>> I'm probably going to get some flack for this responce but think about it before you comment its time to say its "us against the commercial guys" think of all the money and jobs recreational fisherman bring to N.J.!!
Jigman, that’s precisely the direction the California sportfishing community took in the 90’s when environmental groups assured a handful of leaders that no-take, no human access, marine reserves were going to shut out the commercial guy but protect the recreational fishermen. So, these leaders support the enviro’s in their efforts to shut down the ocean, only to find later that they were excluded from using those areas as well.
Read this for more on that -
http://www.thefreelibrary.com/FL,+CA.....-a0269433745
It’s a leap year, and for 365 days out of 2012, we can disagree with the commercial sector on allocation of fish and gear use – it makes us all more powerful in the fight against anti-fishing groups if we can use that extra day of the year to unite in opposition to the real enemy, those who would prefer to kick us all off the ocean!
The ongoing debate in New Jersey about pots on the artificial reefs has become a political football on gear, which could easily be settled by the Department of Environmental Protection and the Division of Fish and Wildlife by making a regulation to eliminate pots. The state originally invited commercial pots on at the inception of the program, they allowed the issue to grow exponentially over a couple of decades, and now they have no idea how many pots are actually even deployed in coastal waters. It’s a travesty and we need to continue to fight this restrictive gear issue. But that’s a gear issue, one small part of a much bigger issue!
In terms of reduction boats, they no longer operate in state waters. This is a destructive process taking place by Virginia boats operating in Virginia waters and outside of the 3 mile limit in federal waters, but I don’t see it (personally) as a commercial problem but instead a corporate, ethical issue. Omega Protein is a publicly traded company that is truly raping our seas, and I hope all anglers have ensured that none of their own personal money is tied up in this disgusting practice. But this is one part of a bigger allocation argument, where reduction boats from Virginia control probably 90% of the annual bunker harvest where local bait boats are fishing on the rest.
Now, let’s get beyond the gear and allocation issue for a moment, and understand that the rally in DC is about open access, under the law, to rebuilding and often times rebuilt coastal fish stocks. If you make the commercial FISHERMAN an enemy on everything, you will lessen your ability to fight a real enemy which includes (A) radical anti-fishing organizations, and (B) corporate behemoths would enjoy seeing a privatized public resource to allocate through public auction and retail sale.
On March 20 and March 22, we can go back to beating the crap out of one another over the bunker harvest, the unfair allocation of fluke and scup, and the issue of denied access at our local snags due to the proliferation of commercial fish pots (most probably unlicensed and unregulated), but on the extra day of the year and the first day of spring, I believe that uniting under the one common bond we both have as FISHERMEN is the ideal upon which we should remain focused.
In stealing the words of pastor/activist Martin Niemoller who wrote about the heavy burden of guilt felt by many Germans after the holocaust, allow me to offer this…
When they came for the commercial fishermen,
I remained silent;
I was not a commercial fisherman.
When they locked up shares of red snapper,
I remained silent;
I was not a red snapper fisherman.
When they went after the party & charter boat operators,
I did not speak out;
I was not a for-hire captain.
When they closed off Pacific waters, Stellwagen & Biscayne Bay,
I remained silent;
I didn’t fish there.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out
On 3-21-12, we're all fishermen...united we can stand, divided we fall.
