Remember last year when La. started to fight back against the NMFS and it ridiculous assault on recreational red snapper fisherman? Remember everyone cheering when La. decided to extend its state waters and not follow the overbearing federal regulations?

Well they are fighting back. An emergency rule has been passed to allow them to close the federal season only off of states who's regulations don't match the federal regulations.

Another example of our federal gov't out of control.

Hypocrisy at its worst. Just another effort to twist our states arm to implement rules we know are wrong.


The Red Snapper Battles continue! In an effort to strong arm states from following Federal rules in state waters the Gulf of Mexico Fishery mis-Management Council approved an emergency rule giving the National Marine Fisheries Service Regional Director more power!

The emergency measure gives the NMFS the power to close the red snapper season in federal water off state water where state marine resources officials have chosen not to follow federal regulations.


Crabtree said, outside of unexpected circumstances, the emergency rule will help ensure that states in compliance with federal regulations will not suffer an in-season closure of the recreational red snapper season for reasons not of their own doing.

This is hypocrisy at its highest level. They NMFS is tasked with regulating the red snapper resource in Federal Waters and they have been harping and claiming their hands are tied. Reality is they want to destroy the recreational fishery. For many year now they have been managing (stupidly) the entire Gulf of Mexico as a single pond. Totally ignoring the regional differences as if fisherman in Florida have much of an affect on fisherman in Texas.

But now that more and more states are getting tired of their shit and are no longer setting their seasons and bag limit the same as NMFS, the NMFS decides to retaliate. And how do they do it by saying the total catch is no longer a hard and rigid rule. If the allowable catch poundage is met, well it doesn't matter, Mississippi etc go on and fish your season is still open.

Get my point. Any overages always resulted in the shutting down of the season. This they said was the LAW!!!! They said they didn't have the flexibility to keep it open or to close it on a whim. It is the LAW damn it! Well I guess in order to force states to bow to the federal government in state waters where they are not suppose to have ANY JURISDICTION they can just ignore what they have been saying was an unbendable law!

Also the hypocrisy is to do this they will have to for the first time treat different areas of the gulf differently, break the federal waters into offshore waters connected to a state. But but but we (nmfs) in our infinite wisdom can manage the gulf as if it is one fishery!

The emergency rule motion actually failed when the council voted on it the first time before lunch. When the council reconvened, Larry Abele of Florida asked that the measure be reconsidered, and the majority of council members agreed.

Hmmmm.... I wonder what happened during lunch. I guess that tuna fish sandwich made someone ponder their responsibility and how they could save the earth from mankind.

Abele and Pam Dana changed their initial votes to approve the emergency rule.

?After some soul-searching and in the attitude of all fairness, they had to reconsider this because it is absolutely unfair to states that have been compliant to suffer loss of fishing opportunities because of states that have chosen to ignore federal regulations,? Fairey said.

But how can this be? Won't the federal catch be given a double wammy the next season because by allowing some states to continue to fish after the poundage has been met, wont this lead to a closed season the next year when the overages are subtracted from the new years catch like they have been doing in past years???

Here is a quote by Alabama Marine Resource Director Chris Blankenship. 'We feel that the emergency rule will help protect the fishermen in Alabama and should give us an opportunity this year to really work on regional management. We?re still not happy with 27 days, but it?s better than the 12 days we would have had if Louisiana and Texas are in non-compliance.'

Do you see the stupidy with which our resources are being managed. Red Snapper are home bodies and do not move long distances. Yet fisherman in Texas and Louisiana are going to affect the regulations Alabama!

When you hear NMFS read bully. If you think I am being extreme you need to realize these people do not have the best interest of the resource at heart. They have refused to follow the law many times already. Refused to stop pursuing catch shares allocation system despite it being illegal. Refuse to use accurate data despite being directed by congress to fix their data collection system.

Just as a quick example, despite the season getting shorter every year and lower creel limits ever year they insist that fishing pressure is getting heavier!!! This despite all figures showing fisherman are fishing less. Fuel is more expensive who want to spend hundreds of dollars to catch two fish! According to the NMFS less means more! They are insane OR they are trying to destroy the recreational fishery so they can sell it to commercial interest. You decide. It is one or the other.