[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Fisherwoman

JohnnyD< not disagreeing that some people may not report, but if they get caught not turning in reports every month, they get a notice on non-compliance, which will revoke their permits. So they have to at least report something, if they get boarded, they better have all their permits in check as i have been boarded several time and they have gone thru to make sure they have it all in check.

Exactly my point. They just have to report *something*. There isn't any practical method for oversight to confirm accurate reporting. Thus, there's nothing preventing people from reporting 4 fish kept and 8 released when really the boat maxed out.

As far as fish getting skinnier and that being the cause, way off base, the bass we have caught over the past 5-6 years have been healthier and heavier than any bass we have seen in a long time, weight VS lenght by far,and that is because of the pogies which are finally getting up this far north as they are the most nutrishes meal a bass can have.

The above is the biggest issue with the "Fisherman's argument" and can be seen throughout the boards. The whole argument of "Well that's not my experience so it isn't the case." Personally, I caught my first 30# this year, and multiple 30# fish and they were all very fat. On the other hand, a lot of people I've talked to have said they are catching more and more racers. My understanding is that the old adage used to be "50 gets you 50" and I've talked to a few people that have landed 50"+ fish that didn't come close to 50#.

ONe fact you can not argue about is if the gillnetters had not come in last year and netted all the pogies up in the inside of Boston harbor as well as north harbors from Boston We would have had a much better season a great fall run no doubt about it.

Certainly wouldn't argue that the netters are destroying schools and issues with bait are probably the second biggest risk to the striped bass.

As far as commerical catch only being by weight, an average 34 inch fish will go around 15 lbs to a max of 18 lbs and yes they are breeding fish, but the issue with fish right now is not the bigger bass my friend it is the smaller bass that are coming up short. So how can you blame a commercial guy for that!!! Yes they are breeder fish but at least they have had a chance to bread unlike a recreational fish at 28 inches.

Yes Seals need to be delbt with but in the harbor you can count on 1 hand how many seals are around, unlike the cape.

How is the issue with smaller fish? According to the latest reports, the biomass of smaller fish is increasing.

I don't buy the "at least they've had a chance to breed" argument. The latest stock assessment has demonstrated that the biomass of fish over 8 years old is way down. How could that be? Because the biggest, healthiest fish are the ones being targeted. The latest assessment reports are also showing that the commercial take could be very understated. So, the commercial take is over 50% and commercials tend to target the biggest, healthiest fish. Seems like a good cause for the biomass of 8+ year old fish to be going down.

There's also no denying that as you target bigger fish, you're killing a significantly higher percentage of breeder females.