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View Full Version : Shame on this Long Line Capt.


Candy
05-01-07, 06:54 AM
This thread was copied from our old forum.

Posted - 02/28/2007 : 1:35:56 PM Bayesj wrote:

Take a look at the following:
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/02/23/G...to_groupe.shtml

That is just the newspaper article. The full article and diver/fishermen comments are on this web page. http://www.spearboard.com/forum/showthread.php?t=41851

Bayesj



jonesrw
Captain
Niceville
351 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2007 : 3:20:58 PM

That is just criminal. All that and all he was fined was $232!!!! Several years ago, my dad measured an AJ to the end of the tail instead fork length. That ONE fish cost him over $500!! And this guy gets popped with dozens and pays $232. That's just a cost of doing business to him.


croz
Grand Admiral
Eglin Dive Club
128 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2007 : 7:03:50 PM

Isn’t confiscating his boat an option? $232 isn't even a slap on the wrist. He probably bought a round of drinks to toast his success.

~croz


Candy
Captain
197 Posts
Posted - 02/28/2007 : 7:12:33 PM

You would think he would have lost his long-line licence at the very least! Obviously, rules don't apply to long liners the way they apply to lowly recreational fishermen & spear fishermen? Shameful & Outrageous is all I can say...

You might want to check this out: http://www.thefra.org/index.htm
Candy


Candy
Captain
197 Posts
Posted - 03/03/2007 : 2:41:02 PM

More info in this out vein:


NMFS announces several scoping meetings for the environmental impact statement for implementation of annual catch limit (ACL) and
accountability measure (AM) requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006 (MSRA).
Such guidance would be added to the National Standard 1 Guidelines. NMFS also extends the ending date of the scoping period for this action
from April 2, 2007, through April 17, 2007.

Written comments must be received by April 17, 2007.


Scoping meetings will be held on the following dates at the following locations:

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting, March 6, 2007,
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Jekyll Island Club Hotel, Jekyll Island,
GA 31527.

National Marine Fisheries Service Headquarters, Silver Spring,
March 9, 2007, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Silver Spring Metro Center 3
Building, Room 4527, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Western Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting, March 14, 2007,
7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Ala Moana Hotel, Honolulu, HI 96814.

Caribbean Fishery Management Council Meeting, March 20, 2007, 6
p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ponce Hilton Hotel, Ponce, PR 00716.

Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Meeting, March 29, 2007,
6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Embassy Suites Hotel, Destin, FL 32550.

NMFS may hold additional scoping meetings during the comment period that ends April 17, 2007.
You may submit comments on issues and alternatives, by any of the following methods:
E-mail: annual.catchlimitDEIS@noaa.gov Include ``Scoping comments on annual catch limit DEIS'' in subject line of the message.
Fax: 301-713-1193
Mail: Mark Millikin; National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA; 1315 East-West Highway; Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT: Mark Millikin; National Marine Fisheries Service, 301-713-2341.

Candy


captfrankie
Captain
Other
196 Posts
Posted - 03/07/2007 : 1:07:39 PM

It appears that this guy is (I will apologize in advance)nothing more than a liar and a thief. He isn't just stealing from the fishery. He is in fact stealing from the industry that he is a part of. By conducting business in this manner he is obviously damaging all of the commerical fishing industry. I assure you they are not all like that.

Frankie (captfrankie)

Candy
05-01-07, 06:58 AM
This was a thread on our old forum. I copied it here because it was on the same topic.
3/2/07 Spear wrote:

A recently released report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission provides some insight into what happens to undersize grouper on some longline boats.

On Nov. 29, 2006, FWC Officer Ed Chambers was patrolling the Florida Middle Grounds in the agency's new 32-foot FinCat when he came across a longline buoy in an area closed to commercial fishing, the report said.

About 2 miles away, Chambers and his crew boarded a 60-foot boat called the Cindy Sue. The boat's captain, 30-year-old Steven Fidler of Panama City, told Chambers that he knew nothing about the abandoned longline gear.

"On board the vessel I immediately observed numerous smaller red grouper on the bait cutting table," Chambers wrote in his report. "I also observed numerous pieces of red grouper mixed throughout the other bait baskets."

Chambers searched the ship's hold and found an additional 15 undersized fish that had just been caught, according to the report.

"Mr. Fidler and the crew advised that they had caught the fish on their first haul of the morning," according to the report. "They stated that they were planning on releasing the fish, though most of them were already dead. This did not coincide with the fact that there were small grouper pieces mixed in with the bait. The grouper pieces appeared to be from smaller red grouper. This is a common illegal practice on commercial longline vessels."

According to the report, Chambers asked Fidler whether the grouper on the cutting table would be used as bait. "He had no reply but a shoulder shrug," Chambers wrote.

Fidler was charged with possession of undersized red grouper and possession of grouper not in a whole condition. The undersized fish were donated to a local charity.

Fast Facts:

Grouper forum

The public forum is Tuesday (1-4:30 p.m.) and Wednesday (8 a.m.-noon) at the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (100 Eighth Ave. SE, St. Petersburg). Registration is required but free at www.gulfcouncil.org. The deadline to register is today.
__________________

spear
Ensign
Destin
33 Posts
Posted - 03/02/2007 : 05:52:32 AM

I asked a question on this board and did not get any reply(see below). Shouldn't we as a group, ie ECRAI, push for legislation requiring longliners to mark their lines and any found not so marked would immediately be confiscated. After all, if anyone puts out one or more crab traps in Florida they are required to be marked with a name and other information about the owner! Is it too much to ask the same of Longliners? By the way, I wonder what happened to the "abandoned" longline that the commercial boat didn't claim was theirs. Did officer Chambers pull it up by hand (probably too difficult), did he leave it so the commercial boat could retrieve it after he left, or did he cut the mooring bouys off it so they couldn't retrieve it, which would be a far greater expense to them than the fine? Anyone know what the article said? If the longline in the water wasn't theirs, what were they going to use all that cut up bait on, and what did they catch all the fish already on the boat with? It seems to me that a pretty good case could be made on circumstantial evidence that the longline was theirs.
Shouldn't the longliners be required to mark their bouys with their name, and any found not marked whether in the water or on their boats be confiscated? Also, I thought grouper fishing by longline in less than 300ft was closed several years ago.




spear
Ensign
Destin
33 Posts
Posted - 03/02/2007 : 05:59:43 AM

By the way, here is what this Longliner was fined according to the article:
My good buddy's record here in just Bay County.Fined a whopping $232.00 for the grouper incident, I'm sure he has learned his lesson!
01/05/2007 DEFENDANT ENTERED PLEA OF GUILTY SEQ: 1,SEQ: 2
01/05/2007 DEFENDANT APPEARED PRES W/O ATTY FOR NO TRIAL TRIAL SEQ: 1
01/05/2007 ADJUDICATED GUILTY SEQ: 1,SEQ: 2
01/05/2007 DEFENDANT SENTENCED AS FOLLOWS: - CHRG 1
01/05/2007 ASSESSED $232.00 DUE 03/05/2007 - CHRG 1
01/05/2007 SENT PROV - FINE OR COMM SERVICE - CHRG 1
01/05/2007 DEFENDANT APPEARED PRES W/O ATTY FOR NO TRIAL TRIAL SEQ: 2
01/05/2007 DEFENDANT SENTENCED AS FOLLOWS: - CHRG 2
01/05/2007 SENTENCE IS INCLUDED WITH 068156MMMA -001 - CHRG 2
01/05/2007 PAY CC $232.00 BY 3-5-07 OR SERVE 20 DAYS
01/05/2007 CASE CLOSED