NEW YORK STATE IS SUEING FOR FAIR AND EVEN FLUKE REGS IN 2009! The State of New York, through Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, is suing the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on behalf of the recreational fisherman of New York, to change the way fluke are managed on the East Coast. However, the Attorney General has left the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) out of the lawsuit. With out including ASMFC, if the State is successful in the suit, nothing may change, because while the NMFS manages fluke in Federal waters, the ASMFC decides how to manage fluke in state waters, and is the agency responsible for choosing the State-by-State method of management each year. Their methodology has been based on faulty data, which has been impacting New York anglers unfairly for over a decade. United Boatmen of New York (UBNY), New York Fishing Tackle Trade Association (NYFTTA), and the Fisheries Conservation Association (FCA) have intervened in the lawsuit to include the ASMFC in any decision. This has, and will, cost a lot of money, and our funds are rapidly being depleted. WE NEED YOUR HELP If we do not win this lawsuit, New York’s recreational angling community will have a very short season for fluke in, despite the very healthy state of the fishery. A minimum size greater than last year’s 20-1/2-inch limit, a bag limit less than last year’s 4-fish limit, and a four to six week open season are a real possibility. We have been reported to have overharvested fluke by 66 percent in 2008, which would require New York to reduce our 2009 quota by 35 percent or more in 2009. We are asking all fishermen to help us salvage the 2009 fluke season for all recreational anglers. Please consider sending a donation, however large or small, to help support this lawsuit. The industry cannot finish this fight without the help of individuals, fishing clubs and other fishing organizations. Join the fight so that we can fish for fluke in 2010!
Send your donation to: NYFTTA P.O. Box 3210, Patchogue, NY 11772. Please make checks out to NYFTTA.
Or Click Below to make a Paypal Donation: