Proposed "Pompano as new game fish."

Dear members,

On March 10, the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board will vote on a resolution to make pompano a game fish. We urge you to support this resolution. Pompano have come under increased pressure by gillnetters on the beaches in Baldwin county. If pompano becomes a game fish, gillnetters will not be allowed to harvest them commercially. We feel this measure will further conserve our precious marine resources for years to come. Commercial fishing interest will have a presence at this meeting. We need to have as much support as possible by letters and/or attendance at the meeting to represent our side of the issue. If you feel strongly about this issue, you can testify at the Capitol Auditorium on March 10th. You must sign in by 8:30am that Saturday morning. We also encourage you to write a letter to your Conservation Advisory Board District Representative before the meeting. These letters will be submitted at the meeting. The representatives are listed below by Congressional District.



Congressional District 1- Dr. Bob Shipp University of South Alabama, Dept of Marine Science, LSCB 25, Mobile, AL 36688

Congressional District 1- Bill Hatley, 639 Estate Drive, Gulf Shores, AL 36542

Congressional District 2- Grady Hartzog, PO Box 787, Eufaula, AL 36072

Congressional District 3- W. Grant Lynch Jr., PO Box 777, Talladega, AL 35161

Congressional District 4- Austin Ainsworth, PO Box 447, Guntersville, AL 35976

Congressional District 5- Dr. Warren Strickland, 930 Franklin Street, Huntsville, AL 35801

Congressional District 5- Raymond Jones, 401 Franklin Street, Huntsville, AL 35801

Congressional District 6- Dan Moultrie, Board Chairman, PO Box 188, Verbena, AL 36091

Congressional District 6- Joseph Dobbs, Jr. 3601 Parkwood Rd SE, Bessemer, AL 35022

Congressional District 7 - Vacant

We thank you for your past and present support for CCA Alabama. We remain committed to fighting to conserve Alabama's marine resources.

Below is a link to our website to join CCA and help us continue our mission.

http://www.ccaalabama.org/join.html

Coastal Conservation Association Alabama | PO Box 16987 | Mobile | AL | 36616

Wouldn't it be nice to have several thousand more Pompano along our beach?!

I'd love to see this happen, that would be one step forward on the rec. fishermans!

Thanks for the info BD, I'll defiantly write and voice my opinion.

I bet every gill netter on the Alabama Gulf Coast is going to be there.

Many thanks for bringing this to our attetion, BD.

Messages have been sent.

[quote author=bottomdweller link=topic=667.msg6112#msg6112 date=1330392576]
Wouldn't it be nice to have several thousand more Pompano along our beach?!
[/quote]

I dont know anything about gill-net so please enlighten me.

If the fish get caught in the gill net wouldn't they eventually die? :cry: how do you exclude a specie from the net.. I dnt think you can just put a "NO POMPANO ALLOWED" sign on the net and solve the problem. :poke1:
Wouldn't the gill-netter just throw away the carcass of any Game Fish that got caught in the net? if that is the truth then there wont be several thousands more LIVE pompano swim to the beach :cry:

[size=12pt]What we need is two big azz NO GILL NETTING SIGNS![/size]

[img width=720 height=585]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Forum%20Only/NoGillNetting.jpg[/img]

[quote author=FinChaser link=topic=667.msg6147#msg6147 date=1330461174]
[size=12pt]What we need is two big azz NO GILL NETTING SIGNS![/size]

[img width=720 height=585]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Forum%20Only/NoGillNetting.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

+1 :headbang:

http://www.al.com/sports/index.ssf/2...ks_limits.html

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[size=14pt]Conservation board oks limits on sheepshead and tripletail[/size]
Published: Sunday, March 18, 2012, 5:16 AM
By Jeff Dute al.com

Alabama's Conservation Advisory Board voted to approve Marine Resources Division proposals affecting recreational sheepshead and tripletail size and bag limits at its March 10 meeting in Montgomery.
MRD director Chris Blankenship said the board endorsed biologists' recommendations to set a 12-inch minimum fork length and 10-fish daily bag limit on sheepshead.

They also voted to increase the minimum size limit on tripletail (blackfish) from 16 inches to 18 inches total length. The daily bag remains three per person.

At the February meeting, Blankenship told the board the new sheepshead limits were necessary to proactively deal with a two-year trend that saw significantly reduced total recreational harvests.

Blankenship noted that annual recreational landings plummeted from more than 1 million pounds in 2007 and 2008 to 506,000 pounds in 2009. Landings actually increased during the oil-spill year of 2010 to nearly 600,000 pounds.

A large portion of that catch likely came during the late-winter to early-spring period when sheepshead move inshore to spawn.

Blankenship said the new daily bag was based on dockside surveys that showed roughly 3 percent of fishermen ever returned to port with more than 10 fish.

Commercial fishermen are not subject to the daily bag limit. Anyone who wants to keep more than 10 sheepshead a day can do so if they purchase a commercial hook-and-line license, Blankenship said.

He added that dockside surveys revealed that 10 percent of recreational and 15 percent of commercial sheepshead landings measured fewer than 12 inches.

Blankenship said the new regulations would likely be signed into effect in about a month. Afterward, Blankenship said MRD officers would begin a public-education campaign for a certain amount of time before writing tickets.

"We're reasonable," Blankenship said.

Citing a need for more information and time to study the issue, the board also decided to put off until its May 19 meeting a vote on designating pompano as a game fish, said District 1 board member Dr. Bob Shipp.

"The motion is on the table for the May meeting and I anticipate bringing it up for a vote," Shipp said Saturday.

That meeting will be held in the auditorium at the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center on the Mobile Bay Causeway.

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[size=12pt]
Hmmm, guess I missed the part about the official request that Jim submitted in person at the February meeting in Montgomery. Oh well. :o
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[quote author=FinChaser link=topic=667.msg7292#msg7292 date=1332100632]
[size=12pt]
Hmmm, guess I missed the part about the official request that Jim submitted in person at the February meeting in Montgomery. Oh well. :o
[/size]

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Under the rug I tell ya...
The beaurocrats just want issues like that to "go away". ::)

[size=12pt]
Well ain’t this a fine Kettle of Fish?

[img width=498 height=520]http://i1102.photobucket.com/albums/g446/finchaser1/Silly%20Stuff/KettleofFish.jpg[/img]
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Their rules; are that they have 60 days to respond and it has to be in writing.That date is the 1st week of April.Waiting to hear back from they on the petition. In the mean time;on HB437 the only responce I have gotten back is "NO" ;in requesting all of the co-sponcers to remove their co-sponcership of this Lobbyist Gravy Train. In case yall did not know;the local Rep.Steve McMillan is also a co-sponcer;which speaks volumes on his efforts on other issues of intrest to the recreational fisherman.To be fare McMillans office did not respond.Duh?

I am VERY happy that limits are being introduced to Sheepshead. Best news I have heard this year in fishing!

http://www.outdooralabama.com/news/P...ws.cfm?ID=1025

Quote:

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[size=14pt]Conservation Advisory Board Meets May 19 in Spanish Fort[/size]

The Alabama Conservation Advisory Board will hold its third scheduled meeting of 2012 on Saturday, May 19, at the Five Rivers Delta Resource Center, 30945 Five Rivers Blvd., Spanish Fort, Ala., 36527. Registration for those wishing to address the board will be from 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m., and the meeting will begin promptly at 9 a.m. Five Rivers is located off the Mobile Causeway across from Meaher State Park.

The Conservation Advisory Board assists in formulating policies for the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR), examines all rules and regulations and makes recommendations for their change or amendment. This includes hunting seasons and bag limits. The board is comprised of 10 members appointed by the governor for alternating terms of six years.

The Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources promotes wise stewardship, management and enjoyment of Alabama’s natural resources through five divisions: Marine Police, Marine Resources, State Lands, State Parks, and Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries. To learn more about ADCNR visit www.outdooralabama.com.

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9 AM on a Saturday morning huh? Sounds like they want to make sure no one shows up! I hope they pass it. Wish they would ban gill nets completely. Maybe then I wouldn't get skunked so often. :violent

At the CAB meeting Saturday Dr. Shipp agreed to leave the motion 'tabled' (for now).
But the understanding is he is seeking a compromise with the netters to at least lessen their impact on spawning pompano in the spring along the gulf beaches.
Apparently this board would prefer to see disagreements between parties resolved mutually rather than interceed in favor of one side over the other.

So the issue is in no way "dead" or resolved!
Dr. Shipp needs all our support and pressure we can bring to bear on such practices which degrade the fishery.

:headbang:

[quote author=Pier#r link=topic=667.msg11439#msg11439 date=1337536642]
At the CAB meeting Saturday Dr. Shipp agreed to leave the motion 'tabled' (for now).
But the understanding is he is seeking a compromise with the netters to at least lessen their impact on spawning pompano in the spring along the gulf beaches.
Apparently this board would prefer to see disagreements between parties resolved mutually rather than interceed in favor of one side over the other.

So the issue is in no way "dead" or resolved!
Dr. Shipp needs all our support and pressure we can bring to bear on such practices which degrade the fishery.

:headbang:
[/quote]

Blast! Well, I guess a stalemate is better than a checkmate.

We could get media involved on this topic.

if they make it a game fish they will propose a 40 day season and 2 bag limit.i have mixed feelings.

[quote author=illman link=topic=667.msg11622#msg11622 date=1337782191]
if they make it a game fish they will propose a 40 day season and 2 bag limit.i have mixed feelings.
[/quote]

Nope, the State is in control of pompano, not the feds.
I would place good money on it staying the same size & bag limit and no closed season.

cool