New Requirement for Gulf Reef Fishing

[DigiCowboy]

I just got the FWC newsletter. There will be mandatory survey participation required for Gulf Reef fisherman targeting the following species:

red snapper
gag
greater amberjack
lesser amberjack
banded rudderfish
almaco jack
red grouper
black grouper
vermilion snapper
gray triggerfish

Luckily we fish for snook, reds, trout and sharks! What a PIA. More govt red tape. I feel for the guy that just wants a few fish to feed his family. Now you technically have to go hungry of you can't afford licenses and to participate in surveys, know tons of rules. Geez I just wanted to do a little fishing

Here's a link if you want the details
http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recr ... sh-survey/

[Rare]

What happens after April 1st and if you don't sign up? I'm curious

[gruntking]

did you know in cali you have to wear your fishing license clipped onto the back of your shirt

[DigiCowboy]

What happens after April 1st and if you don't sign up? I'm curious

I don't see how they could really enforce it with recreational fishermen , maybe they just figure they will get more participation if they say it is required.
I can see it now:
FWC boat pulls alongside. Can we see your fishing license, safety equipment, registration and fish inventory sheet?

Commercial fishermen and divers had (have?) to fill out 'trip tickets', which are catch inventories here. Not sure if it is still the same these days, but it was part of the license requirements. The data is supposed to be used to monitor and adjust catch limits and regulations. To get some of the licenses, you had to show a minimum income from fishery, so you had to fill out the tickets to show how you earned the income. This wouldn't work with recreational fishermen. I guess if FWC comes up on you fishing and you have a cooler full of restricted fish, they could check to see if you registered.

Sounds like fun ....

[Rare]

I don't see how they could really enforce it with recreational fishermen

Exactly...

I guess if FWC comes up on you fishing and you have a cooler full of restricted fish, they could check to see if you registered.

Sorry sah, i wasn't targeting any of them. They just happened to find my bait and hook.

[Thelonereeler]

Fishing licenses and anything else to do with legalities of fishing are UCC (Uniform Commercial Codes) statutes and codes which have everything to do with commercial fishing and nothing to do with "the people of the republic".
Same goes for drivers licensing, only for someone making money using the public highways.
The thing is that they have made "citizens" (not to be confused with "people of the republic"), somehow responsible to follow the uniform commercial codes by putting them under federal jurisdiction.
It's all about fighting it in court, they cannot prove they have jurisdiction and court cannot proceed until they do.
It's been a scam since the beginning.
Nor do you need car registrations every year...or insurance,(but I would get the insurance anyway).

[Leadslinger]

I just got the FWC newsletter. There will be mandatory survey participation required for Gulf Reef fisherman targeting the following species:

red snapper
gag
greater amberjack
lesser amberjack
banded rudderfish
almaco jack
red grouper
black grouper
vermilion snapper
gray triggerfish

Luckily we fish for snook, reds, trout and sharks! What a PIA. More govt red tape. I feel for the guy that just wants a few fish to feed his family. Now you technically have to go hungry of you can't afford licenses and to participate in surveys, know tons of rules. Geez I just wanted to do a little fishing

Here's a link if you want the details
http://myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/recr ... sh-survey/

Easy there, it ain't the end of the world. It's been a voluntary and free to sign up since early in the year, you ain't going to go hungry. If you can't afford a few bucks for a license, well then you probably ain't going offshore to fish. I think this is a good thing, we boss of the house and boss of the house about poor data collection in relation to seasons and landings so FWC stepped up and did something to hopefully collect better data from Rec fisherman. You don't have to report catches, it's merely creating a database of folks they can reach out to and survey. This can only be a good thing vs the cooked data from NMF and Gulf Council.

[DigiCowboy]

I just got the FWC newsletter. There will be mandatory survey participation required for Gulf Reef fisherman targeting the following species:

You don't have to report catches, it's merely creating a database of folks they can reach out to and survey. This can only be a good thing vs the cooked data from NMF and Gulf Council.

Thanks for pointing that out - I did not read that far into the website. The newsletter was not that detailed.