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Look--the managers are doing nothing but adhere to the management standards that have applied since the bass were declared to be fully recovered.
And that is to manage it on the basis of allowing "maximum sustainable yield". With a target mortality of F = .30, whatever that means in terms of mortality numbers.
That's the mandate that ASMFC has, and that's the way the law mandates that it has to be managed.
Nobody cares about bycatch, nobody cares about disease mortality, and noboody cares about predation.
That is the hard and fast reality.
Mortality restrictions have to come from above. The management philosophy has to change.
If that makes these meetings just a dog and pony show, with the outcome pre-ordained, well, that's the way it is.
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