Quote:
Originally Posted by Brian L
I'd still like to know what the prime spawning ages and sizes are for Stripes. Can anyone answer that question? Without that info, any slot limit is asinine and a guess at best.
(edit) Plus, the more I think about it.. What's the difference anyways? A smaller fish will become a breeder at some point, so if you take it out of the population, it's all the same. A quantity limit is really the only thing that makes sense, no?
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Fecundity in Striped Bass increases with age. Older fish spawn at a different end of the spawning season than smaller fish, which helps improve the the species spawning success (since conditions for egg survival may vary month to month). The eggs of older fish have better lipid content which also improves egg survival. The number of eggs a fish lays increases expontentially rather than linearly with size. Most importantly, the eggs of larger fish obviously possess the valuable genetic traits for size and survival. Finally, the possibility of catching a trophy fish is of greater economic value than the the possibility of eating that fish, whereas the possibility of eating a smaller fish is of greater economic value than catching it. How many guys drive hours, rent rooms, buy expensive boats, tackle, and vehicles to haul it, in order to chase small fish? How many do so to target larger fish? On the other hand, does the fish market charge more for a pound of large fish than for a pound of small fish? Why not?
So once again, why are slot limits which ensure a balanced population asinine?
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