Dear Club Members (Past and Present):
We feel you should know why the Club has not issued a statement in regards to the General Category (GC) permits being considered by NMFS.
In 2009, we did a survey of our members (similar to the one we just conducted) and found that 50% wanted the GC permits and 50% did not want them. A majority of members who would prefer the government not issue the GC permit for swordfish said they would buy one, if the government issued them. Our survey last week produced the same split results.
Since we don’t have clear majority of members who do or don’t prefer the GC permits, the Club really can’t take a stance on this issue. Therefore, we have decided to stay neutral in regards to the GC permits and let everyone enjoy the educational, social, and sharing aspects of the club.
Why some people think that a small club like ours could have any impact in NMFS’s decision is beyond us, especially when there are professional organizations That NMFS works with everyday, like IGFA, TBA, RFA, CCA, NCMC and others that can deal with this issue.
One thing we have all learned as members of the Club is that politics play a big part of every issue that is subject to governmental control and has groups with different agendas, our fishery included. The Club’s membership has been fragmented by these different groups and agendas. The two main groups would now be labeled as either recreational or commercial sword fishermen.
Many of the present commercial sword fishermen used to be members, but they learned what they could, moved on, and never supported the club again. During the last two years a few would attend a meeting here or there as a guest, but never joined the club. Last year only two commercial sword fisherman actually paid to be members last year. This meant that the Club’s membership had become mostly recreational sword fishermen and narrowed the Club’s focus to their interests which at times were in conflict with those of commercial sword fishermen. The two groups have grown apart and we need to determine in which direction we should go to keep the club intact.
Please email me your confidential comments to skip@billfishexpo.com
Please report your fish!
Dear Members & Guests:
I apoligize for not announcing last nights meeting on this website page. Due to all the excuses and old fisherman can come up with, I completely forgot to do so. I did however email everyone I could.
The meeting was awesome, with some great stories being told by Robert Platshorn (and his Captain). It was a great time to sit back and enjoy some stories from the 70’s.
I will try and annouce the next dates ASAP.