Water Resource Plan

Water Resource Plan Declining Fish Stock

Channel 11 News Station

Attn: Website Reporter

5233 Bridge Street

Fort Worth, Texas 76103

To Whom It May Concern:

I’m writing in regards to the recent VLR you posted on your website about declining fish stock. I have made my living as a commercial fisherman and am now retired. I have learned that there must be a good balance between man and nature. This video sparked my interest and I would like for you to review my plan of action that environmentalists and fishermen may be in agreement.

First off, I would like to discuss the video’s water resource problem and how it originated. Many of us commercial fisherman go after the big fish, such as the swordfish example in the video. On a good day, I have caught over 300 swordfish and at $4.00 a pound, it was a good profit. My labor was cheap and I managed to make a good living over the years. The problem originated because there have become too many commercial fishermen going after all the big fish like the swordfish and tuna. It is not likely that we can continue to fish at the rate we are going now to feed an increasing population of people worldwide.

I propose a management and sustainment solution that would benefit both sides. My first plan highlight is to enforce safe catch limits. This will allow fishermen to still be able to fish but to set limits on how many they catch per day. Failure to comply with the safe catch limits could result in monetary fines and possible loss of fisherman’s license. My second option is to set controls on by-catch. Whatever is not in the fisherman’s target catch should be saved instead of being dumped and killed in the process. This includes all other fish and crustaceans. Lastly, the protection of the ecosystem from destructive fisheries will need to be put in place. It’s imperative to protect the delicate sea floor and the unique unexplored habitats and corals. All of these plan ideas will need heavy monitoring...