[Mr. Sandman]

OK, Here we go....

Originally posted by MakoMike
First of all, I don not have and no one related to me has a license to sell striped bass, in any way shape or form. Yet, contrary to some believes I still support a commercial atriped bass fishery. I'd like to correct some misstatements;
1) the recreational striped bass fishery is economically more important than the commercial fishery.
That's true, but only on an overall basis, because the recreational fishery kills far more bass than the commercial fishery. On a fish by fish basis the commercial fishery has to be more economically important, if the commercials are fishing rod & reel they have to spend roughly the same amount as the recreationals, for bait fuel, etc. plus there is the economic activity generated by the sale of the bass.

Not so, It has been estimated that recs spend and PUT INTO THE ECONOMY $600 PER LB of bass caught... The comm market lasts for 3,4 or 5 weeks and serves a VERY small percentage of the general public. Any economic benifit to general public is so small it can't even be measured by comparison. Sure a few "comm" sb fisherman make a couple bucsk during the summer but the harm to the local sb population is not worth it. There was an interesting article in the paper not to long ago about wholesalers who are closeing their doors forever because "this is no longer a viable buisness". One in Particular was in Menemsha. There is little money in the fishing business anymore.

Originally posted by MakoMike
2) 40 fish per day vs 1 fish per day. Would recreational fishermen be happy if their limit was also 40 fish per day but the entire fishery was shut down once a quota was met? Of course not! Look at the facts, recreatinal fishermen catch 4 times the amount of fish as the commercials, its just that the commecials catch all of their fish in a shorter period of time.

Lets be sane about this. If there was NO cash available legal or illegal for the striped bass, what rec would WANT 40 fish? I am geared up to catch, store and consume fish, probably far more then most. I have 3 big stand alone freezers (2 chests and 1 stand up) in my home. I eat and give away to family and friends A LOT of fish and frankly I doubt I it take home 40 bass per YEAR, no less per day. Most fisherman just enjoy fishing and takeing a few home, some don't even do that.

Originally posted by MakoMike
3) Stripers forever is some sort of pure organization that has no self serving interest. Who do you think gives stripers forever the big money? Sportfishing businesses that's who. You really think they are getting by on $25 donations, I have a bridge to sell you Its all about money, its just that on the recreational side the money goes to the business that sell stuff to the recreational fishermen, while on the commercial side, most look at the money the fishermen themselves make.

"Who do you think gives stripers forever the big money?"...Big money?, you are way off the mark here....these guys are BROKE they have NO BIG MONEY, they sell some decals for a few bucks to developme web sites and alike, this is not big money organization...unlike commerical fishing and political lobbies.
THIS IS NOT ABOUT MONEY FOR THEM...they HAVE NO MONEY and WILL NOT GET MONEY IF THEIR GOALS ARE REACHED.
In a word, this is about taking the price off the bass's head and KEEPING the fish around FOR ALL PEOPLE TO ENJOY RECREATIONALLY. Not for a few to put 20-30K in their pockets during 5 weeks in the summer.

Originally posted by MakoMike
4) constantly increasing commercial quotas. that's pure bull. Look at the facts, the commercial quota has increased ONCE, since the stock fully recovered and that increase only brought the commercials back to where they were before the original restrictions were put in place. If you look at the long term the commercial quota hasn't increased in the last 20 years.

Not so, the qouta went up something like 42% last year and it went up the year before that...and they are seeking a larger quota this year as well as opening up more area to fish. Smells like greed to me. True last years quotas are now "finally" back to the PRE-CRISIS days and they think they are being shortchanged.
During the PRE-CRISIS days I think the rec limits were 16" size and unlimted take...you want to head in that direction?

Originally posted by MakoMike
5) The fish are a public resource. True, so why should the 99.9% of all american that don't fish for striped bass be deprived of the ability to enjoy them on the table? From an economics point of view all the commercial fishermen are doing is providing a service for the non-fishing public by catching the fish and deliverying them to their table. So now tell me why .1% of the population should be entitiled to 100% of a public resource?

I guess it depends on your perspective. I see the .1% as the commerical sb fisherman and I ask you: "why .1% of the population should be entitiled to 100% of a public resource?"

There are PLENTY of other OFFSHORE species that can provide food for the masses. The 99.9% of the people are not all lined up at the store waiting to buy the tasty sb...it aint that good. The small population that is served sb during the 23 days in the summer when it is for sale are for some vacationers who could just as well be eating a scup or a swordfish. What pains me is while in a fancy resturant in VA recently I had ordered a seafood entre that included rockfish. A 9" sb with the skin on was put in front of me. I could not eat it. This was a 9" commerically caught striped bass. It made me sick even to see that. We need COAST-WIDE regulation not this biased state by state crap that is doing little.

Originally posted by MakoMike
)IMHO the recreational catch should be subject to quotas just like the commercial catch is. It should be measured and the fishery shut down if the recreational catch exceeds the quota.

IT IS and it HAS BEEN! That is why they a) have limits and b) have shut it down in the past. I also think the rec take numbers are WAY WAY off as most fishermen I see release fish. That number is SO subjective and week it can't be used.

Bottom line: IMO this world does not NEED sb as a commerical fish. It provides more benifit to ALL as a sport fish. Just because you can take them does not mean you should.


Mark my words, in my lifetime, SB WILL become obtain game fish (or some non-commerical) status. This is really gaining steam now and it will happen via a politcal move squashing these biased boards which currently favor the haresting of bass to the max.



Now...all that said, I actually have a SB comm lic. I have not sold a sb since 1981 but I have a lic to do it. (I buy it for several reasons...policing support is one of them)
I think the states and the comm biased boards are providing an incentive to convert rec's to comm sb fisherman by offering cheap lic's and "easy money" for a few weeks at the expense of a great fish, so that they can get what they want passed with LITTLE OR NO POLICING EFFORTS. Most of these guys out there comm fishing are guys that never comm fished for anything in thier lives don't know a friggin thing about it and just want to take a lot of bass and and help pay for their boating expenses. This is wrong.
With reguard to policing: How many arrests were made and what were the penelties. Very FEW and very Little is the answer. If you are going to have a comm industry you better police it.

I am trying to show my kids the beauty of the fish and its surroundings and the great memories that are created with family and friends when one lets them go to catch again some day. It is not about how many and how much!

Sorry about al the typos..I type fast and don't look back on these boards...esp when I rant!!
Peace!