Caught!

[Mr. Sandman]

The book points out what every comm angler already knew, a lot of these guys take 2 + limits/day and sell the short fillets to restaurants on the side and fish out of season. (Not to mention the inshore dragger bycatch that is sold, kept or discarded. That is why this so called "quota" fishery is a ph#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g JOKE. Most of the catch is not included in any quota and there is not even an guess as to what it is. I have mentioned this to DMF scientists and the have told me..."there is no bycatch, they have observers to look over that" WTF? My response was then what was the USCG doing then chasing down the sqidders fishing 1/2 mile off of squibby all the way to pt jude and were nabbed with SB? This is for the most part an UNREGULATED UNENFORCED FISHERY. If you think it is regulated you are very naive. It's not just SB either. I saw in the newspaper last year and ad for a local restaurant for fresh local Tautog...it was November well out of comm season. No one gives a #^&#^&#^&#^&.
It's been going on forever and there is so much wiggle room that it is a game and the DMF sees this as some kind of historical fishery that is beneficial to the social fabric of America. They refuse to enforce anything. Next time you see an management guy, ask them how many arrests were made last year and see what he says. They don't see any problem(s). Nothing to see here...move on.

They only option is GAMEFISH w/ 1@ 36" for recs (or a tag system with that limits recs to X fish per season with a possession limit of 1) with a strong push for replenishment of baitfish coastwide and the halting of all inshore dragging inside 15 miles from shore. end of story.


Not one of my favorite reads but I see the book as a good gift to the uninformed. Please buy one for your fishery management friends. They will probably think its fiction and respond ...fishermen are liars.