[Catch-All]

Originally Posted by fish-n-dude

As for the proposed 600' closure it's not as bad as it sounds (yet)! The scientist have requested that the SAFMC place the entire east coast of Florida (from 600' out to the EEZ) under the HAPC (Habitat Area of Particular Concern). There is an entire ocean floor out there loaded with deep water corals that the Harbor Branch & Other science organizations want to protect. Apparently there is already evidence that the bottom trawls and long lining are having an affect on the sponges and corals down there. The problem as I see it is that the Oculina Banks is also an HAPC with the addition of several MPA's that are closed and will remain closed to bottom fishing.

FND - it IS as bad as it sounds. The closure will mean no deepdropping in waters deeper than 600 foot. And since the Oculina Bank is one of the oldest Anti-Recreational Fishing areas in the US, the hackneyed HAPC acronym is just another US Gummint euphemism for MPA. An MPA is an MPA is an MPA. It means no more fishing for us recreationals. And even if they try to lull us by putting an expiration date on their Super Gigantic MPA, since when did you hear of a Gummint reg that ever got rescinded? Hell, the Oculina Bank MPA has ben renewed TWICE since its inception, and even expanded once. They even tried to ban ALL fishing in the Oculina Bank MPA at its last renewal go-around; no trolling, no live bait pelagic drift fishing, etc.

Any damages being done to bottom habitat are by commercial fishermen's gear. MPAs are NOT needed and do NOT work. What the Gummint needs to do is implement gear restrictions against the gear that does the damage. And recreational gear does not do the damage, it is over-efficient rapacious destructive commercial gear every time. Gear restrictions are just one of many time-tested, proven, effective methods of fisheries management. MPAs serve only two purposes for the Gummint; they allow fisheries management to be lazy and they falsely create an excuse for long-haired filthy hippy PhDs to do more and more studies to justify their phony baloney jobs.

Please post the link here for that chart you emailed me about a couple months ago. If NMFS/SAFMC gets their way, MPAs will be a metastisizing cancer upon recreational fishing and no amount of radiation and chemo will fix it.

Thanks,
Catch