Illegal redfish sales in NC!

Did anybody really think this wasn't going on? They busted three fish houses in NC for the illegal sale of red drum. They underreported and/or didn't the number of reds they were selling. There is a thriving black market for these fish as they are highly sought after in restaurants in Texas and Louisiana (where I was offered NC red drum as a dinner entree in New Orleans). These kind of investigations need to continue as the only way to stop the illegal catching of reds is to stop the illegal trade of red drum.

http://captgordon.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/illegal-sales-of-red-drum-busted/

Fishing Jones: Sign, Save Redfish, Get Gear

Pete McDonald over at Fishing Jones is giving away an extremely sweet Redington Titanium CDL Reel for 7/8 Wt line. It only takes two simple steps to get your name in the running for this primo item of fly fishing gear.

First take a moment and sign our pal Captain Gordon Churchill's Petition to stop unattended gill net practices in North Carolina.

Second, once you've signed the petition, slide over to the Fishing Jones website and leave a comment on his Help Redfish and Get a Reel post using your name and typing the word "Signed" in the body. A commenter will be picked at random and get this great fly reel.

The completed petition is going to be presented to the Governor of North Carolina as a way to protect the state saltwater fish. Unattended gill nets are taking a major toll on Redfish stocks on Carolina inshore waters. Guys like Captain Gordon Churchill, Pete McDonald and others are doing this to make a real difference for both anglers and fish populations.

The time has come

The Facebook cause page has been a great way to get people all in the same virtual space. Now it is time to start doing something.

This is an easy way to get started. Our new Governor, Bev Perdue has stated that she would be interested in talking about making the red drum a gamefish in NC. We need to start holding her to this. To that effect we need to begin with an email campaign. If everybody who receives this message sends her something stating that we want red drum to be made into a gamefish to stop targeting and sale of them by gill netters and others it will be a giant step in the right direction. We also need to message our local legislators. If you live out of state mention that NC is not a place you will choose to spend your hard earned dollars on vacation if something is not done.

Contact Governor Perdue at governor.office@nc.gov
If enough of us step up to get this started, it may actually happen.
Thanks,
Gordon