Stripers Forever members - on Nov. 2nd the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission – ASMFC – will vote on a proposal to allow states with commercial quotas to transfer the quota that they did not report as caught one year to the following year. This means that if a state’s commercial quota was 1,100,000 pounds, and only 990,000 was reported caught in 2011, the new quota in 2012 could be 1,210,000 pounds.
Stripers Forever thinks this is a thinly disguised attempt to add to commercial quotas, and that it is a very bad idea. Here are two big reasons why:
- If the state fails to reach its quota during the course of its whole season, it is a very good indicator that there simply are not as many striped bass out there as fisheries managers estimated. The poor fishing reports from our members suggest that this is the case.
- Transferring uncaught quota to the next year provides an incentive for commercial fishermen to underreport their catch and, as a bonus, receive a larger quota the following year. There is already plenty of evidence of under the table sales of striped bass that are never counted toward any commercial quota. Why provide even more temptation?
We have heard that some ASFMC commissioners from striped bass commercial fishing states who favor this proposal will try to push it through in spite of the objections of the recreational community. We have learned that only way to really get the attention of the state fishery directors is to go right to their state’s governor with our comments. Some directors feel quite insulated from public comment, and most of them have a strong allegiance to the commercial fishermen that helped them get their jobs. Governors, however, are elected officials and are far more interested in the views of the public. Naturally the governor has tremendous influence over the state’s fishery director. We strongly urge all of our members to contact your state governor immediately.
We have provided below a brief letter that you can use as a template and the contact information for the state governors, though we urge you to put things in your own words if you are so inclined. A letter is best, though e-mails and faxes also count very much. This should be done immediately as the meeting is in less than two weeks.
Brad Burns,
President - Stripers Forever
Dear Governor:
On Nov. 2 the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission will vote on a proposal to allow the commercial striped bass quota that states fail to catch in one year to be added to the next year. I strongly disagree with this plan to kill more striped bass. Striped bass fishing has declined greatly in recent years, and it is already costing jobs in the guiding and tackle communities where the value of striped bass far exceeds commercial landings. The trend in spawning success is clearly down, and we should be looking for ways to conserve striped bass not to kill more
.
The proposed quota roll over would encourage under the table sales of striped bass that would not count against quotas. The striped bass commercial community has a proven history of doing just this kind of thing. It would be a poor policy to offer incentives for illegal activity.
I urge you to direct our state fishery director to vote against this proposed quota roll-over at the upcoming meeting, and to direct him to look for ways to conserve striped bass for recreational angling rather than deplete them for commercial purposes.
Sincerely,
Governor John E. Baldacci
Office of the Governor
1 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0001
Phone: (207) 287-3531
Governor John Lynch ~
Office of the Governor
25 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301 USA
Phone: (603) 271-2121
Fax: (603) 271-8788
Governor Deval Patrick
Office of the Governor
State House, Room 360
Boston, Mass ~02133
Phone: 617-725-4005
Fax: 617-727-9725
Governor Donald L. Carcieri
Office of the Governor
State House, Room 115
Providence RI 02903
Phone: (401) 222-2080
Fax: (401) 222-8096
Governor M. Jodi Rell ~(R)
State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, CT 06106
Phone: ~(860) 566-4840
Governor David A. Paterson
State Capitol
Albany, NY 12224 ~
518-474-8390
Governor Jon Corzine
125 West Street
PO Box 001
Trenton, NJ 08625
Phone: (609) 292-6000
Governor Edward G. Rendell
225 Main Capitol Building
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17120
Phone: (717) 787-2500
GovernorJack Markell
Tatnall Building,
William Penn Street, 2nd Floor
Dover, DE ~19901
Phone: (302) 744-4101
Fax (302) 739-2775
Governor Martin O'Malley
Office of the Governor
100 State Circle
Annapolis, Maryland 21401
Phone: (410) 974-3901
Governor Tim Kaine
Patrick Henry Building 3rd Floor
1111 East Broad Street
Richmond, Virginia 23219
Phone: (804) 786-2211
Fax: (804) 371-6351
Governor Beverly Perdue
Office of the Governor
20301 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27699-0301
Phone: (919) 733 4240
Fax: (919) 715-3175 or (919) 733-2120
Governor Mark Sanford
Office of the Governor
P.O. Box 12267
Columbia, SC 29211
Phone: (803)-734-2100
Fax: (803)-734-5167
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