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Likwid, you seem to have done some research on this. Some people are concerned about the seals eating the bass and blues and decreasing the fish population that way. In reality, the seals are eating the same food as the gamefish. They feed on menhaden, alewives, herring, and mackerel along with other bait fish and squid, clams and crustaceans. The competition for food is what is driving the fish away, mostly offshore. The stripers and blues being picked off of someone's line are only taken because they are easy prey for the seals. And fishermen do spend money on the cape. Stop into a 24 hour Dunkin Donuts or c-store in the middle of the night. Check out the parking lots of motels and look for trucks with trailers. Look at the boats on trailers being filled up at gas stations all over the cape. Now, I know that tourism is always going to be #1 on the cape. But, if fishermen chose to band together and use their combined voice about this and other issues (better discussed in other threads), they would at least raise awareness. As for the west coast, the inshore fishing has gotten worse over the years. Maybe it's because the seals have eaten a lot of the bait. Then, the seals move on because they are looking for food. Seals have a very large range and can travel far. They stop and take up residence where food is plentiful. Until they decimate the bait stocks around here, we will not see them going anywhere.
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