Last week, CvilleBuzz printed a release from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council on Cobia Management. The release indicated that there are two stocks of cobia and that the cobia in federal waters off the east coast of Florida are considered part of the Gulf of Mexico migratory stock.
Capt. Reese Stecher of Beach Bum Fishing at Nags Head staunchly disagrees.
Says Reese: “There is only one species of Cobia. That there are two separate species of Cobia is a fairy tale concocted by the South Atlantic Council based out of St. Petersburg, Florida to keep other states from catching Cobia. The South Atlantic Council thinks that the Cobia belong to them – to Florida. This is pure politics at work.”
We in Virginia can attest to Fishy Politics, particularly with the management – or should we say mismanagement – of menhaden, a species managed exclusively by the General Assembly of Virginia in order to protect certain financial interests out of Reedville.
Thanks, Reese, for pointing this fallacy out to us.
For more information on cobia or fishing on the Outer Banks, contact Capt. Stecher at
www.beachbumfishing.com or phone him at (252) 449-0232 (o) or (252) 202-1701 (c).
