Petition to Change Summer Flounder Regulations

Started an on-line petition using Change.org to send a message to Washington that the current regulations in place intended to safeguard and grow the stock are in fact based on their own data causing the stock to decline substantially. If we want this fishery to survive and be available to future generations as its been to us, I'd ask every Member of this site along with Sponsors to please take a minute to sign. The link is as follows:

https://chng.it/JVwdktvr

As previously mentioned, I'll have a document ready to send in about a week to Gina Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce with copy to NOAA, NMFS, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, all state members of the Commission and Council as well as State and Congressional Representatives associated with the shore based districts for states of the Mid-Atlantic and New England Regions who share in this fishery and have the most to lose if this fishery continues it's decline.

The current regulations are killing this fishery. Size minimums went too far causing substantial declines in the spawning stock population, mature female population, recruitment statistics accompanied by levels of discard mortality never before seen. We're harvesting the wrong age classes, killing younger age classes in the process and without changes to the regulations this fishery will in fact continue declining.

If donations to groups fighting to preserve access rights and protect this extremely important fishery isn't your thing, I can understand that. I'm asking everyone to take 5 minutes of your time to sign an on-line petition which can be sent to Washington and our elected officials to demonstrate our resolve and send a clear and unequivocal message voicing our concerns about how this fishery is being managed and the immediate need to change todays regulations back to the regulations in place in the nineties that promoted unprecedented growth in this stock.

I appreciate your understanding and support in advance. We need to get the word out and get as many people as possible to sign this petition. We're at the time of year when 2022 regulations will be discussed and decided on so now is the time to act. To sign, simply click on the above link and go to the bottom of the page and fill in reason for signing and then hit post. Example of reason for posting can be "Population has declined by over 70 million fish in a ten year span due to the current regulations. We're harvesting exclusively fish comprising the spawning stock, killing younger age class fish in the process, killing a disproportionate number of females causing a 50% decline in the female population which in turn has decimated yearly recruitment". Or simply" Fisheries management replaced regulations which promoted the most explosive growth in the fishery during the nineties with higher recreational size minimums causing the stock to decline every year over the last decade." NMFS replaced regulations which worked with regulation that don't, they need to change otherwise there will continue to be catastrophic social and economic consequences to small businesses, the commercial and recreational sectors, the fishery itself and the economies of shore based communities as well as the many businesses dependent on the health of this stock.

Gerry I'd appreciate it if you pin this to the top of the saltwater forum. It needs everyone's immediate attention.