Alabama Legislative Alert - Gill Net Legislation HB409‏

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Legislative Alert - House Bill-409 Dear Members: Last Thursday evening, Rep. David Sessions introduced a bill to the Agriculture and Forestry Committee, HB409, to amend the current gill net statute. The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement that at least 51% of a license holders income be produced from the commercial seafood business and ease the ban on the transfer of licenses. The Board wants to assure you that CCA Alabama leadership is working diligently to oppose the bill. Our leadership has worked closely with our legislators since the bill's introduction and will continue to work on your behalf. CCA has, for decades, worked to ensure a sunset on commercial saltwater gillnetting. During the 1990s, CCA was responsible for legislation requiring commercial gill netters to prove that at least 51% of reported income was produced from gill netting before the license would be renewed. In 2008, CCA worked closely with then Representative Jamie Ison to further enact legislation providing that no new licenses would be issued and that current licenses could not be transferred. As a result of CCA's efforts, the number of commercial gillnetters has decreased from over 200 to fewer than 60. At this time we are not requesting that our membership act on this piece of legislation. If we do need your help we will send out an alert and request specific action. We do want to keep you informed of the proposed bill and our efforts on your behalf. We will update all of you as this process progresses and if swift action is needed by the CCA membership we will be contacting you. Thank You, Bob Singleton State Chairman CCA Alabama

Seems like a never ending battle no matter what state you live in. If I lived in Alabama, Mr. Sessions would be on my do not vote for list

True dat!
Apparently David Sessions is a lap dog for special interest (commercial fishing) in District 105 (south Mobile county)
David Sessions - Ballotpedia

So if this passes are they going to refund the extra money that was put onto our licenses to buy out gillnetters?

Alabama politicians... they want to have this state remain a punchline forever.

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Legislative Update and Action Request HB409

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Dear CCA Alabama Members and Supporters,

Representative David Sessions, (R-Grand Bay, Dist. 105) and others have introduced an updated version of HB409 into the Alabama House of Representative's Agriculture and Forestry Committee. The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement that at least 51% of a license holder's income be produced from the commercial seafood business. Although Representative Session has worked with us and dropped a transfer provision included in his original bill, he continues to insist on eliminating the income verification provision without providing an adequate explanation as to why it should be removed. This requirement has been in place since the mid 1990's. The income portion was re-memorialized and enacted into law in 2008 along with several other provisions after years of tense negotiations between commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, regulators and legislators. All stakeholders agreed to the income requirement and other requirements in 2008 and all stakeholders have lived with the law since that time. We've discussed the income verification process with the Alabama Department of Conservation, the licensing body, to determine if the tax return review process presents an unmanageable administrative burden. It does not. For these reasons, CCA Alabama sees no reason to repeal the existing portion of the law that deals with income verification. CCA Alabama members are willing to live with the law as it stands at this time and urge all parties to do the same. CCA Alabama opposes HB409.

HB409 is being brought before the Agriculture and Forestry Committee this Wednesday afternoon, May 13th. I urge all CCA Alabama members to contact their local committee representative before 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 5/13 and request they vote NO on HB 409 and leave the existing commercial gill net licensing process unchanged. The Agriculture and Forestry Committee members are included below along with a link.


Thank you,


Bob Singleton
State Chairman
CCA Alabama


Alabama House of Representative's Agriculture and Forestry Committee

Chairman: David Sessions
Mobile County
334-242-0947
d.r.sessions@att.net

Vice Chairman: Donnie Chasteen
Houston & Geneva Counties
334-242-7742
dchasteen@panhandle.rr.com

Richard Lindsey
DeKalb, Calhoun, Cherokee & Cleburne Counties
334-242-7713
Richard.lindsey@alhouse.gov

Will Ainsworth
Marshall, Blount & DeKalb Counties
334-242-7600
Will.ainsworth@alhouse.gov

K.L Brown
Calhoun County
334-353-1778
klbrown@cableone.net

Randy Davis
Mobile & Baldwin Counties
334-242-7724
Rmdavis14@aol.com

Joe Faust
Baldwin County
334-242-7699
jfaust@baldwincountyal.gov

Randy Fincher
Randolph, Chambers & Cleburne Counties
334-242-7600
Rsfincher77@gmail.com

Dexter Grimsley
Houston & Henry Counties
334-242-7740
wlmdexter@hotmail.com

Tommy Hanes
Jackson & DeKalb Counties
334-242-7600
Jhanes55@gmail.com

Reed Ingram
Elmore & Montgomery Counties
334-242-7600
Reedingram75@gmail.com

Artis McCampbell
Tuscaloosa, Sumter, Marengo, Greene, Choctaw & Pickens Counties
334-242-7747
Artis.mccampbell@alhouse.gov

Jack Williams
Mobile County
334-242-7600
Jackwilliams55@icloud.com

http://www.legislature.state.al.us/aliswww/HouseCommittee.aspx?OID_ORGANIZATION=2620&COMMITTE E=AGRICULTURE%20AND%20FORESTRY

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I'm in favor of an all-out ban on gillnetting in Alabama waters! Government's role in this matter should be on the side of conservation, not exploitation of the resource to the point of depletion.

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Originally Posted by the_reel_doc

So if this passes are they going to refund the extra money that was put onto our licenses to buy out gillnetters?

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I'm struggling to come up with a precedent for that scenario!

Just sent a request to Rep. Will Ainsworth to vote NO on HB409. Now I wait to see......

I can speak from experience here. Back in the 1960's, I commercial fished at Guntersville for a summer. I caught tons, yes tons, of carp and buffalo, but probably not 20 pounds of game fish. They just are too smart and too small to stick in the 3 inch gill nets. Now that they have no netting up there, they are beginning to have a problem with the rough fish. I saw an article last week that the biologist are worried that the rough fish are going to destroy the bass fishing. Netting is the only way to remove them.

Salt water is different, I understand, but don't kill the fishery by letting it get over run with rough fish.

I am sure the owner would have shot me if I had been seen but I personally cut a gill net out that was stretched across the mouth of a slough on Lay Lake on the Coosa river and it had a large number of crappie and bass in the net. Most of them were dead and partially rotted. I actually snagged the net with my jig and because of poor weighting and the float tendency of the rotten fish I got it close enough to the surface to grab it. There were no carp drum or buffalo in the net I cut out. There were a few catfish and all the rest were gamefish. Do everything possible to end gill netting or purse seining. By the way, gill nets were not legal on Lay Lake at the time I cut this net out.

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Originally Posted by gcryar

Salt water is different, I understand, but don't kill the fishery by letting it get over run with rough fish.

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The dynamics aren't analogous. Netters in the Gulf aren't removing invasive or unwanted species - They're after the quality species like mackerel, flounder, and pompano! In this way if the gillnetters prevail, THAT'S when the unwanted species would thrive and take over this section of the gulf! THAT'S why gillnetting in ALABAMA waters should come to an end.

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Originally Posted by oldfisherman

I am sure the owner would have shot me if I had been seen but I personally cut a gill net out that was stretched across the mouth of a slough on Lay Lake on the Coosa river and it had a large number of crappie and bass in the net. Most of them were dead and partially rotted. I actually snagged the net with my jig and because of poor weighting and the float tendency of the rotten fish I got it close enough to the surface to grab it. There were no carp drum or buffalo in the net I cut out. There were a few catfish and all the rest were gamefish. Do everything possible to end gill netting or purse seining. By the way, gill nets were not legal on Lay Lake at the time I cut this net out.

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And I would bet that the net was a small 1 1/2 or two inch net. Did you report it to the game warden? Illegal activities are wrong, including the netting and the cutting.

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Originally Posted by eym_sirius

The dynamics aren't analogous. Netters in the Gulf aren't removing invasive or unwanted species - They're after the quality species like mackerel, flounder, and pompano! In this way if the gillnetters prevail, THAT'S when the unwanted species would thrive and take over this section of the gulf! THAT'S why gillnetting in ALABAMA waters should come to an end.

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I don't disagree that gill nets are bad for salt water. Netting in fresh water is for rough fish only. Maybe the solution is to use larger nets in salt water, or separate the laws regarding salt and fresh water.

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Originally Posted by gcryar

I don't disagree that gill nets are bad for salt water. Netting in fresh water is for rough fish only. Maybe the solution is to use larger nets in salt water, or separate the laws regarding salt and fresh water.

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If gill nets are bad for salt water, then from a logical perspective, why in the world would the answer be to use LARGER ones? Again, LARGER ones don't take undesirable species, so where is the benefit to ALABAMA, regarding gillnetters? I'll reiterate my position that seems to be underpinned by sound logic - Gillnetting in Alabama waters should be banned, outright.

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Originally Posted by eym_sirius

If gill nets are bad for salt water, then from a logical perspective, why in the world would the answer be to use LARGER ones? Again, LARGER ones don't take undesirable species, so where is the benefit to ALABAMA, regarding gillnetters? I'll reiterate my position that seems to be underpinned by sound logic - Gillnetting in Alabama waters should be banned, outright.

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eym, what is your experience with gill nets? the www? gill netting is the only way to control the rough fish in the Big, weedy Guntersville Lake. Maybe you do not care about fresh water, but there are many more fresh water fishermen than GSP pier fisherman. Way to control the gillnetters in salt water is to regulate what they catch. Don't lump it all together, your sound logic does not work for everything. Logic is that different things must be managed differently. Not trying to start a fight, just to put some reason to the other side of a problem.

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Originally Posted by gcryar

Way to control the gillnetters in salt water is to regulate what they catch.

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Nets don't work that way. They catch what swims in to them, doesn't matter what the law says you are allowed to catch. If you are talking about larger mesh, that doesn't seem to apply here. The "target" species are not larger than the "bycatch" species in this case. I find it a little strange that someone with 0 previous posts comes in to start defending gill netting.

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Originally Posted by gcryar

eym, what is your experience with gill nets? the www? gill netting is the only way to control the rough fish in the Big, weedy Guntersville Lake. Maybe you do not care about fresh water, but there are many more fresh water fishermen than GSP pier fisherman. Way to control the gillnetters in salt water is to regulate what they catch. Don't lump it all together, your sound logic does not work for everything. Logic is that different things must be managed differently. Not trying to start a fight, just to put some reason to the other side of a problem.

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Ever heard of a thing called by-catch? Gillnets are indiscriminate killers. They don't select what they snag and what they don't.

gcryar, It would be easy for politicians to institute/enforce
a gillnetting ban for the coast of Alabama. But your comment that the way to control gillnetters is to "regulate what they catch" ignores the obvious - that gillnets catch and kill fish indiscriminately. But that's the idea with gillnetters - to have a ready market for whatever is caught in the nets.

I get it. You have an agenda to promote gillnetting. Don't expect a bit of support for that position from recreational fishermen in Alabama's Gulf waters. The practice decimates the resource, adversely impacting tourism for the region and undermining the natural balance of the ecosystem by indiscriminately catching and killing every single size-targeted fish that swims into the net.

Make your case for an exception to the gillnetting ban to the politicians in North Alabama who are somehow served by the gillnetting voting bloc, such as it is. Be ready to explain how you're going to keep bass, striped bass, paddlefish, and other by-catch out of the gillnets, given the fact that gillnetting suffocates the fish.

Out of curiosity, what did you do with the gamefish illegally harvested? Did you keep them and risk getting fined for netting largemouth bass? Or did you throw the dead carcasses back in the water?

Speaking of the freshwater gill netting operations that used to be allowed on Guntersvillle, I have personally witnessed (and reported) gill nets literally full of 3-8lb largemouth bass. A 3" gill net will allow small fish and smaller bass to pass through freely but will catch, suffocate, and permanently remove a large, mature largemouth from a fishery forever. It takes several years to grow a bass to that size and it personally sickens me that people have already forgotten the devastation that was well-documented in the fight to ban the practice a few years back. There are still plenty of photos (from Guntersville) floating around that show the indiscriminate nature of the nets and their potential to devastate a world-class fishery such as Guntersville. Lastly, the rough fish population at Guntersvillle is currently and will never pose a threat to game fish populations. Those species do not compete for resources. Guntersville has been producing tournament bags of 25-30 lbs at a much higher rate since the ban and will continue to do so as long as the mature fish are well-protected. There is no logical argument FOR gill netting and any attempt to justify the slaughter is absolutely shameful!

Swamp Donkey, I call BS on your comments concerning the bass in the nets at Guntersville. You are speaking of something you have heard from others. I lived my life at Guntersville and commercial fished one summer. I understand what is going on. Yes, Guntersville is the best bass lake in the world, and it will stay that way if left to the professional biologist to run. TVA thinks the rough fish are likely to become a problem in the near future. Unlike you I will not dispute them. Your unsupported rant is what is shamful.

eye, yes I have not posted before. I have been reading the post for a couple of years, and had nothing to add. I don't think you have really read what I have posted. I have no agenda concerning net fishing. I just try to be realistic, without emotions getting in the way. I have two son-in-laws that are tournment bass fishing, and have, over the years, caught more bass at Guntersville than most. I still own a cabin and land at Guntersville lake and spend much time up there. I have first hand knowledge of what is going on up there. Most professional bass fisherman don't give a d*** about the fishery, just about the bass and how much money they can make. The politicians only react to the voters, not the folks that monitor the health of the lake.

As fishermen, we need to support the salt and fresh water fishermen, not fight each other. There is no one size fits all for inland and coastal problems. Why try to make it something it is not.

I will not be posting on your board anymore. I understand that some of the regular posters here do not want any opposing views here.

Glen Cryar (gcryar@aol.com)

On a related note -- has anyone seen netboats this week?

Opposing views are always welcome but not always agreed with. I fish big G occasionally and fish Wheeler regularly and have for 40+ years. The only gill net I ever encountered was WAY back in the back waters on a flat in the Beulah bay area. I was idling by it when the sight and smell of dead fish got my curiosity up enough to check it out. There were dead carp, bass, catfish, sticks, loggerheads along with some live fish. I didnt bother lifting the net out of the water to see what they were. I assumed this activity was illegal(early 1990's) and I didn't want the wrath of the net's owner in the middle of nowhere with no phone and no gun. I don't know if the net had been abandoned or what. Maybe if checked regularly the fisherman would have been able to release the bycatch unharmed. I don't believe TVA is the best qualified agency to manage the fisheries on the TN river. I have seen bass on beds on a Saturday and these same beds be dry ground the next morning due to dropping the water level. The only time I called to inquire I was told they operate the dams for flood control and power generation and not recreation. There was no rain in the forecast and we had been rather dry for several days. If carp and buffalo compete with game fish for food I was unaware of that. I know several people who bow fish for them at night and put the hurt on them pretty good so there are some being harvested. Someone will eventually need to devise a way to harvest huge quantities of Asian silver carp or we won't have much of a frehwater fishery and gillnetting may be the solution.

gcryar, you can call BS all you want. I have personally watched a netter discard dead bass from nets on more than one occasion. I spend a considerable amount of time on Guntersville and know many fishermen that have observed the same things that I have. It is not difficult to do a little research on the subject and see why it was banned a few years back. It's also no coincidence that other states and lakes that have never allowed gill netting don't seem to be having these "rough fish problems". A net does not discriminate between a 5lb bass, drum, carp, buffalo, etc. Also, the intelligence argument is null because the common carp has been scientifically proven to be a wary, highly-intelligent species. I am very passionate about fisheries, ecology, and biology in general (spent 6 years of my life earning a BS/MS in biology). I understand population dynamics and limiting factors in an ecosystem. There is simply no place for this method of harvest in today's time. Period.

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Originally Posted by gcryar

I will not be posting on your board anymore. I understand that some of the regular posters here do not want any opposing views here.

Glen Cryar (gcryar@aol.com)

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Glen, Please don't be offended by people not seeing things your way, we have had some awesome discussions on all kinds of topics that thrived on opposing opinions.
Just remember; "Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody has one and some of them really stink."

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Originally Posted by oldfisherman

I am sure the owner would have shot me if I had been seen but I personally cut a gill net out that was stretched across the mouth of a slough on Lay Lake on the Coosa river and it had a large number of crappie and bass in the net. Most of them were dead and partially rotted. I actually snagged the net with my jig and because of poor weighting and the float tendency of the rotten fish I got it close enough to the surface to grab it. There were no carp drum or buffalo in the net I cut out. There were a few catfish and all the rest were gamefish. Do everything possible to end gill netting or purse seining. By the way, gill nets were not legal on Lay Lake at the time I cut this net out.

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Gill nets are illegal on Lay lake. Call the marine patrol. I know officer Prentice Martin Would love to have the information on the whereabouts of any illegal nets. And thanks to the banning of nets in Florida, we now have greater numbers of inshore game fish, not only in numbers but size also. Specks and reds are just as "dumb" as mullet.

Geez!


http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/...jpg?1260328965

http://www.gulfshorespierfishing.com...tid=3789&stc=1

Well, I hope this has a 'good' outcome...

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HB409 is being brought before the Agriculture and Forestry Committee this Wednesday afternoon, May 13th.
I urge all CCA Alabama members to contact their local committee representative before 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 5/13

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PLEASE, if you already haven't (and even if you have)
contact the legislators listed below and tell them how you feel about this issue!
We have 1 hour...

Dear CCA Alabama Members and Supporters,

Representative David Sessions, (R-Grand Bay, Dist. 105) and others have introduced an updated version of HB409 into the Alabama House of Representative's Agriculture and Forestry Committee. The proposed bill would eliminate the requirement that at least 51% of a license holder's income be produced from the commercial seafood business. Although Representative Session has worked with us and dropped a transfer provision included in his original bill, he continues to insist on eliminating the income verification provision without providing an adequate explanation as to why it should be removed. This requirement has been in place since the mid 1990's. The income portion was re-memorialized and enacted into law in 2008 along with several other provisions after years of tense negotiations between commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, regulators and legislators. All stakeholders agreed to the income requirement and other requirements in 2008 and all stakeholders have lived with the law since that time. We've discussed the income verification process with the Alabama Department of Conservation, the licensing body, to determine if the tax return review process presents an unmanageable administrative burden. It does not. For these reasons, CCA Alabama sees no reason to repeal the existing portion of the law that deals with income verification. CCA Alabama members are willing to live with the law as it stands at this time and urge all parties to do the same. CCA Alabama opposes HB409.



HB409 is being brought before the Agriculture and Forestry Committee this Wednesday afternoon, May 13th. I urge all CCA Alabama members to contact their local committee representative before 9:00 a.m. on Wednesday, 5/13 and request they vote NO on HB 409 and leave the existing commercial gill net licensing process unchanged. The Agriculture and Forestry Committee members are included below along with a link.


Thank you,


Bob Singleton
State Chairman
CCA Alabama


Alabama House of Representative's Agriculture and Forestry Committee

Chairman: David Sessions
Mobile County
334-242-0947
d.r.sessions@att.net

Vice Chairman: Donnie Chasteen
Houston & Geneva Counties
334-242-7742
dchasteen@panhandle.rr.com

Richard Lindsey
DeKalb, Calhoun, Cherokee & Cleburne Counties
334-242-7713
Richard.lindsey@alhouse.gov

Will Ainsworth
Marshall, Blount & DeKalb Counties
334-242-7600
Will.ainsworth@alhouse.gov

K.L Brown
Calhoun County
334-353-1778
klbrown@cableone.net

Randy Davis
Mobile & Baldwin Counties
334-242-7724
Rmdavis14@aol.com

Joe Faust
Baldwin County
334-242-7699
jfaust@baldwincountyal.gov

Randy Fincher
Randolph, Chambers & Cleburne Counties
334-242-7600
Rsfincher77@gmail.com

Dexter Grimsley
Houston & Henry Counties
334-242-7740
wlmdexter@hotmail.com

Tommy Hanes
Jackson & DeKalb Counties
334-242-7600
Jhanes55@gmail.com

Reed Ingram
Elmore & Montgomery Counties
334-242-7600
Reedingram75@gmail.com

Artis McCampbell
Tuscaloosa, Sumter, Marengo, Greene, Choctaw & Pickens Counties
334-242-7747
Artis.mccampbell@alhouse.gov

Jack Williams
Mobile County
334-242-7600
Jackwilliams55@icloud.com



http://www.legislature.state.al.us/aliswww/HouseCommittee.aspx?OID_ORGANIZATION=2620&COMMITTE E=AGRICULTURE%20AND%20FORESTRY

Guntersville Lake is my home lake. First time I went fishing there, my sweet departed Mom was 5 months pregnant with me. 1951. Crappie fish every winter, mostly Short Creek and Town Creek, around the state park. The " rough " fish population appears to be stable, according to the regulars. Two friends bow hunt carp and sell their catches to fish grinders. They have said that there is not a huge abundance of really large carp, but plenty of the middle year classes, like 3lb. to 15lb. We rent a house on Veterans Rd. near Ft. Morgan a couple times a year. I have stood on the upper deck at 2 o'clock in the morning watching the net boats right in front of the house, pulling their nets in. They have very powerful lights to work by, and with my binoculars, I have seen them working. Never have I personally witnessed ANY netted fish returned over the side their boat. From Veterans Rd., The lights on the net boats stretch from Mobile St. to Our Rd., and may go to Ft. Morgan Point. I have counted 8 individual boats on the same night, covering 7 or 8 miles. If I could see further, there were most likely more netters. And the next morning the surf fishing was very, very poor. Circumstance or coincidence, I cannot say. The folks from out of state who rent beach homes, take home their memories of what they saw and experienced. I am probably being fatalistic, but I really believe that business will have its way, unless all opposed to netting push together for what is best for the ecosystem. That is what is also best for us, too.

So, What did the Ag. and Forestry committee do yesterday? Anyone heard? Schedule another meeting would be right up their alley.

http://www.acfafish.com/forum/images...s/icon_eek.gif Look what snuck in the back door... http://www.acfafish.com/forum/images.../icon_evil.gif

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HB 56 Update

Dear Members:

We want to give you the latest information on HB56. As explained in our previous legislative update, HB56 eliminates the requirement that at least 51% of a license holder's income be produced from the commercial seafood business and creates a mechanism to transfer licenses. HB56 came up for a vote before the House Agriculture and Forestry Committee this morning. Unfortunately, this bill passed with a favorable recommendation. While this result is not surprising, given that the committee chairman David Sessions was a sponsor of HB56, it is certainly disappointing to hear this news. If the legislation makes it to the floor for a vote before the end of the special session, it will require a super-majority 2/3 approval vote to become law.

We are requesting that every member of CCA Alabama contact their local representative and ask them to vote "no" on HB56 if it comes to a vote. Let your legislator know that you do not want to see any changes to the gill net statutes. The current statute is a result of a negotiated settlement between recreational and commercial interests during the 2008 legislative session. The commercial fishing interests are now attempting to renege on this agreement. If HB56 does not get voted on during this special session, it is surely going to come back again in 2016.We must continue to communicate to our representatives that the statutes and any related regulations should remain unchanged.

Thank you again for your efforts and continued support.

Sincerely,

Bob Singleton
State Chairman
CCA Alabama

Find your local representative with the provided link below.

Alabama Legislature - Legislative Action Center


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Alabama Legislature - Legislative Action Center