643 Posted April 19, 2009 Report Posted April 19, 2009 Heres a letter from the Fed agents (NOAA) enforcement side to us as Recreational anglers concerning the Snapper situation in our part of the Gulf. I copied n pasted this from another fishing website. This is a plea for you to help us rather than hate us. This is not meant to provoke anyone. But we feel like it is best to speak plainly and as honest as we can. We are serious about wanting to build some bridges with you and to clear up some misconceptions, and seek your help. We approached Monty about this idea, and he welcomed it and supported it and agrees something needs to be done. We have already met many of you on the water, and have positive interactions and have built some great working relationships with you. There are 2 NOAA Special Agents (and a Boss) in the Galveston, TX office. We have a very broad enforcement mission only part of which includes recreational enforcement. Fact is, we spend about 90% of our time enforcing commercial violations. We are Special Agents and have full authority to arrest, inspect, seize, bear firearms, serve warrants and subpoenas, etc.. Matt and I have one pet-peeve, Lying. We are pretty easy- going except when someone lies to us while on the job. We have and use a NOAA OLE patrol boat which is based in Galveston, TX. Because there are so few of us, we have an agreement with the USCG and TPW to enforce some of the federal regulations while they are conducting their normal jobs. NOAA OLE trains the USCG and TPW to perform these tasks. We realize the short season has a huge economic impact on the charter industry, and it takes away what people traditionally like to fish for year round. You are used to being able to do this year round, we get that. However, as Texans, you should be and probably are very proud of your heritage and your ability to manage fish and game such as the red fish, and world class deer hunting ranches and leases. Try to consider that the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico is much the same. Instead of complaining that they can’t be caught year round, let’s come to the agreement that while they are getting a break from fishing pressure, they obviously are having time to rebuild and repopulate at an unprecedented rate, virtually guaranteeing a world class fishery that will be around for many years to come. One unique thing about this area is that the weather allows you to fish year round. Remember that in many parts of the world, fishing is out of the question due to cold and snow. Anywhere there is a fishery, there will always need to be size limits and season closures in order to ensure the longevity of the fish. Think of the way in which people work on cultivate their deer leases all year long so they can harvest the best deer on the property. Just because the deer are there all year does not mean that you can harvest them year round. I truly believe that snapper are the same, and someday in the near future, the season can return to a much better situation than it is today, and when it does, the fishing will be better than it has ever been. So let’s all work together to continue to help sustain and improve the fishery. They are your fish, they are my fish, they are your client’s fish. Let’s keep people from taking them when they are not supposed to. If you are one of those who are taking them, please stop before we have to become involved. If you are already one who respects the rules, please help us convince others to do the same. What we promise to give you in return is to always do our best to respond to your questions, and to reports of people who are not playing by the same rules you are being asked to. We also promise to give regular feedback on what cases have been made (to the level we are allowed to). We cannot give out boat names and list people by name, but we can tell you that a significant stop was made, and what the result was. If you would like, we could even have our own thread, or a way to contact us directly through a confidential email. We have a NOAA HOTLINE to report fishery violations, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week anywhere in the US and Caribbean. This line is answered by a live person. The caller can remain anonymous if they choose to do so. However, it always helps if we can call you back. The reason we reached out to you is to build a relationship among recreational fishermen and enforcement. Matt and I are seasoned, intelligent, and professional agents. We are not thugs who hate recreational fishermen. Quite the opposite is true. We both took this job to help preserve and sustain the fishery for future fishermen. That being said, we don’t make the law, we just enforce it. We do have a job to do, and it involves determining if federal regulations were violated. Do you think a violator is just going to say “you got meâ€? Come on! We would never find the real violators if we were that easy. We are not out looking for ways to catch you doing something wrong; we are way too busy for that. We are only looking for those that are blatantly/knowingly/intentionally violating the law and trying to hide it. For example, a non-permitted boat who takes out a paid charter trip (even advertises it), but tells the paying customers to say “we are only friendsâ€. If the recreational fishermen don’t stop these people, enforcement will. Our goal is for the recreational fishermen to police themselves so that we don’t become involved. We would rather be fishing than documenting a case against someone. So far, this has not occurred, therefore Matt and I have been checking boats for federal violations. If a recreational fisherman is upset at the federal regulation, he/she should focus their efforts at having the law changed, not continuing to violate the law. For example, we know for a fact that there aren't many productive state spots on this part of the coast. I’m sure there are a few, but they are well kept secrets known only to a few. ‘All’ the boats catching limits of sow snapper are NOT catching them in State waters. Hey, if there were more Reefs inside State waters with nice snapper on them, we would all be happier. Instead of working on this issue, some 2coolers constantly think/post of ways to get their GPS to show they were actually in State waters when in fact they were in Federal waters (Closed Season). Enforcement is not the problem, ‘violators’ are. In regards to the GPS units: While we clearly have the authority to seize the units (as well as fish, and other gear), we would never seize the unit just to ‘prove a point’ or ‘promote thuggery’. When we seize anything, we use professional judgment. If we have no reason to believe you have violated the law, we would not seize the unit. Just don’t put us in a situation where we have no other choice. Even worse, if we have a boat has extreme multiple violations the last step is to seize and forfeit the entire boat in order to stop the violations, and or prosecute someone in the Federal criminal system, where people go to real jails with real criminals. So let’s not go there. We would hope things would never have to go that far. Believe us, we have many things we would rather be doing than the time and paperwork it would cost to go through this process. But we will do what we have to enforce the law and protect your resource. Sometimes fines mean nothing to people, regardless of the amount. Then, and only then do we have to use sharpest tools in our toolbox. We would much rather people just obey the law and encourage others to do the same. Many have said that we are only after recreational boats, and are ignoring the commercial sector. This is not true, in fact quite the opposite. To show you that most of our work involves the commercial fishery, here are cases from myself and Matt this past year: Keep in mind that the fines issued may not always seem like enough, but they are tailored to fit the situation and the value of the resource taken. In many cases the catch was seized in addition to the fines below. Commercial IFQ Vessel IFQ violations in Beaumont. $4,000 fine issued 03/09 Commercial IFQ Buyer IFQ violations in Beaumont,$4,000 fine issued 3/09. Commercial IFQ Vessel IFQ Violations in Galveston. $30,000 fine 3/09 Commercial IFQ Buyer IFQ $30,000 fine issued 3/09 Shrimp Vessel Failure to take an observer $30,000 fine issued 3/09 Commercial IFQ Vessel Galveston, failure to take observer $10,000 fine issued 1/09 Charter Vessel charter vessel without a permit. fine Pending. Shrimp Vessel Illegal TED flap extensions. $500 SS Paid in 11/08. Shrimp vessel Illegal TED flap extensions. $500 SS Paid 10/08 Commercial IFQ Vessel for anchoring within the Flower Gardens. fine Pending. Recreational Vessel with 22 Red Snapper fillets. $4,000 issued 01/09. Shrimp Vessel fishing in closed waters,TED violations.$25K fine 12/08. Shrimp Vessel TEDS violations $1000 summary settlement paid 11/08. Shrimp Vessel TEDS violations. $500 summary settlement paid 10/08. Shrimp Vessel TEDS case, $500 SS not paid, convert to fine 4/09. Charter Vessel Charter w/o permits, fine Pending. Charter Vessel Charter w/o permits fine Pending. Shrimp Vessel TEDS case, $2000 summary settlement paid 10/08. Commercial Importer in Houston, TX false documents to ship live turtle- Pending. Commercial IFQ Vessel-12,000 pounds illegal red snapper- $55,000 fine, 90 day permit sanction. Shrimp Vessel- Fail to take and observer- $9000 fine and 18 day permit sanction. Commercial Dealer- Purchase $1M of fish without a dealer permit- $100,000 fine Charter Vessel- Freeport, with 26 red snapper fillets and closed season- fine pending Commercial IFQ vessel- Sell IFQ red snapper to restaurants – fine pending Summary: Matt and I are the two NOAA Special Agents stationed in Galveston, TX. We are professional and treat everyone with the respect they deserve. We are NOT, as a commercial fishermen told me last week “issuing out fishermen euthanasia’ and we are not, as a 2Cooler has stated today “viewing you as the enemy and only out to issue you a violationâ€. We are not making the laws, only enforcing them. Oh, and we do not have a hidden agenda nor have we been instructed by NOAA to concentrate on the recreational sector. We are good at our jobs and focus our attention where the violators are. We are in fact, fishermen just like you. We want all of you to enjoy all the ‘legal’ fishing you can stand (even in State Waters). Please work with us and not against us. Please concentrate on changing the laws, not ways to get away with violating it. Rather than trying to make your best informed guess at how to interpret the law on say “What constitutes a charter vs. friends sharing fuel,†just ask us. That is what we are here for. We are public servants and work for you. We welcome your suggestions on ways to improve ‘enforcement’. Our office number is 409-770-0812. We are located at 601 Rosenberg St., Room 309 Galveston, TX 77553. If you would like us to have a “Thread†on 2cool, just let Monty know. We will do whatever we can to be more accessible to you.
643 Posted April 19, 2009 Author Report Posted April 19, 2009 This is the site this was posted on, its on the 'Bluewater board" along with other members comments on a LONG going issue on Red Snapper. This site is full of info, I would recommend checking it out. thanks. This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up heres the link to the site This is the hidden content, please Sign In or Sign Up
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