Charles Witek

@the_tom_hirons I'm not a poet, and only write non-fiction. I'm still here because I won't allow anyone to silence my voice. I will speak where and when I choose, and if the fools don't like it, well, maybe that's one reason I stay.

Are the poets still here? I'm ambivalent (to say the least) about being here, but something nags me back every so often. Perhaps nostalgia for 2006, but that's no basis for action. Perhaps a vague sense that writers are still using the platform as insurgents. Why are *you* here?

NOAA Fisheries has just granted exempted fishing permits that will allow the four South Atlantic states to set recreational red snapper seasons. Last year, a two-day season led to mild overfishing. What will this year's 39 and 62-day seasons do? bit.ly/4cWQ3PK

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires "a fair and balanced apportionment" of regional fishery management council seats. But in the real world, that's just not happening. bit.ly/3OH0xJP

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act was signed 50 years ago. It now faces challenges that were not even contemplated in 1976. Can the law still do its job? bit.ly/4cJd0Ww

@ChrisO_wiki Glad that I renewed mine last year

How America's new passports will look, according to a leaked design. No other country in the world, not even the most extreme dictatorships like North Korea or Iraq under Saddam Hussein, has put its leader's face on its passports.

Recent research suggests that eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna migrate to North American waters to feed and benefit from restrictive western Atlantic management measures before returning east to spawn. Will NMFS will heed that research when managing bluefin?bit.ly/4t0dHj8

25 years ago, stakeholders convinced the ASMFC that having larger striped bass was more important than larger harvests. 5 years ago, stakeholders again expressed their preference for larger fish rather than larger landings. Today, the issue arises again. bit.ly/4mPTXgw

@Maximumatheist And despite that, the planes still crashed.

Prayer is useless. There is nobody listening.

Last December, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the ASMFC decided to increase recreational black sea bass landings by 20%. Now, NMFS' failure to adopt needed regulations may negate that increase, and lead to more restrictions. bit.ly/3ODJyYu

@ToriatheistTori "Undeniably" is an unreasonably tough standard. But no one has ever proven it by a preponderance of the evidence, and one can argue that no one ever even provided probable cause for such belief.

Here in New York, the striped bass season has opened, but most serious striped bass anglers are more concerned about the future than the present. Will the bass stock rebuild, and if it does, will continued poor recruitment cause it to crash again? bit.ly/4cx6LUc

@MorePerfectUS It's one way to concentrate most of the lousy service under one carrier.

United is floating a possible mega-merger with American Airlines to create an air travel giant. They might try to act under the Trump admin, given its willingness to let corporations do whatever they want. The combined company would be almost 2x the size of its biggest rival.

Fisheries management decisions should be based on good data and good science. But too often, people and organizations urge the adoption of management policies based on nothing more than emotion and sentiment. bit.ly/4tNiVzA

Here in New York, and elsewhere in the United States, legislators are trying to outlaw octopus farming, even though no such farms exist anywhere in the state, the nation or, unless things have recently changed, in the world, while ignoring real threats. bit.ly/41phMBV

@commentar58 @andreas_krieg It's not an unusual spelling. For example: whc.unesco.org/en/statesparti…

@CharlesWitek @andreas_krieg why do you write vietnam like that

It is the worst strategic defeat for the US since Vietnam and possibly the worst strategic defeat for Israel ever IF the ceasefire term are translated into an agreement, Iran will be able to rebuild capabilities within a year Iran will have more disposable income that will be put into building a more powerful military dictatorship The people in place might be less theocratic but also less pragmatic and more belligerent The race to build a bomb might be on again (with outside help) as the previous fatwas will be void after this experience Shipping will the added as a new strategic lever to Iran’s tool box Meanwhile, Israel as the main culprit luring an incompetent US administration into this disastrous war, has lost support among almost all constituencies in the West The Axis of Resistance will likely be rebuild with the main target Israel, which will be stuck in a perpetual war of mowing lawns

The United States has notified the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas that it will no longer count recreational bluefin tuna landings against the US quota. This is not a good thing. conservefish.org/2026/04/03/uni…

@Maximumatheist Unfortunately, yes. I made the mistake of talking about various species of humans that had lived in the past when there was a creationist in the crowd, who asked in all seriousness, "What kind of people were Adam and Eve?"

Have you ever tried to have an adult conversation with a southern Christian republican?

Fisheries managers strive to adopt management measures that will adequately protect fish stocks without alienating stakeholders. In the case of marine recreational fisheries, that can be a challenging thing to do. bit.ly/3OiEQPN

@AndyOstroy New York Times just announced that it’s done

Seems like #Bondi is done. Will get the boot any moment. Probs on Good Friday. So on-brand for Trump. And this one will be extra-special delish, as she's the most dangerous example of someone who sold her soul & country to a monster she knew was incapable of returning the loyalty she humiliatingly gave him