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<begin rant>
I just have a problem with commercial taking of SB, sorry. The way it is run it has converted rec's into commercial fisherman for 4-5 weeks in the summer months. Is this what you want? 4000 guys suddenly taking 40 fish per boat all summer long? Quota's today are already above pre crisis days and have been increasing each year.
I am all for forage fish concerns, but that is a separate issue, IMO the SB is not NEEDED as a commercial fish for ONE month in the summer. We survived just fine during the moratorium days without it.
You will never get fair management because the management is biased by commercial interests, and has been for years. This EEZ thing will fly. (good or bad), quotas will increase year after year, just as they have ...for what? A few guys doing this as a summer job? Gimmie a break, its plain dumb.
When I see things like " this stripers forever group just wants the fishery form themselves"...huh? Other then a more populated fishery what do they have to gain? It’s more like they want more sportsmen to enjoy the species. Unlike the comm crowd, who wants as much $ as they can extract from the fishery and every year they will demand more. There is no commercial (OR PERSONAL) interest to be gained with this org , this is more of a conservation measure. This us vs. them thing and the division into "various user groups" has got us into this mess.
Also, there is far more economic benefit derived from the SB sports fisherman then the SB commercial group and it benefits far more people, not just the elite few who were grandfathered in with a SB lic.
Lastly, this needs consistent (UNBIASED) management...not state by state boards of charter and comm fisherman looking to make more $ each year. A no-commercial status would make it a game fish. The problem with new Englanders is that they resist change...good or bad, they don't care...their attitude is "this is the way is was and always will be, leave it as it is". As I said, we got past slavery I think we can overcome commercial SB fishing. I am not an activist of stripers forever but they seem to be gathering a head of steam and if they can deliver a game fish status for this prized species I support their efforts. The politcal route they are taking is the one that can circumvent these state by state boards all having conflict of interests to some degree.
I hope you all took notice of the BS going on with illegal selling of SB this past year in RI. And the LAME penalties that went along with the crime. Comments (near quotes) from the lawbreakers included "no big deal, it is just the cost of doing business" when asked about the fine. How about 20 years in prison? (Yeah I am really serious) This is just the TIP of the illegal iceberg and a lot of people know it. When I see guys buying 25-50 doz eels after the bass season is closed you have to wonder....
Current inforcement is a joke. How many people were arrested for illegal bass (beyond the RI dudes) ? More enforcement is not possible, esp. with a fishery that only lasts a month, The law breakers know this and the most logical solution is to shut it down altogether and have a single UNBIASED body making the rules coast wide. The rules may vary from state to state (season, and/or limits) but AT LEAST there is some continuity to the management plan. Right now the attitude is "If we don't take our max the other guys in the states will and that is not fair to us" ...this kind of thinking is PLAIN STUPID. Do what is right for the fish, and enough with the greed already.
<end rant>
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