MarineFisheries Advisory

August 6, 2003




COMMERCIAL STRIPED BASS FISHERY TO CLOSE ON MONDAY AUGUST 11, 2003.





Based on dealer reports, MarineFisheries has projected the total quota (1,035,880 lbs.) for the 2003 commercial striped bass fishery will be reached by August 10, 2003. Fishermen may catch and land striped bass on Sunday, August 10 but are prohibited from landing fish for commercial purposes as of 00:01 hours on Monday August 11, 2003 through the end of the year. The 2004 commercial striped bass season is scheduled to open in July, 2004.



Authorized dealers may possess or sell striped bass in the state for only an additional five days through Saturday August 16, 2003. Dealers must submit their completed striped bass transaction forms for the 2003 commercial striped bass fishery no later than September 15, 2003. Transaction forms are required even if the dealer did not purchase any fish during the season as this constitutes written verification of the season’s purchases as reported by phone. Transaction forms should be sent to DMF Statistics Project, 30 Emerson Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930.



Commercial fishermen are reminded that a 2003 striped bass catch report is due by October 15, 2003. These reports should also be sent to DMF Statistics Project, 30 Emerson Ave, Gloucester, MA 01930. Failure to submit a timely 2003 striped bass catch report may result in the non-renewal of a striped bass endorsement for 2004. Blank forms and instructions were mailed out at the beginning of the 2003 striped bass season. Additional forms as well as quota totals by week can be obtained from the MarineFisheries web site at www.mass.gov/marinefisheries.



For further information please contact MarineFisheries at 617.626.1520.



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Technically it is over now...I suppose they could fish sunday but that is it.

Once again, that was quick. I know the guys out here have been mowing them big time...most limiting out with a lot of heavy fish. Imagine if it was open 7 days a week? It would be over in 2 weeks.

I still don't understand what the purpose is of taking a lot of fish for a few weeks to benifit a few rec-turned-comm fisherman for 5 friggin weeks. It is a completely foolish and selfish industry without regard for the sport. That is right...I said SPORT. Again, *if* we really needed the comm sb (which we clearly don't) I think we would just be better off allowing anyone (rec's) to sell the sb...still keep the limit as 2 but allow anyone to sell them. 40 fish is so over the top for any boat to take. This would spread the wealth and the fishing over a longer period.
That said, this whole sector is so hard-wired to comm activity it is a sham. The black market sales are significant and are not policed and not accounted for (selling sb on the side) Anytime you bring up shutting it down or making it a game fish, they claim, rec don't know what they are talking about and the real problem is no forage fish. (And I suppose it was rec who wiped out the forage fish?) No, it was comm fishing that did it. No one can argue that. It was comm fishing that wipe out cod stocks on the banks, it was comm fishing that wiped out the swordfishing and it was comm fishing that nearly wiped out the tuna. And it was overfishing (in past years) of inshore waters that depleted both the weakfish, fluke and now even the tog us under pressure. Yes it is regulated but not nearly enough in my opinion as most of these stocks have yet to recover fully. (When was the last time you saw a swordfish offshore?...when I was a kid off Montauk it was actually a common sight) IMO they should just shut down all inshore comm fishing for 10 years, and taking NO forage fish for that period either. See were we stand at that point and open it up very slowly from that point on.

Anyway...the stocks should have a good 6 weeks to fill in after this past month-long gang-bang....before the fall run begins and the true sportsman can enjoy catching and releasing once again.

Sandman is right :claps:

Originally posted by Mr. Sandman
It was comm fishing that wipe out cod stocks on the banks, it was comm fishing that wiped out the swordfishing and it was comm fishing that nearly wiped out the tuna. And it was overfishing (in past years) of inshore waters that depleted both the weakfish, fluke and now even the tog us under pressure.

Really?
I think it was the demand for those fish that wiped them out.
Greedy gimps who go buy their fish at Star Market.
Star Market that keeps their fish on the shelf for a week then throws away what has gone bad because they charge outrageous prices.
Crappy diners that sell even crappier overgarnished fish to cover the fact that its been in their freezer for a month.

The demand did it, the commercial people are just trying to make a living. Do we need a lesson on economics? :smash:

LOL! You have to be kidding me....It's not like we are in need of food in this country...that is one thing we have excess of.

Lemme also add the fact that not only does all that Cod that there is now a massive lacking of and still needs major management and enforcement, but the demand for ground fish is STILL far more than the supply.

A very large chunk of it all goes overseas.
Maybe we should stop exporting groundfish and the such?
That would help considerably.

Its not a simple equation where you blame the commercial guys, but everyone involved from rec's to commercial, to fish houses, to distributors, to exporters, to stores, to other countries are at fault. You just can't go and blame one group and expect everything to magically get better by restricting them.

Its not like all this fish is coming off the boats and nobody is buying it. It all gets sold.

I also hold a commercial tuna license, and lobster license and town of XXXXXXX recreational shellfish license.

Am I evil for that?

I blame the crack management team that spends more time patting themselves on the back for a job well done then really trying to fix the problems. I honestly think they have and are yeilding to the shouts from comms that "there fishy is restored...let us at them!" and don't want to restrict comms

If they were doing such a good job how come we have these problems? They HAVEN'T don't a good job (sb notwithstanding)

I don't blame the clam digger or the netter for taking thier limt...he is just maxing what he can do...my point is that they *should not* be allowed to do it!

Do you really think they should allow draggers in inshore waters where most fish spawn and grow...anyplace in the US? Does this make moral sence?


Lets take the cod issue...it was known for a LONG time that the stocks were being depleted year after year...but the measures taken for decades were so minor it was it did little to help. It is really a shame...that *was* an amazing fishery...probably will never be the same ever again.

Look at the forage fish issue...I really think this sums it up. greed. Take every last fish. The technology is there to do this but the laws are not there to stop it from happening....WHY NOT? I think because many of those that make the laws....have an interest (direct or indirect) in comm fishing and don't want to impose anything really restrictive unless they are forced to.

What is that saying? Guns don't kill people, people do.

(fill in your poison here)Nets-hooks-whatever don't kill fish, people do.

Mr. Sandman, your statement
"I think we would just be better off allowing anyone (rec's) to sell the sb...still keep the limit as 2 but allow anyone to sell them."
will never happen, it's rediculous.

Originally posted by Mr. Sandman
Look at the forage fish issue...I really think this sums it up. greed. Take every last fish. The technology is there to do this but the laws are not there to stop it from happening....WHY NOT? I think because many of those that make the laws....have an interest (direct or indirect) in comm fishing and don't want to impose anything really restrictive unless they are forced to.


Why do they take every last fish?
Because there is a demand for them.
If there wasn't a demand for them would they fish for them?
No.

Goosefish used to be considered trash, now its more expensive than Cod is.
Why?
Demand, not because a commercial fisherman says so.

You want more enforcement? You want more management?

Tell your politicians to get their thumbs out of their butts, stop spending the money from licensing on their golf games, and new BMWs, and put it back into enforcement and management.

Does DMF need more money? Tell them you'll buy a saltwater license if the money goes back into Marine Fisheries, but ONLY if it goes back into DMF. (Not like that'd happen anyhow.)

Tell them to raise the price on commercial/other recreational licenses ONLY if the money goes back into the DMF.

That logic is nonsense. I don't care what the demand is...you stop the fishing (which actually costs little) and squash demand completely.
Take the sb...I am sure there is a demand for sb in the winter but you can't buy it. (But I have some in my freezer). The demand be damned...you can't get sb for christmas in the store.


With regaurd to keeping the rec/comm limit at 2 fish and allow anyone to sell fish instead of the elite recs who comm-it for a month in the summer..why is that so silly? I am not a strong advocate of this but it makes more sence to me then allowing a few guys to take 40 and the rest take 2.

1) The season will last longer, at 1 or 2 fish per angler it is going to take longer to fill the quota.
2) The price will be higher per pound (you will not flood the market with fish)
3) More money will flow into the general economy because there will be more recs fishing (these are the folks who actually spend money..comms spend squat) buying more gear/bait ect...
4) the payout will be spread out among the people who are putting the most into the economy instead of the few who try to minimize what the spend and maximize what they take.
5) The enforcement structure will be simpler: 2 fish XX" period
keepem, sellem whatever.

Personally I am not in favor of any comm fishing for sb whatsoever but I think the above is far more fair then the screwy system they have now

You seem to amaze me. All you chatter about is the commercial end of it.

In the 60's it was the recreational [ sport or what ever you want to call yourself ] guy that caught and kept every 16" striper that they caught and caused the closing of the stripe bass fishery in the 70's

And if you listened to one individual you would think that he was a conservationest,but I recall in a past post under conservation he wanted to exterminate the Plover because one of his fishing spots was closed because of the nesting area.

Originally posted by Fly Rod
You seem to amaze me. All you chatter about is the commercial end of it.

In the 60's it was the recreational [ sport or what ever you want to call yourself ] guy that caught and kept every 16" striper that they caught and caused the closing of the stripe bass fishery in the 70's

Uhhhh I suppose the haul seine crowd and other uncontrolled netting in MD waters combined with their serious water quality problems in the spawning areas had nothing to do with it. I don't deny the rec's contributed to the problem...they have. But in large part this has been controlled by today’s standard. Limits are reasonable and there is a large and growing population of catches and release fishermen. On the commercial end however, limits are back to what they were pre crisis...and they are looking for increased limits and opening even more areas...I just call them like I see them.


Originally posted by Fly Rod

And if you listened to one individual you would think that he was a conservationist, but I recall in a past post under conservation he wanted to exterminate the Plover because one of his fishing spots was closed because of the nesting area.

I really don't want to exterminate anything. I would like to see some common sense when it comes to the bird and closing the entire beach because of one nesting pair. With all the effort that goes into caging, monitoring and protecting this bird, it would be better if it was moved to a different location...perhaps an island that IS a bird sanctuary. I think these plover folks are a little disingenuous...they stop all access to the beaches and complain about vehicles, but they don't say a word about people who have introduced predator species (skunks) on their own accord who have no natural enemies and end up consuming the plover. This is my gripe. It isn’t the trucks and the fisherman that is killing this bird and the research show it.. The birds are dying when no vehicles or people are in the area. This bird is never going to make it nesting on a populated island...either the people have to go or the bird has to be moved 5 miles away...I think they can handle that.

I'm going to have to jump in on this one. Sandman, you think commercial guys don't spend squat on bait and gear...?? Are you kidding me? You're average commercial guy is going to spend a-lot more on bait etc.... because he's making sure he has what he needs to bring in his catch.
Having recs bring in 2 fish to sell at the market is "I hate to say it, but stupid!". Now you have thousands of people who will have to know when you can sell them, who you can sell them too, and what size etc.......It would never work. So will the size limit be 34 inches Sun-Wed for commercial days, and 28 inches the rest of the week, confusing? Most people that go bass fishing aren't interested in selling them anyway. I'm not looking to get into a pissing match with anyone, but there is a-lot of other options out there than shuting down the commercial season for 10 years.

Rip,
Compared to what the rec's spend on equipment (and into the fishing and general economy)..yes commerical guys spend squat, that is a well known published fact.

With regard to the other issue...which I am sorry I ever mentioned it... I am more in support of just pulling the plug on the whole thing. But to support my statement, you already have thousands of people (recs mind you) with comm lic's...I think the number is 4500 or so, most of whom (according to the records), don't fish but hold a lic to fish. I don't see the problem...so you have more people trying to sell fewer fish over a longer period of time...it is not that complicated...You have hundreds of places to sell...even mom and pop resturants are listed as agents... Why is it so important to limit the number of licenses to a few special guys?
In fact using your logic, if fewer comm fisherman are better, then it would be in the best interest to have no rod and reelers and just a couple draggers take the quota in a few days to keep the paperwork simple...

Originally posted by Rip Runner
I'm going to have to jump in on this one. Sandman, you think commercial guys don't spend squat on bait and gear...?? Are you kidding me? You're average commercial guy is going to spend a-lot more on bait etc.... because he's making sure he has what he needs to bring in his catch.
Having recs bring in 2 fish to sell at the market is "I hate to say it, but stupid!". Now you have thousands of people who will have to know when you can sell them, who you can sell them too, and what size etc.......It would never work. So will the size limit be 34 inches Sun-Wed for commercial days, and 28 inches the rest of the week, confusing? Most people that go bass fishing aren't interested in selling them anyway. I'm not looking to get into a pissing match with anyone, but there is a-lot of other options out there than shuting down the commercial season for 10 years.

Sorry guys for my rambling. This is my last post on this topic. This subject just push's all my buttons and pisses me off.



E O M.

You still have to catch a fish that's 34" or better, for all the rec's with a commercial licence that's still a hurdle. Commercial fishing is legal and guys are trying to make a couple extra bucks doing what they love, and couple extra bucks does make a difference to some of us.

if your one of the good catchers of sb , your income can range between 18-20 thousand dollars for the 4-7 week season, who says fishing doesn't pay. I think you would find that if you could still get a fluke lisc. that alot of bassers would change over, fluke was or is paying twice per lb. than bass.

I lost My fluke lic steve when I stopped for 2 years:smash:
and Ya screw bass with that tag