood/Location?oid=3628994

Key Alabama scientist says the Gulf red snapper models are wrong..... (and theirs are much closer to reality than the models for our South Atlantic stocks.





http://blog.al.com/live/2011/10/feds_underestimate_snapper_rec.html


Research by Alabama scientists suggests that federal regulators may have underestimated the size of the red snapper population due to a longstanding reliance on flawed data collected from commercial fishermen.

For the last several years, federal snapper population estimates have meant tighter and tighter regulation of the Gulfs most important commercial and recreational fishery, with the 2011 season being the shortest on record.

An estimate of how many fish in the Gulf population are more than 10 years old is critical to the calculations that determine how many pounds of snapper commercial and recreational fishermen are allowed to catch each year. More older fish means a healthier population. Too few older fish means a population is being fished too heavily.

The National Marine Fisheries Service data on the age and size of the snapper population known as a stock assessment come from commercial fishing records. The information is fed into a computer model created by the fisheries service. Catch limits are set based on the models results.

All of the NMFS model is driven by the age composition of the population. What the NMFS model wants to see is a lot of fish that are 10 years old, and some that are 15 years old, said Sean Powers, a Dauphin Island Sea Lab scientist studying the snapper population.

Powers is also the chair of the Scientific and Statistical Committee that reviews the fisheries service model and the data that goes into it, putting him in a unique position to review the federal stock assessment.

Bottom line, what his studies show and what the model predicts dont agree.

We are seeing a lot more older fish in the population, he said. We are collecting those fish with greater frequency than the model predicts. We see the population recovering and building up those age classes more quickly.

Powers and a group of Sea Lab researchers are in the third year of a study that compares the effectiveness of different types of fishing gear used by commercial fishermen and researchers in the Gulf. The research has involved catching thousands of snapper on both artificial and natural reefs between Apalachicola, Fla., and the Alabama/Mississippi line.

Powers said the fisheries service model has long relied on catch data from commercial fishermen who typically use bandit gear short stubby rods equipped with electric reels designed to winch snapper up from the depths as quickly as possible.

If you only sample the commercial catch, then you are seeing only the fish the commercial fishermen want to catch, Powers said.

Those fishermen use small hooks and small baits in order to catch 14- to 16-inch red snapper, which bring the highest price at market, he said.

If we were only using bandit gear, wed see what NMFS sees, Powers said. But his group is using different methods, including deploying a mile of fishing line along the seafloor with hundreds of baited hooks.

Were catching these older fish, Powers said. The commercial guys are using smaller hook sizes and small baits. If we use smaller hooks and use squid instead of mackerel, we catch smaller red snapper. If we up the hook size and use larger bait, we catch larger fish.

Claudia Friess, a fisheries analyst with the Ocean Conservancy, said the commercial fishing gear does appear to target smaller fish. Other new data sets seem to reflect the same trend toward larger fish seen in the Sea Lab data, Friess said, meaning the snapper population recovery may be ahead of where federal officials believe it is.

Friess also said that, due to the governments review process, the data used to set catch limits is usually three years old.

Roy Crabtree, in charge of snapper regulations for the fisheries service, said the agency was trying to close the gap between when data is collected and when it is used.

He said population data collected by researchers like Powers described as fishery independent data are probably more accurate than catch reports from fishermen.

Crabtree said the fisheries service received funding related to the Gulf oil spill that has been used to conduct longline surveys similar to the Sea Lab work.

The biggest thing weve needed to improve the stock assessments is this fishery independent data. Weve got these now, Crabtree said. I hope Sean is right, that the stock is further along than we thought.

The next step, Crabtree said, is to use the new fishery independent data for a new stock assessment. Officials plan to conduct one in the coming year with a quicker turnaround than in the past. The results would primarily affect the 2013 season, though it is possible some of the preliminary data may be used to justify an increase in the quota for 2012.

Powers said snapper live to be 40 years old. A healthy population will have fish at every age group, all the way up to 40.

Were seeing a lot of 10-year-old fish, some 15s and even 19s, but not a lot older. I dont think it is fully recovered, but I think we are a lot further along that recovery path than the current stock assessment says we are, Powers said.

Carolina Saltwater Anglers Alliance and the Grand Strand Fishing Alliance Meeting in Little River 10/20/2011

We will Tara from Congressman Tim Scott office here to talk about what he has going on for us.

Save our Fisheries Meeting

We are having our 6th meeting with recreational fishermen, charter/
head boat captains, and commercial fishermen on Thursday October 20, 2011 at 7:00pm. The meeting will be at Billy the Kid's on Sea Mountain
Hwy in Little River. The reason for this meeting is to bring everyone
up to speed on what is going in our fisheries and what we are doing
to try to get the MSA fixed. We also will go over things that
need to be done to make this happen.

There will be a groups of us meeting at 6:00pm for dinner at Billy the
Kid's.

Look forward to see you on Thursday October 20, 2011 at 7:00pm.

Thanks,
Keith Logan.

Billy the Kid's
3456 Sea Mountain Hwy
Little River, SC 29566 .
Just right there off Hwy 9 south on Sea Mountain Hwy.

Thursday, Sep. 22, 2011

Official: Probable black sea bass closure a ‘job killer’


By Gregg Holshouser - For The Sun News

The hits keep on coming for Grand Strand charter fishermen who rely on bottom– or reef – fishing in the Atlantic Ocean for their livelihood.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) informed the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) last week at a meeting in Charleston that the recreational black sea bass fishery will likely be closed sometime in October as the annual catch limit for the species will have been met for the 2011-12 fishing season.

SAFMC member Tom Swatzel of Murrells Inlet stated the NMFS is waiting on updated catch estimates – likely available around Oct. 1 – to determine the date the closure would begin.


The black sea bass fishery is listed by NMFS as overfished and undergoing overfishing and in 2010, the SAFMC implemented regulations to end the overfishing as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, including the recreational annual catch limit of 409,000 pounds.

The fishing year for black sea bass annually begins on June 1, so under a closure the recreational fishery would not open again until that time.

The recreational fishery was closed earlier this year for the 2010-11 fishing season on Feb. 12 when the quota was met and was reopened on June 1 with the daily bag limit of 15 fish per person reduced to only five fish.

Local fishermen were taken by surprise that the quota will be met in only five months of fishing despite the drastic decrease in the daily bag limit and they question the data gathered by NMFS that is forcing the closure.

As recently as early 2007, black sea bass were governed by recreational limits of 20 fish per person and a minimum size limit of 10 inches (the current minimum size limit is 12 inches) with no closure.

Those days seem like a pipe dream to Capt. Keith Logan of Feedin’ Frenzy Charters who operates his charter fishing business in the Little River and Brunswick County, N.C., area.

“We were told that if they reduced the limit to five that it would get us eight months of fishing (for the fishing year) and now it will close in five months,” said Logan. “I would like to see the real numbers that the people doing the surveys are getting and where and when they did them.

“There are more fish out there than they can count. They cannot give us data to back up what they are saying on how many fish are out there.”

In Swatzel’s view, the quick catch of the quota means one thing – that black sea bass are relatively plentiful off the South Atlantic coast.

“I think it caught a lot of fishermen off guard that the annual catch limit could be met after only five months of fishing, even with the reduced bag limit,” said Swatzel. “An issue that may contribute to a possible early fishery closure is that Florida did not reduce the fifteen fish black sea bass bag limit in [Florida’s] state waters to five fish to mirror the federal regulation.

“But I think the bigger issue is that there are just a lot of black sea bass in the South Atlantic and they are being caught.”

Compounding the problem for charter and head boat operators is the seasonal closure of other species of reef fish.

In July 2009, management measures went into effect for the South Atlantic region leaving a closure of shallow-water species of grouper annually from January through April and vermilion snapper (known locally as beeliners) closed annually from November through March. The red snapper fishery remains closed indefinitely.

The prospect of essentially an eight-month black sea bass closure from October through May combined with the other closures is simply devastating to Logan and other charter operators. There are basically no staple reef species that can legally be caught from November through March, aside from grouper, which will close on Jan. 1.

“I lost 37 charters in April and May due to the black sea bass closure,” said Logan. “I now have 18 trips booked for October and November for bottom fishing that I may lose due to the closure. This is a major issue for us.”

The future beyond the current 2011-12 fishing season doesn’t look too rosy either.

Swatzel points out the draft black sea bass stock assessment that is still under review may not justify an increase in the annual catch limit, as the ACL has been substantially exceeded in prior years.

Swatzel doesn’t anticipate an increase in the ACL for the 2012-2013 fishing year which could mean another short fishing season for the species.

“That could result in an extremely short black sea bass season of just a few months, possibly closing during the economically critical summer months,” said Swatzel. “The way things are going, we may not have a year-round fishery for black sea bass for years.”

The economic impact could be wide-ranging, and could begin as soon as October if the closure begins as expected.

“To possibly have the recreational black sea bass season closed for (seven to eight) months is a huge blow to the coastal economy,” said Swatzel. “It will have a big direct impact on charter and party boat operators but it will also affect hotels, restaurants, bait and tackle shops, marinas and boat dealers, among others, who economically depend on tourism generated by offshore recreational fishing for sea bass. A prolonged closure will be a job killer.”

Council members and NMFS officials can expect a burgeoning backlash from charter fishing operators and recreational fishermen at a series of SAFMC public hearings in November and December.

“Perhaps this looming crisis will cause more fishermen to become politically active because Congressional action is the key to fixing the problems with the Magnuson-Stevens Act that have gotten us to this point,” said Swatzel. “Fishery councils need more, not less, flexibility to deal with overfishing issues so that the economic impacts can be better mitigated.”

Hearings are scheduled for Nov.14 in North Myrtle Beach and Savannah, Ga.; Nov. 15 in Charleston and Jacksonville, Fla.; Nov. 16 in Cape Canaveral, Fla., and Nov. 17 in Key Largo, Fla. A final public hearing will be part of the SAFMC’s meeting Dec. 6 in Raleigh, N.C. The exact locations of the hearings have yet to be announced.

The council will likely have a new stock assessment for black sea bass in hand at the Raleigh meeting.

Contact GREGG HOLSHOUSER at 651-9028 or wholshouser@sc.rr.com.


Read more: http://www.thesunnews.com/2011/09/22/2404191/fisherman-probable-black-sea-bass.html#ixzz1YjaFFlKY

Carolina Saltwater Anglers Alliance and the Grand Strand Fishing Alliance Meeting in Little River 9/15/2011

Save our Fisheries Meeting

We are having our 6th meeting with recreational fishermen, charter/
head boat captains, and commercial fishermen on Thursday September 15, 2011 at 7:00pm. The meeting will be at Billy the Kid's on Sea Mountain
Hwy in Little River. The reason for this meeting is to bring everyone
up to speed on what is going in our fisheries and what we are doing
to try to get the MSA fixed. We also will go over things that
need to be done to make this happen.

There will be a groups of us meeting at 6:00pm for dinner at Billy the
Kid's.

Look forward to see you on Thursday September 15, 2011 at 7:00pm.

Thanks,
Keith Logan.

Billy the Kid's
3456 Sea Mountain Hwy
Little River, SC 29566 .
Just right there off Hwy 9 south on Sea Mountain Hwy.

Crisis in coastal communities across the country. Fishermen – both commercial and sport – say they’re being bullied by the federal government. Controversial new rules that dictate when, where, and how much fish they can catch are destroying their ability to make a living on the water. Some commercial fishermen have been forced to sell their boats on the water. Some commercial fishermen have been forced to sell their boats and call it quits. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, commercial and recreational fishing generates about $72 billion a year and supports close to two million jobs. In less than a decade, this once-thriving industry has become a casualty of big government regulation with profitable sea ports on their way to becoming coastal ghost towns. What’s worse, say frustrated fishermen, is that no one seems to care. Tangled in the red tape are places like Morehead City, NC., Portland, MI, and Alaska’s Cook Inlet – all fishing hubs that suffered major setbacks this summer after losing court battles against the government over the legality of the new rules.

The special debuts Monday at 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Fox Business Network.



Fox Business Network spent the past two months visiting these coastal areas, talking to local fishermen, and discussing with local, state, and national leaders about what the future holds for fishing.

 

Places we visited:

Morehead, NC

Beaufort, NC

Portland, MI

Gloucester, MA

Little River Inlet Saltwater Fishing Club
Presents

1^st Annual “CATCH TWO” Flounder Tournament

This will be a Two (2) Fish Aggregate Tournament

1^st Place $1125  2^nd Place $675  3^rd Place $450

Based on 50 Entries less 10% Retained by Tournament

Dates: May 27^th-28^th, 2011

Registration: 5:00pm-8:00pm Friday, May 27^th, 2011. Harbourgate Marina, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Entry Fee: $50.00 per boat

Captain’s Meeting: 6:30pm, Friday, May 27^th, 2011. Harbourgate Marina, North Myrtle Beach, SC

Fishing: Saturday, May 28^th, 2011. Lines-In at 7:00am and Fishing Closes at 4:30pm.

Payout: We will payout 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd place based on 90% of the entry fees, 10% will retained by the tournament. This will be a 2 Fish aggregate Tournament, the combined weight of two fish will determine the winners, if a boat weights one fish that exceeds the weight of the closest two fish aggregate, that boat will win that place.

Secondary Prizes: Lady, Junior (14 & under) and Senior (55+) Anglers Prizes will be $100. These prizes will be based on largest single fish and must be declared at time of weigh-in. Only one secondary prize per angler. These prizes are donated amounts and will not affect the prize structure of the tournament.

Tournament within Tournaments: Four Separate Calcutta’s, $25 each, or enter all four for $80

v      Heaviest Flounder

v      Heaviest Two Flounder Aggregate

v      Heaviest Toadfish

v      Heaviest Aggregate of Toadfish – as many as you can bring in

One place Payout, Winner take All, Tournament will retain 10% of TWT Monies collected.

RULES:

• Check Out and Boundaries: There are none. This is a family event and unlawful activities are discouraged.
• Disqualification: any competitor receiving a citation from any law enforcement agency will be disqualified. If you do something you shouldn’t, you may be disqualified. Remember we’re all on the same water.
• Competitors may catch bait prior to 7:00 am.
• All fish must be caught by hook and line during tournament hours.
• Boats fishing the Little River area must be under the Hwy 17 Bridge by 4:30pm.
• Boats fishing in Cherry Grove must have their fish to the onsite representative by 4:30pm to be tagged and transported to the scales. Representative will be at the Cherry Grove boat ramp.
• The weigh-in station will be located at Harbourgate Marina.
• All fish weighed will become property of the tournament.
• This is a low budget event with the emphasis on payout
• Questions call John at 843-602-3376

Help Keep ReefCast FREE - Be Sure to File a Fishing Report!!