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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, In recent years, the Gulf of Mexico has contained |
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the highest total allowable catch of red snapper in decades, but in |
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2016, anglers experienced the shortest recreational fishing season |
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to date, lasting less than two weeks; and |
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WHEREAS, The U.S. government has overseen the Gulf |
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recreational red snapper fishery for nearly four decades; today, |
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federal management systems attempt to regulate red snapper fishing |
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by the pound with tools specifically designed to manage the |
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commercial sector, despite the fact that federal data collection |
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systems are incapable of accounting to such a level of specificity |
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for recreational harvests; and |
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WHEREAS, The U.S. government has, moreover, neglected to use |
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recent data to provide meaningful guidelines and requirements for a |
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systematic reallocation of federal fisheries; except for minor |
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adjustments to account for errors in its own data collection |
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system, the Gulf red snapper fishery allocation is based on highly |
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suspect data from 1979-1986 and has remained unchanged since 1991; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, The federal government is currently promoting a |
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management strategy to privatize the Gulf red snapper fishery; |
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approximately 50 percent of the fishery is already held by private |
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businesses, while another 20 percent has been designated to be |
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sold; shares of this public resource have also been given away for |
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free, based on a commercial operator's past catch history; and |
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WHEREAS, Because of extraordinarily remiss requirements in |
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its conflict of interest guidelines, the federal fisheries |
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management system allows commercial operators who already own red |
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snapper shares or who may be gifted shares to serve on the Gulf of |
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Mexico Fishery Management Council and to cast votes on issues that |
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will result in direct financial benefit for them; and |
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WHEREAS, By creating a prohibitive environment for anglers |
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and ethical issues among user groups and stakeholders, the U.S. |
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government has proved itself incapable of properly managing red |
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snapper fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, and all five states along the |
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Gulf Coast have increasingly needed to implement regulations and |
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seasons that are not consistent with the federal management plan; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Numerous studies, including some funded by NOAA |
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Fisheries, indicate that the greatest economic engine in the Gulf |
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reef fishery is the recreational angling sector, and federal |
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control should be relinquished to the Gulf states, which depend |
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most on this vital public resource; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 85th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby encourage Congress to pass legislation or adopt policies |
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allowing Texas to manage the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery out |
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to 200 nautical miles; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official |
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copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to |
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the president of the Senate and to the speaker of the House of |
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Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the |
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members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that |
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this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a |
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memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. |