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Look, I have to admit I don't know it all and I am not in touch with all the details on this subject anymore but I have formed my (bitter) opinions over the years as most fisherman have. Frankly I have lost interest in this subject and think that most fishermen hope someone else will watch over the fish.
That said here is my 2 cents: (AND IS ONLY MY OPINION BASE ON MY PERSONAL EXPERINCES)
I don't dispute the method is better or worse then the prior years.... just inconsistent and not "good science" to compare this measurement directly to prior years and say it things are better. The fact remains, if no change were made to the accounting system the current status of the species would be different then what is declared. This seems somewhat suspicious to me and demonstrates poor management.
I don't belong to sf but do agree with some (not all) of their thinking. I would like to see a move towards game fish status for sb...IMO the bass deserves it. I think it is a special species and is more important as a rec only fish. I also think other things need to change too (like baitfish management)
As for the current managers... I am sure they face all kinds of pressures I am unaware of but how many years have they been "managing” with pathetic results. Look at the codfish? The species never recovered like it was and is now deemed over fished yet again. How is this possible with management? Herring...same thing, I can tell you it is not the guy taking 12 herring at the runs twice a week for a couple months in the spring...I have a feeling it is the pair trawlers taking tons at a time at sea (not to mention the dead bass bycatch they toss back that don't (but should) go against the comm quota). Further south, what about weakfish? They use to allow netting of spawning fish in bays 4-6' deep, knock the price down to nothing and wonder why the fish disappears. They still allow trawlers to mow the sounds and scrape every living thing, cull out what they want and shovel the dead discard overboard. Winter flounder...I doubt it was the rod and reelers that damaged these stocks. Good thing they rescued the spiny dogfish though...Yeah...I guess you could say I have a problem with the managements logic.
IMO the primary problem is they are trying to get the maximum yeild from each species yet their data is deeply flawed as they really don't know how many fish are caught, released or killed and how successful the spawn is ...it is a guess at best and the error could be huge. Whenever you have a problem like this it is best err on the safe side and not try to sqeeze the resource for everything its worth. Moreover I think they need to look at the total problem, not one species at a time. True, the bass moratorium increased the number of bass 10 fold....but did they increase their food source 10 fold at the same time? It begs the question: How smart are these guys?
I am not against comm fishing, it is just I don't think it should be allowed to take spawning fish (at all. ever) nor commercially work the young fish habitat where they seek protection. Recs can be regulated as needed and still make the huge social contribution to the fishing related businesses. Keep the netters well offshore.
Lastly, I think the scientists and management could do a MUCH better job of explaining what is happening to the public, not just to the fishery boards which issue (mis)information blurbs to support the status quo.
Lets just say I think there is a lot of room for improvement in the area of fishery related management
Wanna talk about seal protection and all the "good" this is doing?
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