Dear Recreational Angler,
Today the Menhaden Coalition was able to inspire a US congressional sign on letter to ASMFC. The letter will close to new signors Thursday evening. MSBA & RISAA are sending delegations to the special one day ASMFC menhaden meeting. You can truely do somehting about menhaden by taking a few minutes to send an email or even call your US congressman or woman and ask them to add their name to the letter referenced below. I have included a sample email you can feel free to cut and paste.
Here is a link to find your congressman. We are not targeting Senate members, just US House of Representatives. FYI...the reduction industry(Omega Protein) is working on one as well. Please help and send this on Wednesday or even Thursday morning.
Find Your Representative · House.gov
Thanks
Patrick Paquette
Recreational Fishing Advocate
Dear Congressman (TYPE YOUR CONGRESSMANS NAME HERE);
I am a recreational angler and I live in your district in the town of (TYPE YOUR HOME TOWN HERE). I care very deeply about the health of Atlantic menhaden, which is one of the most important forage fish in the diet of striped bass and other key recreational target species.
Last year in Boston and at the urging of over 90,000 concerned stakeholders, the ASMFC made a historic and near unanimous decision to establish science-based management goals for Atlantic menhaden. This Friday December 14th, the ASMFC has the opportunity to implement a plan to achieve the science-based goals established last year. The public has already spoken. Over 115,000 people called on the ASMFC to immediately manage menhaden based on the best available science with proven management tools that will enhance accountability.
I am a member of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Assn. and we are sending a delegation of anglers from our state to Baltimore MD to witness these important decisions.
I am writing to ask you to add your name to a congressional sign on letter to ASMFC that is sponsored by John P. Sarbanes (MD-03) & John Carney (DE).
If you choose to honor my request and would like to sign the letter below to the ASMFC, or if you have any questions, please contact Helena Mastrogianis (Rep. Sarbanes, ext. 5-4016) or Justin German (Rep. Carney, ext. 5-4165).
Sincerely,
(TYPE YOUR NAME HERE)
__________________________________________________ ____________________________________
Mr. Robert E. Beal, Executive Director
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1050 North Highland Street, Suite 200A-N
Arlington, VA 22201
Dear Executive Director Beal:
We are writing to request that the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) end overfishing immediately and rebuild the Atlantic menhaden fish population as soon as possible by establishing a coastwide science-based catch limit and a firm commitment to meeting the rebuilding goals in Amendment 2. In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, our Atlantic states are working together effectively in disaster recovery efforts aimed at restoring coastal businesses and ecosystems. In the same cooperative spirit, the ASMFC should act decisively to address menhaden depletion by passing Amendment 2 with a conservation plan that will quickly and effectively rebuild this resource and secure the extensive economic and ecological benefits it provides to our region.
Atlantic menhaden support billions of dollars of recreational and commercial activity from Florida to Maine. Menhaden are often referred to as “the most important fish in the sea” because they are a critical link in the marine food web and prey for a wide diversity of fish, birds and marine mammals, such as striped bass, bluefish, Atlantic tuna, whales and osprey. Atlantic menhaden supports one industrial fishery and nearly all Atlantic recreational fisheries. According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s 2009 Fisheries Economics of the United States, recreational anglers took over 43 million fishing trips along the Atlantic coast in 2009, contributing nearly $11 billion in sales to the U.S. economy, $3.7 billion in value added impacts, while supporting over 90,000 full and part-time jobs. Given the significance of Atlantic menhaden to our recreational and commercial fisheries, as well as our tourism industries, we must avoid additional risks to Atlantic menhaden and focus on rebuilding this economic engine.
Currently, Atlantic menhaden provide only a fraction of their potential benefits because the population has been significantly reduced to less than 10 percent of levels seen in the 1980s. The population is currently subject to overfishing, and has been at or above this threshold for 54 of the past 57 years. Overfishing may continue without an overall limit on the number of menhaden that can be taken from the Atlantic Ocean. Vast quantities of Atlantic menhaden are caught in federal waters, yet the ASMFC has not taken steps to end overfishing in the state waters over which it has jurisdiction, nor made a recommendation that the federal government implement necessary conservation and management measures in federal waters. Specifically, the ASMFC must take decisive steps to end overfishing in accordance with scientific advice, like federally-managed fisheries which require catch limits to end and prevent overfishing.
We commend the ASMFC for responding to more than 90,000 constituent comments in November 2011 by adopting new science-based rebuilding goals in Addendum V and developing Amendment 2 to end overfishing and recover from a historically low level of abundance. The Commission can now ensure that the amendment process it initiated last year with strong public support will result in real changes on the water and in our coastal economies.
The ASMFC’s menhaden decision on December 14th can make a significant and lasting contribution to the success of East Coast state and federal restoration efforts. In Amendment 2, we urge the Commission to manage menhaden based on the best scientific information available, to adopt a coast-wide annual catch limit that can be implemented in 2013, to manage to the target fishing level in as short a time period as possible and to make a firm, time-certain commitment to reaching those target levels, and to reduce catch immediately to end overfishing and rebuild the Atlantic menhaden population. These proactive and common-sense steps will put menhaden on the road to recovery, safeguard a key component of Atlantic Ocean ecosystems, and help sustain and grow our vibrant coastal economies. Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
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