Yet another soon to be questionable reg?
 

OK...so I am surf fishing yesterday and I take a break from the 20 knot easterly beating I was taking and have a seat in the truck for a few minutes. The cell phone rings and I look at the number....Burlington VT ? I don't know anyone there. I let it ring. It rings again so I figure they have a bad number and I answer it to inform them. Nope, it is a contractor for the HMS fisheries group who has inrolled me in a pilot tagging program for blue fin tuna. First I think...cool, I do quite a bit of C&R for tuna so I figure I will help them out. No, they are "not interested in the fish I release" They want me to "tag the fish I keep" and report those. Huh? I say I don't get what the point is... Why would I put a tag on a captured fish that I plan to take home and consume, one that will not be sold or set free in the ocean? She says, They want to know how many I catch and what the size is. But I typically report the fish taken and I tend to only take a few each season for recreational use. Most are released. They are actually sending me tags! I still don't understand why I would put a tag on a dead fish that not going anyplace except the grill? :confused: Well you have to send in the stub after you tag the fish. Is this a joke? No, you will receive your tags in late June. Is this mandatory?, not yet, she said it is a pilot program. If you have any questions please contact us...I will, goodbye.

I think this idea was probably dreamed up of by the same guy who is dishing out hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to buy back rec fishing licenses. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

Received same call this past Thursday.
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The money used to fund the program was a federal grant.

Got the same call, doesn't make much sense to me either !!
JEMc

any effort to get a more accurate tally on what is harvested should be supported. skomal explained it at the charter boat captains meeting a few weeks ago, seems simple enough.

holy funnyness....so surfin around i read this thread. didnt think much of it . 10 minutes later my phone rings....gues what they are sending me bluefin tags! lol! guess no one told them im a tuna rookie! haha!!!!! ( hopefully not for long!)

Reporting your rec catch only helps and every rec will benefit.
Green harbor has a charter boat tag program they are testing.
Does anyone really trust NOAA counting for them (basically making up numbers) then setting your regs accordingly ?
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Fact is, as an HMS permit holder, you are required to report every bft you catch. Maybe they think that having to tag it will remind you, or perhaps, they figure a tagged c-r catch that MAY have gone unreported, will be reported when recaught.

Just got the call.

Got the call yesterday afternoon too
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Just to clarify, this program is to tag dead fish you are going to keep. It's not a program for tag and release. Basically any dead tuna should have a tag on it (similar to deer etc.)

Sounds like some nitwit regulator was like "we require people to do it for Deer, so let's make them do it for tuna." To me, it sounds like a precursor to a "tagged tuna fishery". Soon as you kill the fish, they'll want you to put a tag on it. Recs will probably get something like 3 tags/year with their permit. Then the next year, it'll be 2 tags and then only 1 tag a few years after that.

It's a pilot program.
Fact. Nobody takes the time to call in rec fish.
This will put peer pressure on people to do such.
Example: you see joe Schmo at the ramp with his dead tuna. You say "hey nitwit where's your carcass tag"?
You might get 5 tags and when you need more you can get more as long as the first 5 have been accounted for.
Peer pressure enforcement for something that needs to be done.
Every fish that is not called in they will just give the quota to another category because they figure the recs don't really need this much quota because there are not filling it.
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Supposedly the original plan by the feds was to require all rec tuna to be brought to a weight station to be reported. The guys who lobby for us fisherman pushed for a compromise and that compromise is to do this tag pilot plan. If all goes well, tagging of dead tuna may be what is done on a larger scale. If it doesn’t go well and folks opt out of the pilot program we may be looking at more stringent regs going forward.

The feeling is that the current way the feds measure catch is flawed and based on a lot of estimates algorithms etc, this will hopefully provide a more clear picture of the BFT fishery and take some guess work out of their assessment. Remember all comm fish are reported, they want to get accurate rec numbers too.

Totally voluntary
 

The calls are looking for volunteers. So there is no obligation if you don't want to deal. This idea has been kicked around for some time and is currently being used in NC and MD.

Hey Ronnie! just another comrade Jane ploy to seperate the fisheries! Although we NEED to keep track on the smaller bft's that are taken...Comrade Jane now is pushing catch shares in the bft fishery. This Very reason was the imputus to form the no Shore Community tuna assoc back a few yrs ago. We fought catch shares then, but these new Obamaites are a diff breed. They don't care bout us. Now go get yr boat in the water! Tommy

I don't think Tags will provide "peer pressure". I take the boat to the dock, load the fish bag in the back of the truck and drive home. Putting a tag on it to "remind" one to mail it it will not be effective.

What will provide pressure is ENFORCEMENT. Being stopped on your way in and checking catch. And reminding the angler that if these fish are not reported in 24 hours you loose your right to renew your license forever. This can be easily checked. Take away a few licences (comm and rec) and you will see folks fall into line quick.

Got 2 this AM....released them both. No tags needed. Simple.

Nice!!

Did you report them :)

No, not yet. :hidin: no body saw me. I don't want to bring attn to myself ;)

I got my tags yesterday. Did they really have to send them FedEx Priority? Hopefully they didn't spend too much on shipping these things out.

This must be like Tagging the Dead Deer that I shoot.

Watch out, Next they will require you to bring the dead tagged fish into a checking station and charge you to wiegh it and keep it.

Remember all this foolishness when you VOTE in Nov.

We need to cut these Govt grants that waste our tax money ofn foolish stuff.

Never got the call, no tags. I do report my rec fish, 2 so far this year: https://hmspermits.noaa.gov/permitidlandings.asp

It is painless!

Noticed this year there is also a section of C&R fish!

cheer leader thought....

lets get Ryan........ he's our man

If he can't fix it .....Nobody can !