Quote:
Originally Posted by Mike P
Wouldn't it be nice for the guys who fish for a living to be able to sell bass in June and September, maybe even into October? Eliminate the recs from selling fish, and you'd be able to actually make money from selling bass.
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I think it is more complicated than people realize. The commericial value of striped bass actually diminishes as the price goes up, even while the "value" of the landings goes up. The lower the price, the greater the value to the economy. When striped bass is cheaper than alternative food sources, people can spend less of their income on food and more on other economic goods. When striped bass is expensive, buying it reduces spending in other areas of the economy. It gets pretty complex, but suffice it to say that as far as the nonfishing public is concerned, their interests are best served by glutting the market and driving prices low (which is why abundant stocks are a priority). Whether current fishery managers consider this when establishing fishing regulations, I'm unsure.
While on the topic, as I understand it the recreational argument that the value of the sport fishery is the sum of angler expenditures is also bogus. Most of us spend a lot on our hobby, but if that hobby didn't exist we would spend the same on something else. The money spent on fishing tackle does create some additional jobs, taxes, and multiplier effects....and that is where the actual value of recreational fishing lies, but it is nowhere near as large as we like to think.