Please Help our Swordfish

[Twister]

Got the formal announcement todat from Dept. of Commerce.
Apprx 13 vessels would be permitted to long line off the east coast of florida.
This is the WORST case we did not hope for. I ask ALL members to hep us in florida. The opening of this type fishing will distroy swordfishing and the bicatch of dolphin turtles and many more fish we so value.
Please help us by sending an email as I described below and explain concerns. I also ask you to be diplomatic in your composition of the letter you will get more flys with hony. We are running out of time. This cant happen to us.
Thank you all in advance to whom ever responds.
I would ask the Mods to assist me in getting the word out to the forum.
Tim this is it for us unless we act now....
HMS will receive comments till 4/11/07
submit to :
Michael Clark, HMS Management Division (F/SF1) Office of Sustainable Fisheries.
NMFS,1315 East-West Highway, Silver Springs MD 20910
fax 301-713-1917
email SF1.030107C@noaa.gov
include in the subject line of your email the following identifier I.D.030107C
For a copy of this announcement you may call Michael clark at 301-713-2347

Thanks team Bill AKA "Twister"

[Sinker]

Time allows for both emails and written letters. So, one of each will be going from me.

Bill do you guys have a boiler plate type letter or not ???

[Sinker]

Some changes probably needed


To: SF1.030107C@noaa.gov (SF1.030107C@noaa.gov)

Subject: I.D.030107C


Michael Clark, HMS Management Division (F/SF1)
Office of Sustainable Fisheries
NMFS
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Springs MD 20910



Michael Clark,

I am of course writing in protest to I.D. 030107C / the recent proposal by Bluewater Fisherman’s Association requesting an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) authorizing the use of Pelagic Longline Gear in the Charleston Bump and East Florida Closed areas.

As a recreational fisherman who fishes for pelagic fish to include Swordfish, I am adamantly opposed to ANY longlining for pelagic species in the current closed areas, especially the east coast of Florida.

I wonder who is protecting our oceans fisheries when something like this is actually allowed. This was once a viable and worthy fishery but that is in days gone by as it was decimated by Longliners in the past and still has not recovered. Are they looking for Swordfish again? The days of 500 pound Swordfish are over. This area is a nursery and holds small pups. In days gone by average fish 200 pounds or better could routinely be caught with 400 & 500 pound fish not unheard of. Are you aware that today if you catch a Swordfish reaching 200 pounds you can actually be put into a Swordfish Hall Of Fame Club? How pathetic is that? In fact the Hall Of Fame Categories are 200+, 300+ & 400+, that’s it, meaning the chances of catching a 500 pound fish is almost impossible and unimaginable. This shows we have failed horribly in taking care of our fishery. Allowing this request is simply unimaginable.

There is an East Florida Closed area for a reason. Why would anyone allow an EFP not only for this area but for Longline gear no less? Is it realized that it would take 21 recreational boats fishing 1 day a week, fishing 6 lines, fishing 1 year to equal the same pressure as just one trip of the proposed 13 commercial boats. This fishery is still in recovery from the past poor decisions and longline efforts and can not sustain itself under the proposed conditions let alone any hope of increasing it. Have we not learned from sins of the past?

To target an area that is in the opinion of the vast majority is a Swordfish Nursery is nothing short of committing suicide. Target the nursery, clean out the young before they can even reproduce and soon this matter will no longer matter as there will be no fishery to even target.

We have not even touched on the subject of BY CATCH. As you are well aware longlines do not discriminate and we are talking about an area that would have a huge impact on Dorado, Tuna, Sea Turtles and the list goes on. This impact I believe would prove to be detrimental to this fishery as a whole and the results of its impact would be felt economically in a devastating manner to the state of Florida.

This is being proposed under “research”. Should this truly be the case then why are 13 vessels needed? Why is the number of buoys being increased? Why is it being proposed in an area that had to be closed due to longline pressure that nearly irreparably damaged this same fishery in the past?

There is absolutely nothing in this proposal that makes sense and certainly should not be approved.

The desire to categorize or test the new circle hook rules on bycatch does not require it to be conducted in the closed areas and in fact would be better served with scientific data gathered from conducting this research in areas that they are presently practicing longlining which as stated I am against as well.

Furthermore why is an EFP needed for a longline vessel to categorize buoy gear catch and bycatch to keep the longline gear on board during buoy fishing and why to allow more than 33 buoys in possession to be fished? What exactly are they doing? If conducting “research” as stated then present bycatch figures and formulation should be figured using present legal numbers as presently allowed and done separately with no possible confusion or mixed fishing.

This request is fraught with inconsistencies, proposals that simply do not make sense and frankly are detrimental the fishery as a whole. Allowing this proposal to proceed would in my opinion be an extremely poor decision and one not based on the intended purpose as stated as it does not make logical sense.

I appreciate the opportunity to respond and address this matter. Thank you.

Respectfully,