The text of Senator Schumer's letter follows:
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Suite 201
800 N. State Street
Dover, DE 19901
August 18, 2010
Dear Members of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council,
I write to urge you to provide increased access to summer flounder and scup resources for the recreational and commercial fishermen of New York State. As you know, the Long Island and New York fishing industries are fighting through some of the toughest economic times we have seen in generations. High fuel costs, overly restrictive limitations on catch, and shortened seasons have threatened the very livelihood of many New York fishing professionals and the coastal businesses and communities they sustain. The vote you cast today on 2011 management measures for these two crucial fisheries will affect the fate of an industry, one that supports many jobs on Long Island and throughout the State.
Last Thursday, I hosted National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco for a meeting with Long Island recreational and commercial fishermen to hear firsthand the economic impact that inflexible fishing restrictions based on imprecise data are having on the local industry. At that meeting, I pressed Dr. Lubchenco to address inequities experienced by local fishermen with respect to limitations on the summer flounder and scup seasons. Along with the fishermen at that meeting, I announced my support for the Science and Statistical Committee’s recent recommendation that summer flounder and scup fisheries could potentially sustain a harvest increase of approximately 30% and 15 to 200%, respectively. I asked her to work with the Councils immediately to approve these recommendations.
Today, I implore you to grant the maximum increase in quota for these species that allows for both the continued health and rebuilding of the stocks and the greatest economic relief for New York fishermen. As the Council knows, these species are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. Fishermen have patiently waited for these stocks to rebuild and were promised relief when they were healthy again. Now is that time.
Your support for greater access to these fishing resources means creating and saving jobs in New York State. As one fishing captain wrote to me yesterday, “We have complied year after year with the most restrictive regulations that could be imagined, losing over 75% of our Porgy
fishing business in the process. It is time for the tide to change. I am begging you for your help on behalf of the recreational fishing industry and the forty-five employees who work for me.”
Allowing New York fishermen the maximum access to the summer flounder and scup fisheries that the overall health of the stocks will allow will provide a well-founded shot-in-the-arm for our struggling fishing industry. I urge you to keep in mind the hundreds of jobs at stake as you may your decisions.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Anne Fiala in my Washington office at 202-224-6542 or Gerry Petrella in My Long Island regional office at 631-753-0978.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator