|
The management of the striper fishery has been dominated by the catering to the party boat industry. I used to go to the meetings in the late 90's and despite the near collapse of the fishery just a decade before , the meetings were a joke. There would be 60 fisherman there. 45 recs and 5 coms and 10 party boat owners. The whole meeting then became the 10 party boat guys yelling and trying to intimidate the lone rec guy with the balls to speak up. Then the committees got overloaded with com and party boat supporting members and we ended up with 2 fish at 28". What a ridiculous limit! All so the party boat customers could be all but guaranteed to take home a fish thus making sure the party boat owners would fill their boats with stupid fisherman who cared zero about the sport or the fishery.
So now the science looks bad for the fishery and despite the science we are still at the party boat friendly limit of 2 at 28. What a ridiculous limit! You don't need to be a scientific genius to know that is a ridiculous limit..
So anyway , I stopped going to the meetings so I wouldn't be put in the position of having to punch the lights out of some party boat loudmouth who was getting in the face of anyone who said the limit should be reduced.
Yes I know this finger pointing at party boat owners (and coms and the politicians they support) is always labeled as divisive and how we should work together to solve the over fishing but you know what , its all a lie. The people who care about the fishery are always going to be bullied at meetings and talked down by the boisterous people who are in the game for money. At the bottom of it all is that as long as there is money to be made on striper fishing , the fishery will be in danger. Money and fisheries management simply don't mix. Get the money out of striper fishing and there will be instant fishery management targeted at a thriving stock , not at keeping every money grubber along the coast in greenbacks.
Oh , did I say 2 @28" is a ridiculous limit?
So go ahead and call me whatever you want. I won't respond because anybody who has been in the sport since the limit was 1@36 knows that behind every argument against conservation is a guy who is making money off the fishery.
|