CALL TO ACTION

Date Posted: June 21, 2016

The Gulf Council will vote to extend the separation of the recreational angler from their fishing rights. But only after listening to live public input and seeing the faces of the affected anglers tomorrow afternoon. Be seen, be heard, be counted. At the Clearwater Beach Hilton, 400 Mandalay Ave. Public input begins at 1:45 and ends at 5 on Wednesday (tomorrow). It seems like the majority of the council supports extending the ‘3-year sunset provision’ for sector separation. Your input may not change this but you WILL be counted and seen as the faces of the angler. As we speak, the… Read More »

Date Posted: June 13, 2016

Your chance to ensure your voice is heard is almost here! Mark your calendars to give public input to the Gulf Council on Wednesday, June 22. Why do I need to speak up? The sector separation advocates have outnumbered the recreational anglers at many of the recent meetings. These ‘advocates’ claim to represent the angler’s interests, and now Council members and the Florida FWC are beginning to believe that you want sector separation, too. If you oppose sector separation, show up and let your voice be heard. Anglers are being told that our numbers a growing exponentially and are, “out of… Read More »

Date Posted: May 19, 2016

A slim majority of the Council voted for sector separation, with a key vote swung over by the promise of a three-year sunset on the sector separation scheme. As the FRA predicted, we now face the extension or elimination of the ‘sunset provision’. GULF COUNCIL WILL TAKE PUBLIC INPUT ON THIS ISSUE BEGINNING MAY 23, WITH FINAL INPUT TO FULL COUNCIL ON JUNE 22 IN CLEARWATER BEACH FL. The following meetings begin at 6 PM local time and end no later than 9 PM Monday, May 23, 2016 Hilton St. Petersburg Carillon Park 950 Lake Carillon Drive St. Petersburg, FL… Read More »

Date Posted: May 9, 2016

Gulf Council Hogfish Public input Meetings, May 9, 10, 11 From the Gulf Council, here is the short version of the hearing on Hogfish: The following are some suggested comments and positions for the hogfish public input meetings: From the document: Discards in the recreational and commercial sectors are low. The percentage of discarded hogfish compared to harvested fish was 5-11% depending on the recreational subsector (Table B-1). Discards in the commercial sector are low (Table B-1) with an average of 23 fish discarded annually in the Gulf during 2009-2013 (note that estimates of discards in the commercial sector are… Read More »

Date Posted: May 5, 2016

If you target hogfish, you should show up at this meeting. Biologically, the Hogfish minimum size should be increased. Consider giving input that supports a 14″ minimum size. The reason being that the fishery has been at 12 inch minimum for years and shows no signs of overfishing or being overfished. Th Council will make this and other decisions in June at a Clearwater Beach hotel. Mark your calendar for June 22, when you can speak to the full Council in one room. Meeting details to follow. Watch for further details regarding information you might need for this public input. The following is… Read More »

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