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Originally Posted by The Dad Fisherman
I don't think it has anything to do w/ party lines....
Its more of a "What's important to me IS Important, and what's important to you...is not" mentality. People immediately start head-butting and get absolutely nowhere.
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I'd support an increase if there was any reliable science. However, the science does not demonstrate that the striped bass population is thriving enough to take on a large increase of pressure from Comms. Some of the commercial arguments I've seen have essentially been "woes me" type positions or arguments that there isn't good science to show the stocks are at risk (while ignoring that the science doesn't show that they are thriving either).
When issues with regards to regulation come up on these forums, the majority of commercials that post basically have a position of "cut the recs and increase our quota" - just look at the tuna thread or the thread about the SF bill.
Hell, even the damn proposal by ASMFC re-enforces my above point:
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The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors.
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There are two ways to improve the equality - reduce the rec limits or increase the comm quota. One of those methods is beneficial to the long-term health of the fish population and the other is demonstrative of the ways ASMFC is an impotent regulation body and continually buckles to pressure from the commercial sector.