Quote:
Originally Posted by Rip Runner
Ducks Unlimited and Stripers Forever are much different organizations and please don't compare the two. Stipers forever has thier own agenda and one that I personally don't agree with, but it is a free country. I really wish you would focus your attention to Stripper's Forever, I think you would get a much better response.
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I would not say they are that different. The "More Game Birds Foundation" was the founding group for DU. There focus was to increase the numbers of birds for recreational hunting. Since commerical duck hunting was already outlawed, they did not have to get involved in that fight. When DU formed it's focus was preservation of wetlands but they also got very involved in duck hunting regulation. Their major focus is protection of the birds to ensure an on going hunting opportunity.
What DU has shown is that the recreational harvest of migratory birds has a far greater economic impact then commerical hunting could ever have hope to have achieved. That the recreational hunter is willing to spend money and support bag limits to protect a resource managed for them.
Maybe if the recreational fishermen would get their act together they would have a much larger voice in fishery regulations. Stripers Forever has it's faults but I think they are on the right track. Maybe in the end SF and the RFA will evolve into a DU type group.
To stem the shots. I grew up around commerical fisherman and I've fished for almost 50-years. I don't have a problem with commerical fishing but I do not believe they deserve any special protection or are owed anything. Fish should be managed in the best interest of the people from both an economic and human standpoint. Fish like stripers and fluke have a special value to the recreational fishermen from both standpoint and should be managed to the max for this purpose in my opinion.