Here's a slide show on the Wall Street Journal Web site from 11/10

Long Island Fishing License Comes With a Colonial Catch - WSJ.com (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125780880181039741.html?mod=article-outset-box#project%3DSLIDESHOW08%26s%3DSB1000142405274870 4402404574525994064983958%26articleTabs%3Dslidesho w)

It's about a local commercial fisherman in the Hamptons of Long Island refusing to pay for a license to fish commercially because of a grant back to colonial days, while under British rule I think. But it's an interesting slide show of one haul of thier catch.

if you read the entire article, you will find out that the basis of this man's argument is being used by recreational fisherman and the local townships in a lawsuit against the state of new york. they are suing to prevent the rec. license, which has already been passed, from going into effect.

I'll support the commercial fishermen who catch by rod and reel, but I can't condone the indiscriminent method of netting, as shown here in the slideshow, as well as in the stories and videos from the Carolinas last year. No way to cull out the shorter fish in order to meet a minimum length, as required by comm. rod and reel regs here. Those pics piss me off. Until they are forced to change their methods, they'll get no sympathy from me.

As I understand it, Striped Bass are a migratory resource that is controlled by the Federal government through the ASMFC. Each state is granted a quota. This guy may be able to dig clams without a license, but if he wants to catch bass he has to deal with the Feds or whatever legal body they delegate to control his state's quota.

The same goes for recreational fishermen. Like it or not, we have no "right" to catch and keep striped bass. As a migratory species their utilization is by law controlled by the Federal government. If we don't like it it is Federal not State law that has to change. That isn't likely (you want NC deciding how many fish they can keep?).

Seeing schools of bass killed like that is upsetting, but the fish in that picture are only a fraction of what got killed in the canal this past memorial day.

I do not like seeing that many stripers in a net. Should be a gamefish.

I am with you rob

As I understand it, Striped Bass are a migratory resource that is controlled by the Federal government through the ASMFC. Each state is granted a quota. This guy may be able to dig clams without a license, but if he wants to catch bass he has to deal with the Feds or whatever legal body they delegate to control his state's quota.

The same goes for recreational fishermen. Like it or not, we have no "right" to catch and keep striped bass. As a migratory species their utilization is by law controlled by the Federal government. If we don't like it it is Federal not State law that has to change. That isn't likely (you want NC deciding how many fish they can keep?).

Seeing schools of bass killed like that is upsetting, but the fish in that picture are only a fraction of what got killed in the canal this past memorial day.

Given the basis of the article, and the fact that the subject of the article has been arrested five times, I doubt the group in question even bothers to file their legitimate catch numbers. As for the last comment; at least they were caught by rod and reel, by a far larger number of anglers, and the sub legal fish were hopefully returned to the sea...

I have seen these guys in action ... while I was fishing Montauk via boat, about a dozen or so "recreational/guide" boats working a school of feeding stripers working thier along the coast up toward Turtle Cove and the point itself ... and all doing well without interfering which each other's action ... and not interfering with the guys on the shore ... along comes a net boat, drops in his net and within minutes, the whole action is gone, whiped out the entire school ... it was frustrating as hell.

I called the coast guard and they said they couldn't do a thing ... it happened again later in the morning, same thing ... I was surprised none of the boats said anything ... more schools came through during the day, but it was crazy how quickly the action was killed for many more anglers ... I have no sympathy for these guys either ...

That Slide Show Makes me SICK!!!

That is sad but the discarded by-catch of big bass caught and killed and dumped offshore makes me even madder.

Frankly I am not a fan of ANY indiscriminate method of fishing. Yeah comm R&R is OK BUT they need to subtract from the quota the bass that are killed from all other commercial methods of fishing. Once you mention that the R&R'ers say "that is not fair to us because the draggers will take the entire quota!" Well...you comm guys need to work that out among yourself!!! The status quo is not any good. They need to develop new discriminate methods for fishing.

Bring back the fish traps! But no, They want it easy...fully mechanized fishing.

Here is a video version of the slideshow posted elsewhere on the board:

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/stripertalk/40413-saltwater-fishing-license-2.html#post722835

You've seen this right?
Haul-Seining (http://www.noreast.com/emblaze/haulseinestart.cfm)

This is just terrible. It really saddens me since I try to be as loyal to land and sea as much as possible. Meanwhile you have people like this, wiping out that many numbers of fish at a time. I could surely see some "whale wars" type of effect against these guys. Nothing will change until the number drop to crazy numbers. Similar to getting an alarm system put in your house after its been broken into. Truly sickening! No respect for so-called sportsman like that

is it me or the people on the website with the article actually cool with what these people are doing?!!

I don't understand the position of the article I think there making this guy seem like the good guy
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

That's a gill net, not a haul seine. Haul seines have been illegal in NY since the moratorium and still are:

21) Manner of Taking. Striped bass may be taken for commercial purposes by using any of the following permitted gear types only: hook and line, pound net, trap net, gill net as specified in subdivision 40.5(e) of this Part, or as bycatch in otter trawls. Permit holders may use any of the legal gears to catch their individual allocation of striped bass. Otter trawl bycatch is limited to 21 striped bass per vessel per trip and shall be separately boxed. All other types of gear are prohibited for use in taking striped bass, including but not limited to: haul seines and spears.

Gill nets have restrictions on mesh opening width that in theory allow undersized fish to pass through, and prevent oversized fish from getting ensnared. All of the fish I saw being removed from that net appeared to be within NY's commercial slot, which tops out at 34".

NY has probably the most highly regulated commercial bass fishery in the US. The quota is about half of that of Massachusetts. A commercial license is expensive and proof that one derives the bulk of their income from fishing is required to obtain/renew one. It's a tag fishery and only a limited amount of tags are available per angler. The bass tags are grandfathed and one has to demonstrate their "historic" (ie, pre-moratorium) participation in the fishery to obtain them. The guys in the video are likely exhausting their seasonal allotment of tags in that one outing. Most of the fish I saw being untangled were alive and possibly could be released if they fell outside of the commercial slot.

There are fewer than 100 bass in that net. More bass---and bigger, breeding sized bass--were killed in the Canal on Memorial Day, as george has already pointed out.

Glass house, stones, and all that--but of course these are "evil" commercial fishermen, our mortal enemies :rollem: