(from RFA Press Release)
On December 16 and 17, the New England Fisheries Management Council (Council) will hold public hearings from 6 until 8 p.m. in New Bedford and Gloucester, Massachusetts to review a proposal to close down a 55-square-mile area of Stellwagen Bank to bottomfishing for research as a Designated Habitat Research Area (“DHRA”).
The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is encouraging saltwater anglers and recreational fishing and boating industry leaders to attend the hearing and let their voices be heard.
RFA is also asking anglers to respond by downloading a letter addressed to the National Marine Fisheries Service that urges opposition to the proposed DHRA endorsing the Western Gulf of Maine, Stellwagen Bank DHRA- No Action Alternative.
Written comments must be received on or before 5 p.m. EST on Thursday, January 8th, 2015.
To personalize your own comments, be sure to address to John Bullard, Regional Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office at 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930 or emailed to: nmfs.gar.OA2.DEIS@noaa.gov (Attention/Subject Line: “OA2 DEIS Comments”).
Capt. Mike Pierdinock of the charter boat Perseverance out of Marshfield’s Green Harbor, who is also RFA’s Massachusetts Chairman, recently told South Coast Today “this will devastate the charter boat fleet and all that rely on it to make a living.”
“It will increase travel times to other fishing grounds one to two hours, and cost us 20 to 40 percent more in fuel and overhead costs,” he added.
Read the full article at South Coast Today.
The New Bedford and Gloucester meeting details are found below (note that the Gloucester meeting location has changed).
New Bedford, MA
December 16th
Fairfield Inn & Suites
185 MacArthur Drive
New Bedford, MA
Gloucester, MA
December 17th
Cruiseport Gloucester
6 Rowes Square
Gloucester, MA
If recreational fishing has such a small impact (~2%) on the region’s finfish population, why mess with it?
what about closing all the commercial fishing that drag all the bottom and destroy all creatures caught in a net on a daily basis and leave the one hook and line open for everybody including commercial guys open around the year , then we see positive results in the management area . i know is a little harder to make money for the commercial guys but then you give some equal chances to a lot of people including guys like me and others that will appreciate to go home with something in their bags after a day of fishing on a boat and a fare well payed, regards IOAN. (ps – I do understand that commercial boats need to earn a paycheck but what about doing it on a less destructive way and with the same responsibility of any other fishermen that is not greedy for a fat income to his pocket. i will even go to say that they are entitled to trot lines] how do you like my idea of fishing and be fair sir.
As a commercial fisherman and avid recreational fisherman i agree that draging is destructive to the oceans enviorment. With one tow years upon years of habitat growth become destroyed after an area is overfished and alot of habitat is destroyed the area effectively becomes a barren under water desert. Another problem with draging is the large amount of by catch. Only a small percent of what is caught ends up being sold the rest is discarded often dead which is wasteful. A better commercial fishing method is gillnetting which does minimal harm to the habitat and very selectively targets fish species by size which greatley reduces the amount of by catch. These nets allow smaller un wanted fish to swim through while larger wanted fish become entangled. Recreation rod and reel fishing has such a minimal effect on the enviorment and accounts for such small amount of annual fish landings that i cannot belive they would consider a closure. They should be addressing real problems with their valuable time and not waste it working on something that would have an almost un noticable effect. With one haul of nets the catch is often more than a single recreational fisherman would catch in a year which shows that recreational fisherman are not the problem b in this cases so why punish them. The whole problem we are in know is because of the bad management of the fisheries in the past. I’m sure many of you have heard the stories of how abundant the oceans were back in the early 1900s. It’s very sad to see what was one of the most abundant fishing grounds in the world to be reduced to what it is today in just 75 years.
This will always be the crux of argument between recreational and commercial fisheries but I couldn’t agree with your post more. It’s that simple. I’m not proposing a moratorium on commercial interests but at the same time I don’t support any legislation which allows commercial interests to act at the detriment of the recreational fisherman. It’s that simple. Recreational fishing will NEVER destroy a fishery, it’s just not possible. Commercial fishing DOES. There are conservation minded commercial guys but there are more importantly too many large commercial interests who will destroy the ecosystem and make the ocean a barren wasteland all in the name of profits! The only way any area stands a chance is to have regulation otherwise every fishery will be destroyed one by one as well as the ocean’s ecosystem in the process. If closing Stellwagen Banks is a means to protect and insure a valuable resource for future generations, I’m all for it. Until commercial interests are put in check, it’s the only way there will be any sustainable fisheries left on this planet.
I REALLY DO EXPECT AN ANSWER AND WILL BE MORE THAN HAPPY TO SEE WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS.REGARDS IOAN.
I don’t understand why Massachusetts doesn’t impose a slot size limit on striped bass. Taking one fish of 28″ minimum size is a good start however, this leaves the larger breeding females and male exposed to harvest when they should be left for reproduction
Its the same way with red snapper in the Gulf. This season was cut to ten days (2 fish limit) while the commercial industry enjoys catching red snapper (all year) that are getting as big as yellow fin because of under fishing. The knot gets tighter on the sport fisherman every year because of the industrialized fisherman . You have to motor twenty miles to catch your two snapper fish limit. States like Fl and La are pulling away from the Fed mandates. Problem is, much of state waters are not deep enough for snapper. The problem is ONLY commercial fisheries not at the boat ramp.