Slot Limit - Revised

[tlapinski]

Originally Posted by piemma

EXACTLY!!!! Toby, while I agree and there is empirical evidence, that the recs kill fish thru lousy C&R, there is no denying that the comm guys kill substancially more fish then is realized. There is the "market" and there is the "grey market". The back door of restaurants that buy, illegally from comms.
To say this doesn't exist is sticking your head in the sand. This is where a complete moratorium would help. If no one can have, sell, keep, kill, trade, whatever, Bass then the stocks would recover. It worked in the late 80s and it would work again.

Those guys - commercials who sell illegally - are not commercials just as recs who poach are not recs. I've said this a million times but they are POACHERS and should not be lumped as such as the designation of rec/com relates not just to a license to sell, but harvest allocation.

I know of - confirmed through conversations with, not just hearsay and speculation - a disgusting number of recreational anglers who sell illegally. I also know plenty of coms who do so. Many of these men and women are those who a lot of us look up to and some of us such as yourself used to fish right alongside. Hell, I was approached openly at the RISAA show several years ago by 2 individuals trying to put me in direct contact with a person who would buy all the bass I could supply them with! Neither of these people held a com license at the time as best I know, but one of them has since gotten their captain's license. I was as much pissed off that they would do this publicly as I was the fact that they were so open about it and flat out didn't care.

There is recreational, there is commercial, and there are the poachers.

And to think just because "striped bass" cannot be sold commercially will end the selling of striped bass flesh is absurd. The amount of fish sold as and consumed under the name of another is profound. Again, this is not hear say but from enforcement actions, news stories and conversations with former seafood buyers.

I know this kind of conversation is a losing battle but it bothers me to no end when the blame is forced elsewhere in the face of glaring evidence.

[piemma]

Well said Toby.

[clambo]

I remember a few years back when the fisheries management people were going crazy over how few stripers were around and put restrictions on the catch limits. At the same time I saw photos of striper schools offshore taken from a plane that were so large one couldn't even estimate the number of fish! They were on ocean herring and chowing down! I believe that the solution to the striper issue is to change the way the commercial and rec catch is administered. If they changed it to weight for commercial instead of number of fish. Take the last 5 years catch weight and get an average, stop fishing for large fish. Allow us to keep 18 in. fish to 28in. fish, No tacking fish over 28 in. for anyone! In a short time there would be so many fish for everyone. Leave the breeders in the water and nature will solve the problem. Also WDMSO what logical reason would taking a license from someone who pays for a license and does not fish make? They put money into state coffers and have 0% impact the species! If those people and their revenue disappear who do you think the state would assess to replace the lost revenue, I think it would be us!

[piemma]

The whole #^&#^&#^&#^&ing thing is crazy! Ther truly isn't a "right " answer.

In all honesty, I'm gonna be 76. How many years you think I got left?

I told DZ and Clammer, it's not for me but for the fututre fisherpersons.

[spence]

Originally Posted by piemma

The whole #^&#^&#^&#^&ing thing is crazy! Ther truly isn't a "right " answer.

In all honesty, I'm gonna be 76. How many years you think I got left?

I told DZ and Clammer, it's not for me but for the fututre fisherpersons.

Paulie, when we first connected you said you had ten years. I think you’ve got another 20 in your pocket.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by spence

Paulie, when we first connected you said you had ten years. I think you’ve got another 20 in your pocket.

Thanks Jeff. From your lips to God's ears.