Tag Archives: Bob Zales
Commercial fishermen furious NOAA rejected DeSantis’ fishery disaster request
Are bad policies and poorly written federal statutes to blame? Or does it boil down to politics? That depends on who you ask. But, commercial fishermen across the state are sounding the alarm about the future of the commercial fishing industry and whether seafood that comes fresh from Florida can survive. “This industry is really on the verge of being gone,” Casey Streeter said. “We are out on our own, and there is no one coming to help us,” Streeter said. “And with this denial that we just received, you know, I don’t want to call it a death sentence to our progress and move forward, but I mean, it sets us back in a way that’s going to be pretty hard to overcome, for my particular situation, and the other fishermen in the area. >click to read< 08:50
Commerce chief Ross makes waves, roils fisheries rules
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has wasted little time in giving a jolt to the nation’s fisheries. In June, the 79-year-old billionaire investor who now oversees NOAA Fisheries singlehandedly extended the fishing season for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, ignoring protests from scientists and environmentalists that it could spur overfishing of the popular species. Then in an unprecedented decision in July, he handed a big win to New Jersey fishermen and the state’s Republican governor, Chris Christie, by overturning catch limits for summer flounder that had been approved by an interstate fisheries commission.,, “Secretary Ross finally challenged them — the first time in the history of the commission they got challenged — and they don’t like it,” said Donofrio, who gave the president a “Fishermen for Trump” bumper sticker at a recent event. “I love it. … The commission got kicked in the balls, and they don’t like it. That’s just too bad.” click here to read the story 12:27
Red snapper off overfishing list – Ocean Conservancy and the Pew Charitable Trusts report described as “propaganda.”
The News Herald -PANAMA CITY BEACH — After 13 years on the federal overfishing list, red snapper has been removed after a report showed the species has made a comeback in the Gulf of Mexico. . “The critical list that it’s still on is the overfished designation,” said local charter captain Bob Zales. “Many of us believe we’re past that and this fishery is not overfished anymore.”Zales described the report, a collaboration between the Ocean Conservancy and the Pew Charitable Trusts, as “propaganda.”Released in conjunction with a fisheries summit set to begin today in Washington, D.C., the document hails the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law governing fishery management in the U.S. continued
