# Another blow in the fight to keep our fishing rights.



## PaulD (Oct 29, 2009)

Just like I've been saying. You can't just get ride of Roy Crabtree or any other single member invovled in all this stuff because it is far reaching and there are so many invovled in it. So out with Susan Shipman and in with Spud Woodward, more of the same! This is another guy who is for stopping snapper and grouper fishing and tighter regs on inshore species without any good science to support it. He's good friends with Susan Shipman and I suspect will be on the SAMFC after Duane Harris term runs up. 


BRUNSWICK (October 28, 2009) – The Georgia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) today announced the appointment of A.G. “Spud” Woodward as Director of the DNR Coastal Resources Division (CRD) effective December 1, 2009. Mr. Woodward was recommended by Commissioner Chris Clark and approved by the Board of Natural Resources at their monthly board meeting today in Atlanta. Woodward succeeds Susan Shipman, who served as CRD Director for seven years and who will retire on November 30, 2009 after 31 years of service to DNR


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## deadend (Oct 29, 2009)

You need to join the FRA.  Denny and his team of attorneys are the only one making any progress in fighting this stuff.

www.thefra.org


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## Parker Phoenix (Oct 29, 2009)




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## PaulD (Oct 29, 2009)

i think the RFA and FRA are doing all they can to stop it all and the fact that they often work with each other says a lot too. just an observation there. 
We need to do all we can at our level too guys. Don't forget these people work for US!!! Don't be afraid to remind them of that as they seem to have forgotten it in the last few years.


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## Six million dollar ham (Oct 29, 2009)

A little off topic, but did you see the ban on harvest of black sea bass from Maine to Cape Hatteras?  Recreational harvest, of course.  How much of a stretch would it be for them to say "Make that Maine to Miami"?  Maybe it's different up north but the number of times I've caught 200+ in a day are many.


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## Limitless (Oct 29, 2009)

I gotta show some ignorance here: what's the story on Woodward?  I assume he a bad guy.


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## PaulD (Oct 29, 2009)

Spud has worked for the CDR for a while. He was big into out lawing taped cast nets before all that got overturned. He also supports this Snapper and grouper closure. He's close with Susanshipman and has ties with the CCA of Ga.


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Oct 29, 2009)

So whachya gonna do Paul? March on Washington?


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## PaulD (Oct 29, 2009)

I got that e-mail too. Maybe we can drive up there after a banquet and poker run.


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Oct 30, 2009)

Only if I can stick my elbow in your pal's eye.


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## PaulD (Oct 31, 2009)

That's between y'all. I'm not getting in between two guys whose last names end in a vowel. I don't want to wake up with a horse head in by bed or be involved in a drive by meatballing. He's never said anything bad about you to me. I told him I wouldn't let him either though. The organization has good purpose.


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Oct 31, 2009)

If you consider making his mortgage payment is a good purpose. 

Here's his Fisheries Policy & Science Researcher's background:

_Margate man gave false fish data to U.S.

By RICHARD DEGENER Staff Writer, (609) 463-6711
Published: Saturday, October 28, 2006
A Margate man paid by the federal government to collect data used to manage fish stocks off the New Jersey coast has pleaded guilty to providing false information. 


The case is believed to be the first of its kind since a 1976 federal fishery law created a program sending observers out on commercial fishing boats to collect data on fish landings. There are currently about 60 observers doing this for the government along the East Coast from North Carolina to Maine. 

John Depersenaire, who lives in Margate, was paid to collect data on 59 trips at sea from the ports in Cape May and Barnegat Light between October 2001 and February 2002. He never left the dock. 

“We lost 59 trips of data. He didn't make the trips. He stayed at home,” said David Potter, chief of NOAA's Fisheries Sampling Branch. 

The data is used to assess the health and abundance of fish populations. Observers will record details such as age, size, weight, sexual maturity and other biological information that is used to develop the regulations that govern the fishing industry. 

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/images/siteimages/advertisement.gif 


Depersenaire pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation while agreeing to pay restitution of $29,541, which is the salary he was paid to collect the data. The plea agreement reached in U.S. District Court in Trenton follows a three-year investigation by enforcement agents at NOAA Fisheries. 


Potter said it is the first such case in the observer program, which included 12,000 days at sea during 2005. Potter said Depersenaire did turn in data, but it was collected at the docks and not at sea. Most of the data had to do with monkfish. 

Potter said Depersenaire even tried to make the reports look authentic by marring them with coffee stains and blood. Potter said he was caught when NOAA agents interviewed fishing vessel captains and they did not know who Depersenaire was. 

“They said, ‘Who?' We never had anybody dry lab full days worth of trips before,” Potter said. 

After being confronted, Potter said Depersenaire “spilled his guts” and admitted he went on only one of the 60 trips he was paid for. 

Depersenaire, who now works for the Galloway Township-based Recreational Fishing Alliance, a sport-fishing group, said the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks caused the problem. The attacks closed the Fulton Fish Market in New York City, where most of the fish landed in southern New Jersey go, and created anger against the government, he said. 

“After 9-11 things got so bad I couldn't get trips anymore. I'd call and ask them and they wouldn't talk to me. It got to be a real hostile situation,” Depersenaire said. 

He said captains didn't see the need to have an observer on board and were angry at the government. He said some got “in my face” and yelled at him. 

“It's scary to go out 30 or 40 miles in a boat with somebody that doesn't want you,” Depersenaire said. 

Potter, however, said other observers went out and he never heard anybody use the excuse that the terrorist attacks caused a problem. 

“Nobody used that one. That's a good one,” Potter said. 

A more likely reason, according to Potter, is Depersenaire did not want to go out on the frigid Atlantic Ocean in winter and get beat up in a small boat. 

“It's a tough job, but we have one guy who has done it for 15 years,” Potter said. 

Depersenaire said he told a supervisor — a contractor for the government — of his problem, and he was told to get around it by just going to meet the incoming boats. 

“It's the same fish. The forms are the same on land as they are out in the ocean,” Depersenaire said. 

Potter, however, said all the data he collected is useless and the private company that supplies the observers, Atlantic Inspection Services, or AIS, of New Bedford, Mass., has been absolved of any wrongdoing. He said when an observer gets off the boat he or she is supposed to FedEx the data right to the government. 

Potter also said a new system is in place where there are five coordinators on the East Coast monitoring the observers. 

“This kind of thing couldn't happen today,” Potter said. 

The case creates a touchy situation for the RFA, one of the most vocal sport-fishing groups in the region. The RFA often criticizes fishing regulations and questions the science that is used. It recently questioned the science used to set the fluke quota for 2007. 

Potter said the scientific data Depersenaire was supposed to gather is used to come up with plans to manage fisheries so there are plenty of fish for the future. 

“We're trying to create a sustainable fishery, to keep it going forever,” Potter said. 

RFA Executive Director Jim Donofrio on Friday said the case occurred before Depersenaire worked for the organization, and he would remain as its chief of marine policy. Donofrio said the issue has been resolved. 

“He's getting his master's degree in marine science. It has nothing to do with his work here. His work is above and beyond. *He's an outstanding citizen. He's one of the most honest people I know,” Donofrio said. *

Depersenaire acknowledges that it doesn't look good to have an RFA worker associated with such a problem. He also noted that as soon as he was questioned he came clean with the investigators. He said he was 25 at the time and it was his first job after college, where he majored in biology. He said others involved denied everything. “It's terrible. It's been stressful and really depressing for me and my family. I think they went after a bunch of people and I was the last one on the totem pole,” Depersenaire said._



This is the most honest person your pal knows? 

You think its a good idea to support an organization who's chief of research is still on probation for falsifying catch data?

Data which is at the core of our problems with fisheries management rule making?

Is there something I'm not seeing, my brother?


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## PaulD (Nov 1, 2009)

I don't think there is anything we are missing but it puts us back at recreational anglers main issue. Who supports us? You don't like Jim's rep., you say Denny's lawyer is an ambulance chaser, and we know all pthe issues in the CCA of Ga. So where does that leave us and what do we do?
The RFA has A bad apple, the FRA has an attorney that likes to file suites and the CCA of Ga supports the sale and auction of our rights, special access for their friends, takes $100k's of money out of our state, pays their area presidents as much as the head of the RFA is making, and then has their representatives smear the names of people who don't support them.

So where do you go for support? What's our best option?


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## Parker Phoenix (Nov 1, 2009)

What's our best option?


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Nov 2, 2009)

Parker Phoenix said:


> What's our best option?



CCA National is the best $25 you can spend.

CCA Georgia doesn't mean feces to a tree. They don't even play at the federal level which is where this fight is. CCA national is well into the fight, and has the cache to be an effective player.

I can't say with any honesty that RFA approaches that effectiveness. In fact anyone who has been exposed to his "lobbying" knows that 99 44/100 % of what he sells is bovine feces. Donofrio's real business is supporting Donofrio.

FRA is also a good choice to support, despite the meaningless rhetoric and unwinnable snapper suit filed by our personal injury lawyer turned conservationalist, who fankly embarasses me. But at least he never lied or committed fraud to the very people we are trying to influence.

I can overlook Heil and hope that Denny can put a leash on him, I can support FRA, which I spend a lot of time doing.


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## PaulD (Nov 2, 2009)

Correct me if i'm wrong here but the how can you support the national CCA without supporting the CCA of Ga? I can assure you that our reps for the CCA of Ga are only there to benefit themselves . Harry Reed, CCA of Ga, ( insert some bologna title here) is an insurance salesman who, self admitted, doesn't care about the snapper fishery because he only trolls for kings. What about other states that feel like they have been sold out by the National CCA? Like Texas. While I completely agree it needs to be fought at a national level, I also think that the CCA is the sum of its parts. Stacking a bunch of male bovine fecal matter on itself only yields a bigger pile of the same. Further if the national CCA felt differently about said issues then why would they continue to allow the CCA of Ga to operate the way they have and publish their verbal drivel in their publications? I will have to say its because the national CCA uses the same currency. Also curious why teh CCA of Florida feels differently about the issue? Seems like they aren't very well organized and just trying to get in the political game.
I agree about Denny at the FRA too, seems like a nice guy. I don't get your beef with Donofrio though. Like I said too I'm not getting in the middle of it either. I think if we're all trying to get the same thing done then we need to work together. If we don't we're playing into the SAMFC and NOAA's divide and conquer planning.


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Nov 2, 2009)

Then you need to take back CCA Georgia.

CCA national allows states to operate pretty much independently. I think that's the right thing to do.

The only thing that matters is what is published in thier position papers. and that is pretty muych consistent.

CCA will always have detractors.  To say that a Texas has been "sold out" because a few guys abandoned it is not fair. One guy who left was knighted by Donofrio and has since left RFA for FRA.

Politics involves personalities and ego. People come and go. 

CCA is the organization with any real particpation by people who are connected politically to party politics.

That's where the influence is and that's where FRA and RFA cannot go.

I told you what my problem is with Jimmy. 

He is a fraud.

There is no "divide and conquer" planning. There is no evil NOAA empire. There is no malice.  There are no bad guys. There is only politics. Either you play  in the game successfully or you don't. There is no other game to play in. It's that simple.

You can call Pew scumbags and shake your fist at Crabtree untill the cows come home. That will not change a  thing.


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## PaulD (Nov 2, 2009)

Gary S. Colecchio said:


> I told you what my problem is with Jimmy.
> 
> He is a fraud.
> 
> ...



I don't know jimmy at all so I'll take your word for it as we usually have the same opinion of people. 

As far as NOAA being evil, they have an agenda and are being led by J. Lube who has worked for PEW for many moon. It's easy to see what's going on with that situation. Look at all teh fishing restrictions that they have implimented in the last few years. They have a great track record of laying the pipe to the recreational guys and that's well documented for all to see. 
As far as divide and conquer, that comes straight from the SAMFC. You got that e-mail I sent didn't you? I can toss you a few more great quotes by some of our " representatives"

Politics don't belong in fishing. It's the politics that have drowned out the science, which is what should be used. Science is the key but all the politicians have gotten money, special interest and emotions in the mix, which will screw us in the end.

As far as Crabtree, I agree, that's what I said earlier, but I don't think supporting a national organization that seems to let their other chapters run loss is a good way to go. I see your point about allowing that and think it is a valid and good point but having such divided views in the same organization is a load of hockey. The CCA of Florida has been doing the right thing but this bunch up here has a great track record of padding their pockets and deceptive behavior. They pray on the good intentions of uninformed and less connected people. Look at where the CCA of georgia is concentrating it's efforts in fund raising. It's not on the coast, it's in Atlanta where people are 4+ hours away and have to rely on second hand information about issues that they cannot see for themselves.


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## Gary S. Colecchio (Nov 2, 2009)

_
CCA to Testify Before Senate Committee on Oceans Policy

Committee seeks CCA's input on role for recreational fisheries in ocean, 

coastal stewardship



WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV), chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, has invited Coastal Conservation Association to appear before a hearing on Nov. 4 to testify on the National Ocean Policy Task Force's Interim Report. CCA federal lobbyist Matt Paxton will address the development of the National Ocean Policy and the role for recreational fisheries in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes stewardship.

"The Senate Commerce Committee is critical in the passage and implementation of laws that impact the oceans and fisheries," said Matt Paxton, CCA federal lobbyist. "This is the committee that gives the Administration the legal authority to do what it wants to do with the National Ocean Policy."

The hearing is the first Congressional hearing specifically about the National Ocean Policy and CCA intends to highlight several areas of concern in its testimony, particularly the need to include recreational anglers as a core element in the development of any overarching oceans policy.

"In this type of policy which is specifically about conservation and the health of our ocean resources, we have to be a part of that process," said Paxton. "It is incumbent upon the Administration to recognize recreational anglers as stakeholders and stewards of the marine environment."

CCA has also objected to the speed of the process to develop a National Ocean Policy and has sought to have concepts that are prominently featured in it, such "ecosystem-based management" and "marine spatial planning" clarified.

"These terms are not defined and could be extremely problematic for anglers," said Paxton. "The Interim Report discusses ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning as federal mandates. We do not believe the Administration has the authority to shoehorn these concepts into existing laws and implement them. The legal authority to do these things has to come through this Committee, which makes this hearing critical."

The Interim Report has drawn widespread criticism from the recreational angling community for attempting to fast-track sweeping reforms for the management of resources in federal waters, but failing to recognize - or even mention - the conservation, economic or social contributions of recreational angling.

"Recognizing the economic importance of the boating and angling sector should be a key part of this policy," said Paxton. "But even beyond that, any oceans policy should celebrate and promote the use and enjoyment of the marine environment by the public, much like the policies that govern our National Parks."_


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## yellowduckdog (Nov 4, 2009)

*Destin Fleet Protest*



PaulD said:


> I don't know jimmy at all so I'll take your word for it as we usually have the same opinion of people.
> 
> As far as NOAA being evil, they have an agenda and are being led by J. Lube who has worked for PEW for many moon. It's easy to see what's going on with that situation. Look at all teh fishing restrictions that they have implimented in the last few years. They have a great track record of laying the pipe to the recreational guys and that's well documented for all to see.
> As far as divide and conquer, that comes straight from the SAMFC. You got that e-mail I sent didn't you? I can toss you a few more great quotes by some of our " representatives"
> ...



FYI From the Destin Fishing Fleet
Monday, about 100 members of the Destin fishing fleet and their supporters did just that. And in doing so, they garnered a lot more attention and support, judging from the horn honking and thumbs up, than the bums they’d run off.

“This turned out good,” said 74-year-old Olin Marler, Greg’s father and a legend on the harbor. “We just need this going all around the Gulf Coast and up the Atlantic. We need this on a national level.”

Destin’s charter fishing fleet has been in a fighting mood ever since the Oct. 20 announcement that the National Marine Fisheries Service had decided the time had come to shut down the greater amberjack fishing season.

The closure came during the Destin Fishing Rodeo in a year that the fisheries service had already put severe limitations on red snapper fishing.

An already hard-hit charter fleet felt like it was being kicked while it was down.

“I made less all year than I should have made from the fishing rodeo,” fishing captain Steve Land said as he stood on the side of the road Monday. “For the fishing rodeo I should have done 30 charters. I did eight … seven or eight … I can’t remember, it’s too scary to think about.”

Stories of the woes of Destin’s fishermen were not hard to come by at Monday’s protest gathering. Some talked about selling their boats this winter to make ends meet. Others were planning to borrow heavily and try to hold out for better times in 2010.

Jim Westbrook, who owns New Florida Girl, the longest-running head boat on Destin Harbor, and the charter boat Suzie Q, said he’ll be laying off nine of his 16 employees this year.

“I finished the year with no money in the checkbook,” he said.

Land, who said he’s gone from fishing to taking tourists to see dolphins, held up a sign that read, “Save a fisherman and our fish, uproot a Crabtree.”

The Crabtree reference was to Roy Crabtree, regional administrator at the National Marine Fisheries Service Southeast Regional Office.

Crabtree has become a focal point for objections the fishermen like to raise about flawed federal fish counts and bureaucrats so far removed from the actual fishing they can’t possibly know what’s happening beneath the waters they regulate.

“Their counting system is so flawed. If they’d jump on a boat with us they’d see how many fish there are out there,” Greg Marler said. “My dad is 74 years old and he says snapper fishing is better than it has been in years.”

Greg Marler, who organized Monday’s protest, said what clamor Destin’s fishermen have been able to raise hasn’t done much good to this point.

“We’ve heard nothing positive from the National Marine Fisheries,” he said.

Charlene Ponce, who speaks for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, said Monday she’d not heard about the Fort Walton Beach protest.

She did say, however, that fishermen across Florida seem to have grown more conscious of the regulations they're facing.

"Overall I have noticed a shift in attitude over the past couple of years with fishermen becoming more involved and organized - and this is a good thing."

Destin’s fishermen and their friends could certainly be applauded Monday for their creative sign making. Some of those on display Monday included:

-- “Let Them Eat Fish Closures.”

-- “Ban the Politicians, not the Fish,” and

-- Obama Don’t Know Jack.”

A couple of politicians took advantage of the protest to shake hands with some potential voters. Also present were members of the local Tea Party organization, the “tyranny response group.”

“This is what we’re about, fighting the tyranny of government,” said member Don Kreis. “These people need jobs. There’s too much government right now.”
http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/panhandling-22220-beach-protest.html


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## Parker Phoenix (Nov 5, 2009)

Charlene Ponce, who speaks for the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, said Monday she’d not heard about the Fort Walton Beach protest.

She did say, however, that fishermen across Florida seem to have grown more conscious of the regulations they're facing.

"Overall I have noticed a shift in attitude over the past couple of years with fishermen becoming more involved and organized - and this is a good thing."

What a stupid response. Maybe we should all pitch in to buy these folks a tractor for Christmas, so they can pull their heads out of their backside.


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