All bottom fishing prohibited.
 

The vote has passed (SAFMC) to close ALL bottom fishing from the Savannah River to Sebastian Inlet in waters 98' to 240' deep.

This encompasses 6,161 square miles, all the Georgia offshore coast to north central Florida. This makes up 3% of the Federal Waters of the South Atlantic.

This is the newsletter published this spring with the proposed closure location (now passed), starts on page 1 and continued on page 10.
http://www.safmc.net/Portals/6/Newsl...2010_FINAL.pdf
The publication is too large to upload.
I'm trying to figure out how to pick only these two pages in order to make it easier to read.

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council News Release March 8, 2010 CONTACT: Kim Iverson
Public Information Officer
(843) 571-4366 Council Modifies Preferred Alternative for Area Closure

http://www.safmc.net/Portals/6/image...all%20file.jpgAfter reviewing management alternatives for red snapper during their meeting this past week in Jekyll Island, Georgia, members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council chose a new preferred alternative for an area closure under consideration to end overfishing and rebuild red snapper stocks. The Council is considering an area closure in Amendment 17A to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan that would prohibit the harvest of all snapper grouper species, targeting areas where red snapper landings have traditionally been highest to reduce the bycatch mortality associated with the red snapper fishery. The latest preferred alternative includes an area off the coasts of Georgia and Northern Florida extending slightly south of Melbourne, Florida in waters from 98 feet to 240 feet deep. Alternative 3C, chosen by the Council last week, is smaller in size than an initial preferred management alternative chosen by the Council during its December 2009 meeting.
The Council kept a preferred management alternative to allow spearfishing within the closed area, excluding red snapper, because there is no bycatch associated with the use of the gear. A preferred alternative to allow fishing with black sea bass pots was removed due to the change in configuration of the area closure. The Council also chose to use generalized boundaries with smaller number of waypoints in defining all of the alternatives for the area closures based on recommendations from its Law Enforcement Advisory Panel and Committee. A map of the preferred alternative is available on the homepage of the Council’s Web site.
"I respect the process the council used to change the preferred alternative from 4D to 3C which excludes a closure off South Carolina,” said Council Chairman Duane Harris. “I voted against this change as I do not believe it will result in enough reduction in red snapper mortality. However, I hope alternative 3C will work and we can move forward in June with approving Snapper Grouper Amendment 17A.”
The amendment, currently under development, includes management measures to meet the requirements of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act to end overfishing of red snapper, set Annual Catch Limits and Accountability Measures, and rebuild the red snapper stock. Alternatives for a red snapper monitoring program and the use of circle hooks for the snapper grouper fishery north of 28 degrees N. latitude are also included.
The red snapper fishery closed in federal waters in the South Atlantic for both commercial and recreational fishermen on January 4, 2010. The Council requested the interim rule be used to close the fishery until more long-term measures are implemented through Amendment 17A. The interim rule is currently scheduled to expire on June 2, 2010 but can be extended for an additional 186 days. The decision regarding the extension of the closure will be made by NOAA Fisheries Service. If approved, Amendment 17A would extend the closure for a longer period of time. NOAA Fisheries Service is soliciting public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Amendment 17A until April 19, 2010. Additional information regarding the DEIS is available online at http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov.
Closing the red snapper fishery is not enough to end overfishing and rebuild the stock because of the high
bycatch mortality associated with the fishery. It is estimated that 40% of the red snapper captured and
released by recreational fishermen die. Although primarily a recreationally harvested species, the bycatch mortality climbs to 90% for the commercial fishery because of fishing practices and deeper waters that are fished. Based on a 2008 stock assessment for red snapper, it is necessary to reduce the mortality (both harvest and bycatch) by 83% in order to meet the requirements of the reauthorized Magnuson-Stevens Act to end overfishing by 2010 and begin rebuilding the stock. If approved, Amendment 17A will implement long-term measures to meet those requirements, including an area closure. The Council is expected to take final action during its June meeting in Orlando, Florida regarding Amendment 17A.
A new stock assessment is being conducted for red snapper this year and the results will be available to the Council during its December 2010 meeting. The Council is mandated to take action in June to approve Amendment 17A for submission to the Secretary of Commerce. However, Council member and Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office, Dr. Roy Crabtree, explained during an informal question and answer session at last week’s meeting that there are options for the Council in December to request additional measures that could modify the area closure based on the outcome of the new stock assessment. While fishermen are hopeful that the new assessment will reflect the increased number of red snapper they’ve seen in recent years, Dr. Crabtree cautioned that a new assessment may or may not reflect an improvement in the stock.
The next meeting of the Council is scheduled for June 7-11, 2010 in Orlando, Florida.

Due to public outcry, they have now approved a modified closure area.
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council News Release June 9, 2010 CONTACT: Kim Iverson
Public Information Officer
(843) 571-4366 Council Approves Measures to End Overfishing of Red Snapper

For those of you unable to comprehend the purposes of the SAMFC.
This is only one a federal fisheries department, it governs recreational and commercial fishing from North Carolina to Miami, from 3 to 200 miles offshore.
The past regulations have apparently failed to reduce the "bycatch" of "closed to possession" of certain species of fish (Red Snapper has become the Spotted Owl in this instance).
In order to protect these species, it has been determined that a closure of fishing in their habitat is the only solution. Being spear fishing and top water trolling pose no real threat to these species, it is at this time still allowed in the closed areas.

Why do I get the feeling that the "fisheries management" people have no real clue as to what is going on? In the northeast it's the Fluke population that is the spotted owl, although from all indications the biomass of this species is greater than it's been for the past 10 years... Now they've set their sights on Black Sea Bass and Weakfish. In all cases I personally think that if they would just BAN commercial fishing of these species there would be no problems. Instead it's the recreational fisherman that takes it in the neck while the commercial fisheries continue to get larger and larger quota's. Damn them all!!

When the agencies that allocate who can catch what are part of the department of commerce, it will ALWAYS go the commercial way since they are a commercial agency for commercial harvesting. Florida gets it dry yet again. If it aint the oil on one side, it's the fisheries management on the other side.

I just never expected the fisheries management to come to this.
With the failure of all the regulations and education using circle hooks, barbless J hooks, proper handling and deflating requirements, besides the catch sizes, limits and seasons, seems there should have of been other alternatives (which escape my limited education) besides completely closing down an entire environment.

PETA, I'm sure is proud of the SAFMC.

Well, if all this pans out and succeeds, seems the next best thing would to rotate the closure area locations year to year. However they haven't yet announced this.


You guys not affected by this........
take a good look and remember.
Could be coming to your home port soon.
The precedent has been made.

If you look closely at what the fisheries management councils around the country are doing, how they are going about their tasks, what the end results are and where they seem to be leading us, I firmly believe that their final goal (unstated to be sure, but their goal nevertheless) is nothing less than the complete closure of the ocean to all recreational fishing. It's just one more method of controling us. If the only place you can get fish is from a store, and they control who is able to get those fish from the oceans, then who do they wind up controlling?

If you control a persons health, (Healthcare) and their money, (Government takeover of banks) and their food, (looks like they're working on that one)........The end result will be you needing Big Brother to even live.

BAH..... There's that silly conspiracy theory person inside of me talking again... my country would never do that to it's citizens....:bsflag:

There is a very fine line difference between citizens and subjects. Strangely enough it seems that today's voting public would prefer the latter.
And very oddly, there are only brief mentions of this subject around the fishing forums.
I just expected these people that manage this stuff to already to have the right answers.
My ignorance is obviously showing again.

Well, so much for the conspiracy theory.
Note the dates and outcome.
(sorry this has no other basis)


SHIMANO AMERICAN CORPORATION News Release



For Immediate Release ***8211; 10/5/09

IRVINE, Calif. USA ***8211; October 5, 2009 ***8211; A recently published administration document outlines a structure that could result in closures of sport fishing in salt and freshwater areas across America. The White House created an Interagency Oceans Policy Task Force in June and gave them only 90 days to develop a comprehensive federal policy for all U.S. coastal, ocean and Great Lakes waters. Under the guise of ***8216;protecting***8217; these areas, the current second phase of the Task Force direction is to develop zoning which may permanently close vast areas of fishing waters nationwide. This is to be completed by December 9, 2009.
Dave Pfeiffer, President of Shimano American Corporation explained, ***8220;In spite of extensive submissions from the recreational fishing community to the Task Force in person and in writing, they failed to include any mention of the over one million jobs or the 6o million anglers which may be affected by the new policies coast to coast. Input from the environmental groups who want to put us off the water was adopted into the report verbatim ***8211; the key points we submitted as an industry were ignored.***8221;
Recreational fishing generates a $125 billion annual economy in the United States and supports jobs in every state according to government figures. Through the Sport Fish Restoration program, anglers have provided more than $5 billion through excise taxes on fishing tackle to fishery conservation and education for decades.
In addition to the economic aspects, anglers lead the nation in volunteer conservation efforts on behalf of improving fish habitat, water quality and related environmental areas. ***8220;There was no mention of the fishery conservation efforts which anglers have led for over 50 years in every state ***8211; an environmental success story that has no equal in the world***8221;, said Phil Morlock, Director, Environmental Affairs for Shimano. ***8220;The Task Force did not make any distinction between the dramatic differences between harmful commercial fishing harvest methods and recreational fishing, even though we spelled it out for them in detail,***8221; added Morlock.
Claiming to be the result of a public consultation process the report states, ***8220;Having considered a broad range of public comments, this report reflects the requests and concerns of all interested parties.***8221;
The original White House memo and not surprisingly the Task Force report contains multiple references to developing a national policy where Great Lakes and coastal regions are managed, ***8220;consistent with international law, including customary international law as reflected in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea***8221; - a 300-page treaty the U.S. has never ratified.
***8220;We question what implications there will be for state authority and jurisdiction in the Great Lakes and coastal regions if the U.S. adopts the U.N. Treaty,***8221; said Pfeiffer.
The report makes it clear that future authority for implementing the policy for coastal and inland waters will fall under White House jurisdiction with a new National Ocean Council comprised of over 20 federal agencies at Cabinet Secretary or Deputy Secretary level. No reference to Congressional jurisdiction is indicated.
***8220;This significant change in U.S. policy direction is the result of a 90-day fire drill process as ordered by the President that, not surprisingly, lacks balance, clarity and quality in the end product,***8221; said Morlock. ***8220;People who simply want to take their kids fishing on public waters deserve better from their government,***8221; he added.
Shimano is joining with other members of the recreational fishing industry to urge anglers to contact their members of Congress and the administration to request this process be required to adopt the economic, conservation and social contributions of recreational fishing as key elements of the policy. It is critical that we ensure Congressional oversight and state jurisdiction and management continues.
E-letters can be sent to the administration and members of Congress by visiting KeepAmericanFishing.org. The future of fishing is in your hands.
Editor***8217;s Note: Phil Morlock is attending Congressional Sportsmen***8217;s Caucus functions this week in Washington, DC, but will make himself available for questions, interviews on this. Contact John Mazurkiewicz with Catalyst Marketing for arrangements.

Well (unofficially), we got 6 months before this takes place.

Well, at least here's something pleasant to look at in the meantime.
http://i175.photobucket.com/albums/w...3/bikinis1.jpg

Well it's official. No bottom fishing those area's.
Also there are many deepwater Marine Protection Area's that range from Cape Fear NC to Jacksonville FL that were implemented on 2/13/09 I have overlooked.
See starting on page 10.
http://www.safmc.net/LinkClick.aspx?...0%3d&tabid=248
Our Georgia MPA covers 100sq nautical miles due just east of the Triple Ledges in 295'-904' of water.

Yep, bottom fishing banned in the Atlantic off northern Fl and Ga from 98' and out. And starting the first of January in the gulf, all recreational grouper fishing will be banned for at least 6 months if not longer. We are not aloud to even think about keeping a snook right now on the Gulf side until the end of 2011(but the Atlantic side should reopen early 2011). Aint the fishing regs great, just like a gasoline enema with a match as a light. I'm sure glad I got my boat sold last month before the fishing closure was finalized.

I sent FWC e-mail when they closed Red Snapper harvest to complain about the commercial take. 3 weeks later I got ear wash about how the FWC was aligning themselves with the Federal bunch. Now this, they have officially killed my desire to fish offshore at this point. Boat for sale - Owner plans on taking a beating. Ferm you got out just in time..
Kenny Rodgers-The Gambler comes to mind.

update
 

For those who are still paying attention to the large area bottom closure, there is good news. The SAFMC delayed implementation of the closure for another 180 days beginning on Dec 4. They are awaiting the findings of new data which appears to be more consistent with what fisherman have been reporting regarding the red snapper stocks. Until further notice, red snapper is still closed to all harvest. Still not much motivation to fish between 1/1 and 5/1, when grouper is closed, though.

Yeah, that's a good looking pair of shoes that guy is wearing:love:

More updates.
http://www.safmc.net/LinkClick.aspx?fileti...d&tabid=139
Effective Dates
• The prohibition on all harvest and possession of red snapper is effective immediately, December 3, 2010.
• The snapper-grouper area closure has been delayed until June 1, 2011.
• The requirement to use non-stainless steel circle hooks north of 28° N. latitude is effective
March 3, 2011.

Well, they changed their regulations again.
Deemed the Snapper/Grouper Closure Area as "UNNECESSARY".
http://www.safmc.net/LinkClick.aspx?...w%3d&tabid=139
NO we still can't keep any Red Snapper and it appears the circle hook mandate is still on.