Gulf Council meeting in New Orlean.

[biggun]

Hi Guys..

If any of you care about the future of the red snapper make your voice heard. I'll be there..

Everyone,


Next week, the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council will hold its meetings in New Orleans at the Riverside Hilton . On the agenda for the four day meeting are numerous items, including Thursday’s final action on the reallocation of Red Snapper. As you all know, federal management of Red Snapper has been a mess for a long time, and they have not reconsidered the current allocation (51% to the commercial fleet, 49% to recreational anglers) in 30 years. Now that the charter for hire sector has been separated, or carved out, from the recreational sector, our 49% has been reduced even further. Today, almost 3/4 of the red snapper resource is reserved for private business owners while the public is left with the scraps. Of course, this is part of the reason us recs were stuck with our 9 day season in 2015. The unfair allocation and unjustly short season is detrimental to marinas and other businesses that depend on recreational anglers and tourists, and also hurts the single boat charter operators- who make up the backbone of the LA Charter industry.


On Wednesday Aug 12 at 1pm, there will be a Public Testimony session. It is important that the recreational sector is well represented during public testimony to advocate for reallocation . The Environmental groups, the commercial fleet and the Alabama & Florida charter & head boat groups will be well represented for sure, and most of them will testify in one voice against the need to reallocate.