Possible fishing ban reeling in big trouble?

In a meeting on Monday in Charleston, fishermen and other marine industry experts lined up to tell an advisory panel that there are ways to reverse overfishing practices in the Atlantic Ocean, and ways to help bring back and preserve what’s left of many popular species, including snapper.

One of those fishermen was Dr. Eric Heiden.

Heiden says he told the South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council that fishermen—including commercial and recreational—need to adopt better practices to make sure the fish they catch and release have a better chance of survival.

If the council doesn’t decide on any viable solutions to overfishing, the federal government could put a stop to all bottom fishing on the south Atlantic coast come January 1.

“We (fishermen) don’t replenish the soil and plant new crops,“ said Heiden on Wednesday morning. “Our concern is to use this as a stepping stone opportunity, for the first time ever, to address all offshore bottom-fishing species.“

Of particular concern to the council is the plight of the snapper, which its studies have shown is severely overfished.  Heiden and other fishermen claim the data isn’t current, and is based on existing regulations that do a bad job of governing what is caught, how much is brought in, and how what is not brought back is released, where many fish—not just snapper—end up dying anyway.

“Only take out of the ocean the fish you are going to use and eat,“ said Heiden. He thinks more limits on size and numbers of fish per boat on all species is the answer to controlling overfishing.

He also advocates the use of circle hooks instead of j-hooks, which do less damage when they’re removed before a fish is thrown back in the water.

“But rather than be the culprit, the council members are just not going to vote for something that is stupid and not enforceable,“ he said.

The moratorium could have a devastating impact on the seafood industry if its enacted.

Christopher Conklin, whose family owns Seven Seas Seafood Market in Murrells Inlet, said most of their business comes from wholesale puchases from other markets in several states.

“Our fishing boats are not going to be able to make a living,“ said Conklin. “They’ll have to go elsewhere. People are going to have their boats in foreclosure,“ he said.

The South Atlantic Marine Fishery Council is also holding public meetings in Georgia and North Carolina.