Petition to Change Summer Flounder Regulations

[Gerry Zagorski]

Originally Posted by dakota560

Gerry any chance of pinning this thread so it gets the exposure we need and the attention the fishery needs and deserves?

Just pinned it and it’s been shared on our group Facebook page as well Tom

Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski

Just pinned it and it’s been shared on our group Facebook page as well Tom

Gerry thanks so much,. Efforts and gestures like yours and everyone else who signs is what's going to give us collectively a chance to nurse this fishery back to health for the benefit of both sectors and the many people whose businesses, livelihoods and recreational enjoyment depends on it.

Thanks so much for your involvement and contribution!

[AndyS]

So what is this all about ??
Has anyone who signed the petition ever attend a Marine Fisheries Council meeting ???

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/marcncl.htm

[Detour66]

Done!

Originally Posted by AndyS

So what is this all about ??
Has anyone who signed the petition ever attend a Marine Fisheries Council meeting ???

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/marcncl.htm

I've been to many meetings and listened in on too many webinars. Listened to the same rhetoric for too long with the only thing changing is the fishery continues to struggle, shrink, fail under the current regulations.

What is all this about? Have you read the petition? The stock has lost 70 million in population between 2010 and 2017. 70 million or approximately 40% of the overall population. Mature female population has declined by more than 35 million fish or 50% over the same period. Recruitment levels, the future of every stock, are lower than they were in the 80's. Discard rates are near all time highs because of asinine regulations. In three years around 2010, the recreational sector caught approximately 157 million fish in order to harvest 11 million because of insane increased size minimums. Add insult to injury, 30% of the recreational harvest limit is subsequently lost to release mortality because they're forced to release fish which for decades were eligible for harvest.

4 million less angler trips from 2013 to today because quite frankly people are not going to continue spending the kind of money to catch and release 20 shorts and not be afforded the opportunity to take a few home for the family. 7 million angler trips in 2018 resulted in zero fish retained because of size minimums. 7 MILLION ANGLER TRIPS! Quotas, both commercial and recreational, have been cut between 70% - 80% over the last two decades and still the stock is declining at a ridiculous rate.

The regulations are killing this fishery and if changes aren't made the fishery will be lost. That's what this is all about. We had regulations in place in the nineties the promoted the most explosive growth in the fishery ever and for who knows what reasons they were changed and the stock has been struggling since and both sectors have taken it on the chin with the promise that sacrifices made over the last two decades would result in more liberalized regulations in the future. Well the futures now and the fishery is crashing and more liberalized regulations don't appear to be happening anytime soon. Name one fishery that mandates or promotes the harvest of mature breeders, implements regulations that promote killing younger age classes and allows a commercial harvest during the spawn and I'll show you another fishery that more likely than not is failing. The regulations governing this stock are absolutely absurd and have to be changed before we lose the fishery.

It's time to stop listening to the rhetorical bullshit we listen to every year at public meeting and in webinars and try to save this fishery. Would appreciate you signing the petition but if you believe things are fine then sit back and wait until non-preferred or emergency measures kick in and the summer flounder coastal season consists of 2 fish at 20" with an open season of maybe 6 weeks because that exactly where this fishery is headed. Can't continue with any fishery killing the spawning stock exclusively while already depleted younger age classes become collateral damage.

Landings over the last two decades have declined by 75% - 80 % and still the stock declines. We're harvesting the wrong age classes and in a fishery with an assigned 25% natural mortality rate if the spawning stock isn't protected, if the spawn isn't protected, recruitment will continue crashing and in any fishery if you have poor recruitment classes you have one foot already in the grave.

That's what this is all about. Hopefully you sign the petition but it's your prerogative not to.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by AndyS

I'm not a hater and you know that, BUT I have been watching this go on for years, how will it be resolved ?

The same way your awesome clean ups go

One tire at a time

[dales529]

Originally Posted by AndyS

So what is this all about ??
Has anyone who signed the petition ever attend a Marine Fisheries Council meeting ???

https://www.njfishandwildlife.com/marcncl.htm

Doesn't really matter if signers have attended meetings or not. Marine Fisheries Council is on the State level. If any change were to happen that has to come from the federal level, NOAA, ( National Ocean Atmospheric Association) ASMFC ( Atlantic States Marine Fishery Council) MAMFC (Middle Atlantic Marine Fishery Council) and then it dribbles down to the state level. States can ONLY adopt some options for regulations that NOAA approves which is why we dont have a summer flounder slot fish.

Couple that with bureaucracy, ego's and a seemingly endless rebuttal of every fishery advocate group in NJ study and elsewhere with little to none recreational fisherman funding for lobbyists or agreement on any species and that simply is WHY nothing has changed. But not from a lack of effort from RFA, SSFFF, JCAA Tom or many others that keep trying the grunt work with huge obstacles.

Bottom line without a HUGE voice no one above cares or is threatened for re-election as we have a small complaint voice but yet contribute $$$$ to the state and country in boating, tackle sales, taxes, hotels, deli's etc.

Squeaky wheel gets the grease but our rec fishing coalition has yet to squeak on any real level!

Tom is trying to change that through another avenue

Dave and anyone else interested. Summation letter to Gina Raimondo (Secretary of Commerce) and the accompanied draft with detailed analysis should be completed by this weekend. Dave I'd appreciate your review before mailing out. Certain institutions and members have email addresses, other have to be mailed but The Honorable Gina Raimondo, NOAA, NMFS, NEFSC, and all state members of the MAMFC and ASMFC involved in the management of this fishery along with state and federal representatives from shore based communities and states in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions who participate in this fishery will receive the correspondence.

I could probably use help from someone with the best way to send a draft to our elected officials requesting these archaic regulations be changed to save this fishery and avoid economic disaster as well as the loss of a legacy recreational activity. Similar to what Capt. Dave "MuskyNut" posted for access rights to Greenwood Lake, I can draft the letter but will need some help simplifying an easy way for people to sign and submit. The more correspondence our elected representatives receive, the more attention drawn to this crisis and the better the odds our voices are heard, acknowledged and changes made.

I'm getting a bit ahead of myself but this needs to be done as quickly as possible so if anyone has ideas on how best to set that up, please pm me or post your thoughts on this thread. If we don't act to save this fishery, the current regulations in place will be the final nail in the stock coffin just like what happened to winter flounder. The data and trends that data reveals says so for anyone who wishes to dispute that claim. We need to do what we can to prevent that from happening.

[Pennsy Guy]

DONE

Gerry I just made a similar post in the fresh water forum asking our sweet water brothers and sisters to support the cause by signing the petition. Would appreciate it if you could pin that thread on that forum as well.

Thanks in advance

Tom