South Carolina Fishing Reports - - rec. fishing - I am a rec. fisherman & would like you look into impact closing fishing has on S.C. thank you Mark Bender
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South Carolina Fishing Reports - - rec. fishing - I am a rec. fisherman & would like you look into impact closing fishing has on S.C. thank you Mark Bender
South Carolina Offshore Fishing :: View topic - LETTER TO US SENATORS- add your Name or Business!
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:12 pm Post subject: LETTER TO US SENATORS- add your Name or Business!
LETTER TO US SENATORS- add your name and/or business!
Please post names and addresses of businesses you'd like to see added to this letter in support.
Please use this format below
Post your Signatures in this forums
- your name
- Your business that deals with fishing.
- town where you live
- you are a recreational angler or Charter/Head Boat Captain or Commercial Fisherman.
- give a short synopsis of your fishing experience
Here is a example
Captain Keith Logan
Feedin Frenzy Charters.
Longs SC/Holden Beach NC
I'm a Charter/Head boat and Commercial fisherman.
I have been commercial fishing and charter fishing the coast of the Carolinas for over 30 years.
I will probably give this until Monday April 4th 2011 and then send it off to the staffers we have been working with.
Feel free to contact the Senators on this issue on your own, but a unified message to the Senators with a diverse representation of businesses that support this are what we're after here. Print this out and ask folks you do business with to support this. Get their permission to add their businesses to the list!
Thanks
Keith
Letter to Senators on S.632 fom GSFA
GRAND STRAND FISHING ALLIANCE
March 26, 2011
The Honorable Jim DeMint
United States Senate
167 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
United States Senate
290 Senate Russell Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4003
Dear Senator :
We are writing to request that you add your name as a co-sponsor of S. 632; a bill to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSFCMA) to extend the authorized period for rebuilding of certain overfished fisheries, which was introduced by Senator Schumer, and co-sponsored by Senator Burr, among others.
S. 632 is a very important bill to the recreational and commercial fishermen of South Carolina because it would add needed flexibility to some of the key provisions MSFCMA that have hamstrung our fishing communities with bureaucratic red tape. In our view, these proposed changes simply allow our fisheries managers the ability to manage the fishery in real-time, making decisions that correlate to the immediate health of the fishery instead of the prescribed rebuilding timeline directed under the current statute. Specifically, the bill would make a key definition change to require fishery management plans, amendments, or regulations for overfished fisheries the flexibility to specify a time period for ending overfishing and rebuilding the fishery that is as short as “practicable” modifying the current law which requires this to be done as short as “possible”. The bill also gives fishery managers more discretion in evaluating progress to end overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks and requires that consideration be given to factors other than commercial and recreational fishing.
Lastly, it allows fishery managers the ability to extend the rebuilding period under specified provisions of MSFCMA, while also allowing fishing, if the stocks dictate this option. In other words, it removes the „all or nothing‟ scenario that exists in the law today.
As fishermen who make their living from the sea, there is no other group with a greater stake in the health and sustainability of our fisheries. In our view, national fisheries management is not a „one size fits all‟ proposition, and thus we ask that you become a co-sponsor of S. 632 so that we might return to our fisheries managers the power to make decisions based on the health of the fishery and not the arbitrary timeline contained in the current statute.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments, and thank you for the hard work you do for the people of South Carolina.
Sincerely,
Keith Logan
Executive Director
GSFA letter to Senators Stock Assessment Funding
The Honorable Jim DeMint
United States Senate
167 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
United States Senate
290 Senate Russell Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4003
GRAND STRAND FISHING ALLIANCE
March 29, 2011
Dear Senator :
We are writing to request that you aid in our efforts to redirect federal resources at NOAA to stock assessments in South Carolina and the critically needed expansion of independent monitoring of black sea bass, red snapper and other snapper-grouper species that are undergoing severe fishery restrictions. A proposed increase in sampling was also recently recommended by the South Atlantic Fishery Independent Monitoring Program team.
The mechanisms to achieve these objectives currently exist at NOAA; however they have historically been severely underfunded. Without sound data to rely upon, it is impossible for our fishery managers to make decisions that fishing communities in South Carolina can embrace. It is the lack of updated science that is also causing such heartburn regarding recent closures. If we are not confident that the biomass is accurate, it is unrealistic to ask our fishing communities to make tough choices regarding the health and sustainability of the stocks.
Specifically, there are two programs that make sense to look closely at; Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (MARMAP), and the SC Cooperative Research Program, which is essentially a sub-program of NOAA‟s national Cooperative Research Program.
By way of background, MARMAP is a program managed by the SCDNR since 1972, and is a model resource monitoring partnership among state and federal fisheries managers. The information generated by MARMAP has become an integral component of models that are used by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) to assess the status of various reef fish stocks throughout the South Atlantic region, and is the only long-term (35+ yrs) fishery independent database available for the region. MARMAP has been funded for the past several years (including FY10 and, by extension with the Continuing Resolution for FY 11) at $850,000. For FY12 SCDNR requested $2.1 million for support of the Marine Resources Monitoring Assessment and Prediction Program (MARMAP). All of this funding comes to South Carolina to conduct a regional assessment of the fishery stocks from North Carolina through Florida. For FY 2012, MARMAP is in the President’s budget at $842,000, which we would like to see increased to meet SCDNR’s request of $2.1 million.
The SC Cooperative Research Program was a one-time appropriation way back in FY 2005-2006, but funds were stretched out over several years. It has not been funded for the past several years. The NOAA Program called “Cooperative Research” has been funded, but that is a nationwide figure, not just for the Southeast. SC Cooperative Research is not in the President’s budget request for FY12. In fact, that program was never in the Administration‟s request as it was a Congressional add-on. For FY12, the President requested $7,239,000 for “Cooperative Research”, but again that is a national figure, none of which we can count on for the southeast.
For 2012, the SCDNR requested a $400,000 line-item appropriation for continued support of South Carolina’s Cooperative Research Program, which we endorse and request assistance in obtaining. These funds will continue a multi-year project that that has funded 40 cooperative research projects with commercial and recreational fishermen. These projects provide state and regional fishery managers with needed information through cooperative arrangements that bring the private fishermen into the management process. This information can also be used for development of fishery management plans, improvements in efficiencies of existing fisheries and sustainability efforts. Senator, at the core of many of the fisheries issues facing our coastal communities in South Carolina is the lack of sound data. NOAA‟s priorities have instead been allocating money to institute quota programs and other „top down‟ approaches to fishery management. Without the science, efforts that seek to allocate fishery resources are futile. Moreover, closures that are based on flawed data and that have such a devastating impact on our coastal communities only serve to further erode the trust between our fishermen and our federal partners.
We appreciate your attention to this very important matter. Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments, and thank you for the hard work you do for the people of South Carolina.
Joined: May 20, 2009 Posts: 1026 Location: Little River, SC
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 7:54 pm Post subject:
Billy Berg
Little River, SC
Recreational Angler
Been fishing since I was 5 years old in saltwater. 17 now and still to this day I fish whenever possible. Plan on recreational fishing with a possible small commercial fishing business later in life.
push and keep the impact on jobs and the economey in their faces. it is the only hope we will ever have _________________ Tight Lines
---Billy---
28 Grady White
"Fin Addict IV"
Last edited by LR_Sportsman on Thu Mar 31, 2011 3:21 pm; edited 1 time in total
Joined: Feb 25, 2008 Posts: 20 Location: Charleston, SC
Posted: Wed Mar 30, 2011 8:20 pm Post subject: RFA-SC's letter
Here is RFA's letter.
Recreational Fishing Alliance South Carolina Chapter
530 Reid Street
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464
April 1, 2011
The Honorable Jim DeMint
United States Senate
167 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Lindsey Graham
United States Senate
290 Senate Russell Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-4003
Dear Senators:
Re: Request for NOAA funding reallocation to MARMAP and SC Cooperative Research Program for South Atlantic snapper-grouper species data.
The South Carolina Chapter of RFA (RFA-SC) greatly appreciates your consideration of our request for reallocation of the NOAA funding within the federal budget to better reflect our priorities in the South Atlantic region.
The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is a national, 501(c)(4) non-profit grassroots political action organization that has been representing individual sport fishermen and the sport fishing industry since 1996. The RFA Mission is to safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers, protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs and ensure the long-term sustainability of U.S. saltwater fisheries. RFA members include individual anglers, boat builders, fishing tackle manufacturers, party and charter boat businesses, bait and tackle retailers, marinas, and many other businesses in fishing communities.
The NOAA has requested that funding be shifted away from data collection and research efforts in the South Atlantic and be directed instead to catch shares programs. RFA-SC disagrees whole-heartedly with the concept of catch shares because it privatizes a public resource and places recreational fishermen in direct economic conflict with commercial fishermen and other entities for the exclusive rights to harvest fish. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) voted to abandon catch shares as a management tool for all snapper-grouper fish species except one, and there has been tremendous public outcry against catch shares in our region. Therefore, the NOAAs request for transferring funding for data collection and research to catch shares should be refused, and funding for fishery independent and fishery dependent research should be increased.
NOAA budget line items for Marine Resources Monitoring, Assessment, and Prediction (MARMAP), and the SC Cooperative Research Program, which is a sub-program of NOAAs national Cooperative Research Program, should be increased just as the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, the Grand Strand Fishing Alliance and others have requested.
In October 27, 2009 Congressional testimony and an April 6, 2010 letter to the United States Secretary of Commerce, Duane Harris, Chairman of the SAFMC, emphasized concerns about significant economic impacts to our region based on federal fishing closures and deficiencies in the current data collection system. In his letter, Harris states that, Fisheries management in the South Atlantic suffers from a chronic, yet well-documented, lack of basic data which hampers scientists abilities to evaluate exploited populations and managers abilities to develop and ensure accountability with management measures.
All the stakeholders agree that basic data is severely lacking. Many RFA members note that fisheries that are being closed are healthier than they have ever seen in their lifetimes. Ironically, attention to some fisheries brought on by their impending closures has led to 30-year-old sport fishing state records being broken just before fishing for these species or fishing in these areas are closed by the Secretary of Commerce due to speculation and best available science indicating these fisheries are unhealthy and legally overfished or undergoing overfishing.
The sport fishing industry is vital in South Carolina, and the small businesses listed below join RFA-SC in this request for NOAA funding to be reallocated to programs that exist for the purpose of properly assessing the health of fish stocks so that fishery managers like the SAFMC can make decisions that do not needlessly harm the economic and social health of our state.
The total economic impact of recreational fishing in South Carolina in 2006 was $2.3 billion per year, which includes nearly 26,000 jobs, $150 million in federal tax revenues and $150 million in state and local tax revenues. South Carolina cannot afford more unnecessary job losses resulting from closures of marine fisheries due to a lack of quality data or a federal fisheries law that is in need of repair (the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act).
Boat service centers, accommodations and hospitality providers, insurance agencies, bankers, Realtors, boat builders, fishing tackle manufacturers, party and charter boat businesses, bait and tackle retailers, marinas, fuel suppliers and many other businesses in fishing communities are negatively affected by the increasing federal fishery closures and restrictions off South Carolina.
As you know, the tourism industry is worth over $17 billion to South Carolinas annual economy, and many of our RFA members businesses contribute to this value. South Carolina is ranked 5th among all states for non-resident, i.e. tourism, expenditures on recreational fishing with over $380 million spent annually on recreational fishing by non-residents.
These economic figures are not what are suffering the most, however. Real lives have been affected. Many have been forced to abandon recreational activities and businesses owned and operated by their families for generations as they cry out for help from the NOAA and the SAFMC, who simply respond they are doing what they must to comply with the law- based on best available science. Truth be told, that term of art is a misnomer, and the better term is that used by SAFMC Chairman Duane Harris on repeated occasions- a lack of basic data.
Please support the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Grand Strand Fishing Alliances members, Recreational Fishing Alliance of South Carolinas members, the businesses listed below and others requests to reallocate NOAA funding to MARMAP and SC Cooperative Research Programs specifically for snapper-grouper fishery data in the South Atlantic. This will allow our federal fishery managers to have a clearer and more accurate view of the true economic and biological conditions of our fisheries, and as a result, the livelihoods of thousands of South Carolinians will be spared needless hardship.
Joined: Jan 23, 2011 Posts: 2 Location: NORTH MYRTLE BEACH
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 5:04 pm Post subject:
Little River Fishing Fleet
Cameron P Sebastian
Operate 2 15-20 person fishing vessels
Operate 1 80 person head boat
Commercial fish in off season
Operate largest dive facility in SC
Fishing operations since 1985
Diving operations since 1993
During the main season we provide jobs for up to 30 hard working men and women. In addition we carry thousands of recreational anglers out every year.
Cameron Sebastian
843-361-3323
Reel Action Fishing Charters
Capt John Schuchman
Fishing Guide
Fishing this area since 1985
Joined: Jan 29, 2009 Posts: 201 Location: Loris, SC
Posted: Thu Mar 31, 2011 7:06 pm Post subject:
Chris Carbone
Live & fish in the Little River, SC area
Have saltwater fished for most of my 70+ years.
I have recreational fished at least once a week except for this winter when the fisheries have been shut down, My boat has not been out since December 4, 2010.
Fishermen mean business which means jobs!! _________________ Capt. Greybeard
REEL DEAL II
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South Carolina Fishing Reports - - rec. fishing - I am a rec. fisherman & would like you look into impact closing fishing has on S.C. thank you Mark Bender
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