|
Not from what we've been told . . . part of it is the gillnetting and cast netting in coastal waters and other stuff, but one of the things they are opening for discussion is purse seining. There is a meeting planned over here on the island to have a discussion about these issues and the possibility of making a striped bass a gamefish (I'm not talking about the federal water bill Bush passed), meaning no commercial fishing on bass . . . federal waters or not.
If this is true (about the purse seining), the DMF of Massachusetts will only reaffirm how asinine the state truly is. We need more limits on bunker not annihilation. It's not just menhaden in MA. Menhaden everywhere need more regulation. And once MA opens purse seining in federal waters, you don't think that will affect bunker in CT and RI.
As far as bass is concerned, I don't care either way, but if I had my choice they wouldn't make it a gamefish, but strictly reduce the amount of bass caught per day and the quota. I'm sure we can all say we know a lot of people who like striped bass, but don't fish and their only means to getting a bass is in the market or at a restaurant. I don't think that should disappear, rather more restricted. And as a MA resident, put an end to out-of-staters buying commercial permits.
|