A Message From MSSA President, Vince Ringgold

[DaveSmithMSSA]

Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association "Preserving and Protecting the Rights, Traditions, and Future of Recreational Fishing"


MSSA UPDATE
February 7, 2011
A Message From: Vince Ringgold, MSSA President

MSSA Secures Commitment from DNR to Revise Maryland’s 20-Year Old Striped Bass Allocation Policy
MSSA Executive Director Appointed to SFAC

Dear MSSA Members-

By now you have all read the headlines and details regarding the illegal netting of rockfish in our own backyard. I am writing today to let all you know that the MSSA and its leadership are in conversations on how best to approach and correct these issues as well as the longterm sustainability of all our fisheries.

Earlier this year the MSSA’s concerns about ecological-based warning signs and the continued illicit harvesting of striped bass by Maryland’s commercial fishing industry appeared in a White Paper entitled, Advancing a Striped Bass Conservation Management Strategy for the 21st Century: Analytical Perspective. Findings emanating from this study clearly underscore the need to revise Maryland’s 20-year old striped bass allocation policy (the annual amount of striped bass allowed to be harvested by the commercial and recreational sectors) and set forth proposed legislation to ensure this policy was revised. MSSA’s concerns about striped bass, Maryland’s Official State Fish, were shared with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in a letter dated January 26, 2011.

On February 2, 2011, Maryland’s DNR Secretary John Griffin informed MSSA of the following: “The Department believes that a review of the current striped bass allocation is appropriate as it has been more than 20 years since it was adopted. The Department is prepared to conduct this evaluation in cooperation with stakeholders, including sports fishermen, charter boat captains, and commercial fishermen. The Department could approve a policy as early as June 1, 2011.”
Griffin also added, in a recent phone conversation, that it is because of MSSA’s efforts that they are addressing the allocation issue and hope to approve policy soon.
I would like to formally express our appreciation to DNR and commend Secretary Griffin for his bold Leadership. In light of our conversations the MSSA has agreed not to pursue introduction of its envisioned Striped Bass Conservation and Sustainability Act of 2011.

MSSA and DNR Working Together:
I also shared with Secretary Griffin that MSSA is outraged by the continued illicit harvesting of striped bass by the commercial fishery and that we must act now and put an end to this kind of flagrant disregard for the law. Maryland’s commercial fishing industry harvests more striped bass than any other East Coast state and they do so within their principal spawning grounds, the Chesapeake Bay. Just because we have a seemingly abundant population of striped bass today does not mean we will have it tomorrow.

I affirmed that the MSSA will support the Department and are committed to working with Secretary Griffin and his staff to produce viable solutions to protect the states fisheries resources. We have also reached out to our lawmakers for their support as well.

There have been three pieces of legislation introduced this session expanding DNR’s role and ability to manage our fisheries.

HB 111 – Department of Natural Resources - Fishing - Regulatory Authority
Authorizing the Department of Natural Resources, subject to specified standards and requirements, to adopt regulations governing the manner, methods, and gear for catching and possessing fish; repealing provisions of law that require a person to possess a valid fishing license before using specified devices to catch or attempt to catch finfish

SB414 – Natural Resources - Administrative Procedures - Electronic Citations, Inspections, and Hearings (Cross Filed w/HB396
Altering the acknowledgment procedures for citations issued by specified police officers for specified natural resources violations; repealing a hearing requirement that must be met before the Department of Natural Resources may suspend a recreational or commercial fishing license and requiring the Department to provide notice to specified persons of the right to a hearing; altering the authorized scope of administrative inspections of commercial fishing operations; etc
Myself, Dave, and our leadership look forward to working with DNR and all interested stakeholder groups to ensure the long-term conservation and sustainability of this coveted, and finite resource – through a revised allocation policy reflective of today’s realties and increased penalties for poachers as well as other alternative management practices.

MSSA Executive Director Appointed to SFAC:
Earlier this week the MSSA received a phone call from the Governor’s Appointment Office informing us that Dave Smith, Executive Director, has been appointed to the Sport Fish Advisory Commission (SFAC).

I am very pleased to hear this news and know that Dave has worked very hard and deserves this recognition. I am positive he will represent the MSSA with the highest degree of professionalism and commitment. Just today we discussed the agenda items the MSSA will bring up at the next SFAC meeting and will be sending out updates to keep all members abreast of current issues.

Thank you again for your support and please do not hesitate to contact me with your concerns or suggestions.

Sincerely,


Vince Ringgold
President, MSSA

[Harlan seller]

:thumbup::thumbup:
:clapping2::clapping2:

[Shawn Kimbro]

Can someone post the link to the MSSA white paper?

[Gerald]

I know ya got their website Shawn

http://www.mssa.net/

In my eye's MSSA has really only gotten involved politically the last few years.

[Butthead]

I sure hope that any new policy DNR adapts is sport fishing friendly. John Griffin typically leans on Larry Simms' side, and the fact that he is making it very clear that he is only looking at revising this plan because MSSA asked for it, tells me that he is setting the table for MSSA to be blamed for bad policy. But thats just my opinion..probably a paranoid opinion at that...I dont have much faith in our current leadership within DNR

[Ken Brice]

Good Job Candus... I couldn't have said it any better.. POINT ON!!!

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/blog/2011/02/whos_the_big_clod_in_the_room.html

Miss Manners, meet MSSA
No offense to the membership of the Maryland Saltwater Sportsfishermen's Association, but your leaders have all the grace and dignity of 14-year-old boys at an all-you-can eat pizza buffet.

There are ways to accomplish your goals. A sterling model would be the Task Force on Fisheries Management, which got everyone in the fishing community--recreational anglers, charter boat captains, guides, tackle shops owners, watermen and regulators--to work out a blueprint for the future.

It was agonizing work. Slow going. But it was transparent, inclusive and effective.

Enter MSSA and its showboating membership update last night that ranks as perhaps the most childish bit of chest-thumping since Tarzan met Jane.

The group's leadership wants to change the way striped bass are allocated between the recreational anglers and the watermen. The short version is, they want more, they want to take fish from the watermen and they want to wrap themselves in a holier-than-thou flag of conservation.

They didn't talk to the other fishing groups before making their demand and threatening to go to the General Assembly if Department of Natural Resources Secretary John Griffin didn't give them what they wanted.

They paid for a "white paper," cut and pasted from existing documents by lobbyist Bill Miles. It contained nothing new about the status of striped bass. (Hey guys, if you paid more than $80 for that long-winded term paper--misspelled words, grammatical errors and all--you paid too much. Stripped bass? Really?)

In a cover letter to the MSSA board dated Nov. 16, executive director Dave Smith wrote that the goal was to reduce the watermen's take of Chesapeake Bay striped bass from 42.5 percent to 10 percent. He later revised and extended his remarks to remove the 10 percent.

Griffin, in his response to the legislative threat, wrote: "The conservation and allocation of striped bass are distinctly separate management issues. Conservation does not require allocation and, more importantly, allocation does not ensure conservation...Allocation issues rely heavily, and appropriately, on stakeholder values and input."

It should be noted that MSSA did not approach either the Sport Fisheries Advisory Commission or the Tidal Fish Advisory Commission before it decided to begin its blackmail attempt. (I'm surprised the "white paper" wasn't constructed of letters cut out of a newspaper.)

MSSA says it has 7,000 members. Mayland has 19 times that many saltwater anglers--and that doesn't count charter boat customers. So where does it get off jumping to the head of the line?

Griffin's letter, dated Feb. 2, said he would make an allocation review a priority and include ALL interested parties. A review could be completed by Nov. 15 and a policy decision could be reached by May 15, 2012, one year ahead of schedule.

Sounds like a grown-up, reasonable approach.

Then, Monday night, MSSA slobbered all over itself with a smug update to its membership that took credit for everything short of the creation of really soft toilet paper and announced that Smith had been named a member of the Sport Fish Advisory Commission--THE VERY GROUP MSSA CIRCUMVENTED.

Nice.

Here's a truly laughable line: "Maryland's commercial fishing industry harvests more striped bass than any other East Coast state and they do so within their principal spawning grounds, the Chesapeake Bay."

But wait, watermen have less than half of the bay allocation. Who catches 57.5 percent of the allocation from those same spawning grounds? Oh, we don't talk about that in polite company. We'll conserve from the watermen's cut.

There's a way to do things, to build a coalition. And there's a way to belittle folks and suck the air out of the room.

If MSSA want to be a big player, it has to stop acting like a little snot.

[OldSalt46]

Well said Candice. The very reason I stopped sending in my money. I see they have a whopping 7,000 members of the (how many??) recreational anglers in this state. That in itself tells me about their current state. Hopefully they can change and give us reasons to rejoin.

[Ken Brice]

The very reason I stopped sending in my money..

Same here.. :thumbup:

[mlag]

I guess we should just leave things status qou.......................let's see, last year with input from TFAC, ans SFAC, DNR passed legislation that allowed gill netters to increase the length of their nets to nearly 2 miles (we have all seen how well that has worked out), while in the same meeting proposed and later passed restriction on pre-season catch and release anglers and voted to leave the season on sea trout status quo!!! (when was the last time anyone has seen any appreciable numbers of trout?) Unfortunately for anyone who attended these meetings, it was easy to see that "the public input" was solely to meet legislative requirements as the "good ole boy network" already had made decisions behind closed doors prior to these meetings. I applaud MSSA for "thinking outside of the box" to get the attention of our policy makers on behalf of their contingent.............................Mark

[Big Liar]

Thank you Ken for that update. I suspect most on here will choose to ignore the valid points that Candus listed, but there may be a few that will. I stopped my membership as well years back and decided to drop out of the Dorchester fishing club (now Dorchester Chapter). I still like a lot of the members, but could not support some of the ideology. Way back when, I was the first person in the Dorchester club to push for Brandon to speak at one of the meetings. Back then, no one in the club had ever heard of Brandon and the club was not part of the MSSA. At the time, I thought Brandon had a great idea and product. I considered this site to be cutting edge as it was all about helping everyone that loved fishing and being on the water. Sadly, I feel that somewhere along the way it has also become something else as is obviously evident this past week.

[BayViews]

The Department agreed that a policy review of the striped bass allocation was long overdue. The fact that the process was initiated by MSSA is not something that deserves a bashing. Policies as important as the allocation percentages should be automatically reviewed periodically by the DNR without the need for outside prompting. 20 years between reviews is way too long. I understand that Watermen fear their share of the allocation might be reduced. That understandably causes anxiety for those making all or part of their living from commercial catches. The Department is ensuring that all stakeholders (not just MSSA) are involved with this review. There will continue to be intense anxiety on everyone's part until a final decision is reached. That is why I believe a speedy review is in the best interest of everyone.

[Big Liar]

A review should be done, but the manner in which the MSSA was trying to force something to be done and what was to be done is not appropriate. A great comparison is two competing companies (say McDonalds and Burger King). McDonalds who already sells more fast food than Burger King goes to the legislatures and demands that Burger King stop flame grilling there burgers, because it makes it too easy for Burger King to sell burgers. Oh and by the way, we demand that they only be allowed to sell in 10% of the US cities instead of 40%. And we want to be able to sell in more than 40% of the cities.

Now. 20 years ago. I would bet that there were fewer recreational fishermen targeting rockfish than there are today. If accurate catch totals could be kept, the MSSA may not like the results once the review is complete. Beware of what you ask for. For you may receive it.

[Hunter]

A review should be done, but the manner in which the MSSA was trying to force something to be done and what was to be done is not appropriate. A great comparison is two competing companies (say McDonalds and Burger King). McDonalds who already sells more fast food than Burger King goes to the legislatures and demands that Burger King stop flame grilling there burgers, because it makes it too easy for Burger King to sell burgers. Oh and by the way, we demand that they only be allowed to sell in 10% of the US cities instead of 40%. And we want to be able to sell in more than 40% of the cities.

Now. 20 years ago. I would bet that there were fewer recreational fishermen targeting rockfish than there are today. If accurate catch totals could be kept, the MSSA may not like the results once the review is complete. Beware of what you ask for. For you may receive it.


Whatever, so long as they stop gill netting:yes:

[ROCKFISH_GAMEFISH]

Manage the shared resource for maximum economic benefit while sustaining the fishery. Recreational and charter fishing contribute multiples of ten more into the economy per fish. PERIOD

BAN THE NETS

[Big Liar]

Manage the shared resource for maximum economic benefit while sustaining the fishery. Recreational and charter fishing contribute multiples of ten more into the economy per fish. PERIOD

BAN THE NETS

So I think what you are saying is that since your group (recs) is richer, this give you more rights to the fish. I'm glad you spelled that out for us.

Hey I can understand why the MSSA wants 90% of the allocation. If methods are put in place that would accurately track the number of fish caught by recreational anglers, having 90% of the allocation would be the only way that a 2 fish per day limit could continue.

I'm not saying that it is anyones fault. It's just due to the increase in the number of people fishing.

[Big Liar]

Whatever, so long as they stop gill netting:yes:

So where would you have gotten the chum you used to use when you used to go chumming? How about the spot people buy to go live-lining? The perch and other fish your friends and neighbors buy at the fish market? Just wondering?

[Baldzilla 2.0]

Whatever, so long as they stop gill netting:yes:

No, stop ILLEGAL gill netting. Why take away legit watermens livelihoods? Stop poaching by both recs and comms. Stop the trophy season all together.

[OldSalt46]

Way to go Baldy. While you might not make any friends here you are welcome on my boat any day. No need to chip in for fuel. I'll cover all the cost!

The arguments get old when they are one sided with everyone is trying to take credit for action so they gain more clout. The bottom line is the protecting and growing the resource while maintaining a heritage that has been an integral part of Maryland. The two can be done together.

I applaud Candus for neutral reporting (the real fair and balanced). Calling them as you see them takes guts and that is rare in today's media.

[ROCKFISH_GAMEFISH]

So I think what you are saying is that since your group (recs) is richer, this give you more rights to the fish. I'm glad you spelled that out for us.




That's bogus and you know it. Nothing was said about "rich" and nothing was said about "rights." The resource belongs to the community, should the community decide to give any of us a share of its resource, it has the responsibility to derive maximum economic benefit for that share which can then be used to sustain the fishery.

[Ken Brice]

Way to go Baldy. While you might not make any friends here you are welcome on my boat any day. No need to chip in for fuel. I'll cover all the cost!

The arguments get old when they are one sided with everyone is trying to take credit for action so they gain more clout. The bottom line is the protecting and growing the resource while maintaining a heritage that has been an integral part of Maryland. The two can be done together.

I applaud Candus for neutral reporting (the real fair and balanced). Calling them as you see them takes guts and that is rare in today's media.

I couldn't agree more.. It shouldn't be just one side that has everything.. I don't have the answer but I think we all could work together. Heck I sort of
like the hook and line ideal for waterman.. What the heck, it can be done. Capt Mike and I think Walleye Pete are doing that now. Takes more skill
than setting nets.. Again, i don't have all the answers.

[27 sailfish]

You would be hard pressed to find a fishery wiped out by commercial hook / line with rod and reel.

Commercial netters on the other hand have destroyed many fisheries - some were not even targeted but instead by catch.

Remember - not just gill nets.

<ins style="display: inline-table; border: medium none; height: 15px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 468px;"><ins id="google_ads_frame1_anchor" style="display: block; border: medium none; height: 15px; margin: 0pt; padding: 0pt; position: relative; visibility: visible; width: 468px;"></ins></ins> Waterman Charged with 35 Counts of Striped Bass Violations

11/29/2010
Printer friendly (http://www.thebaynet.com/news/util_files/util_printstory.cfm/story_ID/20536/storytype/textarticle)
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="610"><tbody><tr><td><style>.show-ul p { width: 610px; }.show-ul div { width: 610px; }.show-ul ul { list-style-type: disc; padding-left: 25px; }.show-ul ul ul { list-style-type: circle; }blockquote.story { padding-left: 15px; margin-left: 0pt; }</style> On November 24, the Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged Jerome William Janda Jr., age 55 from Tilghman, Md with multiply striped bass (rockfish) violations after an investigation relating to illegal fishing activities in the Tilghman area.
On November 10, at approximately 2:35 am, NRP Officers observed Janda Jr. and his fishing vessel exit Knapp’s Narrows without using his navigational lights and proceed to a pound net located on the south side of Poplar Island, Talbot County. The Officers observed the occupants of the vessel fish the pound net and then docked at Lowes Wharf. At approximately 4:00 am, the Officers confronted Janda Jr and the two other occupants on the vessel, Jerome William Janda 3rd, age 28 from Tilghman and Burton Robert Curtis, age 25, unknown address. The Officers found the individuals loading untagged striped bass onto a truck. The Officers seized the 2,731 pounds of untagged rockfish. Initially, the Officers thought Janda Jr. was 1,784 pounds over his seasonal allocation limit according to the information noted on his allocation card. Subsequent investigation into the seafood dealer’s records indicated that Janda Jr. was illegally checking striped bass caught from a pound net as fish caught by a commercial hook and line fisherman. This record information indicated that Janda Jr exceeded his quota by 7,568 pounds (2,273 fish), Janda Jr. would have obtained his limit on October 6 had the catch been check-in properly.
Commercial fisherman are allowed to catch striped bass by using three gear types; hook and line, drift gill nets and pound nets. Each gear type has specific poundage of fish that can be caught by each gear during specific periods of the year. A striped bass pound net and striped bass drift gill net license can not be held by the same licensee at the same time. All commercially taken striped bass must be tagged and checked into a designated check-in station. Janda Jr had a pound net license that had 3,760 pound quota. The 2010 pound net and hook and line season runs from June 1, to November 30. The last segment of drift gill net season starts on December 1 until December 31.
Jerome Janda Jr was charged with 21 counts of using striped bass allocation permits assigned to another, 19 counts of using striped bass tags assigned to another, 14 counts of exceeding seasonal allocation limit of striped bass, one count of possessing striped bass greater than 36” commercial size, one count of possession of undersize flounder, one count of possession of untagged striped bass, one count of operating a vessel at night without proper navigational lights.
Jerome Janda 3rd, age 28 of Tilghman, was charged with one count of aiding and abetting exceeding seasonal allocation limit of striped bass and one count of possession of untagged striped bass.
A court date has been set for February 17, 2011 in the District Court of Maryland in Talbot County. The maximum penalty for each count is $1000 plus $1500 per each striped bass. The investigation is on-going and additional charges may follow.
</td></tr></tbody></table>

[Brandon]

Big Liar

I was just down in FL fishing two weeks ago, we needed bait for the tournament, it was not problem getting it and they do not have nets in FL. I have to believe that if they can do we can too here in MD.
To be clear on my personal stance on the net issue, I think we should not allow fixed or drift nets of any kind. For bait needs cast nets, sabiki rigs, and hook and line can and have been shown to work fine. There is the magical answer to how to get bait. What else needs to be covered?

Brandon

[goose70]

Way to go Baldy. While you might not make any friends here you are welcome on my boat any day. No need to chip in for fuel. I'll cover all the cost!


In that case, I second whatever Baldy said.

[Francis]

No, stop ILLEGAL gill netting. Why take away legit watermens livelihoods? Stop poaching by both recs and comms. Stop the trophy season all together.

Actually, I would be OK with this. Make everything in the bay catch and release until, say, June 1'st. You can catch and release as much as you want to under certain guidelines. (I think sinlge barbless hooks in a good concession) I would also be OK with dropping the recreational limit to 1/day, no problem here. I don't fish to keep fish. I fish because I enjoy the sport and the fight. If I just wanted fish I would go to McDonalds.

Keeping one here and there is definitly a bonus, but, I would fish the same amount if I could not keep them ever again.

[Fischadler]

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/blog/2011/02/cut_and_paste_mssa_style.html

February 9, 2011
Cut, paste and create a new reality, MSSA style

I have no quarrel with the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association deciding to go its own way when it comes to striped bass management policy.

It annoys like-minded groups and weakens the sense of unity that has been building over the last several years and it's not the most effective thing to do. But, hey, if everyone had the same taste, they'd only make one flavor of ice cream.

And this is not a criticism of MSSA members who run reef ball projects, raise scholarship money and take kids, seniors and recovering veterans fishing every year at no cost.

What really frosts my granny (sorry, granny) is the outright rewriting of a portion of a letter dated Feb. 2 from Department of Natural Resources Secretary John Griffin to MSSA Executive Director Dave Smith.

The group and Smith owe Griffin an apology if they want to save face. And, sadly, it's not the first time MSSA has changed someone's words to put itself in a better light. Smith did it to me last year.

The MSSA "membership update," released Monday night and discussed in a previous blog, hogs the striped bass spotlight in a most childish way. What's worse, the update takes three sentences from Griffin's letter, edits them and puts them in a different order to achieve a certain spin.

Here's what MSSA, in bold-face type, told its membership Griffin's letter said:

"The Department believes that a review of the current striped bass allocation is appropriate as it has been more than 20 years since it was adopted. The Department is prepared to conduct this evaluation in cooperation with stakeholders, including sports fishermen, charter boat captains and commercial fishermen. The Department could approve a policy as early as June 1, 2011."

MSSA put that paragraph in quotes, which implies Griffin wrote it exactly that way.

In reality, the first sentence attributed to Griffin is just part of a sentence and does not come first in his two-page letter. The second sentence strings together parts of two sentences. And the third sentence is taken out of context and appears before the sentence MSSA places first.

The end result is MSSA has Griffin promising to have a new allocation system for recreational anglers and the commercial industry "as early as June 1, 2011."

In reality, Griffin sets a 16-month timetable in which the Fisheries Service is expected to provide a draft policy by April 1 for review by the sport and tidal fisheries advisory commissions. That review would create a management framework that could be in place by June 1.

With that in hand, the Fisheries Service could prepare an actual allocation proposal for review by the commissions by Nov. 15. After everyone weighs in, DNR could issue a final ruling on allocation "by May 15, 2012."

That's Griffin's position.

It's pretty apparent that Griffin is not pleased with what MSSA did with his words. In a highly unusual move, the agency late Tuesday posted on its website the MSSA white paper on striped bass allocation and secretary's response so that the public can see for itself what Griffin actually wrote.

The editing of other people's words to suit its purposes is pitiful but not completely surprising.

Last year, I wrote a column for the Sun that mentioned the work of MSSA and Coastal Conservation Association Maryland.

Smith took my column and rearranged it to give his group better billing. When I called him on it, he said he knew what he did was wrong, "but I did it anyway."

Well, he didn't learn his lesson and now he's done wrong again with much more important players.

Posted by Candus Thomson at 7:30

[B-Faithful]

I find Candy's blog interesting..

I agree with her that the white paper was a bunch of garbage! It was sent to me after last tuesday's MSSA board meeting by a friend who was emailed a copy of it through his local chapter and let's just say that I wasnt thrilled (to put it lightly) over what Mr. Miles put together for them. It not only wasnt well written but was not even consistant with policy stances that the MSSA has stood for in the not so distant past or even with the mission of the organization in some aspects. (Being that Mr Miles also is a paid lobbyist for the MLSF, who is made up of many of the same members of the SFAC, you could clearly see some of the members influence's in the paper) Thankfully a call to Dave Smith last week clarrified to me that the board did not vote on adopting the white paper for legislation and the MSSA was going to await a response from DNR. He also assured me that if the MSSA moved forward with the white paper in order to have legislation drawn up that the board would have reviewed the white paper indepth and possibly made changes. Forunately DNR has stated that they will be reviewing the 20 year old allocation policy (with stake holder input) and the board has decided not to move forward with legislation so the white paper is irrelivant at this time.

As far as:

MSSA says it has 7,000 members. Mayland has 19 times that many saltwater anglers--and that doesn't count charter boat customers. So where does it get off jumping to the head of the line?


I guess AARP doesnt represent retired people because only a portion of retired people are their membership. Or AAA doesnt represent automobile owners because only a small portion of car owners are members. or BoatUS doesnt represent boat owners because only a small portion of boat owners are members... :rolleyes: Come on, the MSSA is the largest unified voice of recreational anglers in the state. Do they represent the views of all recreational anglers? no, not even all of mine... but their voice should be heard with some consideration to this fact.

As far as jumping ahead of the line, I believe MSSA was doing their job; which is to bring issues and concerns that are important to recreational anglers to DNR or the legislature. It is up to DNR to bring other user groups to the table, not the MSSA's role. Of course when DNR brings the issue to the state holders, MSSA will want to be there to defend or push their objective as other groups will do the same. Again, it is the not the MSSA leadership's role to compromise and come to DNR with a consensus, it is up to DNR to bring the stakeholders to the table once an issue has been brought to their attention. I for one am glad they showed some guts and that their issues are important to them and went directly to DNR with their concerns.

To address Sec Griffin's statement here:

Griffin, in his response to the legislative threat, wrote: "The conservation and allocation of striped bass are distinctly separate management issues. Conservation does not require allocation and, more importantly, allocation does not ensure conservation...Allocation issues rely heavily, and appropriately, on stakeholder values and input."


I have briefly met the secretary before and he has been kind enough to respond to a few emails I have sent over other concerns of mine earlier this year. While i have utmost respect for him, I would suggest he look to NJ. NJ essentially reallocated their commercial harvest to the recreational side through trophy tags. This enabled NJ to keep its quota/state allocation and the commercial harvest not go to another fishery to be use when the state gave striped bass gamefish-only status. Because not all the trophy tags come close to being used and the full allocation is generally used in commercial fisheries, less fish are being taken then before the reallocation. Taking less is a conservation move. It may not ensure it but when you reallocate and that allocation doesnt get used, it is conservation. Without the reallocation, any reduction stands to be absorbed by another fishery. This is what I believe MSSA is attempting to accomplish to a lesser degree as MSSA didnot ask for gamefish-only status like what was done in NJ.

While I cannot comment on the he-said, she-said stuff in Candy's latest entry because I dont know all the facts. I will say that I am very grateful to see that DNR "believes that a review of the current striped bass allocation is appropriate as it has been more than 20 years since it was adopted ." I certainly believe that changes will be made as I cannot imagine that in 20 years the needs and uses of the resource havent changed in that time frame. I certainly hope that public comment will be welcomed in addition to stake holder groups participation in the process.

[Capt. John Deering]

i have a hard time understaning why dave smith........msaa..would word smith the dnr letter. why was it done mr. smith?

[rla69]

So I think what you are saying is that since your group (recs) is richer, this give you more rights to the fish. I'm glad you spelled that out for us.

Hey I can understand why the MSSA wants 90% of the allocation. If methods are put in place that would accurately track the number of fish caught by recreational anglers, having 90% of the allocation would be the only way that a 2 fish per day limit could continue.

I'm not saying that it is anyones fault. It's just due to the increase in the number of people fishing.

We also seem to have an increase in poachers. Let's not forget to tally up their total of the take.

[uno]

We also seem to have an increase in poachers. Let's not forget to tally up their total of the take.

Ahhhhh - brilliant,bumpkin! If you had been reading all of the press releases, you would have noticed that the poundage from the illegal nets has been deducted from the commercial quota for the season. I applaud this action. It would be good to have the same type of accountability for the recreational sector.
As for the MSSA rearranging Griffith's response to their "White Paper", all you have to do is read the original response. They got slapped in the face and couldn't stand it.

[Fischadler]

You can try and re-write history but we all remember what happened. And we all remember what you have posted in the past.
I believe she said it best:

There's a way to do things, to build a coalition. And there's a way to belittle folks and suck the air out of the room.

If MSSA want to be a big player, it has to stop acting like a little snot.
Candus Thomson

[Big Liar]

B-Faithful,
I'm sorry, but when you (MSSA / recreational fishermen/ however you want to state it) already have more than 50% of the total allocation for the state and suggest that conservation should be accomplished by taking away from the minority shareholder - it does not sound all that noble to me. The MSSA is always quick to jump up and yell murder whenever there is a violation connected to a commercial fishermen, but I'm unaware that they have ever gone to the DNR to yell when there are violations against recreational fishermen. Rec fishing in spawning rivers in March and April, fishing out past the three mile line, etc... These things are just as well know as they are talked about on here. To my knowledge, they have never suggested any changes due to these things. I already know that you will most likely say that the order of magnitude of the violation is not comparible, but you don't honestly know that. After all; if they are going flaunt the conservation flag on their chest, should they not fight every time there is known poaching? Maybe the next time you are conversing with the secretary, you can remind him that about these problem areas as well. Just tell me if you think you will make any suggestions to sacrifice any of the recreational quota because of these violators?

[Ski]

Forget about re-allocation, it's not the real issue.

The issue is one of how to stop the illegal harvesting of finfish and shellfish within Maryland. There are a number of ways to do this:

1. Have a few simple and clear laws for both recreational and commercial fishermen with regards to poaching and overharvesting.
2. Have very strict penalties. A three strikes law is probably a good basis to start from. First violation is a fine. Second violation is fine plus loss of license. Third violation is jail time, permanent loss of license, and loss of equipment to include boats, nets, etc.
3. The method of harvesting fish is irrelevant as well. This is legal issue - whether the fish and harvesting by gill nets, hook and line or giant space based vacuum cleaner is not relevant.
4. You ruthlessly enforce all laws for commercial and recreational fisherman.
5. I'd also go down the route of what Germany has done. Fishing is not a right, it is a privalage. You have to pass a test on fishing and conservation knowledge in order to gain a license. I'd like to see that occur in the U.S. as well - it can used as a forcing function to educate fisherman about fish, their life cycles, the environment, laws and regulations, etc...here's some data on how it works:
http://www.oconus.com/Main/eArticle.asp?195

[Baldzilla 2.0]

It has to be a hot button issue to pull you out of the caves to speak out Andy!! Good to see you weigh in! Stay safe!

[B-Faithful]

nm

[PropTalk]

I love how MSSA has started to consider itself a "conservation organization."

[Fischadler]

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/sports/outdoors/blog/2011/02/mssa_what_were_you_thinking.html

February 10, 2011
MSSA: What were you thinking?
You have to hand it to the leaders of the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen's Association.

When you've had a week where your attempt to hijack an established timeline for review of a fisheries management plan exploded, where you alienated most other fishing and conservation groups with your high-handed tactics, where you get caught in a ham-fisted and unethical rewriting of the words of the most powerful dude in the immediate fishing world, where you can't even understand the basic premise of how a fisheries rellocation process works...on the fifth day, most folks would give it a rest.

But when you're MSSA Executive Director Dave Smith, a newly appointed member of the Sport Fish Advisory Commission, why stop now?

Who wants to be "that guy" who sits next to "what's his name" when you can be a living, breathing Whack-A-Mole surrounded by people with big, rubber mallets?

Smith has asked that the issue of striped bass allocation--the very thing that melted down in his hands like that bad guy's face in Indiana Jones--be placed on the agenda of Tuesday evening's SFAC meeting.

Talk about a great ice breaker at your first meeting. Mr. Smith goes to Annapolis and leaves a cow pie in the punch bowl.

Unless Smith plans to start his remarks at 7:55 with an apology to DNR Secretary John Griffin for twisting his words, followed immediately at 8:05 with an apology to Fisheries Service Director Tom O'Connell for causing an uproar and creating extra work for his biologists, followed at 8:15 with an apology to other fishing groups for leaving tire tracks on their backs, he might as well resign right now.

Smith has asked for 40 minutes on the agenda, so he has plenty of time to explain himself.

It's too bad the 7,000 members of MSSA have to live through this comedy of errors. They do lots of good works and have lobbied hard for a sensible management approach to the Chesapeake Bay menhaden population.

Mr. Smith should go to Annapolis Tuesday night, apologize for putting his own ambitions ahead of sound fisheries management and coalition building, and promise to do better.

Posted by Candus Thomson

[goose70]

I'm just catching up with all of this MSSA drama. If Smith intentionally misquoted the DNR chief, that is very serious. In my profession (and many other professions), that would result in an escorted trip out the office door, loss of professional license and worse.

That said, although I usually like Candy's writing and think that she raises a host of legitimate concerns in her recent articles about Smith, those recent articles also come across as vents for her personal ax to grind. Maybe she has good reasons for grinding that ax, but the articles would come across as more professional journalism if she didn't try to use them as the vehicle to grind it.