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Old 10-28-2014, 07:22 PM   #6
Saba Slayer
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Join Date: May 2007
Location: Palos Verdes
Posts: 1,822
can't believe everything you read

You can't believe everything you read on the net...


Wow…that Daily Breeze article was an amazing science fiction read!

This is my opinion not the opinion of the LAC.

First…a reality check…

The following info is from a conference call on October 10th with 2 DFW reps and an enforcement rep along with the 3 recreational chairs from the Lobster Advisory Committee. Paul (the alternate chair) came on the call about half way through.
Kai Lampson coordinated the call and gave us the following information…
This is a direct quote, <<>> “We’re not proposing a seasonal limit nor a ban on conical hoopnets. Those were not consensus recommendations.”
He followed that comment up with this disclaimer…”that’s not to say the Commission can take them up, they can do what they want.”
The following reg change PROPOSALS were discussed during the call to be presented to the Commission for implementation in the 16-17 lobster season…
1 - Clipping or punching the middle fin on the tail of the lobster to show that it was a recreationally caught lobster
2 – Mechanical pullers WILL NOT be restricted as originally proposed by the commercial reps. (There were no tickets or convictions to prove the proported poaching)
3 – The time of the opener will be changed to either a Saturday morning or early Friday evening rather than a midnight opener. Enforcement is a major proponent of this time change and the dive boats are the biggest force against this change.
4 – Hoop Net marker/surface floats will have to be legibly marked with your GO#.
The GO# is the identification number that is on your fishing license and lobster report card. This is a VERY GRAY area type of reg as it leaves it up to the Warden to determine if it’s legibly written and there are so many types of floats out there being used. I hope enforcement and legal take a good long look at the wording of this reg.
5 – A wording change on the hooked device for divers.
6 – A spearfishing reg wording change to remove the word hand.

We were told that the report card returns were at about 49% and that the total rec catch and per trip catch numbers keep going down as the report card data increases. We’re ESTIMATED at about 28% of the total catch last season (with a 51% guess rate).

Here’s another quote from the call…”we’re not as worried about the recreational sectors catch”.

Now a little back-story on the LAC and the FMP meetings…
The first public info meeting was held on April 18th 2012 since then the Lobster Advisory Committee was formed and meetings were held about every 3 months or so. We spent a lot of time being educated on the biology and various methods of take (both in Calif. and other places) and the various shareholders involved.
We had a few private meetings between the recs and the DFW to develop proposed changes, as did the commercial guys.
Michael Gould and myself attended all the meetings. Al Stasukevich attended most of the early meetings but missed a few at the end due to family health problems. Paul Romanowski was an Alternate chair and he also missed a few of the meetings especially at the end when many decisions were being discussed. Paul (the alternate diver rep) did propose 3 hoop net reg changes at the last meeting.
He suggested that we mark our floats, closely attend our floats, and he also suggested we reduce the number of hoopnets allowed per person or boat.
He did not make any recommendations to reduce the divers take in any way.
Michael and Paul voted to ban conical nets along with the rest of the LAC, excluding myself and Al.
The 2 dive reps also voted for the 70 seasonal limit, along with the rest of the LAC, again excluding myself and AL.
Although I personally liked the idea of a 100 bug seasonal limit (100 was the originally proposed number), I could not vote for the seasonal limit because it became a major debate point when presented to the LAC. The Ecos wanted a lower limit around 40 per season, and the commercials mentioned 30 as a seasonal limit. It scared me to imagine the battle over a seasonal limit number that could take place when presented to the public at a Commission meeting. Unless the commercial guys were ready to go to allocations I personally felt it was unfair to put a limit on the recs. We already have a 7 in possession limit and we already have gear restrictions…5 nets each or 10 max. A trap limit on the commercials is long overdue.

Please attend the MRC or Commission meetings if you have anything that you feel is important to say! They are always open to public comment and written statements.
It may take a little work but you can go to the Commission or the DFW websites and lookup the Marine Resources Committee meeting dates and locations and the DFG Commission’s meeting dates also.
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Jim / Saba Slayer

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