What Happened TO OUR Fish?

An educational series for Coastal Angler

New for 2017, Coastal Angler will keep our fishing community updated on important regulatory, legislative and conservation issues that affect recreational anglers.

The Gulf Coast’s fish are a public resource, but the rights of the public to access them are being trampled on by for-profit special interests. Large commercial fishing businesses (often termed as the Gulf’s “Sea Lords”) and federally-licensed charter boat operators want to limit recreational access to the fishery in order to seize greater volumes and profits. The corrupted management of fishery by the federal government has damaged the opportunity for recreational fishermen and devastated businesses that service their needs.

At Coastal Angler, we are family fishermen; we stand with our fellow recreational fishermen in support of transferring the federal government’s failed fisheries management to the five Gulf states who have a noteworthy record of successful fisheries management and habitat creation.

Inaccurate, even manipulated, “science” is used by NOAA to justify control of the fishery by the federal government – “gifting” catch rights to special interests at the expense of recreational fishermen. Your fishing rights in the Gulf of Mexico are being controlled by Congressmen in 45 of our 50 states that don’t even border the Gulf. Much of their information comes from lobbyists paid by the commercial fishing “Sea Lords” and the association representing federally-licensed charter fishing operators. Their objective is to minimize recreational fishing to expand their commercial harvest for greater profits.

With millions in profits, large commercial fishing interests and charter boats pour contributions into re-election campaigns and PACs of our Congressmen – and the money trail is revealing.

Attacks on the Gulf’s recreational fishermen affect numerous species; the most contentious has been red snapper. Snapper are lucrative for commercial fishermen and sought after by recreational fishermen. Because recreational fishermen enjoy catching the species, the federally-licensed for-hire charter boat operators have created an even further-reaching flimflam that is an eye opener.

Gulf Coast Fishing Regulations

Let’s look at history. Ten years ago, 1500 commercial fishermen caught red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico for a living. Many small operators supported their families with a single boat. Through legal maneuvering, the largest operators had the political system “gift” them the rights to the majority of the Gulf’s commercial harvest – with no fee for their takeover of the public’s resource! Fifty-five millionaires received over 75% of the Gulf’s commercial red snapper harvest – costing over 1000 family businesses their livelihood. Many of those still own boats to be paid for and now must buy their catch rights from these millionaire “Sea Lords” who received their catch rights from the government for free.

Seeing the financial windfall that lobbyists and campaign contributions accomplished for the commercial fishermen, a small percentage of charter fishing operators (those with federal fishing licenses) banded into groups such as the Charter Fisherman’s Association to become politically active. They pay members’ expenses to attend and speak up at regulatory meetings – attempting for this small minority to appear as the majority. They utilize lobbyists and campaign contributions effectively.

In 2016, commercial fisherman could catch red snapper 365 days per year with no daily catch limits. They bring 12 to 15,000 pounds of snapper to the dock on a single trip. Meanwhile recreational fishermen were legislated to a 9-day fishing season with a 2 fish per day catch limit.  HOWEVER, if a recreational fisherman would abandon using his private boat and charter a federally-licensed charter operator (to drive him to the same reefs with his same fishing license), his season was extended from 9 days to 46 days. If you’re unfamiliar with this scam, you likely think you just misread that; BUT, it’s true!!!  A legal flimflam!

While commercial fishermen catch Gulf snapper with no limits 365 days per year, the recreational family fishermen may avail himself of the same PUBLIC resource for only 9 days with a 2 fish per day limit – unless he pays a charter operator, in which case he can fish for 46 days!

U.S. House of Representatives bill #HR3094, introduced by Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves, proposes to transfer management of the Gulf red snapper fishery from the corrupted federal management to the five Gulf states.  Eleven U.S. Congressmen from Texas are among the 42 co-sponsors of the bill. Some Representatives in Texas have not yet co-sponsored.

Do you want the right to catch fish to be available to the next generation? Please ask your U.S. Congressman to co-sponsor HR3094 to transfer the Gulf fisheries management to control by the 5 Gulf states? If he doesn’t co-sponsor HR3094, then you are hearing “political speech”. Will you make one phone call for recreational fishing?

To locate your U.S. Representative visit: www.house.gov/representatives/find and type in your zip code.  Click the link to your Representative’s website for their phone number.  Your personal call is the most effective means of communication.

Contact info: recreationalfishermen@gmail.com
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