The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Division! Sounds nice, doesn’t it? These people surely work tirelessly to ensure the preservation of the saltwater fishery along the Atlantic Coast while making sure everyone involved is treated equally.
Or maybe not?
Last week we printed a response to the claim by ASMFC that there were two species of cobia from Capt. Reese Stecher of Nags Head.
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.”
Could it be that Asmfc is playing favorites?
Consider this release from the Coastal Conservation Association after a recent vote from ASMFC on menhaden management:
“ASMFC Misses Historic Opportunity”
Presented with the historic opportunity to put in place much-needed protections for menhaden that recognize their ecological role, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Management Board blinked, and instead opted for status quo management. In the months leading up to the vote, public sentiment was overwhelmingly in favor of better menhaden management, with more than 150,000 public comments in favor of Option E that would have taken into account menhaden’s unique ecological role as a forage fish.
“This decision by the Menhaden Management Board is simply shocking,” said Richen Brame, Regional Fisheries Director for Coastal Conservation Association. “The Board had a historic opportunity to positively impact not just the management of menhaden but also the future of iconic species such as striped bass, bluefish, king mackerel as well as a host of birds and marine mammals. Today’s vote was a misguided step in the wrong direction, and really a step back in time when it comes to marine resource management.”
Wow!
Here’s another juicy tidbit about the illusive 3-mile limit set by the Commission for catching stripers in the ocean off the coasts of Virginia and North Carolina.
Again, Capt. Stecher comments: “The Cobia ruling is no different than when the Northeast Council based in Massachusetts created the dreaded three-mile line to keep people from catching their fish. They think that the Rockfish belong to them. They think that the stripers belong to Massachusetts. There is virtually no law enforcement of the three-mile line in any east coast states other than Virginia and North Carolina. It was an ingenious plan that killed Virginia and North Carolina’s fishery.”
It appears that the ASMFC is just another political organization created to dominate and control the fisheries for special interests with little regard to the resources. Too bad!
