David A. Sneed: Taking care of the fish

I would like to echo the sentiments of the writer of the Jan. 2 letter “End to overfishing.”

While I applaud The N&O for reporting on southern flounder, I must also express my disappointment that you continue to support the interests that want your readers to believe this is about a fight over allocation.

Recreational anglers supported the harvest reductions put in place by the Marine Fisheries Commission because they will finally reverse two decades of overfishing and decline in this important fishery.

Every southern flounder stock assessment in the past 12 years has found a problem. While the last stock assessment failed peer review in that only one of the three reviewers said it could not be used for management, there was no disagreement among the reviewing scientists that the stock is in trouble.

So instead of buying into the misinformation about how this will affect commercial harvest, our legislators should be applauding the commission for taking a pro-resource stand that will finally give the stock a chance to rebuild and grow for future generations of fishermen.

It is really quite simple: Take care of the fish and the fishing will take care of itself.

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 1:00 PM with the headline "David A. Sneed: Taking care of the fish."