commercial striped bass netters continue to rape the sea in North Carolina!!

[seamonkey]

I just read this, they are at it again. This is disgusting, when is it going to stop??

Commercial trawlers kill thousands more striped bass off the Outer Banks

February 3rd, 2011 8:03 pm ET

Continue reading on Examiner.com: Commercial trawlers kill thousands more striped bass off the Outer Banks - Charlotte Fish and Wildlife Policy | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/fish-and-wil...#ixzz1D0d27VJJ

Taking advantage of a NC Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) decision to allow them back into the ocean, commercial striped bass trawlers off of Oregon Inlet again killed and discarded thousands of striped bass today in a tragic and wasteful repeat of last month’s fish kill.
Despite the massive striped bass kill last month, DMF director Dr. Louis Daniel reopened the ocean trawler striper season and once again the commercial trawlers left a miles-long trail of wasted, dead stripers.
“There are thousands of discarded striped bass covering an area approximately 1-1 ½ miles wide and 3-5 miles long,” said one eyewitness observer who flew over the fish kill in a helicopter. “There is no disputing the fact that these fish came from the trawler fleet as there were no other boats in the area.”
Most recreational boats were not fishing out of Oregon Inlet today due to heavy winds and swells. But one charter captain who did make it to the area described the size of the fish left dead in the wake of the trawlers.
“These were not undersized fish we are talking about,” he said. “We picked up discarded striped bass up to 34 pounds.”
Just weeks ago a huge striped bass kill brought howls of protest from recreational and small commercial fishermen to the DMF, which attempted to blame much of the problem on a single overloaded net from one trawler.
After that the DMF changed the law which limited striped bass trawlers to 50 fish in response to public pressure and media reports detailing trawlers throwing thousands of striped bass, many of legal size in the 15 to 20 pound range, back into the ocean in order to keep larger fish.
The DMF did not close the fishery, however, and allowed the trawlers back into the ocean under the new rules. They were allowed out again today and will go back tomorrow.
The rule change has not eliminated the massive discard of dead striped bass, and once again we have a field of senseless waste and destruction littered in the ocean while the government does nothing.
You can visit the contact page for the NC DMF here.

[nitestrikes]

The rule change has not eliminated the massive discard of dead striped bass, and once again we have a field of senseless waste and destruction littered in the ocean while the government does nothing.
You can visit the contact page for the NC DMF here.[/LEFT]


[/COLOR]

Seamonkey, I wrote a letter to Patricia Smith here is what I got back -
apparently it's all ********.




I am writing in response to your e-mail regarding your concerns about North Carolina’s striped bass fishery.

On Jan. 21, the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries implemented regulatory changes to address discards of striped bass in the commercial trawl fishery. The division replaced the previous 50-fish-per-day commercial trip limit with a 2,000-pound-per-day trip limit.

To avoid regulatory discards, the new regulations allow commercial trawl fishermen to transfer trip limits to other fishing vessels that hold a striped bass ocean fishing permit for the commercial trawl fishery. This way, all the fish will be landed and count against the commercial quota.

Thank you for your interest in North Carolina’s marine fisheries.

Sincerely,
Patricia Smith

[nitestrikes]

This is a list of people in power, anyone who cares about this should try to contact at least one of these repsand complain via e-mail or phone. This has GOT to stop!


Office of the Governor
Constituent Services Office
116 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Phone: (800) 662-7952 or (919) 733-2391
Fax: (919) 733-2120

http://www.governor.state.nc.us/eTownhall/qa.aspx

http://hagan.senate.gov/contact/

http://burr.senate.gov/public/index....ct.ContactForm

Senator Richard Burr (R- NC) 202-224-3154202-228-2981
Senator Kay Hagan (D- NC) 202-224-6342202-228-2563
Representative G. K. Butterfield, Jr. (D - 01) 202-225-3101202-225-3354
Representative Renee L. Ellmers (R - 02) 202-225-4531202-225-5662
Representative Walter B. Jones, Jr. (R - 03) 202-225-3415202-225-3286
Representative David Price (D - 04) 202-225-1784202-225-2014
Representative Virginia Foxx (R - 05) 202-225-2071202-225-2995
Representative Howard Coble (R - 06) 202-225-3065202-225-8611
Representative Mike McIntyre (D - 07) 202-225-2731202-225-5773
Representative Larry Kissell (D - 08) 202-225-3715202-225-4036
Representative Sue Myrick (R - 09) 202-225-1976202-225-3389
Representative Patrick McHenry (R - 10) 202-225-2576202-225-0316
Representative Heath Shuler (D - 11) 202-225-6401202-226-6422
Representative Mel Watt (D - 12) 202-225-1510202-225-1512
Representative Brad Miller (D - 13) 202-225-3032202-225-0181

[BassBuddah]

Folks, I read this and it sickened me, again.
The recent regulation they put out there with the 2000lb limit seems to just be lip service to keep the reporters and recreational fishermen placated, but with no consequences. I was so mad I wrote this letter. Please help however you can, fellas, before there are no more striped bass left for our fisheries further north of these guys.

Please write a letter if you can, or copy mine and e-mail or fax it to the address --

[BassBuddah]

Office of the Governor
Constituent Services Office
116 West Jones Street
Raleigh, North Carolina 27603
Phone: (800) 662-7952 or (919) 733-2391
Fax: (919) 733-2120

Dear Governor Bev Purdue:

I am contacting you about the commercial netting of striped bass going on right now off the coast of North Carolina. As a fisherman, this method of netting and the wanton waste of the dead discards concerns me greatly.

This issue has recently come to the forefront of news and fishing sites as the pictures of the thousands of dead bass discards have gone viral on the internet. We fishermen are concerned about the future of striped bass as a resource. Having striped bass laying dead on the water is not a good example of conservation for the future. The striped bass resource is limited and should be closely monitored. Each time an incident like this occurs, it galvanizes the recreational fishing public to take action to prevent such incidents.

On January 16 , the following video showing dead bass from commercial high grading was released on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X51MKCrn9RE

The viewing of this video created an outrage in the fishing community. Thousands of voters and your constituents are also angry about this.

Shortly after, the NC DMF released statements that the commercial fishing limit was being changed from 50 striped bass/day, to 2000 lbs/day, in an attempt to alleviate this "high grading".

The actions recently reported by Examiner reporter Jeffrey Weeks has shown that all the proposed rule change from the NC DMF has done nothing.
http://www.examiner.com/fish-and-wil...he-outer-banks

In fact, he has suggested that the NC DMF is in collusion with commercial netters. This potential conflict of interest can no longer be ignored. It must be investigated by those outside of the DMF to avoid any further questions of impropriety.

When you campaigned for office, one of your promises was to streamline government in North Carolina. You promised to make offces more transparent and efficient. This has not happened in the DMF, and it is time for someone to investigate why.

I am asking you as a woman of your word to put forth an investigation of this matter to see why this practice continues despite being allegedly no longer necessary.

AS a fishermen who votes, I do not condone striped bass being caught and wasted. Although I do not live in North Carolina, I have vacationed there and spend my money there.

Thank you for your attention to this matter and for helping to make North Carolina a better and more equitable place for all, where everyone receives equal justice under the law.


Sincerely,


_________________________




More resources -

Gov Purdue's webpage:
http://www.governor.state.nc.us/

Gov Purdue's e-mail:
governor.office@nc.gov

[hookedonbass]

hey thanks for writing that bassbudda, I copied and e-mailed it out just now. That is truly disgusting, I would bet the commercial guys are somehow paying off the dmf guys. They should sink all the boats of the commercial guys who are caught doing this!

[finchaser]

http://www.examiner.com/fish-and-wil...he-outer-banks

Here is article and pictures

New law was written to blow smoke up the publics arse