Call to Action CCA of Georgia Members Urged to Assist Our Gulf State Neighbors! Recreational fishermen along the Gulf of Mexico have been crowded into a very small corner when it comes to the red snapper fishery. NOAA has already awarded 70% of the commercial fishery to 55 individuals who do not even fish. These “Sea Lords” lease their rights to commercial fishermen for huge sums of money. That in itself is mind-boggling but the next move was to implement “sector separation” via Amendment 40 which split the recreational fishery into two groups: Charter operators and private recreational fishermen. These two groups, who previously were the best of friends, are now at odds with one another and fighting for table scraps, with the big dog, the charter for hire group coming away with the lion’s share of those scraps. Charter operators have been awarded 46 days in which they may take customers out to catch red snapper while the private fishermen have been crowded into a 9 day season which spans only one weekend. It gets worse. Sector separation was set up with a sunset provision that would end the practice of pitting fishermen against one another after 3 years. […]