[afterhours]

Originally Posted by Mr. Sandman

In my view I find it illogical and almost immoral to have a comm fishery on a species that is declining in numbers, having forage, breading and health issues. Nothing can justify this IMO. Comm fishing segment should be the first to be shut down when a fishery is heading for trouble. Regardless of who is catching what. Moreover if you want to talk about uncounted or inaccurate fish in terms of numbers, look no further than the comm industry. The discard numbers + black market + high grading numbers are insane, Further, the rec numbers include RELEASED fish. Rec kill is a fraction of what it was in years past.

As far as gamefish goes... it is inevitable and it will happen much sooner than you think. It is the best way to protect the species from exploitation...take the $ off this fishes head directly. Yeah you can go catch them from charter boats but there is little incentive to fill your cockpit with them anymore. (Just because you can doesn't mean you should. We should not protect the jobs of comm fisherman just because this is what they chose to do, do what is right for the species and let the chips fall where they may. ENOUGH with this maximum yield theory.

The answer is very simple:

Gamefish status
1 @ 36 rec fishing (with C&R only... if needed)
Aggressive restoration of all forage species