Gamefish Status???

[RIROCKHOUND]

If I kill a fish it is usually a larger one.
I can release smaller fish quickly, with less stress, and in a lot of the places I fish larger fish can come in pretty beat to hell.

As far as smaller fish tasting better; I believe that as far as I can throw a 30lb bass. I've never had a problem with bigger fish tasting bad, IF they are cared for properly.

To me it remains a fish grab for stripers with those groups, whether they push for bag limit or not. WE (recs; I'm not commercial) HAVE NO MORE right to the fish than the commercials do.

As far as fitting them into one room for each state, is exactly one of the problems... maybe too many full-timers have been pushed out already.

The easiest way to manage is not the always the best, especially in this case!

[riverrat2]

Bryan is right on. Commercial fisherman are always made out to be the bad guys but in the end it is the rec group that does way more damage. Longer season, WAY more fisherman, poaching, no set quota whatsoever=a lot more damage done on the fish. I also agree that only people whos main source of income has to do with commercial fishing should be able to fish the season. To many people use the season as an excuse to fill the boat with bass, take pictures and pay for half the fuel for the year. In return if they eliminated this crowd from the season it would last longer and benefit the people that actually depend on that chunk of cash as part of there total income.

And oh ya I don't want to hear it about conn people fishing the very limited RI season when at one point two seasons ago the majority of the fleet fishing the MA season were from RI. Especially considering we dont have the option to fish yours.

[deputydog]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

To me it remains a fish grab for stripers with those groups, whether they push for bag limit or not. WE (recs; I'm not commercial) HAVE NO MORE right to the fish than the commercials do.

That's where we part company. How can you justify that statement? If recreational striper fishermen outnumber commercial fishermen 600 to 1, and they do) than the resource should be divided that way: 99%+ to the recs and the balance to the commercials. Anyone would then say, "let's round it up to 100%."

Why shouldn't I be allowed to kill and sell black ducks and geese with, say, a daily limit of 10 each? How about brook trout? I know a place where I can easliy catch a couple dozen a day. Why can't I do that and sell them to the local restaurants?. Well there's a couple of reasons. First, I could kill or catch that game and fish because there is no commercial season which has allowed the populations to expand to current levels; and second, because those critters belong to all of us, not just to em and a few buddies.

We're not talking about monkfish or hake, we're talking about the single most sought after fish on the East coast. You want to call it a grab? OK, it's a grab and it couldn't be fairer. Of course the recs kill more fish; there are millions of them.

[Team Rock On]

Unfortunately DD, your math is a little fuzzy. A quick census check puts the US population at about 300 million. So with the 3 million rec striper fisherman accounting for 60% of the kill (mostly for fun), that's 1% of the population that accounts for the majority. Com. fisherman are providing the resource to that other 99%, but fringe groups like PETA, Stripers Forever, etc. seem to forget that fact. The tiny commercial harvest is insignificant, and in fact doesn't even add up to the release mortality of the recs. How's Bradley doing, tell him people are still laughing...

[deputydog]

Originally Posted by Team Rock On

Unfortunately DD, your math is a little fuzzy. A quick census check puts the US population at about 300 million. So with the 3 million rec striper fisherman accounting for 60% of the kill (mostly for fun), that's 1% of the population that accounts for the majority. Com. fisherman are providing the resource to that other 99%, but fringe groups like PETA, Stripers Forever, etc. seem to forget that fact. The tiny commercial harvest is insignificant, and in fact doesn't even add up to the release mortality of the recs. How's Bradley doing, tell him people are still laughing...

How many of that other 99% could pick a striped bass out of a lineup consisting of fluke, tilapia, catfish, creek chub and roadkill? Aquaculture already produces 60% more striped bass than the entire commercial catch and , before you say that they taste terrible, be aware that the average price received at the Fulton Fish Market is the same, so the public doen't agree. The majority of the striped bass meals served in restaurants come from fish raised by aquaculture.
I'll relay your message to Brad, who stood behind the President Saturday when he signed the executive order. Which people,exactly, were laughing?