MAFMC meeting Wednesday to consider emergency action on blueline tilefish, may include harvest reductions
Yet those involved in the fishery say no emergency exists and it’s just another instance of poor data and faulty management at work. One reason behind the emergency action was that the MAFMC became aware that a commercial long-liner out of North Carolina was planning on targeting blueline tilefish within the council’s jurisdiction and landing the fish in New Jersey. The long-liner picked New Jersey because there are no landing limits, whereas states further south have limits on blueline tilefish. Read the rest here 20:19
This Emergency Action is typical and disturbing of the management policies that are putting fishermen out of business! it is absolute travesty what is going on here at this time.
The MAFMC has not done a stock assessment in their management region to at least at a minimum, find out if their are two sub-stocks, northern and southern of blueline tilefish, yet is considering this action.
We constantly hear about the “need of the best available science.” Well instead of the pillow-talk, the MAMFC should go about following their own procedure of conducting a stock assessment that then undergoes peer-review along with industry input from both the commercial and for-hire sector.
When is this steamrolling by NMFS going to stop?