Jerry Leeman – Why it is wrong to assume anything
I’ll use this photo to prove a point. NOAA uses a computer to pick where their assessments on fish stocks will take place. Here lies the problem.
It’s in random spots, and they never make the same tow again at the same time of the year because they use a computer model that knows nothing of fishing. NOAA is taking the assumption that fish live everywhere. That’s pretty funny because if you knew anything about fishing at all, fish species don’t hang on every piece of bottom all day and night. They just don’t. Not only do fish have tails, but they also swim up into the water columns and travel with the feed and breeding cycles and changes of the seasons.
This picture represents 846′ of water or 141 fathoms under the boat. The fish schools are clearly there, I’ve circled them. Now, depending on the tide high or low slack water or daylight verses nighttime, the schools will come to bottom or go up in the water. Making a random tow for 20 minutes and moving on tells you nothing unless you stay the course in this area for at least 24 hours and even then, time of year and lunar cycles play a big part as well. These fish can come down to the bottom at any given time depending on what they are feeding on. Making a quick 20-minute random tow actually tells you nothing.
That type of knowledge comes with experience. NOAA uses this method to make assessments on stocks. Which after what I just explained, doesn’t make sense at all. It doesn’t work. Not only that they, don’t come back every year at the same time and make the same tow again, so how would you ever know if fish stocks were increasing or decreasing? They are literally making false assumption guesses and regulating on false assumptions while pushing corrupt agendas.
Remember, fish have tails and there is no written rule for fish having to stay along the bottom.
Twenty years ago, there were over 400 active fishing vessels in New England today, maybe seventeen. It’s not overfishing, folks, its corrupt data pushed by inexperienced science teams who I have no real problem with, but the management teams running this circus are corrupting the narratives with false information damning the working men and women who harvest our ocean. We could do real research with science teams and get much more accurate assessments on our fish stocks, but you need experience.
Meanwhile the data research ships make no effort to make any tows along the Maine coast. I’ve talked with many lobstermen and fishermen across New England, and I would be happy to talk with a lot more. Along the shore boats are seeing these small hake and codfish that if listening to NOAA do not exist or they can’t find them.
If you’ve been reading my posts, I have literally been spelling it out on a silver platter. But they won’t do the research or even look. Why would you suppose they’d not? Big green wind energy wants an offshore wind farm here in the Gulf of Maine and they want to run power cables that put off electrical magnetic pulses to the land.
Maines coast is a nursery for fish stocks, lobsters and clams and all varieties of marine life. You know, the fish they say are not there because of false and corrupt data. If you don’t know what you’re looking at it’s very easy to screw up an assessment. As I said before, NOAA wants to reduce haddock in the Gulf of Maine by 80% next year because they can’t find juvenile fish, but by placing these cables along the bottom you very well could wipe out entire fish stocks to never return and changing fish breeding cycles from small juvenile groundfish to tuna fish.
Not only that, increasing boat traffic will endanger the North Atlantic right whales from ship strikes. Meanwhile, killing the economy and way of life for thousands along the New England seaboard. Our politicians and the general public have been led astray from the real truth. It’s time to talk to the real men and women on the sea level and get real data with real knowledge plugged into the science.
I’m willing to educate you with everything I’ve learned in my life on the water. All fishermen and lobstermen are here to help educate the masses and keep a sustainable ocean clean and harvestable for generations to come. This offshore wind farm green will destroy the Gulf of Maine and the men and women who respectfully harvest our greatest treasure. The sea is the bringer of life. It’s time to get on board reset the true heading and get this ship on course. Many blessings to you all. Please share people need to hear the real truths. FISH ON MY FAMILY AND FRIENDS, Jerry Leeman
I agree Jerry ,but we need to up date the Magnonson Act ,that NOAA must compare there science with independent science before placing restrictions
Jerry, your passion for truth and justice is obvious and commendable. Fishermen have always known the truth and we have been fighting against this corruption for decades.
It heartens me to see someone pick up the torch and try to enlighten those who would destroy a way of life and destroy the environment to save the environment. But before they can do that they have to remove fishermen from the equation. And yes the government has been complicit with this endeavor through their bogus stock assessment’s and business destroying regulations.
Those who seek to turn the ocean their own personal industrial playground at the expense of people who actually produce something sickens me. This situation has been going on for a very long time and with the federal government’s blessings.
This is all about money and power. And with the amount of money that’s involved with this wind scam you can bet your ass there’s going to be corruption.
Like you I fought against these tyrant’s until it got to the point where it was affecting my health. I had to get away from it.
God bless you for what you are doing and try not to let them destroy your life.
To fix this mess ,all fishermen holding federal permits in our area must unite into one voice ,draggers,seiners,gill-netters & lobsterman < !! Tell Noaa & their management counsels we want to participate in the management of oceans !! These permit holders spend most their lives on our ocean & are the most knowledgeable of our ocean . After all Noaa & management counsels supposed to be working for the people of the USA .
Hi Jerry:
Just to note, I had several similar occurrences with the NEFSC's survey tows. I had complained several
times that some of their designated tows weren't where we *scallopers generally towed & some of their
random tows were skeptical at best.
After I stopped fishing, I made several trips on the Albatross IV over the years, both Groundfish & Scallop
surveys. On one of the scallop trips they agreed to try one of the tows that I suggested up in the deep
water, at the top of the Channel. Over 50+ fathoms.
They weren't making any tows there as their past tows didn't find any scallops, so that area was
discontinued. We made two tows in 50+ fathoms, East to West, & then tried to duplicate the same, going
back West to East.
I don't recall the number of bushels that we caught on the first tow, but I believe it was substantial.
However, when we tried to make a return tow, we caught nothing! I tried to explain that the tides were
what were; at fault as we didn't put out any more wire, & likely just flew the dredges up off the bottom.
My arguments notwithstanding it apparently "Proved" their assumptions that there wasn't any resource
there!
I don't remember ever seeing a similar tow made on any of the "old" Scallop survey reports that I always
got, but I haven't seen one for years.
Another point, was that at that time, all the scallops caught above that 50 fathom line up into the Gulf of
Maine was always somehow attributed to the Georges Bank resource landing figures!
Jim Kendall – NBSC
November 29, 2022