[BassDawg]

Slot Limits are great and have been proven to work
for many different species, both N and S of the Mason-Dixon.

the biggest problem is with enforcement.

FL has a Zero Tolerance hammer they can throw down on
fishery offenders that allows them to take EVERYTHING attached
to the poached fish, plus fine the offender. still, when i fished there i heard of some of the "crackers" taking as many as ten reds per person in the late 80's. these guys where oblivious to the status of the fishery, grew up with the rangers, and the rest is the seeds of corruption.

none of that goes on in RI or MA, right?

hell we can't even stop the various foreign contingents from
raping the scup, fluke, and striped bass ~yes stripers~ fisheries from NJ to NH, now!!!

perhaps a liscense and stamp system to go with a slot and gamefish status would be the FIXES we need to legislate in order insure the future health of our beloved prey. although it seems like over regulation and steep prices to pay by some of us, what is the price of telling our grandkids that they'll have to wait until they're in their 30's to catch the poundage we caught in the mid 2000's??

i also agree with JohnR, in that, by protecting the forage we will serve to protect the fishery AND ~i will add~ begin to assist the bays and estuaries in their recoveries. you can cite global warming, mass population/pollution, and the cyclical nature of our seas/earth; however, a moratorium on menhaden for 3 to 5 years would do wonders for the Atlantic food chain and could significantly impact the biostatus of our precious estaurine systems. how could it not have a more positive effect than the staus quo??

does anyone think that we'll ever see the Great Silver Balls again??
i choose to believe that it's NEVER too late, and realize that it is up to our generation to take a proactive stance towards the preservation of both the fishery and the mighty Atlantic.