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Anybody else notice?, that in every single . . .
. . . saltwater fishing magazine/publication that I read, every one has an article or something on the plight of just about every species of fish. I spent the winter reading every single saltwater fishing magazine at the bookstores, free of course, and the number of articles that spoke about how much in decline the states of the various fisheries are just all look so very bleak. There is so much about closures, limits, low catches, almost no fish has been spared.
The short list of things that are in trouble, have been in trouble or are doomed;
Flounder, I used to catch these things from every Cape Cod bridge back in the 70's and 80's and now no more. Did there used to be party boats in Lynn and Salem and all over that area that would actually take people out and catch fish? Was Quincy once the Flounder capitol of the world?
Cod, none from shore, limits have been raised, a guy in the tackle shop asked me just last week, "What are you fishing for?" "Cod." "You can't fish for those right now." and he proceeds to pull the pamphlet of the 2006 regulations where in print it says that the limit was 10 all year long at 22", I'm not sure what his point was to show me the paper.
Then there is the talk of the flounder, the fluke, even scup and in Florida the Grouper are now off limits, fewer bluefin tuna and all tuna and all the billfish along with sharks, then of course the herring and menhaden with an article in the in-fisherman about RI and the menhaden/pogies, Salmon, where does it all end?
Sometimes I wonder why I even bought a new boat, to catch the last fish maybe? I wonder if anyone else puts it all together and wonders . . .
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