Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Mike P
The Mass quota is 1.1 million pounds. With a 34" minimum limit. All of those fish have spawned at least once. Unlike the 22" slot fish some folks are allowed to keep. The entire coast-wide quota for commercials is about 6 million pounds. Recreational mortality is estimated at 28 million pounds. That's a 4.5:1 ratio of dead fish in favor of recs. You could also focus some of your anger at the recs in the Proud to be a Gamefish State of New Jersey who killed more 30#plus fish in a 6 week stretch from June until mid July than will hit the markets in Mass all commercial season. You don't hear the Mass and RI guys complaining about not getting a chance to catch those fish that never made it past NJ, do you?
The biomass of striped bass in the North Atlantic is estimated at 40-50 million fish. Maybe 50,000 to 60,000 fish are killed commercially in Mass before the quota is met. Plus, the season in Mass doesn't open until the week after JUly 4th. Those fish off the Elizabeths, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and off the backside, aren't making the trek to Maine after that date. They're resident fish, not migratory by that point. So, the Mass commercial season has little, if any, effect on your fishing.
|
Gotta say I may stand corrected on this one. Thanks for not going over the top with your response. I had just seen catch rates improve in years past after tight regulations have been put in place. I guess that my thinking on the comm. fishery may be flawed.
