Quote:
Originally Posted by Nebe
Sounds like a great bill. I hope it passes.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device
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Except for:
1. The Commonwealth of MA has an established fisheries rulemaking process that includes the expert input of both it's Citizens, the MA Marine Fisheries Commission and The MA DMF. The management actions contained in H 796 should be vetted through that process so that peer reviewed science and vigorous public debate controlled by MEPA rules will ensure maximized public interaction be part of any proposed management action.
2. If the legislature is to set this precedent and begin including details of species management in legislation; anagement based on reacting to new and better data will be almost impossible to create. The uncertain amount of time it takes to move legislation through the State House process will cause all management actions to include large conservation buffers that will potentially limit access of the citizens to even a seemingly healthy resource such as Striped Bass.
3. An even more problematic result of the legislature getting into fisheries management details is the likely hood that at least one Commercial, Recreational and ENGO written bill will be introduced for each fisheries issue, and that can be dozens per year. The first three the MA Striped Bass Assn would like to introduce will be an "Act to Protect River Herring from at Sea Fishing Mortality", an "Act to Prevent Ecosystem Damage Caused by the Proliferation of Dogfish", and finally "An Act to Protect Atlantic Menhaden".
4. The already predicted scientific example of the proposed slot shows that this slot will cause a very large increase in Striped Bass fishing mortality as was seen when the same slot limit was enacted in the State Waters of Maine. When regulations allow anglers to harvest small, agressive and hungry juvinile fish the fishing mortality numbers rise sharply.
5. This legislation calls for all farm raised Stripers to bear a tag when displayed for sale. The measures contained in this legislation will cause a steep decline in the market for farm raised Striped Bass. There will be no need for farm raised Stripers if the ethnic populations that make up the majority of the farm raised Striped Bass market are able to harvest 20 inch fish from every bridge over every salt water estuary in the state."
this is a dangerous bill.
Just like the pogy bill, fisheries should not be managed by the legislature, period!