CT bill to allow commercial striped bass fishing

[MakoMike]

Proposed Bill No. 5506:


AN ACT ALLOWING COMMERCIAL FISHING FOR STRIPED BASS.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:

That title 26 of the general statutes be amended to declare striped bass a predatory fish that is harmful to other species and to allow commercial fishermen to take a limited number of striped bass using conventional tackle, but not by the use of purse seine nets or similar equipment.

Statement of Purpose:

To help balance the diversity of sea life in Long Island Sound.


Referred to Committee on Environment

Introduced by:

REP. ROY, 119th Dist.

[DZ]

I can already see the dollar signs in their eyes.

DZ

[tattoobob]

I would say this is taking a couple of steps backwards

[smac]

One of the dumbest things I have read. "predatory?" what fish isnt predatory in one way or another?

[smac]

Luckily it's just a proposal.

Although getting rid of the PIA stripers would be a relief. They get in the way of me catching bluefish.

[Clammer]

WOW :: I CAN,T REMEMBER THE LAST TIME THEY WERE OPEN ;; I knon when we fished Fisher,s they could buy but not fish in Conn .

That would be a cluster f $%^&*( to control >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>B/T to watch Hill Reefs To Fishers to Montuck > all other states water ........ but not if you can get them into Conn.

Fisher,s & the reefs 10 -12 minutes ........ Holy S #$%^&*

[PaulS]

I called Rep Roy yesterday and talked for a few min. w/him. The lobster guys in his town have his ear. They b. and moan and blame the shortage on lobsters on everything but their over harvest. They got $ a few year back when they blamed pesticides that were sprayed for the West Nile virus. The real reason was the extra warm summers. Lobsters in LI sound are near the end of their southern territory and a warm summer causes a kill off but they won't acknowledge that.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by PaulS

I called Rep Roy yesterday and talked for a few min. w/him. The lobster guys in his town have his ear. They b. and moan and blame the shortage on lobsters on everything but their over harvest. They got $ a few year back when they blamed pesticides that were sprayed for the West Nile virus. The real reason was the extra warm summers. Lobsters in LI sound are near the end of their southern territory and a warm summer causes a kill off but they won't acknowledge that.

LI sound lobsters are not overharvested and they are not at the southern end of their range, you can ctach lobsters off the coast of NJ. The big problem with losters in the sound is Chronic shell disease, which has also spread to RI.

[CaptMike]

LI sound lobster definitely need help but this is a ridiculous way to go about doing it. Stripers are constantly on the move so I don't know how this would really help that many lobster not to mention how little stripers need this to happen to them.

[PaulS]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

LI sound lobsters are not overharvested and they are not at the southern end of their range, you can ctach lobsters off the coast of NJ. The big problem with losters in the sound is Chronic shell disease, which has also spread to RI.

I said near the southern range - don't LI sound temps. in the summer get much warmer than the ocean temp. in NJ or further south?

[inTHERAPY]

Here I am thinking that the rep is an infamous striper cup angler's brother-in-law

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by PaulS

I said near the southern range - don't LI sound temps. in the summer get much warmer than the ocean temp. in NJ or further south?

I don't think so. The sound is very deep in lots of places. Its not like the sound is like some shallow water bay.

[RIROCKHOUND]

http://www.climatechoices.org/assets...land_necia.pdf

Near enough the southern range, that warming temperatures can have a big impact....

"IMPACTS ON FISHERIES
Clambakes and lobster feasts
are synonymous with summer in
Rhode Island. The state’s lobster
catch totaled more than 1,900
metric tons in 2005, bringing in
$23 million to the state economy.
Global warming is expected to
take a serious toll on this already
declining shellfish population: lobster
stocks in Rhode Island’s nearshore
waters are expected to collapse entirely
as the maximum heat-stress threshold
for lobster is consistently exceeded by
mid-century under either emissions
scenario."

[ThrowingTimber]

one giant leap backwards for mankind...

[PaulS]

From Stripers ForeverConnecticut (and stolen off another site)

- here is a matter of the greatest importance for the future of striped bass. Representative Richard Roy of Milford, CT has introduced
HB #5506 which would overturn CT’s long-standing game fish law and make it legal to commercially fish for striped bass in CT! This would certainly be a blow that striped bass don’t need, and it would make it much more difficult to finally achieve the coast-wide game fish status for striped bass that Stripers Forever is working towards with its Massachusetts game fish bill.

We understand this bill has been introduced largely to reduce the number of striped bass in CT waters so that they will not eat all the lobsters. According to a 1999 study by the Univ. of Conn. the lobster population crashed from record high numbers – that coincided with record numbers of striped bass – because the waters of the Sound became too warm.

We urge all SF members to do their utmost to defeat this bill. Send Representative Roy both an e-mail, a postal letter, and make a phone call to his office today. His name in paragraph one above is a link that will provide complete contact information. Let him know that you live in CT, that this bill will be very harmful to the sport that you love and to the recreational industry in CT that depends on good striped bass fishing. Tell him that you want him to withdraw this legislation today.

Here are some talking points if you want to say or write more:
1. The striped bass are already under too much pressure. Fishing quality is already substantially worse than it was 5 or especially 10 years ago. This is reducing fishing participation and harming the guiding and tackle industry.
2. Commercial fishing has been shown to create an illegal market in addition to the legal one that puts far more pressure on the resource than planned.
3. The State of Connecticut has no commercial quota for striped bass and any such quota would have to therefore come by reducing the current recreational season and/or bag limits which are already very restrictive by historical standards. In 2003 CT had 473,000 marine anglers, 212,000 of whom primarily targeted striped bass. This legislation would be unfair to them since it would give a very few people a disproportionate share of a scarce public resource.
4. Professionally produced socio-economic studies have shown that recreational use of this resource is many times more valuable than commercial sale in terms of economic activity, taxes generated, and jobs created.
5. The State of Connecticut has a strong warning against regularly consuming striped bass taken from Long Island Sound. These fish should not be sold to consumers.
6. The University of Connecticut has determined that the lobster problem is due to water temperature issues and not predation by striped bass. Before warming temperatures in the late 1990s record numbers of both lobsters and striped bass coexisted in the Sound.
7. Since 1980 Maine, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and New Jersey have made striped bass a game fish protected from the pressures of commercial fishing. Legislation is now pending in MA to accomplish the same thing in that state because of the points made here. CT should not overturn years of positive precedent in the conservation of striped bass.

Remember: E-mail, and Write, and Phone Call!

What else can you do in addition? If you are as upset with this as we are, take the same steps above with your local legislator – and if you know them by all means go see them – explain your concerns, and ask them to help you convince Rep. Richard Roy to withdraw this legislation as soon as possible. You can find your CT legislator at this link.

Also, forward this e-mail to all of your fishing friends. Ask them to do the same thing and to go to the Stripers Forever website and become a member – free as always – so that we can help them stay on top of this issue too.

While we urge you to use your own words, please…do not be insulting or negative towards commercial fishing or to Representative Roy. Dwell on the facts above and the benefits of a robust recreational fishery for striped bass.

[MakoMike]

Yeah, like CT's commercial quota of less that 24,000 pounds is going to have a big impact on the stock. Recreational fishermen in RI probably kill that many as throwbacks.

[ThrowingTimber]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

Yeah, like CT's commercial quota of less that 24,000 pounds is going to have a big impact on the stock. Recreational fishermen in RI probably kill that many as throwbacks.

of course it matters every bit matters.

The fish should be given game fish status period.

Taking that status away is a giant step backwards.

I'll tell you why it matters because it starts off as being 24,000 lbs then more and more, ane more and mass or ri give up portions of their qoutas etc etc playing a shell game with qoutas.. like when jersey goes over for fluke who gets the short end up the stick in reduced qoutas or totally f-ed up limits where fish are actually dying before they're legal to take...

I call BS.

CT should sink this.

[CaptMike]

I agree the amount itself is not a big deal but it could lead to worse things. I'm watching this very carefully and will be at the public hearing if it comes to that.

[JohnR]

Gamefish status or not, a reduction is what is needed at minimum for all parties. Adding does nothing to help...