flatts1
01-22-2007, 10:45 PM
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Attached below is an announcement from the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) regarding an important upcoming meeting of its Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP).
You may recall that last year that a "control date" of February 1, 2006 was voted in by the Council. This was recommended by the RAP and it is the first step needed in order to prohibit new charter captains from entering the groundfish party/charter fishery. You may also recall that the RAP is composed mostly of current party/charter operators and that they will not be affected by this control date. It will only apply to new entrants.
Again though, at this point it is just a date used for reference and nothing has been done with it yet. Last year the for-hire industry did seek to get the matter of limited entry put on the Council's priority list for 2006 (at which time the control date would be the cut-off). They were unsuccessful but the Council did promise that it would be a priority for 2007, which it now is. For some further context, refer to the letter submitted to the NEFMC by the North East Charter Boat Captains Association.
Link:
http://www.basspond.com/broadcast/nefmc/am16_necharterboatassn.pdf
The Council has just begun its process for the next major set of groundfish proposals. They are collectively referred to as "Amendment 16" and the RAP is meeting on January 24th in Danvers to help shape this Amendment. If you fish for cod/haddock either from your own boat or from a charter boat, then I HIGHLY recommend that you attend this hearing in order to let the Recreational Advisors know what you think. Remember, most of the advisors are party/charter operators. As a result, they have a direct financial interest in the outcome of this Amendment. As such, their values and priorities may be different then yours or mine.
For example, if the RAP does decide to move forward with locking-out new charter operators in the groundfish fishery, it will result in less competition. You don’t need an economics professor to tell you that less competition usually leads to less choice for customers and higher prices too.
Also, as the announcement mentions, the Panel may consider "allocations" to the recreational fishery. Right now we (private & party/charter) use "soft targets". We basically get the crumbs left over from the commercial fishermen (about 30% of the fishery in the Gulf of Maine).
If a formal allocation is deliberated, a big question will be, ‘How do we arrive at a fair figure for everyone?’
Also will there be hard TACS (ie. fishing must stop when a set "total allowable catch" is reached)?
Will there be "paybacks" for overages if too many fish are landed in one year resulting in the overage being subtracted from the following year's quota?
By now I think you get the point. This is a really important meeting.
While the Council process can be very slow and frustrating at times, it is a remarkably open and transparent process. Even if you are not a member of the Advisory Panel, the general public is welcome to attend and ask questions and give input and insight at these meetings.
The bottom line is that, no matter what the Recreational Advisory Panel comes up with, there really should be some regular recreational fishermen/charter patrons in the audience asking them:
"Ok, explain to me again why this is a good thing for us?"
I hope to see you there.
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Mike Flaherty
Wareham, MA
================================================== =====
RECREATIONAL ADVISORY PANEL MEETING
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel
50 Ferncroft Road
Danvers, MA 01923
Telephone: ( 978 ) 777-2500;
Fax: ( 978 ) 750-7991
Agenda Item:
The Council has begun development of Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This amendment will adjust measures as necessary to continue the stock rebuilding programs adopted by Amendment 13 to the FMP on May 1, 2004. The amendment may also consider other adjustments to management measures or alternatives to the effort control system currently used to manage the multispecies fishery. The Recreational Advisory Panel will meet to develop recommendations for management of the recreational fishery. The Panel may consider allocations to the recreational fishery, management measures, or other issues. Recommendations of the Panel will be considered by the Council at future meetings.
More info at..
http://www.nefmc.org/charter/meeting_notice/070124_mtg_notice.pdf
Attached below is an announcement from the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) regarding an important upcoming meeting of its Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP).
You may recall that last year that a "control date" of February 1, 2006 was voted in by the Council. This was recommended by the RAP and it is the first step needed in order to prohibit new charter captains from entering the groundfish party/charter fishery. You may also recall that the RAP is composed mostly of current party/charter operators and that they will not be affected by this control date. It will only apply to new entrants.
Again though, at this point it is just a date used for reference and nothing has been done with it yet. Last year the for-hire industry did seek to get the matter of limited entry put on the Council's priority list for 2006 (at which time the control date would be the cut-off). They were unsuccessful but the Council did promise that it would be a priority for 2007, which it now is. For some further context, refer to the letter submitted to the NEFMC by the North East Charter Boat Captains Association.
Link:
http://www.basspond.com/broadcast/nefmc/am16_necharterboatassn.pdf
The Council has just begun its process for the next major set of groundfish proposals. They are collectively referred to as "Amendment 16" and the RAP is meeting on January 24th in Danvers to help shape this Amendment. If you fish for cod/haddock either from your own boat or from a charter boat, then I HIGHLY recommend that you attend this hearing in order to let the Recreational Advisors know what you think. Remember, most of the advisors are party/charter operators. As a result, they have a direct financial interest in the outcome of this Amendment. As such, their values and priorities may be different then yours or mine.
For example, if the RAP does decide to move forward with locking-out new charter operators in the groundfish fishery, it will result in less competition. You don’t need an economics professor to tell you that less competition usually leads to less choice for customers and higher prices too.
Also, as the announcement mentions, the Panel may consider "allocations" to the recreational fishery. Right now we (private & party/charter) use "soft targets". We basically get the crumbs left over from the commercial fishermen (about 30% of the fishery in the Gulf of Maine).
If a formal allocation is deliberated, a big question will be, ‘How do we arrive at a fair figure for everyone?’
Also will there be hard TACS (ie. fishing must stop when a set "total allowable catch" is reached)?
Will there be "paybacks" for overages if too many fish are landed in one year resulting in the overage being subtracted from the following year's quota?
By now I think you get the point. This is a really important meeting.
While the Council process can be very slow and frustrating at times, it is a remarkably open and transparent process. Even if you are not a member of the Advisory Panel, the general public is welcome to attend and ask questions and give input and insight at these meetings.
The bottom line is that, no matter what the Recreational Advisory Panel comes up with, there really should be some regular recreational fishermen/charter patrons in the audience asking them:
"Ok, explain to me again why this is a good thing for us?"
I hope to see you there.
Sincerely & Respectfully,
Mike Flaherty
Wareham, MA
================================================== =====
RECREATIONAL ADVISORY PANEL MEETING
Date: Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Time: 9:00 a.m.
Location: Sheraton Ferncroft Hotel
50 Ferncroft Road
Danvers, MA 01923
Telephone: ( 978 ) 777-2500;
Fax: ( 978 ) 750-7991
Agenda Item:
The Council has begun development of Amendment 16 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan (FMP). This amendment will adjust measures as necessary to continue the stock rebuilding programs adopted by Amendment 13 to the FMP on May 1, 2004. The amendment may also consider other adjustments to management measures or alternatives to the effort control system currently used to manage the multispecies fishery. The Recreational Advisory Panel will meet to develop recommendations for management of the recreational fishery. The Panel may consider allocations to the recreational fishery, management measures, or other issues. Recommendations of the Panel will be considered by the Council at future meetings.
More info at..
http://www.nefmc.org/charter/meeting_notice/070124_mtg_notice.pdf