Post by Tommy on Nov 1, 2009 10:15:30 GMT -5
Amberjack season closed early
By Nathaniel Lukefahr
The Facts
Published October 25, 2009
The recreational fishing season for amberjack closed early Saturday after a marine regulator determined the popular offshore species had been overfished.
The decision drew the ire of the Coastal Conservation Association, which criticized the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for changes made in 2007 that it said increased commercial quotas while lowering the recreational bag limit to one-fish-per-person daily and increasing the size limit to 30 inches.
Ted Forsgren, executive director of conservation association’s Florida arm, called the closing “the most egregious allocation shift ever enacted by the gulf council.”
The council moved to shut down the recreational fishing season because anglers had reached the season’s quota of 1.368 million pounds, said Roy Crabtree, National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Region executive director. The council, based in Florida, is one of eight regional management groups for the fisheries service.
“There are regulations in place that require we close the fishery down when the quota is caught, so we closed the fishery down,” Crabtree said.
But the announcement comes two years after the council shifted a portion of the recreational allocation for amberjack — about 13 percent — to the commercial sector after they had overfished the species, said Ted Venker, conservation association communications director.
Commercial fisherman have a quota of about 503,000 pounds of amberjack, Crabtree said.
“It’s an allocation shift that is usually an incredibly involved process, and they did it extremely quickly to deal with a problem,” he said. “What they should have said was, ‘Commercial guys, you stop fishing, you’re out.’ Instead, they took recreational fish and moved it into their sector, and here we are two years later with our season shut down.”
The decision is a blow to recreational anglers, especially charter captains who have come to rely on amberjack as a reliable species to catch, Venker said.
If the council had left the allocation where it was in 2007, recreational anglers would not have been over their quota at the end of August and likely would not have gone over even by year’s end, said Dr. Russell Nelson, conservation association gulf fisheries consultant.
But the council, which has 17 members across the U.S. Gulf Coast, is made up of both commercial and recreational fisherman, Crabtree said. They are not biased against recreational fisherman, just worried about the protection of the species.
Crabtree declined to say whether he thought the closure was fair, saying the fisheries service simply adheres to the council’s decision and does not take positions.
The coming season for amberjack is set to open Jan. 1, Crabtree said.
By Nathaniel Lukefahr
The Facts
Published October 25, 2009
The recreational fishing season for amberjack closed early Saturday after a marine regulator determined the popular offshore species had been overfished.
The decision drew the ire of the Coastal Conservation Association, which criticized the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council for changes made in 2007 that it said increased commercial quotas while lowering the recreational bag limit to one-fish-per-person daily and increasing the size limit to 30 inches.
Ted Forsgren, executive director of conservation association’s Florida arm, called the closing “the most egregious allocation shift ever enacted by the gulf council.”
The council moved to shut down the recreational fishing season because anglers had reached the season’s quota of 1.368 million pounds, said Roy Crabtree, National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Region executive director. The council, based in Florida, is one of eight regional management groups for the fisheries service.
“There are regulations in place that require we close the fishery down when the quota is caught, so we closed the fishery down,” Crabtree said.
But the announcement comes two years after the council shifted a portion of the recreational allocation for amberjack — about 13 percent — to the commercial sector after they had overfished the species, said Ted Venker, conservation association communications director.
Commercial fisherman have a quota of about 503,000 pounds of amberjack, Crabtree said.
“It’s an allocation shift that is usually an incredibly involved process, and they did it extremely quickly to deal with a problem,” he said. “What they should have said was, ‘Commercial guys, you stop fishing, you’re out.’ Instead, they took recreational fish and moved it into their sector, and here we are two years later with our season shut down.”
The decision is a blow to recreational anglers, especially charter captains who have come to rely on amberjack as a reliable species to catch, Venker said.
If the council had left the allocation where it was in 2007, recreational anglers would not have been over their quota at the end of August and likely would not have gone over even by year’s end, said Dr. Russell Nelson, conservation association gulf fisheries consultant.
But the council, which has 17 members across the U.S. Gulf Coast, is made up of both commercial and recreational fisherman, Crabtree said. They are not biased against recreational fisherman, just worried about the protection of the species.
Crabtree declined to say whether he thought the closure was fair, saying the fisheries service simply adheres to the council’s decision and does not take positions.
The coming season for amberjack is set to open Jan. 1, Crabtree said.
let me know when someone gets one there lol.. Bunch of asholes