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I must say that I am not jealous...as nor am I a conservationist.
I do not wish anyone a hardship.
The reason I am not jealous for a proposed variation in regs for
charters is simply because I nearly do not keep any fish. I keep one
or two a year....even when the stocks were healthy.
The reason i am not a conservationist...is simply because I continue
to target the fish that I believe are in decline. Even catch and
release has a negative footprint.
I release the fish I catch most of the time because I am lazy and like
eating other types of fish....not because I am on a crusade....or that
I think that I am a holy man.
There are a lot of surfcasters like me. To me its a sport not a food source.
I am a fisherman and I really enjoy catching striped bass. The quality
of fish and fishing I have experienced in my home and remote
waters has declined severely over the past 4 years. This year by far
the worst.
If i had my selfish way. There would be a moratorium now.
I don't like driving 2-3 hours to get skunked or catch schoolies, when
I used to have decent bass in my backyard. Its a sad situation.
Anything that can improve the stocks is worth effort in my eyes.
Hell, if it is to save the livelyhood of the charter business, I would
vote for no fish for anyone but the licensed charters and let the
charters take two per angler.
Arguing the subtly of the issue does not really matter much. One or
two fish....whatever. The charters that operate and practice illegal
catch and sale of striped bass will continue to do so. Its not like
anyone checks them when the pull into the harbor.
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