| 26 September 2011
Take Action:
Easy steps to let FWC commissioners know how you feel about the proposed sea trout regulations.
FWC NEEDS TO HEAR YOUR VOICE! Exercise your rights, let the Commission know how you feel about allowing much more commercial access to the sea trout fishery in Florida.
Currently, commercial anglers are allowed to fish 3 months out of the year, with a restricted sale season and a max haul of 75 fish per boat. The proposed changes would double their boat haul to 150, increase their fishing times to 8 months, and allow them to sell the fish state wide year round. There is also a proposal to open the fishery to recreational anglers year round.
FWC has not heard from many recreational anglers on this issue. To them, this means we are OK with allowing the commercial anglers to fish for 8 months and sell all year, with an increased boat limit of 150 fish.
We feel that the recreational opinion is too important to ignore. So the SGF has made it very easy for you to follow through and email the commissioners. Here's how:
- Step 1. Highlight the body of the sample letter below and "copy" it.
- Step 2. Go to the FWC site http://myfwc.com/contact/
staff-contacts/senior-staff/ commissioners/
- Step 3. "Paste" the letter into the "comments" section. Don't forget to personalize the letter - be your own voice!
- Step 4. Fill in your name, your email, and the subject boxes. Even though you personalize it, the subject should be "Sea Trout Proposals." Then click send!
We strongly suggest you read our article on the issue, as well as FWC's proposal presentation.
Don't forget to personalize the letter - this is YOUR voice, we are only providing the template.
Template for letter to paste into FWC "comment" box.
Message:
Limit Commercial Sea Trout Expansion in Florida.
Dear Commissioner,
I am writing to express my concerns about the proposed changes to the commercial spotted sea trout regulations and how they could harm Florida's fishery. Fishing is the #1 industry in Florida and our state's tourism-based economy depends on a well managed fishery. As someone who spends time on Florida’s beautiful inshore waters, I urge you to consider my requests as we work together to protect this vital resource.
- 1. Do not increase the per-boat limit of 75 sea trout to 150.
- 2. Limit the commercial fishery to hook and line only – no netting of sea trout should be allowed.
- 3. The commercial sale of trout should be limited to a defined season and region where the fish was caught.
Because of the generally predictable behaviors of spotted sea trout, doubling the boat limit will allow local spots to be essentially cleaned out in a matter of days. Same goes for netting – a hook and line only commercial fishery makes sense if the goal is protecting Florida’s state fish from over exploitation. Finally, expanding the sale to year-round is an unnecessary gesture that would encourage poaching.
FWC has done a fantastic job regulating the spotted sea trout fishery to date; numbers are strong and this fish is making money for Florida in the form of hundreds of thousands of recreational fishing trips each year. With the increasing cost of fuel and offshore fishing, we need to maintain diligence in protecting all of our inshore fisheries so future generations can enjoy the bountiful fishing we have today.
Sincerely,
(your name,
Your email,
Your address)
