SOUTHEASTERN FISHERIES ASSOCIATION, INC. rT \ ae Tu viet MEM Ee Soiree * Phone 8) 220612 Tanase, lod 3000687 Pare) sioaees "WEBSITE: ww SPRonl ary EWA Bobrshpeotcom August 6, 2015, SFA Board of Directors et al Greetings, ‘Management of fisheries without factual landings and empirical sclentific data is practically impossible. Management cisheries with incomplete and questionable science allows politics to determine who gets the ish ‘Senator Vitter (R-La) and Congressman Graves (Ra) introduced legislation that must be described as "The Angler'sHoly Grail’. Ther bil allow three state employees to destroy ‘thousands of jobs and busivesses that depend on Gulf of Mexico red snapper for their livelihood. Their bills rip the heart out of a fisheries protocol that has brought back, or isin the process of bringing back, all domestic fishery resources. ‘The Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) was created to remove foreign fishing vessels within 200 miles of shore and to provide seafood to the nation and recreational fishing. The MSA does not allow states to determine who gets the fish based on which user group can get three votes ‘The Viter/Graves legislaticn removes Gulf of Mexico red snapper from all aspects of the MSA including the National Stardards. The standards are part of the heart of MISA and keeps ‘overzealous national angle groups from taking al the fish for themselves. ‘The Vitter/Graves legislation creates a new bureaucracy composed of the five state fish commissions inthe Gulf of Mexico and allows them to manage the red snapper fishery in any ‘manner they determine asnecessary. All decisions willbe by majority vote. n other words, ‘three of the five people who make un the rad cnappor hoard have the authority to reduce the commercial allocation by upto 9.9% EVERY YEAR without any approval from any federal entity “any recommendation by the GSRSMA to reduce quota apportioned to the commercial sector ‘by more than 10 percent shall be reviewed and approved by the Gulf Fishery Management Council” (Language in te bill allows three people to take almost 10% of red snapper annually {rom the consumers) Serving the Southeastern Seafood Industry proudly since 1952‘SFA Board of Directors, page 2 ‘The Vitter/Graves legislation gives three non-elected or vetted people the authority to control red snapper. (1) REQUIREMENT TO ESTABLISH. —Not later than 60 days after the date ofthe enactment of. this ttle, the Secretary shal establish a Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority that consists of the principal fisheries manager of each of the Gulf coastal States. (2) DUTIES.—The duties of the GSRSMA are as follows: “(A) To review and approve red snapper fishery management plans, as sat out in the Act” (Language in the bil) This fast-moving train, according to news releases, seems to be driven by Randy Pausina of Louisiana and Robin Riechers of Texas. (Riechers is also chairman of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery ‘Management Council whic seems a litle odd because he has sworn to uphold MSA, but is lobbying to gut it at the same time). ‘Assuming these two gentlemen would propose 2 9.9% annual reduction inthe accountable ‘commercial fishing sector, they only need one more vote to doit. That is government at Its \worst—-rule of men rather than rule of law. The angler's national groups funding this massive lobbying effort need three simple votes to exert their will over millions of people instead of joing before seventeen appointed experts sworn to uphold the oath of their postion on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. Control of the process is their goal Three people could allocate most of the red snapper to the western Gulf? Randy Pausina, LA Robin Riechers, 1X Which state will be their third vote? MISSISSIPPI? ALABAMA? FLORIDA? Or, could Mississippi, ‘Alabama and Florida caucus to take red snapper away from Tx & La and bring to the eastern Gulf where they belong many would say?