Want your say on big fish regulations, here's your chance

On Sept. 5-6, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) will hold a two-day meeting with their Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel at the Sheraton Hotel in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Advisory panel meetings are an amazing assemblage of individuals who have very diverse interests in the HMS fisheries.

There are commercial long-liners, harpooners, hook and line guys, seafood dealers, and pilots who make a living spotting fish from the air. There are charter boat guys, private boat owners, tackle dealers, fishing organization representatives, tournament directors, and marina owners.

From the academic community there are scientists who do amazing research all over the world, many of whom you've probably seen on Discovery Channel documentaries.

And there are environmentalists from a few big name ocean watchdog organizations who are always quick to remind us that fishermen's needs aren't the only reason why the big fish need to be protected.

And most of the coastal states have representatives from their natural resource departments on the panel to help ensure that fishermen from their home turf get a fair shake in HMS management decisions. I serve on the advisory panel as one of the recreational representatives.

Twice a year this diverse group sits down with the folks from NMFS to discuss, prod, plead, gripe, alert, respond, and advise them on how they think things are going within each fishery and what we think the department should or shouldn't do concerning all the different rules and regulations that control them.

Advisory panel members don't make the regulations, we only advise the folks at NMFS how we think new rules should be crafted and they are the ones who, after listening to us, studying the science, reviewing all the public comments, and considering the alternatives, come up with their final decisions on what's going to be what in the way of regulations. 

Last week I mentioned that NMFS has suggested that they are probably going to make the current 83-inch minimum size for mako a permanent rule by amending the HMS Management Plan.

After almost a full season of fishing under that size limit (it used to be 54 inches), a lot of anglers now know the pain of having to release every mako they catch because, for most anglers, hooking one that has a 83-inch or larger fork length is a very very rare event.

This new mako size limit along with the coast-wide circle hook requirement are on the agenda for next month's advisory panel meeting and will certainly be topics of much discussion and debate.

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Other topic that will be kicked around will be bluefin tuna management, shark management in general, ecosystem-based fisheries management, long-line gear requirements, and whatever else someone might deem important enough to have added to the list between now and then.

The public is welcome to attend the advisory panel meetings and I would advise anyone to do so if they are interested in seeing how the process of fishery management really works.

Yes, the meetings are long and some of the discussion can be quite boring if it doesn't pertain directly with the fishery you're engaged in. But those who attend will not only come away with a better appreciation for what it takes to manage our nations fisheries, but also an understanding of who all the players are that attempt to nudge NMFS one way or the other on the different issues — it's not just fishermen!

Advisory panel meeting agendas usually have specific times allotted for members of the public to make comments on HMS topics if they are so inclined. Written comments can also be sent in and comments can be made by conference call.

A part of my duties as an advisory panel member is to help facilitate communications between NMFS and the public.

So in preparation for this upcoming meeting, I would like to remind folks that if anyone has questions or comments about any HMS issues I'd be interested in hearing them. I can be reached by phone at 410-726-7946 of emailed at modernsharking@gmail.com.

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