From a truckload of stinking fish to blocking the pass, anglers plan protest after feds lock down amberjack

First the red snapper, now the amberjack.

“Enough is enough,” said Destin Charter Boat Association President Scott Robson to the more than 60 captains, wives and deckhands gathered at the Fisherman’s Co-op Thursday afternoon.

In mid-August, federal regulators shut down the red snapper fishery on the grounds that there is a shortage. Earlier this week the National Marine Fisheries announced that the recreational fishery for greater amberjack in federal waters will be closed starting today. Again, their reasoning is the quota of 1.368 million pounds of amberjack has been met and they don’t want it overfished.

The first gut reaction of some of the captains was to blockade the channel today from about 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. — and to alert the media in hopes of getting the word out that they’ve had their fill of Big Brother cutting in to their business.

“Whatever we do, we have to stand united,” Robson said.

“I truly believe the blockade is the wrong way to go,” said Capt. George Eller of the Checkmate, noting that route could be illegal.

“What we want is publicity,” he said, and on a national level.

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To read The Log's opinion on the matter, click here.

To read about political efforts to keep the season open, click here.

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Eller’s suggestion was to pick out a day and go as a group and blockade the doors of the National Marine Fisheries office with a peaceful assembly.

“That will get national attention,” Eller said.

“How do we make a statement and let them know that we’re not going to stand for it anymore?” Robson said.
“Now is the time to show ... enough is enough. And hey — you’re putting us out of business,” Robson said.

“I saw this coming a long time ago,” added Capt. Brant Kelly of the Relentless. “It’s just another nail in the coffin.”

“We’re trying to get their attention,” he said, but we don’t want to “look like idiots.

“If you really want people to hear you, you’ve got to plan. We need big media, big news to get it done. I want to really make a statement ... have a real audience when this thing happens,” Kelly said.
Destin Mayor Craig Barker was also at the meeting and said the message he has heard since day one is — “The data is flawed.”

The data that the federal regulators have accumulated is distorted.

“They are taking away your right to make a living,” Barker said. “And you have the right to a peaceful assembly.”

“But this needs to be bigger than Destin,” Barker said, noting that Destin captains need to reach out to Orange Beach, Panama City and Carrabelle.

“You can have a peaceful show of solidarity ... you’ve got to send a message,” Barker said. “This is our home and we need to show support here. Now is the time for your Tea Party.”

Capt. Bud Miller of the Melanie Dawn spoke against the blockade of the pass.

“All that does is it puts me against you,” he said. “We can’t block ourselves. That’s what they want us to do ... fight against each other.”

Miller’s suggestion was for area fishermen to save up their fish carcasses for a week or so, load them up in a tractor trailer and haul them to Tallahassee or the Capitol to let congressmen and our representatives know we don’t like what is happening.

“They could smell us coming. Now is the time to make a big stink,” Miller said.

“I don’t want to get them rotten,” said Capt. Harold Staples of the Al-Lin,  “but I want them to smell ’em.

“They’ve manipulated their numbers,” Staples said of the regulators. “They don’t have a clue as to what’s going on out there,” he said as he pointed to the Gulf.

Staples suggests that maybe the DCBA take out an ad in USA Today to get the attention of others.

“The limits are working,” Staples said. “But they’ve got to let us catch something. Just give us a little trickle. These people are out of control.”

After much discussion, Robson suggested that maybe a “big assembly out in the harbor” would be best.

“This is not just about the amberjack,” Robson said. “It’s about flawed data. “Next year it’s the grouper ... it’s a downhill spiral.”

Capt. Mike Eller of the Lady Em was for “getting their attention right here, right now” with the blockade.

However, he said the peaceful assembly in a couple of weeks is “probably a smarter choice.”
Robson put it to a vote, and the majority, by a show of hands agreed to an assembly in the channel on Saturday, Nov. 7.

“Let’s not lose this momentum,” Robson said. “Spread the word to others in the community.

He explained that we have one section of government trying to stimulate the economy while the other side is “putting us out of work.”

“We’re not asking for the world, just give us something.”

FALL IN!
The Destin Charter Boat Association is asking that all recreational fisherman join them at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 7, in a peaceful assembly aboard their boats from Crab Island to the channel.