Quote:
Originally Posted by Crafty Angler
Numbie, none of us, regardless of what we do to put food on the table or keep a roof over our families head, does so without impact on the environment in one way or another.
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Why are you addressing that sentence to me? It implies that I don't realize this simple truth.
Stripers Forever is a somewhat amateurishly run organization that advocates eliminating the sale of striped bass via establishing gamefish status. Gamefish status puts the shaft to guys who fish for money, and to those in the non-fishing public who like to eat striped bass (though farm raised fish may be changing this). Gamefish status is great for guys who like to fish for striped bass, particularly those who are either not very good at it or like to use inefficient means to do it. It is probably also good for a substantially larger sector of the economy that caters to recreational fishing as opposed to that which serves the commercial side. Gamefish status does not automatically improve the fishery, but by eliminating a major user group (as well as the illegal sale of fish) it makes management much easier.
The issue comes down to one of fairness. Is it fair to deny someone the enjoyment of catching and selling fish for profit in order to increase your own success and enjoyment? Is it fair for someone to catch and kill much larger numbers of fish, and profit from doing it, while making it harder for others to enjoy catching and releasing or killing a much smaller individual share of the resource? Although most of us probably would prefer gamefish status, most do not want to hurt the others who use the resource differently......at least until the resource is sufficiently strained to unacceptably impact our own happiness.
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