Status of Patrick's Bass Bill ???

[WoodyCT]

Consider:
Human induced environmental issues (agricultural run off, hypoxia, water turbidity, sea level rise, increased water temperature due to climate change) are reducing the bass' main nursery areas, Chesapeake Bay and the Hudson River, ability to provide stable and healthy supplies of juvenile bass to the coastal stocks.
The menhaden reduction fishery is decimating the main food source for both adult spawners and juvenile bass in the Chesapeake and mid-Atlantic region.
Malnourished bass and weakened bass, due to the loss of menhaden forage, are more prone to stress related illness such as mycobacteriosis, which is causing untold mortality.
The sea herring fishery off New England is drastically reducing an important forage source for the bass, resulting in weakened and stressed fish, as well as stress related disease.
This same herring fishery is killing untold numbers of bass bycatch that are unreported but left dead or dying in long slicks on the surface.
Weak state and Federal enforcement of recreational fishing in the mid-Atlantic encourages charter boats and rod and reel fishermen to pillage wintering striper stocks in the EEZ without fear of being detected when returning to port.
Mid-Atlantic trawl fisheries are wantonly killing and wasting spawning stock due to a loophole that encourages illegal high grading.
Winter tagging trawls done by the USF&WS have encountered drastically reduced numbers of wintering fish off the mid-Atlantic the past several winters.
Statistics for bass discarded by the commercial sector are believed to be highly inaccurate, with estimate placing the actual mortality at double what is reported.
ASMFC stock assessment models fail to consider anything other than documented mortality, thus their predictions are flawed.
NMFS catch statistics show a drastic downturn in striper catches coast-wide.
Young of the year surveys have yielded wildly fluctuating spawning success during the last decade and a half.
Now consider the MA commercial fishery as it exists:
It targets the most valuable brood stock- the large females capable of carrying up to 5,000,000 eggs each.
It opens the door to a thriving and difficult to control black market for striped bass, which results in greater mortality than fisheries managers can account for.
It is susceptible to high grading- bringing the largest amount of weight possible to the wholesaler by discarding smaller fish when larger ones are later caught. One again, unaccounted for mortality.
For the vast majority of license holders it is simply a means for recreational fishermen to supplement their income and defray the cost of an expensive hobby.
The economic impact of this fishery is minimal compared to what could be produced by a stable and healthy stock of well managed striped bass.

Given all the odds presently stacked against the bass, perhaps letting the MA commercial fishery fade into the sunset is a small price to pay for a better future for the bass and those who love this special fish?

[Sashamy]

Woody from what I have learned from several PM's I am banging my head against the perverbial wall...I appreciate your ability to express your opinions without sarcasm but again disbanding the MA commercial season will not have the effect that you think..why not attack MD or North Carolina where they use nets on smaller fish.????.
Do you think I higrade? Its hard enough to get your limit some days to then throw them over...I am happy with 30 34" inch fish because I get a better price from by buyer because they are shippable. I mean 450 pounds at 3.25 a pound is a nice day three times a week...However I am beating my head against the wall because you guys think all commercial guys cheat but guess what I don't and neither do the guys I hang out and fish with. Remember we do have a quota and when that quota is full the charter boats and recreational guys still go on targeting the same fish, just as they would if there were no commercial season...for the most part the fish we have here in mass are the breeding fish whether they ar 26 to 50 inches I have caught them with eggs in them...so the only way to achieve what you all seem to want is a complete moratorium on keeping the fish at all...so I bid you all good luck with that!

[MAKAI]

Only Diogenes could appreciate this diatribe.
Apophis 99942 can't come soon enough.
Human nature being what it is, action is only taken when a condition is extreme. Who can predict the future of the fish ? Years ago my dog could catch bass, now you kind of have to know what you're doing to be consistent. What's it mean? ( way too many reasons )I am not optomistic though.
"If " we have another moratorium I would guess it would be permanent.
Then everyone gets to take their ball and go home.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by Nebe

I think what is fair is if the commercial take is banned, the rec take should be banned as well.. anything else is a fish grab. personally, I could care less if i had to let everyone go... is rather eat fluke

Agreed. Close it to everyone until reliable research can be done.

Originally Posted by Sashamy

Johnny,
Right again I would love to catch every fish in the ocean so i would not be able to go to work that would be great....which fish stock is in total collapse form the rod and reel????? I would love to meet and have a beer with you though you seem like a fun guy to banter with...

I'm always down for a beer or two with peers.

[WoodyCT]

Not calling anyone a cheater Sashamy.

Also not calling on MA commercials to be the only folks to concede something to bring the bass back. In fact, I venture that limited entry for those deriving a high % of their income via R&R bass fishing, the use of a tag system, and technological controls such as GPS monitoring could allow the historic MA fishery to continue, all be it without the weekend warriors intent on earning gas money.

Every single issue on my laundry list has been caused by humans, and every user group responsible for the current state of striper affairs must shoulder their share of the burden:

Big agriculture must not use the Chesapeake as a sewer or toilet.
Omega Protein must reduce its menhaden take.
The sea herring fishery must not over fish and must reduce bass mortality.
ASMFC must find ways to generate accurate mortality data.
Recreational fishermen must reduce their take/killing of bass.
Trawlers and netters must be kept on a short leash.

Everyone who in any way contributes to the issue must be held accountable and responsible.

If only every user group could own its share of the problem, then the table would be set for collaboration, cooperation, and healthy stocks and ecosystems.