Vicious
Shark Attacks on Recreational Fisherman from Port
Aransas
The public hearing in Port Aransas had a great
turnout. Disregarding any commercial vs.
recreational debate the NMFS plan presented is
still in no way fair to recreational fisherman.
NMFS data says that the black tip shark
population is doing fine yet wants to prohibit
recreational fisherman from retaining black tips
based on unsubstantiated concerns that
recreationals may confuse a black tip for
another species. This is akin to saying
that red drum should be a prohibited species
because at some stage in its life it may look
like a croaker!! NMFS has only assumed but
no scientific observer data to show any
misidentification of sharks by recreational
anglers.
NMFS does have
data showing that there is substantiated
misidentification of sharks by commercial
fisherman but the proposed plan will still allow
commercial fisherman to retain black tip and in
many cases the over-fished sharks as well.
The commercial fish houses will be responsible
for making sure good records of commercial
misidentification are kept...
If you did not
make the public hearing in Port Aransas and seek
salvation not to mention your right to catch
sharks in the future then go to:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/hmsdocument_files/sharks.htm
if you would like to read more about proposed
rules.
Take action by emailing to
SHKA2@noaa.gov
or faxing to (301) 713-1917 your demand to
have recreational anglers retain a right to
a portion of any allowable catch of every
species of shark.
A few points you may want to make are:
Any discrimination based upon an alleged
inability of recreational anglers to
identify a shark is unacceptable. If NMFS
wants to end errant take of protected
species due to misidentification they can
publish a useful key to shark
identification. The cost of such education
is far less than the horrific damage to our
economy and recreational interests. You may
request NMFS to provide you with a list of
criminal convictions of recreational angers
from retaining mis-identified (not
wanton/knowingly retained) unallowed species
of sharks.
Treating the entire Atlantic East Coast and
the Texas Gulf of Mexico as one fishery
because they do not have time to conduct
more accurate studies and make are-specific
management decisions is wrong, ineffective,
illegal and unfair especially considering
the huge damage they are doing to our
economy, industry, and recreational
interests. We have the right to demand and
to be ruled using relevant, accurate, and
complete information.
NMFS OLE has only four enforcement agents in
the entire state of Texas, and only 25 for
all the coastal and inland waters for the
states from North Carolina through Texas to
Mexico including Puerto Rico. The four
agents in Texas have only one 26' RIB boat
which is on a trailer in Harlingen, TX. The
one remaining agent in Harlingen has to
ask personnel from the USCG or TPWD to go
out with him if he needs to use it since he
is not allowed (obviously dangerous) to take
it out by himself. Ask NMFS to explain how
he is supposed to respond in a timely
manner and how the Galveston office is to
respond at all. These are FISHERIES law
enforcement agents with out a boat.
Tell NMFS if they seek to enact more laws
that hurt law abiding anglers we would like
to see the current laws enforced FIRST. You
may mention to them how many days you have
spent on the water in the last five years
and how many NOAA Fisheries, Office of Law
Enforcement agents that have been on your
boat. If NMFS is going to enact a laws that
cost our coastal communities hundreds of
millions of dollars from the loss of
fisheries they must spend more on law
enforcement FIRST. NO MORE LAWS UNTIL THE
CURRENT ONES ARE ENFORCED.
*********************
NMFS announces the
availability of the draft Amendment 2 to the
Consolidated Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery
Management Plan (FMP) and its accompanying proposed
rule. Amendment 2 examines different management
alternatives available to rebuild sandbar, dusky,
and porbeagle sharks, consistent with the 2006 shark
stock assessments, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens
Act), and other applicable law. The proposed rule to
implement Amendment 2 would, among other things,
allow for a limited shark research fishery for
sandbar sharks, establish a trip limit for
commercial harvest of non-sandbar large coastal
sharks (LCS), prohibit the landing and possession of
porbeagle sharks, require all sharks landed to have
fins attached through landing, eliminate the regions
and trimester seasons, and modify the species
that can be landed by recreational fishermen.
These changes could affect all fishermen who fish
for sharks in the Atlantic Ocean,the Gulf of Mexico,
and the Caribbean Sea. Copies of the draft
Amendment 2 to the Consolidated HMS FMP, the latest
shark stock assessments, and other documents
relevant to this rule are available from the Highly
Migratory Species Management Division website at
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms
or by contacting Heather Halter at 301-713-2347.
