[MAKAI]

In a nut shell the main focus of all concerned is this.

The YOY of the current 110 million pounds of female striped bass is the same as when the total abundance of female striped bass was 40 million pounds.

Of course the bass are above the threshold BUT something is up.

It would behoove all of us to pay attention to this, It now takes 3 times the amount of spawning bass to yield the same YOY as it normally took.

Female biomass has dropped 20% since 2004.

75% of all bass spawn in the Chesapeake.
70% of that is infected with Mycobacteriosis, (a bacterium of a group that includes the causative agents of leprosy and tuberculosis ) not sure of fatality numbers.

All this I got from ASMFC paperwork that they gave out at their public meeting.

We would be myopic to think the abundance of NOW is sustainable as the years go on.

If we can stop acting like our congress we just might be able to get something accomplished.