During the Senate subcomittee hearing on reauthorization of implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act, one thing became terribly clear. Fishermen – both commercial and recreational – don't trust data that is used to determine quotas or annual catch limits.
In Florida the biggest example for confusion comes from closures to the black sea bass fishery. Like cobia, wahoo and dolphin, the sea bass is a species that NMFS says is fully recovered and not overfished. Closures like the current one financially hurt commercial fishermen and charter captains who depend on it.
Bird added that the only way for fishermen to ever trust managers would be for the people on the water to see that the numbers provided by managers match what they see every day on the water.
But you can also bet that if fishermen – both commercial and recreational – aren't more included in the process, there will be a call for change at the National Marine Fisheries Service top. Because those are the people that fishermen have the most problem with.
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Lee Tolliver has covered sports for The Virginian-Pilot since 1976. A lifelong angler, he added the outdoor writer’s duties ten years ago. Lee’s Fishing Forecast appears on PilotOnline.com and in the Sports section every Thursday from the first week in April through Thanksgiving Day.
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