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Despite the disagreements, I want to thank John R. for giving all of us a forum in which we can, in the end, agree to disagree, if that's what it comes to.
I do think it would be really beneficial if the Technical Committee would be out a paper explaining the whole Conservation Equivalency thing and the math that they used to come up with 1 @ 28-inches = 2 @ 33-inches when it comes to the number of bass killed overall. It certainly would move the discussion forward with some numbers from those who are going to make the decisions regarding states and/or user groups being allowed to fish at something other than the 1 @ 28.
I recall someone at the hearing at Mass. Maritime on the proposed new regulations pointing out that everything was fine when the moratorium was lifted and it was just one fish at a much higher limit that 28-inches. Since then, all we have done is fall down a slippery slope and I challenge anyone to prove that we have done the right thing in terms of striped bass management, mortality, conservation, or whatever you want to call it. Now we are offered plans that at best have a 50% chance of succeeding in bringing the spawning stock biomass up to where it should be.
Pretty sad stuff.
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