American Eel Stock Assessment Update Finds Resource Remains Depleted

[Nebe]

I spent a ton of money to convert my studio to natural gas and use a recouperator, which preheats my combustion air, this reduces emissions by at least 40%. Furthermore I melt the raw materials to make glass vs most glass makers who buy pre made glass, which is extremely inefficient as it’s melted twice. Id say I have one of the most efficient glass studios of any glassblower I know. I sleep very well at night.
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[Sea Dangles]

That is a responsible thing to do, obviously you care about the environment. That is something we all should strive for,especially those of us who hand off our planet to our children. My initial response was regarding your criticism of diesel drivers. I have no idea what you drive but unless it is an electric vehicle such criticism seems hollow. Sorry if that offended.
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[albythereforyou]

2 years ago I think i went thru around 60-75 eels for the season.

this year I went thru 6. Still caught plenty of fish, just had to change up my spots/ timing / tides a little. but once albies showed up I haven't bass fished since then.

Electric cars aren't the save the world BS people make them out to be. The lbs of lithium in 7,104 lithium batteries that make up 1 tesla power pack sure aren't eco friendly in their mining process.

[Nebe]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

That is a responsible thing to do, obviously you care about the environment. That is something we all should strive for,especially those of us who hand off our planet to our children. My initial response was regarding your criticism of diesel drivers. I have no idea what you drive but unless it is an electric vehicle such criticism seems hollow. Sorry if that offended.
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I drive a Honda Odyssey that gets 25 mpg and a 1973 VW karman Ghia that gets 30 mpg. My a1971 VW westfalia will eventually have a Subaru engine in it and will probably get around 35 mpg, but that’s at least 10 years from now.

Because I use a lot of natural gas I always have an eye on how I can reduce my footprint but to say I am a hypocrite because I don’t have an electric car is like saying that I should starve myself to loose weight instead of eating a conservative diet. I do however accept your apology and offer a hug.
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[Sea Dangles]

If mpg were the issue then diesel would seem like a viable alternative to some. Certainly for trucks they are a no brainer. My suburban isn't diesel but uses a lot of fuel regardless. At full throttle my boat drinks 54 mpg! I try to keep it in the sweet spot
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[Nebe]

That is true. I didn’t think of that.
I burned 4 gallons of diesel this summer on my boat and put 30 hours on the engine.
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[scottw]

Originally Posted by Nebe

I drive a Honda Odyssey that gets 25 mpg and a 1973 VW karman Ghia that gets 30 mpg. My a1971 VW westfalia will eventually have a Subaru engine in it and will probably get around 35 mpg, but that’s at least 10 years from now.

Because I use a lot of natural gas I always have an eye on how I can reduce my footprint but to say I am a hypocrite because I don’t have an electric car is like saying that I should starve myself to loose weight instead of eating a conservative diet. I do however accept your apology and offer a hug.
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BREXIST

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by DZ

From what I've read commercial and recreational restrictions have been instituted and currently in effect including a cap on elver harvest, 9 inch size limit on bait eels, and a 50 eel per person possession limit on bait eels. Does anyone purchase more than 50 eels? I would imagine some would. Maybe some charter boats? Maybe some commercial R&R guys?

There are different rules for charter/party boat possession limits, at least in RI.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Nebe

let’s also not forget the incredible moral issue with buying a dozen eels to catch and release a few bass. The eels will all die.
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The eels in the tackle shop will all die regardless of whether they are bought or not. Except perhaps for a few that are bought by fishermen who don't use them and let them go.

[MakoMike]

For those of you who don't know, the biggest source of mortality on adult, "silver" eels are the hydro-electric dams that chew them up as they migrate downriver to the ocean, on their spawning run.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

No flame here Paulie
Nothing personal either
Just pointing out the difference between doing and saying.
He does have a blow boat so at least it's a start��
His profession alone is known to be bad for the environment,but hey,you have to make a buck somehow.
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I was just trying to add some comic relief Chris.

[spence]

Originally Posted by piemma

I was just trying to add some comic relief Chris.

I'm pretty sure he was insulting you...and you clearly were insulting him

Man this is bringing back some memories of BI.

[MAKAI]

Ever wonder what the carbon footprint for the mining, battery and motor manufacturing, electrical generation etc to get an e car rolling is ?
I don’t but would assume it not as green as we may be led to believe.
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[Nebe]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

The eels in the tackle shop will all die regardless of whether they are bought or not. Except perhaps for a few that are bought by fishermen who don't use them and let them go.

Again... What are you smoking?

Sure, the eels that are currently in the tank will die, but if less eels are used, the tackle shop will re order less eels and less eels will die.

[DZ]

I use eels - always have (although not as much in recent seasons) - probably always will unless they are protected.

What I find very interesting is the "all hands on deck" approach by the recreational fishing community to protect the menhaden and that species is not even close to being declared "depleted". Of course the real reason many want to protect the menhaden is because they make catching striped bass infinitely easier.

Yet the lowly eel is screaming for protection but we only focus on the elver, with little support from that same recreational community - why? Because eels make catching striped bass easier

We are a strange lot.

[bassballer]

Originally Posted by Nebe

let’s also not forget the incredible moral issue with buying a dozen eels to catch and release a few bass. The eels will all die.
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Maybe i'm helping the eel population and didnt know it. i usually buy a dozen and end up letting 6 go.

[ivanputski]

Keep your dead eels and use them... Over and over again until you lose them.
I have had great success using eels out of my freezer. My personal best came on a freezer burned 2-year old eel that was in and out of the freezer countless times. (You guys never saw weekend at Bernie's??)

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by Nebe

Again... What are you smoking?

Sure, the eels that are currently in the tank will die, but if less eels are used, the tackle shop will re order less eels and less eels will die.

Nothing right now, I ran out of the stuff I bought in Colorado last winter.

No they won't, if the tackle shops order less eels the remainder will be sold for food. No commercial eel fishermen is going to release their catch. The only way that would happen is of the price fell through the floor, unlikely given the current state of the population and the demand.

[SAUERKRAUT]

Originally Posted by numbskull

I blame Sauerkraut for this situation.

Hey! What's this?

I'm rigging more and abusing less. And I am self administering Rx Vivitrol to stifle my cravings

[bobber]

Originally Posted by DZ

I use eels - always have (although not as much in recent seasons) - probably always will unless they are protected.



Yet the lowly eel is screaming for protection but we only focus on the elver, with little support from that same recreational community - why? Because eels make catching striped bass easier

We are a strange lot.

DZ- my thought is that tens of thousands of miniature eels are scooped up out of the population every Spring, and that's starts the domino effect of having fewer and fewer eels to get bigger..... I'm not completely opposed to restrictions on taking eels in the later stages of life, but I think the greatest damage gets done by the wanton removal of the tiniest ones

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by bobber

DZ- my thought is that tens of thousands of miniature eels are scooped up out of the population every Spring, and that's starts the domino effect of having fewer and fewer eels to get bigger..... I'm not completely opposed to restrictions on taking eels in the later stages of life, but I think the greatest damage gets done by the wanton removal of the tiniest ones

The "tiniest ones" are the least likely to make it to spawning age.

[bobber]

yeah- especially if you've been scooped up in a net and sold to Japan

[MakoMike]

Let me put it this way, which do you think has the bigger impact on the population; one glass eels scooped up in the spring or one silver eel killed on its spawning run by a turbine?

[bobber]

they're both one eel....



but glass eels are removed by the thousands before they ever get close to spawning

(Mike- we've had this debate before- I know you're never gonna see it my way, and vice versa..... )

[zimmy]

Bobber-
This is like other populations. More impact when removing a breeder. Having a chance to spawn matters for genetic diversity. For population size, removing a breeder has dramatically more impact on population than removing an elver. Removing millions of elvers: bad; removing tens of thousands of adults for bait: equivalently bad.
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[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by zimmy

Bobber-
This is like other populations. More impact when removing a breeder. Having a chance to spawn matters for genetic diversity. For population size, removing a breeder has dramatically more impact on population than removing an elver. Removing millions of elvers: bad; removing tens of thousands of adults for bait: equivalently bad.
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Minor point, most of the eels we use for bait are not adult, silver eels, they are immature yellow eels. Eels don't reach maturity until jus before they begin their spawning run.

[zimmy]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

Minor point, most of the eels we use for bait are not adult, silver eels, they are immature yellow eels. Eels don't reach maturity until jus before they begin their spawning run.

You certainly might be right, but that is not how I understood it. I understood that maturity is basically relative to size. Males around 11" and females around 16-18" are sexually mature. The anatomical and yellow color changes occur prior to the actual spawning run. Probably talking semantics and/or my understanding is outdated.

[dannyplug1]

I have been thinking about this thread. First to say I am guilty of using eels. I try to rig them so I will get more use. I also trap eels and try to get a few (one or two) big ones for skinning and use the meat for blue crab bait. But the more I think of it we are all guilty of bad steward ship of the earth and its inhabitants. Is it ok to hook and possibly injure a fish just to let it go? I remember distinctly having a hook come around and hook a bass in the gills or slip around and hook it in the eye. Other times I continue to fish even if I know there are only schoolies around. If I care about the future of striped bass why do I continue these practices? I think humans are by our nature not good for the planet. In almost every example I can think of any interaction between people and this planet is not good for the earth and our planet. We use up the planets resources at an incredible rate. There are just too many of us. I think its getting to a point where all nations will have to fight for what's left of the resources of the world. I have come to believe that fisheries management is just a fancy way of saying how do we divide what's left of the resources. . for example how many bass do we give the commercials how many do we give the recs and how many do we give to the for hires. Same is true for eels how many to japan how many for bait. Sorry for the long winded post guess I am feeling down after a brutal bass season (I don't fish the canal).

[DZ]

Rather lengthy stock assessment update. The tables starting on page 46 are very interesting. Didn't realize rec possession limit for CT,RI, MA is 25 per person. Wonder how many bait shops limit customers to purchasing 25?

[dannyplug1]

This year I asked a bait shop in Massachusetts (not one that I deal with on a regular basis so I know they were not bending the rules to accommodate a good customer). I asked to buy eels in bulk to get a better price and they told me I would have to purchase at least four pounds worth. Four pounds of eels that has to be a lot more than 25 eels. I am sure that regulation is not being observed by many bait shops.