|
per Dennis..."Feb 16th is the RIMFC meeting to institute any 2015 regulations based on what the ASMFC meeting approves. It will be our last chance to convince RI regulators to go one fish."
probably wouldn't hurt to bombard the deciders with emails and letters over the next two weeks, pre-meeting...a few things are very clear....the mode split option reportedly achieves a 29% reduction...greater than the 25% required but less that the 31% that was originally intended and the bulk of that reduction is achieved through shore rec./privates fishing at 1@28, which I think many shore rec./private are happy and willing to participate in.....I don't believe 2@32 will result in much reduction for the for-hires and definitely not for those for-hires and their clients fishing the BI summer resident bass population...
we will have the spectacle of a BI life long resident out there in a small Whaler restricted by law from taking one than more bass from his home state waters as a behemoth boat from New York steams up with 150 residents of NY and elsewhere and collects two fish per charter plus the captain and mate(s) presumably.....this would make a great cartoon if anyone had some artistic ability.
for-hires may take all of this as another "attack"...but honestly....there were comments added by the for-hire contingent regarding Striped bass long after SB had been addressed following reporting of some of the other species that they were concerned with the other night....these comments indicate to me that the sector..or at least those that were in attendance from the RI for-hire sector have no willingness or intention in participating in any reduction, in fact, the comments indicate that they feel they are "entitled" to continue to do business as usual...which, ironically, was exactly described as their attitude would be by a commercial interest in the room...
the mode split is in reality carving out an exclusion for a select number of Rhode Islanders and their clients, many of those clients, by their own admission are NOT Rhode Islanders....and to add insult to injury, it allows out-of-state interests and their out-of-state clients the same benefit....
there is still time to affect the decision and there have been some encouraging post-meeting words and signs for various quarters who's sentiment summed up is....."keep up the pressure"
Last edited by scottw; 01-31-2015 at 06:41 AM..
|
Hybrid Mode
