the following is the Technicall Committee report from ASMFC a meeting which just ended; seems weakfish is the forgotten fish. ASMFC knowing that the populations have crashed do not have he courage to declare total moratorium: the excuse," we do not know whey the speceies is so low??? " Sounds like a situation similar to Blue Crabs in Ches...at least we stopped some bleeding with recent crab measures. I have written managers over the last two years....argued for some deep restrictions...NEVER MUCH MORE THAN: we do not know why there is a sudden collapse???l
Weakfish Management Board
TC Report
The problem here is that the TC went before a review panel that was examining data poor stocks and the panel told them they had not addressed the criticism from the last peer review. There was even talk of pulling the weakfish amendment from this years peer review.
However, this was not a formal review the TC was ready for, more of an informal review of the assessment. The SAC Chair met alone with the panel and presented the assessment without much documentation, thus could not answer some of the questions. Thus the confusion. The TC Chair provided explanations for most if not all of the problems.
The stock assessment is set for peer review under the SAW/SARC process thus summer.
How We Move Forward With Peer Review:
The TC agrees with the review panel that the focus should be on the findings of the models – the stock is at a low level. Some additional exploratory work with current models and evaluate other hypothesized reasons for the decline in abundance. Expand the assessment text and present all references and summarize other reports
The Review Panel noted that when a resource is in a depleted condition, such as in the case of weakfish, the current processes may not have led to the decline but may be keeping it at a low level.
Response – TC/SAS agrees the stock is at a low level, F drove it down in the 90’s, but not in the 2000’s.
Thus we will await the new assessment and perhaps come to some understanding of the decline in abundance.
END TECHNICAL COMMITTEE OF REPORT
How is that for governmental effeciency....Bob Allen, spoksman for the lowly and fogotten weakfish......
