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LCBA NEWSLETTER, September 2016
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LCBA Advocates for Charter Industry, Is Encouraged by Dialogue at Red Snapper Summit
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries invited stakeholders involved in all aspects of the red snapper fishery, including the Louisiana Charter Boat Association, to participate in a summit Wednesday.
The purpose of the gathering was for the LCBA and other stakeholders to educate LWF Commission members on the complexities that go into red snapper management from all angles.
The Commission heard LCBA representatives speak about how regulations have affected the charter fleet, biologists speak about the red snapper stock and LDWF and Rep. Garret Graves’ chief of staff argue their side of the red snapper regional management debate. The Commission also had a chance to have a public discussion with LDWF Secretary Charlie Melancon.
Below, under each black header, is a breakdown of each aspect of the meeting.
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LCBA's speaks to Commission, Department
LCBA President Daryl Carpenter and Board Member Josh Ellender represented our Association by speaking to the Commission and the Department.
LCBA Executive Director Ben Weber and Communications Manager Richard Fischer attended and contributed to the summit as well.
Carpenter expressed his lack of faith in the federal red snapper management system and spoke about the failings of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. In his statements, he made it clear that this fishery is much better off managed by the state.
“We don’t have a fish problem in Louisiana. We have a management problem,” Carpenter told the Commission and the Department.
Carpenter also spoke against Amendment 30B, which prohibits federal reef fish permit holders from participating in the supplemental state red snapper season, which lasted Jan. 8 through Sept. 5.
After receiving several questions, Carpenter discussed the problems with the VMS (logbooks) proposal for charter boats that is currently working its way through the Gulf Council system.
Ellender, a staunch opposer to VMS as well, then echoed many of Carpenter’s comments, stating that he is in favor of more regional red snapper management – at the very least, splitting up the Western Gulf and Eastern Gulf, which hold almost exclusively separate red snapper populations.
“How does Florida get to catch more [red snapper] than us if their stock is weaker?” Ellender asked rhetorically to the Department and the Commission.
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Red Snapper Regional Management Bill
U.S. Rep. Garret Graves (R-La) is the sponsor of H. R. 3094, a bill that will be voted on by the U.S. House of Representatives later this year that would create an authority made up of the five Gulf States to manage its red snapper fishery.
LDWF controversially pulled its support from the bill earlier this year, citing funding concerns after the bill lost federal funding for an unclear number of things in committee.
This issue came to a head when Graves and Melancon shared uncomfortable words at the August Commission meeting.
In an attempt to find some common ground Wednesday, The Commission heard LDWF Assistant Secretary of Fisheries Patrick Banks and Graves’ Chief of Staff Paul Sawyer defend their stances on the Red Snapper Regional Management bill. LDWF Secretary Charlie Melancon weighed in later as well.
Sawyer read a letter from Natural Resource Committee Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah) stating that the amendment would not preclude NOAA Fisheries from sharing data with states. This would cut the cost of LDWF’s participation in the authority by more than half, according to Banks, who added the Department would re-evaluate if the lower price tag would make supporting the bill affordable.
Melancon, however, doubled down on his belief that NOAA Fisheries data will not be provided to the Gulf States, citing a letter he received, but didn’t publicize, that the removal of funding was meant to “kill the bill.”
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Red Snapper stock assessment
A weaker stock of red snapper in the Eastern Gulf (east of the Mississippi River) than the Western Gulf was confirmed by NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree, a speaker at Wednesday’s meeting.
The red snapper populations in the Gulf of Mexico remain on their side of the Mississippi River in almost all cases, confirmed by LDWF Biologist Harry Blanchet, another one of the meeting’s speakers.
Therefore, the fact that the removal of red snapper in the Eastern Gulf affects the amount of red snapper that can be taken in the Western Gulf befuddles everyone with a vested interest in our fishery.
Crabtree, however, called splitting the red snapper stocks into Eastern and Western portions “very complicated” on multiple occasions, despite the fact that the Gulf Council allocates the king mackerel commercial fishery in a similarly-divided manner.
Red snapper stock, after hitting rock bottom in 1990, is currently at its highest level since 1967.
Presenters also showed that the mortality rate due to commercial discard is very high, cutting into the number of fish recreational anglers can take even more.
Also, biologists have to take into account that commercial fisherman might not be totally honest on how much release mortality they cause knowing that it’ll come out of their allotment when the season opens for that species. With a great quote, Louisiana commercial fisherman Wayne Werner summed it up by saying, “It’s like giving me a loaded gun and asking me to shoot myself in the foot.”
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Melancon and the Commission have public discussion
It’s been well reported in the press that Melancon and the Commission have not seen eye to eye on many things, dating back several months and encompassing several issues.
Their discussion Wednesday surrounded what the Commission believes was the misunderstanding of a resolution passed at the March LWF Commission meeting, which supported state management of red snapper.
LWF Commission Chairman Bart R. Yakupzack accused LDWF of ignoring the resolution, to which Melancon retorted, “that’s not true.”
Conclusion
All in all, it was a long, educational and sometimes intense day at LDWF Headquarters Wednesday. It was productive in many ways and frustratingly repetitive in others.
We appreciate the Commission members who spoke up several times in support of the charter fleet. LCBA’s belief that it has allies on the Commission was only strengthened Wednesday, and we will work with these individuals to push for better legislation and regulations that benefit our member captains.
We also have to thank our President Daryl Carpenter and Board Member Josh Ellender who took time out of their busy schedules in an effort to aid their industry.
With all these individuals working together to achieve a common goal, LCBA is as optimistic as ever for the future of the Louisiana charter fleet.
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Bill Dance expresses affection for La. fishing!
Legendary inshore fisherman Bill Dance has caught some big fish and has had some great times in our Sportsman’s Paradise, and he made those expressions clear in this
video he recently produced just for the LCBA!
What an awesome video!
We hope Bill’s ringing endorsement of
lasaltwater.com as a tremendous resource for finding a licensed and insured guide in Louisiana will expand the geographic footprint of your customer base.
Later this year, you or your customers will be able to chat with Bill during a live online Q&A session.
But the things the LCBA and Bill want to partner to do to help Louisiana charter fishermen book more trips doesn’t stop there.
We are currently looking for member captains to volunteer to participate in our new Basin Report features.
These reports will be promoted by Bill Dance Outdoors’ social media platforms, allowing your charter business to be seen by the 650,000 people who like their
Facebook page and the 14,800 people who follow them on
Twitter.
Participation can only increase your business’ exposure, which, of course, results in more fishing trips.
Please contact LCBA Communications Manager Richard Fischer at
[email protected]
to express interest in participating in this series.
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We're about to start sharing content with Guy Harvey's theonlinefisherman.com!
In another effort to increase exposure for your charter businesses, the Louisiana Charter Boat Association has entered a content-sharing agreement with Guy Harvey’s
theonlinefisherman.com.
Here, our member captains will have the ability to promote their businesses on the soon-to-be-launched “Louisiana tab” of theonlinefisherman.com. It is being built as we speak and should be ready by mid-to-late September.
All we ask is you periodically provide us with timely text, pictures and/or videos explaining the great times you’ve shown your customers on the water.
You will also have a profile page on theonlinefisherman.com with bio information, links to your websites and phone numbers so potential customers can easily reach you to book trips.
LCBA Communications Manager Richard Fischer will coordinate the content sharing, so please email him at
[email protected] to get set up with a profile page. Once your profile page is up and running, send him content periodically, and he’ll quickly submit it to theonlinefisherman.com for posting.
Your theonlinefisherman.com profile page can come with a button, powered by
EZ Waves, that allows customers to book trips online 24/7 without email or phone correspondence for a small fee. This EZ Waves button could be beneficial for charter fishermen who feel they lose out on business because they cannot book trips while they are out fishing, and it is strictly optional. Email Richard at
[email protected] for more information on what EZ Waves offers and what it can do for you.
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What we've been up to....
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August Gulf Council Meeting
From a policy standpoint, It was a rather uneventful Gulf Council meeting last month in New Orleans, but LCBA was there to cover anything and everything important to charter fishermen.
Very little progress was made on Amendment 41, which aims to create a more reasonable and flexible red snapper fishery, but the Council did discuss a split season for red snapper charter fishing and will continue tossing this idea around at future meetings.
The Council chose preferred alternatives for logbooks, ones that most Louisiana charter captains are likely not in favor of.
LCBA Executive Director Ben Weber, Communications Manager Richard Fischer, board member Josh Ellender and member captain Rene Rice represented the LCBA by speaking during the meeting's public comment portion. Member captain Brett Ryan also supported us in attendance.
Click the following links for daily reports and a full recap of last month's Council meeting
The next Gulf Council meeting is Oct. 17-21 in Biloxi, Miss. and the one after that is Jan. 30 through Feb. 3, 2017 in New Orleans.
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CCA Legislators' Rodeo Welcome Reception
LCBA President Daryl Carpenter and Communications Manager Richard Fischer attended the kick-off party for the CCA Legislators' Rodeo Aug. 5 and had very good conversations with lawmakers from across the state.
The discussions centered around policy affecting the charter industry, and Daryl and Richard came away very pleased with the receptiveness and empathy to the current plight of charter fishermen in Louisiana.
The LCBA looks forward to working with these and other Senators, Representatives and Commissioners in the future to improve rules and regulations governing our charter fleet.
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Sept. LWF Commission Meeting
The LWF Commission met Sept. 1 in Baton Rouge and passed a Declaration of Emergency for the setting of the of the 2016-17 oyster season on public oyster areas of Louisiana.
The Commission also received a waterfowl population update and commended Wildlife and Fisheries Enforcement Agents for their response to Louisiana’s historic flooding, among other actions.
Click here to read more.
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Louisiana Charter Boat Association | 225-421-9130 | lasaltwater.com
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