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Ron--I'm not taking a position for or against commercial fishing in the abstract. What I'm saying is that if a commercial fishery is to exist, it should be limited to legitimate commercial fishermen.
And, with all due respect---if you don't see the waste in the rec fishery, you're not looking in the right places. You don't see the same 30 guys taking 2 40" plus fish off the Canal every plugging tide all year. There is absoultely no need for guys to take two fish in the 25-30 pound range every day for a whole set of tides. Freindships have been strained by a few of us calling people we know out on that senselessness. You don't see the guys day after day with two breeders bungee corded to their bike baskets, just because the law says they can take 2 fish. You don't see the absolute slaughter in NJ every May when the adult pogies are running tight to the beach---the sharpies there tell me than any guy with a snag hook can look like a pro. You don't see the absolute slaughter on the really big "citation" fish when they're stacked up every winter off the Virginia coast, when every charter guy from every port within range is running a 6-pack out there, and guys from the northeast are trailering their rigs down there. A lot fo that is taking place in the EEZ, and there isn't much that can be done to stop it, since they have bird dogs on the radio putting out the word when the USCG heads out there.That fishery didn't exist 15 years ago. I know that you do see people coming to the Derby weigh-in with fish that don't have a prayer of winning a daily, just so they have a shot at a Mystery prize. And winning a daily for what---a hat pin and a $20 check? People love to knock the OTW torunament as bad, but the same people have no problem with the MV Derby. A dead bass is a dead bass no matter where it's killed. I'm sure that you still make an effort to win the Grand Slam every Derby.
We are all to blame, and we need to clean our own houses before we point fingers at the other guys.
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