Comment from Britton Shackelford

The North Carolina Watermen United is opposed to Amendment 17B. We agree that fish stocks need to remain viable for all users, but rebuilding should not happen at the expense of our communities. Fishermen with no jobs, fishery closures, economic hardship and infrastructure collapse are too great a price to pay for a non-flexible time frame for rebuilding. North Carolina has the best data on its Snapper/Grouper stocks, yet, none of the data from North Carolina has been used for Amendment 17B. We have the best Intercept Surveys, the best Trip Ticket Reports and the Best Studies, but no thread of Science from our state has been used in the decision to shut down a huge fishery that is the backbone of three users - Commercial Harvesters, Charter/Headboat operators and Recreational fishermen. A closure of 40 fathoms, seaward, will eliminate bottom fishing in North Carolina and cause a tremendous burden on inshore fish, e.g., bass. The fourth user - consumers - will also be hurt as they will be forced to rely on a lesser quality, perhaps tainted, supply of seafood. The North Carolina Watermen United asks that Amendment 17B not be implemented until adequate assessments and the Best Science can be used to make Fishery decisions.