Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 4416 West Palm Beach Fishing Club On April 21st, a rainy Tuesday, a Professional Fisherman's Sum- mit convened at the venerable West Palm Beach Fishing Club (WPBFC). It was the first step in a journey to de- velop a unified approach to recommend how the limited take of some popular marine fish could also increase the yield of domestically produced seafood for American consumers. The gather- ing was prompted by a change made by the South Atlantic Fishery Manage- ment Council (SAFMC) prohibiting the sale of fish from the For-Hire Char- ter Boat Industry. The regulatory change has resulted in unintended consequences to the charter boat business model and has reduced the availability of fresh, locally caught fish at area restaurants creating even more dependency and demand for foreign seafood imports. Many believe the rule change will also result in an increase in illegal sales of locally caught fish. Club Chairman, Pete Schulz, in explaining why the WPBFC was hosting the meeting said he has long worked with recreational and commercial fishermen through his fishing tackle and repair business in Ju- piter. WPBFC President, Tom Twyford, succinctly defined the meeting purpose: “Learning more about the boat-for- hire business model to help accommo- date prudent fishing by charter boats for everyone’s benefit.” Club member, Chester Brewer (newly appointed Florida member to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council), rec- ognized that “a vibrant charter boat fishery in south Florida is needed to provide access for recreational fisher- men who live here and who visit every year.” This historical access began in 1934 as a founding tradition of our club. Peter Jarvis, from Triar Seafood in Miami, expressed the need to im- prove domestic seafood consumption to counter the overwhelming (87%) mar- ket share currently held by imported seafood. Peter ships quality Florida seafood products to high-end restau- rants and food markets throughout the USA. In addition to what he buys in Florida, Peter imports quality seafood from the Caribbean, New England, Scotland, and Australia. WPBFC member Capt. Ray Rosh- er, of Miami and Bob Jones of Tal- lahassee, chaired the meeting. Capt. Rosher is the owner/operator of the 'Miss Britt' charter boat fleet and Bob is Executive Direc- tor of Southeastern Fisheries Association (SFA). Bob brought over 60 years of fish- ery management ex- perience to the meeting that included representing Florida and other south- eastern states in Fishery Management Council (FMC) deliberations since the councils were founded in 1976. Often during the four-hour meet- ing, Jones made the observation that there always have been differences of opinion between various segments of any fishery, but they can be resolved. Longtime WPBFC member Ben Har- tig, from Hobe Sound, currently is Chairman of the SAFMC, headquar- tered in Charleston, SC. Ben summa- rized previous Council deliberations about the desire to permit the sale of surplus charter boat catches. Fellow Council member, Brewer, cautioned that there already exists a prevalent mindset that any fish not caught by commercially licensed fishermen should always be excluded from the market. But many charter captains are also commercially licensed. While acknowledging that indi- vidual catches of nearly all species of marine fish have diminished over the years, Capt. Butch Constable, attributed it to loss of fish habitat and ever increasing fishing pressure (recreational and commercial) experi- enced in Florida during the past half century. Constable stated, “it will never be like it once was." Tom Twyford termed that sentiment, “a shifting baseline.” Capt. Constable, a noted fishing guide based in Jupiter, described him- self as being 50:50 commer- cial/recreational fisherman: but having the perspective of a life-long Florida resident. That residency distinction was shared by most of the meeting participants. Discussion began to focus on two problems that must be solved before more utility could be achieved from fish caught by properly licensed for-hire charter boats. How to prevent “back door sale” to restaurants that could ex- pose consumers to fish of lesser qual- ity and how to fairly account for fish caught recreationally or commercially due to the rigid quota system being used to regulate various fisheries. Bob Jones stressed the commercial fishing industry’s dedication to com- plying with the voluminous seafood product safety handling record keep- ing requirements because they are designed to protect public consumers and raise the quality of seafood avail- able in the USA. Capt. Greg Rapp, a Cape Canaveral charter boat enter- prise owner, expressed the frustration experienced when trying to comply with quotas associated with permits to fish for various species because they make it nearly impossible to conduct a profitable business within those Another Significant Contribution to Fishery Conservation by Dale Beaumariage, WPBFC member