I am not trying to fight or say that I am in any way for or against it, but I haven't been able to figure out how gamefish status alone is the saving grace when 90% of annual harvest is attributed to the recreational sector. I see this fix thrown around a lot, but unless I am missing something the math simply doesn't add up.

If you need to sell bass to fish you need a different job my man unless you are a licensed commercial. The commercial guys are not the problem either.

Thousands of charter boats x 3 to 5 people, multiply that times 2 times a day. I think that could be contributing to the problem. 28 to 35 will hopefully give the stocks a chance to replenish. We all need to do our share.

Thanks my good man!!

last night we turned in a 5 page petation [sp]

& ones that missed will follow with e- mails .some of us do both & go to the meetings :wid:

God I have been saying this since 2009. Moratorium or Game Fish status. And Eben, you're right, anyone who doesn't agree is selling.

A HUGE issue is lack of enforcement. Make all the rules you want. If they are not enforced only the people who care will follow them and for the most part they are NOT the problem.

Toby/Mike/HH,

What were the options discussed? I'd like to email comment, but I am guilty of not being in attendance (ever).

RI currently has three options as follows:

• 1 fish, 28 - <35, OR
• 1 fish, 32 - <40 for all, OR
• Split mode 1 fish, 32 - <40 private/shore and 1 fish, 30 - <40 for-hire

Here is a write-up I did on where each states stands, recreaitonally, from ME to VA: http://www.thefisherman.com/index.cf...3&ParentCat=19.

What about the people that are taking fish to put on the table? Any fish market you go to would love to have stripe bass to sell at 14 to 20.00 a pound because people happen to like it. I think it is a great tasting filet if the fish is 10 to 14 or 16 pounds. On that basis it would sadden me to see a moratorium, unfortunately I think we might damn well end up there. Option 3,1 fish 28 to 35 is the best option being offered. I would still like to see a "holy grail slot" 48" and above with a split mode weight limit. So I guess I don't agree, and like I said before I released in the neighborhood of 50 fish last season that were above 35"

Who ever is selling fish to restaurants is going to keep doing it. It was and will continue to be illegal, no slot limit or moratorium is going to stop them. We need much stronger enforcement and harsher penalties to stop that.

^^^ This
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

^^^ This, too
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If game fish status prevents anything other than an illegal harvest, doesn't that in and of itself help protect the breeders and also narrow the focus of enforcement? All you need to do is look at the success FL has had and I can't see a negative to game fish status, other than the commercials who probably can't make a living off stripers at this point anyway.

toby , at the workshop it looked like a charterboat setup … we were told that we had to be in line with NY & cONN & was going to be one of 3 options ..& they were all 3o,s to 40 no options /chance of28 -35 .
then something happened going to the store ,,,,,,, everyone /other state went 28-35 " so we has the 3 options that were posted above ……………………...It basically was the rec & tackle shops going for 28 to 35 & a room full on charter boats saying the world will end if they don,t get the 30-40 ………………………………. which would put every fisherman from the rest of the world that wants a fish bigger then 35 crashing RI /leaving a pile of floaters & if DEM would enforce the another pile of violations ………
not much on ri commercial . we had worked it out at the workshop. it was a 3 way choice on less day s & less or status quo on fish ,,,,,,,,,,,, we settled for 4. day 5 fish with 3 days off ……..its either going to be F,S,S or T,F,S

the rest both commercial were kinda as expected . one rec fisherman asked why they can,t move up the sea bass dates .to earlier in June so they have a chance at them in the bay / which I 100% agree . but that not going to happen …………… pretty much everything else was as expected but rec & commercial ….if I missed anything / please chime in > you see the e-mail above ..voice your option ><> its pretty much common sense .but you have a [for hire ]group that they plead / yet they have exceptions for every species except stripers …………… they want their own rules ……… but also comm rules ….because a large majority of the have commercial licenses ><>< I could see this over [woman] but fish:fishslap:

no matter what changes that are made .the fish are in trouble ………………….. modification can keep up with realty ………………………………………. there are more & more people fishing , newer & better fishing gear & elctronics , F/F GPS ect &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& there never will be enough fish ………………….. are is there really global warming :eyes:

Again, not totally opposed just still not seeing the math here. So you end commercial (which, by the way, I have never been a part of) then you add a full 10% more fish back into the sea. Sure that's great, but are we just 10% off of having an ocean filled with bass? No, not in the least. Keep in mind that poaching is not commercial and it is not recreational as it's not accounted for in any way, shape or form as the ASMFC sates they have no way to calculate it.

As for the Florida comparison, it's like comparing apples to pineapples; sure they're both fruit (or maybe vegetables, I'm not sure what a pineapple really is :) )and both have the word apple in them, but how they grow, reproduce, are harvested and so on is very different.

Didn’t Florida make Tarpon a C&R only ?
Not that any of this matters much anymore, the oceans are kinda FKed anyway.
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You can’t even take tarpon out of the waterz
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I am trying to recall any fishery-- freshwater trout, the Lake O fishery, Atlantic salmon, LMB, FL snook, giant grouper, etc.,-- that have been destroyed, degraded, or not enhanced by ELIMINATING commercial sale, trade, or commercial harvest of the species?

Take the money off the table. If this is done, fisheries management of the so-called "recreational sector" individuals will tolerate and indeed even self enforce just about any level of restriction right up to, and even including, no harvest, or moratorium if necessary. We did exactly this once before.

There should be no special carve outs for any individual angler. Effective fishery management must speak to the individual-- and not to groups-- commercial, charter boat, etc. The carve-out special interests do all the bickering.

Who said the recreationals are the reason for the striper downfall, and the commercial industry is faultless? Not by my definition.

I’m pretty sure most mates and even captains are keeping one a day to sell. Plus all those charter guests are taking them to either eat, give away or sell. Heck.looking back 10 or so years ago, a top dog charter captain/guide would let his son take his boat out every night and load her up to sell...
I was so disgusted I just quit surfcasting... corruption is not just a government problem. It’s also a problem when the people who are most vocal, published and making endorsements are also selling their catch. When a dude is stacking 6 20 pound bass in the bushes to sell every day, that is a pretty high paying job, don’t you think ??

Sorry for the rant.
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High profile poaching must be dealt with in a more forceful and finite manner. Gear, boats, and vehicles should be confiscated. Not that it is rite but an extra fish here and there is one thing and the fine should be stiff enough to make someone think twice, outrite pouching is a whole different story.

Just for clarification 28" to 35" no split mode is option 3. It is listed first above. Option 2 was the split mode option I believe, and option 1 was 32 to 40 for all.

You can email your choice to

RI Department of Environmental Management
ATTN: Peter Duhamel
3 Fort Wetherill Road
Jamestown, RI 02835
peter.duhamel@dem.ri.gov

Again if you want to keep the fishery open 28" to 35" is our best shot.

Do what ever is needed to protect the bass but just catch limits wont work alone. bass food sources like pogies and herring and mackerel also need attention
And climate change

They all have small effects on stocks , but combined are a huge threat

And the current Administration actions of interfering in sentencing off a felon and removing regulations just for mythical short term economic gains is also a real danger . To fish stocks

on the topic of poaching and enforcement,

I realize that they are short staffed with officers, but I have seen them in very common poaching areas, while its happening, and doing nothing. If an officer working in RI doesn't know WHERE poaching often occurs, and how to spot the signs of it, then what good are they?
I have said this before... If I had a badge and a ticket book, you give me one day per week and I will write up so many LEGIT violations you could balance the state budget by the end of the summer. I have given up calling in violations, because the response time is counted in hours (if at all). They should hire a single designated "poaching/regulation violation" officer...I mean a real pit bull that hands out real violations, and word will spread fast. Lets be honest, we all know what parts of the highway you definitely cant speed on...tell me why that is?

Sent an email this morning (1 fish 28"-35"). If a lazy SOB like me can do it, well... anyone can.

do what JOe F did .send a e/mail t=it will really help ..they do read them // if the 30 -40 gets & RI is the only state that has it …………………… everyone , rec, charters, commercial from al;l the states will turn RI into a larger cluster F uck than before ………&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& there will be more floaters then in a rubber duck race ,.<>

They do read them and respond. Heard from them today

there you go …….now what is everyones excuse ???????

you saw how many charter captains were there <><

I’d say most comments came from charter guys here tonight..

https://www.mass.gov/doc/010820-scop...ional/download

Someone has to come up with a reliable system to collect data both com and rec,,, especially rec. me thinks....

What is a real joke is they tried to base some things on the data of outings for surf and boat. It is almost impossible to get skunked by boat. In the surf it is common to get skunked and even more common when you do get into fish to not get a legal fish. If you can not get a legal fish by boat you are just not trying hard enough in my very humble opinion.

Things should be based on a catch report, not an outing report.