Federal regulations are designed in a strict way to end over-fishing took effect in January, closing off a number of fisheries at least temporarily. Now there is a plan under consideration to ban bottom fishing over a 10,000-square-mile area of the Atlantic. To protest this local anglers have decided to rally against it. According to scientists and environmentalists the closures are necessary to save many endangered species — the red snapper population is estimated to be only 3 percent of what it was in 1945; the red grouper is at about 21 percent of previous levels.
Local anglers said that these strict measures mandated by Congress threaten an entire industry. And they want to change that. Right now, local fishermen are involved in a nationwide effort to force a change in the law. It is told that thousands of them will travel to Washington later this month for a rally they hope will draw attention to this problem.
Mark Brown, a charter boat captain operating out of Shem Creek, said that people are getting fed up and the only way to make a change is to get Washington to re-evaluate the federal law. For years, Congress has allowed regional councils such as the Charleston-based South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to set regulations on fishing limits. But federal lawmakers recently put more stringent requirements on these groups to stop over-fishing on any species considered endangered.
As a result the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is in a position of just shutting down entire fisheries. Right now, there is a ban on red snapper for 180 days with an option to renew for additional 186. After that, some say the prohibition could stretch out for years.
Holly Binns, manager for the Pew Environment Group’s campaign to end over-fishing in the Southeast, said that before Congress mandated automatic fishery closures, many regional councils just “kicked the can down the road” to avoid draconian measures. Many fishermen say they’ve seen more red snapper lately than they have in years.
