No problem Capt. Marc. This needs to be rammed down everyones throat until they write a letter. Unfortunately time is not on our side. We have till the 22nd. for public comment. See below:
Looks like this should all come to a head by the 22nd of March. There is public comment although I don't know where this comment is to be directed.Here is an article, take note of the last line.
Fishing orders issued By Jay Lindsay, Associated Press BOSTON ? New England's struggling fishing industry faces another hard hit following Friday's release of a federal government plan for restoring depleted fish stocks. Among the proposed provisions: limits on fishing days during the prime season, additional areas closures, gear changes and tighter restrictions for recreational fisherman. A federal judge ordered the National Marine Fisheries Service to submit the plan, saying in a December ruling the agency ignored the law and failed to quickly rebuild stocks of groundfish, which includes cod and flounder. Fishermen objected, saying fish stocks are improving and more regulations would put them out of business. NMFS spokeswoman Teri Frady said Friday there's little question fishing jobs could be lost under the proposed rules. But without the rules, fish stocks won't ever fully recover, she said. "I hope what it does, is that we have more fish," Frady said. "I don't think you can fish your way to more fish." The interim proposal is open to public comment until March 22 and must be approved by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler. "This is far from the last word," Frady said. The interim plan does not bring the federal government into immediate compliance with current law, as demanded by conservationists who sued. Frady said there simply wasn't time to clear regulatory hurdles before the May 1 start of the fishing season. She said NMFS plans to be in complete compliance with existing law by August 2003. The plan is aimed at protecting cod, and a key provision is a 22-day limit on fishing days in the Gulf of Maine between May and October, when codfish are massing to spawn. Fishermen currently get 88 fishing days to use how they wish. Under the plan, any day fished between May and October counts as two days, and during that time the fishermen are allowed to use a maximum of 44 days, or 22 actual fishing days. Outside of the Gulf of Maine, where codfish stocks are stronger, the 2-for-1 fishing day restriction is in effect May through July, when fishermen can use a maximum of 11 actual fishing days. The plan also shuts down coastal fishing areas in the Gulf of Maine in May and June, which would most impact small boat fishermen in northern New England ports such as Gloucester and Portsmouth, N.H. Gear changes in the plan require fishermen in the Gulf of Maine to use larger meshed nets that allow younger fish to escape, and reduces the number of nets in all areas. Increased restrictions are proposed for recreational fishermen for the first time since the mid-1990s. A cod must be 24 inches long for a private fisherman to keep it, up from 21 inches, and an angler can catch a maximum of five fish per day, rather than the previous limit of 10. Frady said it was clear recreational fisherman were increasing their catch, and needed additional regulation. "The fish don't know who's catching them," she said. "If that's going up, this is an effort to restrain them."
The issue isn't whose catching the fish but who is throwing away dead fish. Its really about by- catch. I have e-mailed Priscilla Brooks of the Conservation Law Foundation.(
[email protected]) She seems to be in deep on this project. Also I have mailed a letter to Judge Gladys Kessler. Her address is:
Clerk's Office United States District Court for the District of Columbia 333 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20001
We only have till the 22nd to comment so please take a few moment and let them hear you.
Thanks Capt. Spike
