Getting back to one of your questions,,,
Paul, .....IMO,,, the only way I see this happening ..would be if
every single rec. fisherman was totally honest and took the time to record and report every single outing.
not going to happen, not in my lifetime anyways.
This number will always be a GUESS. Whether it's well educated or not, it will always be a guess.
Sure, it's nice to sit behind a screen reading posts written by guys who care....it's even nicer to imagine that everyone that fishes releases properly, doesn't take more than their share, yada yada yada....but it's not reality.
Do we need Official Conservation groups? ABSOLUTELY!!!
Do we need laws controlling us? ABSOLUTELY!!
Being a level-headed individual, I just don't buy the numbers being presented to me, that's all. It's a guess at best. ((Did I say that already?))
The following is a quote taken from the Sept. 3
rd, 2009 Fisherman mag. #36 New England Edition:
"Saltwater recreational anglers took an estimated 85 million fishing trips in 2008, down slightly from the 93 million trips estimated in 2007. Saltwater anglers caught an estimated 464 million fish in 2008, down slightly from the 475 million caught in 2007. That the decreases were moderate reflects stability in saltwater angling"
I'm sure some of the guys on here who
say they fish 7 nights a week drove this number up...
But seriously, Were any of you involved in this count? I sure the hell wasn't. How accurate can these numbers be? Would a report like this presented to a politician be persuasive in some way?
.....or maybe..
We'll come up with some reports, reports that WILL incorporate facts from every corner of the Atlantic. Facts that we will present in the manner that we'd like them to vote, and pray for the best. Primitive thinking on my part?
,,, but again, JMO......
BTW.......is it winter already???
