Comment from Tom Biberstine

This proposal will effectively end 6 Pack charters...the last nail in the coffin so to speak. While commercial fishermen enjoy a supply and demand environment...the lower the quota the higher the price per pound...less fuel, wear on equipment, fewer hours on the water with the same gross income...charters have no such safety net. For some reason my lively hood, the lively hood of bait shops, motels and countless other business related to recreational fishing seems to be looked at as unimportant compared to the lively hood of commercial fishermen. If Gag stocks are truly endangered,which I have seen no evidence of ..they have been more abundant than I have seen in years, we would be much better served by temporally lowering bag limit from 2 to 1 or better yet by raising size from 22 to 23 inches. And yes, raising size should apply to commercial fishermen not lowering as we seen when Red Grouper where considered over fished. Most of my charters are family outings, parents and kids wanting to enjoy a day fishing in the beautiful Gulf waters. It is time myself, families, and recreational fishermen in general stop being punished for the over fishing, unforgivable rate of dead discards and all around poor conservation practices we see in the commercial fishing industry.