This page will give updates about fishery issues. The latest updates are at the bottom. I will leave the old post so you can follow the progression and see how you have helped.
We have had some great victories to tell you about. The only reason we won anything is because good people like you made your voice heard. I hope that seeing a few examples of how you can make a difference will inspire you to get or stay involved in this fight.
1. We sent the Sec. of Commerce, Gary Locke, postcards asking him not to sign Amendment 17A or B. Those two amendments would have closed the vast majority of our South Atlantic seafloor to almost all recreational and commercial bottom fishing. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council passed both amendments and Sec. Locke signed them into law. Public pressure forced a new stock assessment and suspension of the Amendment 17A 4,800 square mile area closure. The Amendment 17B area closure is still in place and has taken our freedom to fish on the seafloor from water deeper than 240' from Virginia to Key West. This closure is based on the lack of data on two fish and uses Agenda 21's Precautionary Principal. Because of the public outcry, the council recently voted to suspend the entire 17B area closure. The entire closure was suspended on May 10, 2012! This is a great victory and I appreciate your support.
2. Public opposition has forced the SAFMC to drop the catch share scam that they had been pushing for. Congressman Walter B. Jones was successful in defunding 54 millions dollars in the 2011 budget that would have been used to advance catch shares. Catch shares are a way to allocate shares of fish between fishermen based on past catch histories. Catch shares have reduced the size of fishing fleets by about a third in every fishery they "help". They put control of our fisheries into the hands of a few with the money to buy up the shares. There are much better ways to manage our fisheries. Catch shares are not even a management tool as much as they are an allocation tool.
3. The North Carolina Legislature is trying to take our freedom to sell Speckled Trout, Red Drum, and Striped Bass. This would lead to a ban on any commercial fishery that interacted with any of those fish. The bill is HB-353. It would take 97% of North Carolinian's freedom to access many kinds of local seafood. We have beat it this for now, but it will be back. Please read the post below about this bill and help me stop this attack on our freedom. We have once again stopped gamefish status in a new bill, HB-983. Please go to the link provided if you are interested in seeing some alternative solutions that will limit waste, promote tourism, feed more people, and protect our public resources for future generations. http://www.freefish7.com/nc-visioning-project.html
4. Public opposition has stopped the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in the last two meeting from passing a law requiring commercial snapper/grouper fishermen to install Orwellian Vessel Monitoring Systems on our boats and pay some corporation $50 a month to spy on us. We need to keep the pressure on them if we are going to stop this attack on our Constitutional Rights permanently. Please send the council an email opposing Vessel Monitoring Systems. safmc@safmc.net We have once again stopped the council from passing a Vessel Monitoring System law thanks to public opposition.
5. The NC Marine Fisheries Commission voted unanimously to deny a petition aimed at sinking shrimp fisheries in our sounds where the vast majority of NC shrimp are harvested due in large part to public comments. Now we need to focus on reducing by-catch and using more of what is landed. Please consider joining other concerned citizens in offering positive solutions for NC's fisheries through a Visioning Project page at this link. http://www.freefish7.com/nc-visioning-project.html
1. We sent the Sec. of Commerce, Gary Locke, postcards asking him not to sign Amendment 17A or B. Those two amendments would have closed the vast majority of our South Atlantic seafloor to almost all recreational and commercial bottom fishing. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council passed both amendments and Sec. Locke signed them into law. Public pressure forced a new stock assessment and suspension of the Amendment 17A 4,800 square mile area closure. The Amendment 17B area closure is still in place and has taken our freedom to fish on the seafloor from water deeper than 240' from Virginia to Key West. This closure is based on the lack of data on two fish and uses Agenda 21's Precautionary Principal. Because of the public outcry, the council recently voted to suspend the entire 17B area closure. The entire closure was suspended on May 10, 2012! This is a great victory and I appreciate your support.
2. Public opposition has forced the SAFMC to drop the catch share scam that they had been pushing for. Congressman Walter B. Jones was successful in defunding 54 millions dollars in the 2011 budget that would have been used to advance catch shares. Catch shares are a way to allocate shares of fish between fishermen based on past catch histories. Catch shares have reduced the size of fishing fleets by about a third in every fishery they "help". They put control of our fisheries into the hands of a few with the money to buy up the shares. There are much better ways to manage our fisheries. Catch shares are not even a management tool as much as they are an allocation tool.
3. The North Carolina Legislature is trying to take our freedom to sell Speckled Trout, Red Drum, and Striped Bass. This would lead to a ban on any commercial fishery that interacted with any of those fish. The bill is HB-353. It would take 97% of North Carolinian's freedom to access many kinds of local seafood. We have beat it this for now, but it will be back. Please read the post below about this bill and help me stop this attack on our freedom. We have once again stopped gamefish status in a new bill, HB-983. Please go to the link provided if you are interested in seeing some alternative solutions that will limit waste, promote tourism, feed more people, and protect our public resources for future generations. http://www.freefish7.com/nc-visioning-project.html
4. Public opposition has stopped the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council in the last two meeting from passing a law requiring commercial snapper/grouper fishermen to install Orwellian Vessel Monitoring Systems on our boats and pay some corporation $50 a month to spy on us. We need to keep the pressure on them if we are going to stop this attack on our Constitutional Rights permanently. Please send the council an email opposing Vessel Monitoring Systems. safmc@safmc.net We have once again stopped the council from passing a Vessel Monitoring System law thanks to public opposition.
5. The NC Marine Fisheries Commission voted unanimously to deny a petition aimed at sinking shrimp fisheries in our sounds where the vast majority of NC shrimp are harvested due in large part to public comments. Now we need to focus on reducing by-catch and using more of what is landed. Please consider joining other concerned citizens in offering positive solutions for NC's fisheries through a Visioning Project page at this link. http://www.freefish7.com/nc-visioning-project.html
Recreational fishermen are worried about Catch Shares taking their freedom to fish.
I just came back from a fishhouse that is about to be turned into condos. I talked with a fishermen that attended a Catch Share meeting last year. He believes Trip Poundage Limits would help the fishery but would not remove size limits or area and seasonal closures. He said that EDF assured them at the meeting that Catch Shares would stop the closures and abolish the size limits. Why doesn't EDF support removing size limits at this time. Are they willing to maliciously support the waste of countless fish in order to advance Catch Shares? I do not for a second believe that Catch Shares will stop area and seasonal closures. EDF, PEW, and the fishery bureaucracies seem to have adopted the radical theory that "the ends justify the means". Catch shares are not only going to destroy America's commercial fishing heritage and jobs. Catch Shares are coming for charter boats and recreational fishermen. Please read this letter from a recreational fisherman. He did a great job of explaining things. http://www.biggamefishingjournal.com/editorial06.html
We are about to lose our freedom to sell and purchase three delicious fish in NC.
I would like to start by reminding everyone that all fish are gifts from God. God sent His Son as a gift to show us by example, how we should live. Jesus and some of His Disciples caught fish commercially with gill nets. Jesus fed fish to thousands of people. Fish are delicious and nutritious for a reason. God intended for us to eat them. He also gave us our freedom. The brave men and women in America’s military defend that freedom for us. Many have laid down their life so that we may be free. H-353 dishonors those soldier’s sacrifices and God’s gifts by taking our freedom to eat some fish and turning them into toys for a privileged few to play with.
H-353 is the bill that attempts to make Speckled Trout, Red Drum, and Striped Bass "gamefish". That very name implies that a few misguided "sportsmen" view these fish as nothing more than toys. They would take the vast majority of North Carolinian's freedom to eat these delicious fish just because they think it will make their toys bigger and easier to play with. These fish are public resources that everyone should have access to.
If you ever want to eat a Striped Bass, Speckled Trout, or Red Drum again without catching it yourself, let our public servants know. Representative McCormick sponsored the bill to list these three species as gamefish in H-353. He is the Chairman of a Committee holding hearings on H-353. The people behind getting him to sponsor this bill have been contacting all of the relevant politicians to assure its passage. I agree that these fish need better management, but this is not it. We can keep our freedom to eat these delicious and nutritious fish if enough concerned citizens will contact Representative McCormick and politely ask him to immediately withdraw H-353. darrell.mccormick@ncleg.net (919) 733-5654 Please contact Governor Perdue also. governor.office@nc.gov (800) 662-7952
Here is a link to the bill. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H353v1.pdf
It is always great to see our elected officials give this kind of power to unelected bureaucrats. "SECTION 2.(d) The Marine Fisheries Commission may adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of this section." They can enforce this attack on our freedom by any means necessary!
Here is a link to a study by the General Assembly that explains how HB-353 would cost N.C. between 15 and 20 million dollars a year in funding. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/FiscalNotes/House/PDF/HFN0353v1.pdf
Please keep in mind that HB-353 is designed to lead to a ban on commercial fisheries that interact with any of the fish listed in the bill. You will in time lose your access to local Shrimp, Spots, Flounder, and other delicious N.C. seafood. HB-353 violates the Fisheries Reform Act that requires every fishery to be managed for the benefit of ALL user groups. Please help me stop this attack on our freedom to fish and eat local seafood.
H-353 is the bill that attempts to make Speckled Trout, Red Drum, and Striped Bass "gamefish". That very name implies that a few misguided "sportsmen" view these fish as nothing more than toys. They would take the vast majority of North Carolinian's freedom to eat these delicious fish just because they think it will make their toys bigger and easier to play with. These fish are public resources that everyone should have access to.
If you ever want to eat a Striped Bass, Speckled Trout, or Red Drum again without catching it yourself, let our public servants know. Representative McCormick sponsored the bill to list these three species as gamefish in H-353. He is the Chairman of a Committee holding hearings on H-353. The people behind getting him to sponsor this bill have been contacting all of the relevant politicians to assure its passage. I agree that these fish need better management, but this is not it. We can keep our freedom to eat these delicious and nutritious fish if enough concerned citizens will contact Representative McCormick and politely ask him to immediately withdraw H-353. darrell.mccormick@ncleg.net (919) 733-5654 Please contact Governor Perdue also. governor.office@nc.gov (800) 662-7952
Here is a link to the bill. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/Bills/House/PDF/H353v1.pdf
It is always great to see our elected officials give this kind of power to unelected bureaucrats. "SECTION 2.(d) The Marine Fisheries Commission may adopt any rules necessary for the implementation of this section." They can enforce this attack on our freedom by any means necessary!
Here is a link to a study by the General Assembly that explains how HB-353 would cost N.C. between 15 and 20 million dollars a year in funding. http://www.ncga.state.nc.us/Sessions/2011/FiscalNotes/House/PDF/HFN0353v1.pdf
Please keep in mind that HB-353 is designed to lead to a ban on commercial fisheries that interact with any of the fish listed in the bill. You will in time lose your access to local Shrimp, Spots, Flounder, and other delicious N.C. seafood. HB-353 violates the Fisheries Reform Act that requires every fishery to be managed for the benefit of ALL user groups. Please help me stop this attack on our freedom to fish and eat local seafood.
NOAA's catch share scam defunded in this year's budget.
I am proud to say that my Representative sponsored the amendment to defund NOAA's catch share scam in the 2011 budget. Please call his office and thank him for supporting our freedom to fish and eat local seafood. N.C. (252)-931-1003 DC (202)-225-3415
We are winning some battles because good people like you are learning about this issue and getting involved. Knowledge is power and we have power in numbers. We the People have more power than any weapon if we will educate ourselves and unite to peacefully defend our God given freedoms with our words, ideas, and votes. Remember, you can vote with your money as well and have a bigger impact than voting for a politician in most cases. Our dollar is about as weak as the minds of the bureaucrats that rule our fisheries. You can add some value to your dollar by spending it in locally owned businesses. Try to eat local food from locally owned restaurants. Look for locally made arts and crafts for birthday and Christmas presents instead of giving Chinese token gifts. Help your neighbor and it will come back to you in some form. If nothing else, it will make you feel good about yourself. Thank you all for your support.
We are winning some battles because good people like you are learning about this issue and getting involved. Knowledge is power and we have power in numbers. We the People have more power than any weapon if we will educate ourselves and unite to peacefully defend our God given freedoms with our words, ideas, and votes. Remember, you can vote with your money as well and have a bigger impact than voting for a politician in most cases. Our dollar is about as weak as the minds of the bureaucrats that rule our fisheries. You can add some value to your dollar by spending it in locally owned businesses. Try to eat local food from locally owned restaurants. Look for locally made arts and crafts for birthday and Christmas presents instead of giving Chinese token gifts. Help your neighbor and it will come back to you in some form. If nothing else, it will make you feel good about yourself. Thank you all for your support.
This link shows an article detailing some more corruption at noaa and in congress.
Congressman Jones is part of a bipartisan effort to help American fishermen.
Agenda 21 is taking our freedom to feed the American people.
Please follow these links that will inform you about how the UN's Agenda 21 is taking our freedom to eat American seafood and for farmers to grow our food.
This is a news report about how NMFS is now putting farmers out of work. http://by145w.bay145.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=2145281254!fid=1&fav=1&n=849692663&mid=3d40fa2d-a6b1-11e0-8a71-002264c1d5b6&fv=1
This is a website that explains how Agenda 21 is taking our liberty. http://www.takingliberty.us/TLHome.html
This is a government website that shows the links between our government and the UN's Agenda 21. http://www.fedcenter.gov/programs/sustainability/
This is a link to the Agenda 21 document. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/Agenda21.pdf
Here is a little information about Agenda 21 from a friend: Ex. Order 12852 (Clinton) created the Presidents Council on Sustainability (PCSD). The purpose
of the PCSD was to incorporate the UN Agenda 21 policies (REJECTED BY THE SENATE) into US federal regulations. Here are the recomendations on fisheries
and here you will see the genisis of where the destruction of the American fishing industry stems from. This came out in 1994. In 1996 The Sustainable
Fishing Act was passed by Congress molding the MSA to conform to Agenda 21. In 1998 the SAFMC passed Amendment 4,The License Limitation Plan to the SA
Snapper/Grouper FMP. This complied with the UN Agenda 21, Chapter 17 calling for reduction in "Overcapitalization". It eliminated most of the permit holders in
that fishery by them not being able to qualify to renew their permit. The Precautionary Principal is Item 15 of the Rio Declaration which is part of
Agenda 21. This is why the Wreckfish quota was reduced from 2 mil. # down to 234,000 approx. with no stock assessment. Also a primary reason SA red snapper
is closed and Black Sea Bass and why even though Golden Tilefish are no longer Overfished and Overfishing is not occurring and the stock biomass is rated at a
"high" level no increase in the catch is recommended which also is down to an artifically low level. Additionally, the Marine Protected Area inititive is a
part of this also. Its the marine extension of The Wildlands Project which has a goal of 50% of the land converted to Core Wilderness Areas with little to no
human use. The NRC publication on MPA's referred to them as a key part of implementing the Convention on Biodiversity which is the UN treaty the Senate
rejected. The "allocation" system= ITQ'S, Catch Shares, is right out of this. All now a top priority of NOAA and never approved by Congress. SP http://summits.ncat.org/natural_resource/action.php
Many of the government agencies and environmental organizations that worked together on Agenda 21 are also members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucn.org/about/union/members/who_members/members_database/ This union creates a conflict of interest when environmental organization members sue government agency members trying to get various parts of Agenda 21 implemented.
This is a news report about how NMFS is now putting farmers out of work. http://by145w.bay145.mail.live.com/default.aspx#!/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=2145281254!fid=1&fav=1&n=849692663&mid=3d40fa2d-a6b1-11e0-8a71-002264c1d5b6&fv=1
This is a website that explains how Agenda 21 is taking our liberty. http://www.takingliberty.us/TLHome.html
This is a government website that shows the links between our government and the UN's Agenda 21. http://www.fedcenter.gov/programs/sustainability/
This is a link to the Agenda 21 document. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/english/Agenda21.pdf
Here is a little information about Agenda 21 from a friend: Ex. Order 12852 (Clinton) created the Presidents Council on Sustainability (PCSD). The purpose
of the PCSD was to incorporate the UN Agenda 21 policies (REJECTED BY THE SENATE) into US federal regulations. Here are the recomendations on fisheries
and here you will see the genisis of where the destruction of the American fishing industry stems from. This came out in 1994. In 1996 The Sustainable
Fishing Act was passed by Congress molding the MSA to conform to Agenda 21. In 1998 the SAFMC passed Amendment 4,The License Limitation Plan to the SA
Snapper/Grouper FMP. This complied with the UN Agenda 21, Chapter 17 calling for reduction in "Overcapitalization". It eliminated most of the permit holders in
that fishery by them not being able to qualify to renew their permit. The Precautionary Principal is Item 15 of the Rio Declaration which is part of
Agenda 21. This is why the Wreckfish quota was reduced from 2 mil. # down to 234,000 approx. with no stock assessment. Also a primary reason SA red snapper
is closed and Black Sea Bass and why even though Golden Tilefish are no longer Overfished and Overfishing is not occurring and the stock biomass is rated at a
"high" level no increase in the catch is recommended which also is down to an artifically low level. Additionally, the Marine Protected Area inititive is a
part of this also. Its the marine extension of The Wildlands Project which has a goal of 50% of the land converted to Core Wilderness Areas with little to no
human use. The NRC publication on MPA's referred to them as a key part of implementing the Convention on Biodiversity which is the UN treaty the Senate
rejected. The "allocation" system= ITQ'S, Catch Shares, is right out of this. All now a top priority of NOAA and never approved by Congress. SP http://summits.ncat.org/natural_resource/action.php
Many of the government agencies and environmental organizations that worked together on Agenda 21 are also members of the International Union for Conservation of Nature. http://www.iucn.org/about/union/members/who_members/members_database/ This union creates a conflict of interest when environmental organization members sue government agency members trying to get various parts of Agenda 21 implemented.
Some good news
We stopped HB-353 in the last Legislative session. We would have lost our freedom to access some of North Carolina's most delicious seafood if that bill passed.
The SAFMC voted unanimously to suspend the entire Amendment 17b area closure. On January 1, 2012 we will get back our freedom to fish on the majority of our South Atlantic seafloor. That freedom would have been lost forever if we did nothing. This is a GREAT victory. I would like to thank everyone that contacted the SAFMC and Sec. Locke or sent a postcard to him. We have power in numbers. Our united voice was loud enough that they gave us back some of our freedom.
The House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing about the mismanagement of our fisheries by NOAA, NMFS, and the regional councils. The postcards you sent helped to get the ball rolling on a full investigation into the corruption and incompetence that plagues our fishery bureaucracies.
The Carolina Journal has a front page story in next month's issue about the "gamefish" bill. Here is a link to the on-line version.
http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8099
The SAFMC voted unanimously to suspend the entire Amendment 17b area closure. On January 1, 2012 we will get back our freedom to fish on the majority of our South Atlantic seafloor. That freedom would have been lost forever if we did nothing. This is a GREAT victory. I would like to thank everyone that contacted the SAFMC and Sec. Locke or sent a postcard to him. We have power in numbers. Our united voice was loud enough that they gave us back some of our freedom.
The House Committee on Natural Resources held a hearing about the mismanagement of our fisheries by NOAA, NMFS, and the regional councils. The postcards you sent helped to get the ball rolling on a full investigation into the corruption and incompetence that plagues our fishery bureaucracies.
The Carolina Journal has a front page story in next month's issue about the "gamefish" bill. Here is a link to the on-line version.
http://www.carolinajournal.com/exclusives/display_exclusive.html?id=8099
Co-op fishhouse comments for the NCDOT public meeting on Sept. 27, 2011
I will be presenting these comments to the NCDOT at the public meeting about how to use the State Port in Morehead City and Radio Island. It will be held at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City from 4:00pm to 8:00pm. Please contact Governor Perdue and let her know you support this idea. governor.office@nc.gov
Co-op Fish House Suggestions to Derail Current and Future Toxic Plans for OUR State Port Property at Radio Island, N.C.
My name is Chris McCaffity. I am a commercial fisherman who has been exposing the mismanagement of our fisheries while offering common sense solutions that would be beneficial to ALL N.C. citizens and our marine resources. The lack of a dependable supply of seafood due to terrible fishery laws as well as high taxes, have forced many of North Carolina’s waterfront fish houses out of business. We are losing places on the water to unload the seafood that commercial fishermen harvest for this State’s citizens and tourist to enjoy. Please keep an open heart and mind as you consider my comments about why a co-op fish house would be a better use of our Port’s land than a SULFURIC ACID melting plant or holding tanks.
Holding or melting SULFURIC ACID at the Port would pose many hazards to our health and heritage as well as our environment and economy. Towering smoke stacks spewing noxious gases reeking of rotten eggs is not inviting to tourist and it is not compatible with the charm of Carteret County. SULFURIC ACID holding tanks could be a terrorist target. Any intentional or accidental explosion at tanks holding the highly combustible SULFURIC ACID pellets would create poisonous gas clouds that would contaminate our air and water. Our estuaries that are nurseries for much of the local seafood we eat would be threatened if high winds or water breached the holding tanks. Why doesn’t PCS melt the ACID at the site in Aurora? That area is already a polluted eyesore. Could it be that they have already depleted the water table in that area to the point they cannot draw enough to melt their SULFURIC ACID pellets? This potentially catastrophic risk to our ground and sound waters as well as our clean air and fertile land is not worth taking for any amount of money. North Carolina could make just as much money by using OUR State Port in an environmentally friendly way that is beneficial to everyone.
I suggest putting a co-op style fish house at the State Port property on Radio Island. This would derail any current or future plans to pollute this beautiful site. We could build an aesthetically pleasing fish house with floating dockage and energy efficient equipment. We could sell diesel fuel made from the oil that restaurants use to fry the seafood we harvest for them. The fish house could double as a museum to preserve our commercial fishing heritage. Tours could be given as fishermen unload their catch and it is weighed, inspected, and labeled as Certified North Carolina Wild Caught Seafood with an expiration date. The co-op should only be an unloading and inspection point for seafood and not compete with current dealers. We should however, encourage those dealers to supply North Carolina restaurants and seafood markets with our State’s seafood before it is exported. We could develop markets for underutilized species like the skates and rays that are eating so many of our Bay Scallops. We could also grind the scraps left after cleaning the seafood and any by-catch into cat food, crab pot bait, and chum. We should make wise use of every bit of the seafood we harvest.
There is already a public boat ramp and pier on Radio Island. Marine patrol officers could set up check points there and at other boat ramps as well as at the fish house to check our catches. The officers along with scientists and college students could collect much needed data to use in credible stock assessments. The shallow wetlands around Radio Island could be seeded with clams and oysters by commercial fishermen to provide recreational fishermen with a chance to harvest a limit of delicious shellfish. The co-op fish house is a way to preserve our heritage, jobs, environment, and access to local seafood.
Co-op Fish House Suggestions to Derail Current and Future Toxic Plans for OUR State Port Property at Radio Island, N.C.
My name is Chris McCaffity. I am a commercial fisherman who has been exposing the mismanagement of our fisheries while offering common sense solutions that would be beneficial to ALL N.C. citizens and our marine resources. The lack of a dependable supply of seafood due to terrible fishery laws as well as high taxes, have forced many of North Carolina’s waterfront fish houses out of business. We are losing places on the water to unload the seafood that commercial fishermen harvest for this State’s citizens and tourist to enjoy. Please keep an open heart and mind as you consider my comments about why a co-op fish house would be a better use of our Port’s land than a SULFURIC ACID melting plant or holding tanks.
Holding or melting SULFURIC ACID at the Port would pose many hazards to our health and heritage as well as our environment and economy. Towering smoke stacks spewing noxious gases reeking of rotten eggs is not inviting to tourist and it is not compatible with the charm of Carteret County. SULFURIC ACID holding tanks could be a terrorist target. Any intentional or accidental explosion at tanks holding the highly combustible SULFURIC ACID pellets would create poisonous gas clouds that would contaminate our air and water. Our estuaries that are nurseries for much of the local seafood we eat would be threatened if high winds or water breached the holding tanks. Why doesn’t PCS melt the ACID at the site in Aurora? That area is already a polluted eyesore. Could it be that they have already depleted the water table in that area to the point they cannot draw enough to melt their SULFURIC ACID pellets? This potentially catastrophic risk to our ground and sound waters as well as our clean air and fertile land is not worth taking for any amount of money. North Carolina could make just as much money by using OUR State Port in an environmentally friendly way that is beneficial to everyone.
I suggest putting a co-op style fish house at the State Port property on Radio Island. This would derail any current or future plans to pollute this beautiful site. We could build an aesthetically pleasing fish house with floating dockage and energy efficient equipment. We could sell diesel fuel made from the oil that restaurants use to fry the seafood we harvest for them. The fish house could double as a museum to preserve our commercial fishing heritage. Tours could be given as fishermen unload their catch and it is weighed, inspected, and labeled as Certified North Carolina Wild Caught Seafood with an expiration date. The co-op should only be an unloading and inspection point for seafood and not compete with current dealers. We should however, encourage those dealers to supply North Carolina restaurants and seafood markets with our State’s seafood before it is exported. We could develop markets for underutilized species like the skates and rays that are eating so many of our Bay Scallops. We could also grind the scraps left after cleaning the seafood and any by-catch into cat food, crab pot bait, and chum. We should make wise use of every bit of the seafood we harvest.
There is already a public boat ramp and pier on Radio Island. Marine patrol officers could set up check points there and at other boat ramps as well as at the fish house to check our catches. The officers along with scientists and college students could collect much needed data to use in credible stock assessments. The shallow wetlands around Radio Island could be seeded with clams and oysters by commercial fishermen to provide recreational fishermen with a chance to harvest a limit of delicious shellfish. The co-op fish house is a way to preserve our heritage, jobs, environment, and access to local seafood.
Mismanagement updates
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has mismanaged the recreational Black Sea Bass quota and caused the fishery to be closed on October 17, 2011.
The council is planning to violate the Magnuson-Stevens Act by reducing the Wreckfish quota based soley on the lack of effort due to an earlier catch share scheme that destroyed the fishery.
The council is planning ahead to shut the commercial Red Grouper fishery down early next year. This is there brilliant plan. Give recreational fishermen 400,000 pounds of the quota when their average landings are around 100,000 pounds. They will graciously give the consumers access to 300,000 pounds when our average landings are around 400,000 pounds. They could have actually increased both quotas and helped everyone. They could remove the size limits and stop wasting tons of perfectly good Red Grouper that are discarded to slowly die and go to waste. This would increase the quotas enough that closures would not be necessary without Trip Poundage Limits (TPLs) to manage the quotas. With the quota as it is, we need TPLs set at 1,000 pounds until about 75% of the quota has been caught. The TPL should then be adjusted up or down to a level that would fill the quota without any long closure. It should go up to 1,500 pounds if there is only one month left. The TPL should be reduced to 100 pounds if there are six months left in the season.
Please contact me if you would like some of the postcards that I make supporting or opposing different fishery issues. They are already addressed to the relevant public servant and they are FREE. freefish7@hotmail.com
The council is planning to violate the Magnuson-Stevens Act by reducing the Wreckfish quota based soley on the lack of effort due to an earlier catch share scheme that destroyed the fishery.
The council is planning ahead to shut the commercial Red Grouper fishery down early next year. This is there brilliant plan. Give recreational fishermen 400,000 pounds of the quota when their average landings are around 100,000 pounds. They will graciously give the consumers access to 300,000 pounds when our average landings are around 400,000 pounds. They could have actually increased both quotas and helped everyone. They could remove the size limits and stop wasting tons of perfectly good Red Grouper that are discarded to slowly die and go to waste. This would increase the quotas enough that closures would not be necessary without Trip Poundage Limits (TPLs) to manage the quotas. With the quota as it is, we need TPLs set at 1,000 pounds until about 75% of the quota has been caught. The TPL should then be adjusted up or down to a level that would fill the quota without any long closure. It should go up to 1,500 pounds if there is only one month left. The TPL should be reduced to 100 pounds if there are six months left in the season.
Please contact me if you would like some of the postcards that I make supporting or opposing different fishery issues. They are already addressed to the relevant public servant and they are FREE. freefish7@hotmail.com
Massive Amendment 17B area closure suspension delayed for more comments
NOAA has extended the public comment period for suspending the Amendment 17B area closure that used Agenda 21's Precautionary Principal to take our freedom to fish on the majority of our South Atlantic seafloor based on the lack of data on two fish. Please submit a comment supporting the suspension of the Amendment 17B area closure in Regulatory Amendment 11 at this link. http://www.regulations.gov/#!submitComment;D=NOAA-NMFS-2011-0209-0001 Please also contact Commerce Sec., Bryson about this. thesec@doc.gov (202)-482-2000 We The People have the power to get this freedom back if enough of us will make our voices heard.
NC Legislative Marine Fisheries Study Committee is not allowing public comments
My State Representative, Pat McElraft invited me to give my public comments to the committee on Feb. 2 2012. I was later informed that there would be no public comment period at that meeting. I was told that there were too many people that wanted to speak on this issue. It seems to me like that is a good thing that so many concerned citizens wanted to use their Constitutional Right to peacefully defend their position on an issue. Our public servants do not seem to like it if somebody like me can expose the lies and offers common sense alternatives. There are two more committee hearings scheduled. Please ask the co-chairs of that committee to allow the public to speak at these hearings regardless of how long it takes. Senator Brown and Rep. McCormick are the public servants that you need to contact. darrell.mccormick@ncleg.net harry.brown@ncleg.net Please also let them know you oppose HB-353. You can learn more about that bill half way up this updates page. You can also read a first draft of the written public comments I will submit to the committee at the bottom of the Public Comments page. I would like to hear your opinion about my comments before submitting the final draft. freefish7@hotmail.com Thank you.
The Amendment 17B area closure was finally suspended on May 10, 2012
This is a HUGE victory. It is rare that we get back a freedom our government has taken from us.
Fishing For Freedom Across America
Please keep me in your prayers as I travel across America giving speeches, doing interviews, and talking with anyone willing to listen about how we can have a much more responsible harvest of our Nation's seafood.
Please sign this petition asking Congress not to ratify the UN's Law of the Sea Treaty (LOST)
We stopped the fishery managers from passing a law forcing us to install spy equipment for now.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council decided to wait until their March 2013 meeting to vote on a law forcing commercial snapper/grouper fishermen to install Orwellian spy devices on our boats and pay some corporation to spy on us. The only reason they did not pass it in the December session is because enough good citizens opposed this attack on our Contitutional Rights. We can stop this in March IF enough people contact the council opposing Orwellian spy devices. safmc@safmc.net
FRANKENFOOD! Genetically-Modified Fish About To Reach Your Dinner Table
Two huge victories!
We stopped the latest gamefish bill in NC and the proposed Vessel Monitoring System law for South Atlantic snapper/grouper fishermen. The only reason we stopped either of these attacks on our freedom to fish is because enough good people publicly opposed them.