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Just some points:
1. Agree with Jay, there are a ton of fish "out further", BUT, the surf casters have seen an overall decline in catching.
2. The decline in shore fish probably has to do more with other factors - where does the bait go (sand eels are not burying themselves close to shore at the end of the Cape anymore), changes in bottom configuration and current flow, dare I say "seals", and some even believe the outflow pipe has affected the water in our area (???).
3. The data - does show a decline, maybe not to pre-set "we must act" levels, but if it is declining and seems to be on a trend, why not act now? Make some changes to try and reverse the trend.
4. The HAMMER does not have to come down crazy - but as a pretty active charter captain, making the limit 1 per person is not that big a deal, and I'll leave the size determinations to the scientists. I have seen way too many fish taken - and we keep telling our customers "that will be a lot of fillets" and they keep saying "we'll eat it" and at the end of the trip they look at the pile of fillets and say "do you guys want any, there's too much for us".
Not an easy issue for sure, but my vote would be for some moderate changes in both the recreational side and "commercial" side.
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