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My first post here, so bear with me.
Short and sweet.
Recs...beach and boat
Headboats ( comm ) and patrons ( recs )
True commercials with licences to net or hook
Charters (comm ) with patrons (recs)
Charters with special tags ( different in each state )
And of course, the poachers
All of us have a stake in this getting fixed. Status quo will not get us there, nor will bogus "crumb like offerings" from ASMFC meant to appease us and not offend the commercials who have the best lobbies.
I went to my local meeting and heard a few commercials, lot's of recs and most of the charters all supportive of cutting the bag limit and quotas and increasing the size to 32". I also heard some ridiculous garbage from a few commercials who clearly don't care.
The funny thing is that the poachers did not show up to voice their opinion !
Like Bobber points out, there are too many one off occasions which the status quo guys rely on. One captain stood up a said there was a multiple acre body of large bass 45' think (down) on the Stellwagen Bank and another even larger body btween two buoys in the Race-BIS stretch. Maybe, but I have my doubts.
Everyone is catching less fish. Even the commercials are unable, through no lack of effort, to meet their quotas. Charters are simply seeing less action because no one wants to spend hundreds of dollars for a boat ride and some exercise. I have heard, second hand, that a few known poachers did not even put their boats in for the spring run. And yes a few recs can tell you they had a good night here and there, but not the usual 5-6 good nights past seasons held.
And with all the known issues affecting striped bass there is no protection being planned for the spawing periods in the Chessy or the Hudson which make up 95% of the breeding fish, not to mention that the minimum size limit in those locations are ludicrous.
All said, the plans proposed are said to have a 50% chance of success. That is scary.
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