MENHADEN ADVISORY PANEL MEETING
 

Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council's
MENHADEN ADVISORY PANEL

will meeting tomorrow night
THURSDAY, JANUARY 6
6:00 PM

at URI Bay Campus, Coastal Institute
Hazard Room, South Ferry Rd, Narragansett

AGENDA

Review & discussion of FSC's proposal to close the Providence River to
commercial menhaden fishing.

ALL RIMFC ADVISORY PANEL MEETINGS ARE OPEN TO THE PUBIC.

Here is Google map & directions
Google Maps

JUST TO GIVE YOU HEADS UP ;;

ark bait came with a few proposals /

all are going to be recommended by the advisery commitee /

one will be giving them the ok to fish ...from quonset to middletown south & all of the saconkett river / in the fall ;;

f uck the rec guy ><><

I'm not making this one (Cub Scouts) but would be greatly interestd in first hand accounts / results.

I am not going this year. Arc Bait comes with a strong following and it doesn't matter what the recs want. The money guys win.

...if you put all the rec's money together- we are the money guy :). every voice counts.

I agree. The powers that be do not.

well if thats the case ya all should heve been to the ist meeting ...................I was the only one that challenged them on 1st .. getting another shot at the pogies & 2nd the called it the mouth of the bay .......... well when ya go to wickford in the fall & they are setup @ the breakwater // you,ll know why //

after all the morning & graoning on this & other sites / not one person brought up the issues we face every spring / never mind camping out @ India point ><><>:smash:

Mike, I'm just too busy with work and family to waste my time on this issue. They are going to take the pogies regardless of what we say. I have given up.
I went back to eels last year after they cleaned out the pogies in the upper Bay. I'm not wasting time and gas this year running all over hell chasing pogies.

Eels work all the time. 3-way in deep water in daytime. Throw them like a plug at night. Even at $2 each it's cheaper than $3.50 a gallon gas chasing pogies.

Is there anyone we can contact if we can't make it?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Write to the RIMFC about it, they'll take you comments into account before they vote on it.

Thanks Mike
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Guys - I never chime in on these threads because Im one of the folks Clammer is reffering to. What I dont know is, what is my argument on this? Would I stand up and say -
"Im a guy who fishes a few times a week, likes to live line bunker and hates searching all over the bay for them"
So what? Is that an argument against guys trying to earn a living? i would think the argument would be that taking the bunker is hurting the bass population, but I cant say that it is.
nothing make my fishing days happier and more productive than a billion bunker loaded in wickford harbor, but I have a hard time arguing in my favor.

where are all the peanuts? been three years since i've seen a decent amount... as long as there's one pogey left i'm sure that arc will be trying to net it. just being there to show support for the pogeys is a great help, we're not all orators. personally i don't use bait at all, but i've noticed a direct coralation between pogey stocks and the condition of our fisheries. remember the pogey stocks of the 70's? acres upon acres....

one thing I never understood, if you don't get up and speak your piece, how does anyone that matters know who or what you are supporting. I never understood the "just go to show support.":confused:

And I saw more peanuts all late summer and early fall in New Bedford. Way up to 195. My office was right on the water and it was insane watching them all day. so thick you could walk on them. hadn't seen something like that in RI in several years... there for weeks.

zac...i guess all is well with the peanuts, they just moved to new bedford. i'm glad people who attended civil right rallies and anti war rallies did'nt have your mindset- i believe most attended to show support.

It's like people that don't vote and then try to complain to me about the government. I tell them, if you won't make the effort when your opinion counts (whether I agree with it or not) then you're not allowed an opinion at all.

I can't go, so I'll send an email and try to make a phone call.

this meeting was to review both arc's and the club federations proposals for the purpose of determining which if any proposals would be brought to the fisheries council meeting on feb. 22.

random observations.

nobody can agree where the menhaden actually spawn. some say the bay, others say the open ocean. this is a biggie.

arc bait being a small private entity sure has a lot of influence. they seem to be in a postion to play give and take with the state?????

a few members of the advicsory council cared only about how many menhaden they could kill per day if certain restrictions were approved. and arc seemed to be angling toward a monopoly. seemed like many at the main table were only concerned about what they could harvest...not the well being of the stock.

For a surprising amount of people, that is all that counts. How many can we take.

I don't think economically sustainable fishery and a healthy fishery are one of the same.

don, you misunderstood my point. (both of them actually)

At a meeting like this, you can attend to show support for either side, right? so... how does the advisory panel know you are there to support decreased menhaden take in the bay vs. a comm guy there to support increased take in the bay??

Or is it just Ark against everyone else, and anyone there is assumed against the take of pogies in the bay?

I am not against going to the meetings, I just never understood how they judge the "attendance" off the meeting if those in attendance don't speak up...

and my point was about how there were a complete lack of peanuts in the bay (where the pogie boats have been vacuuming out adult pogies every summer for the last three years), but in other areas in MA where they are not completely raping the resource there is an abundance of peanunts.......:smash:

Zac,

@ the initial meetings / there is a sign in sheet ; which is open to everyone .
& anyone who chooses to speak has a opportunity ;

I believe you may not sign in at this meeting but you can voice you opinion ;;

Zac,

I got your point on this and agree. Im also applaud those that are taking action. To restate my earlier post, Don - you're a non bait fisherman who believes the more bunker around, the better health and abundance of striped bass. thats a perfect argument and one worth making.
From what I see on other sites (web) and to some extent here, is the angle that if arc bait takes all the bunker, then I cant snag them and use them for bait. Truthfully, thats my angle, however its a selfish one. I cant make that argument. I've seen elsewhere that one proposal is to ban the take in the prov river, but open up areas south. I think that benefits some guys who fish in that area and they want easy access to the bait. Well...WTF, that screws me. Take all you want in Prov, I want them in wickford, greenwich, etc. Saves me $$$ in gas and time. So whats my argument? My argument is a selfish one. I want bunker for my own use. Before the bunker showed up in hordes the last 6 -7 years, we still caught plenty of bass in RI. Guys in MA did well this year without any big schools of bunker. So is there really a correlation with bass and bunker? I have no clue.
I applaud folks taking action and I hope Arc doesnt touch one pogey in the bay, but my reason for that is because it makes my fishing easier. I actually had to cast this year instead of of plopping a live fish over the side of the boat.....

Yeah, and remember the striped bass fishing in the 70s? Nada, that's when the limits went to 36 inches and some states had moratoriums. I wouldn't use that argument.

As I said on the other site, this is a no brainer. Just ask the scientists. The life cycle of the menhaden is well known and fully documented. Just go to the ASMFC website.

some scientists say they spawn in the ocean and the larve drifts into bays and they work their way up toward brackish water to beef up then drop out in the fall. others claim they they also spawn in the bays and estuaries.

some of us caught back then, granted the bass were way off because of over harvest but we had blues and giant squeteaque.

I found out last minute about the meeting and sent an email.

Here's what it read.

To whom it may concern,

I will not be able to attend the meeting.I would like to pass

some information along and hope it reaches the right people.The past

couple years DEM's plan with the quota, fly overs and estimated biomass

has been nothing short of a joke to anyone who actually fishes in our

bay.The Menhaden start to trickle in and DEM opens the season for these

bait boats.They exploit the regulations any way they can.They wiped out

almost the entire bay for the last two years.The fishing in the bay has

been horrible to non existent for the last two years.When the fishing is

poor the tackle shops lose money and they suffer.Fishing can draw in

revenue if the resources are managed properly.As of now these resources

are not and it is a shame.Now we are being charged to fish in our bay

and after the last couple seasons poor fishing I know many people in

todays economy are factoring whether or not it's worth getting a license

or even fishing this bay.Many people who came from out of state are

staying home and not purchasing licenses.What does this have to do with

menhaden ? Menhaden are not only filter feeders but they are also bait

for Striped Bass and Bluefish.Two of the fish most recreational bay

fisherman target.So besides the obvious benefits from them filtering our

waters they attract these other fish.When the bay has menhaden people

buy from the tackle shops,licenses,boats,gas for the boats,slips etc

etc.What do these big bait companies do for the state or the bay ? They

take and take and when it's all gone they go somewhere else and ruin the

fishing in that area until there are none left.Take all of the RI

recreational saltwater licenses and show them this letter.They will all

agree.The fact that I had to search a while through DEM's website just

to find a contact for info on this meeting means the state is trying to

keep it quiet or doesn't care much about the peoples opinion who live

here and actually fish the waters.I personally would like to see these

boats out of the bay for good.We don't need them, they need us and our

bay.They profit from our resources and we allow it.It makes no sense

from any angle to allow them to come in and do what they do.



Adam


They replied first....

Dear Adam,



I just wanted to let you know that I received your email and have passed your email on to Jason McNamee who is the staff person for the Menhaden Advisory Panel. If you need to contact him in the future he can be reached at jason.mcnamee@dem.ri.gov or at 423-1943.



Thank you,

Nancy Scarduzio


Then.....

Hello Adam. I would encourage you to make your proposal during the public hearing process which will open up after January 22nd. If you submit your proposal during the public comment time period (beginning January 22nd and ending February 22nd with the actual public hearing) we can submit it as public comment for the record. As well, you are welcomed to voice your opinion at the hearing, and/or at the subsequent meeting of the RI Marine Fisheries Council.

We offer a listserve service where all meeting notices will be emailed directly to you so that you don’t have to hunt for meeting info in the future. You can sign up yourself at the following website by clicking the buttons on the bottom of the page: RIDEM/Marine Fisheries Topics Page

Or just drop me a line and I would be happy to sign you up on this end. You will also find a host of other material on the site that you may find useful, such as summaries from past menhaden advisory panel meetings (click “advisory panel agendas and minutes” on the left hand side, about ½ way down). Last nights meeting will be posted within a week.

All of the meeting info I noted above will be sent out on the listserve and will also be posted when available on the website (link provided above).

-Jason McNamee


So basically this guy Jason got my email but is deleting it because it's not made at a public hearing proposal. :wall:

Adam:
Jason is one of the good guys. cut him some slack.

:):):)

Never said anything negative about the man.I'm thinking about taking his advice.I put this experience up here so it could be seen.If anyone thinks an email is enough this should prove that it is not.I apologize if I offended anyone.

OK. you worded it as' he got my email and deleted it'

Just wanted to clarify, he is not in an easy position. we see it from the rec side, they are trying to manage it best for everyone. not easy with barkers on both sides!

What I wrote is what I felt when I read it.That it all.The email is going no where and if I want anything to be put on the table I have to show at a meeting.As stated earlier it was put out for anyone who thought emails help in this instance.Was never a personal attack.:confused:

I wrote this

So basically this guy Jason got my email but is deleting it because it's not made at a public hearing proposal. :wall: