MAKE STRIPED BASS A GAMEFISH!

[Team Rock On]

Information or propaganda?

"Last weekend we sent members at that time copies of e-mails from unnamed
fishery officials from Chesapeake Bay who told us loud and clear that
things are bad down there, and another ASMFC fishery scientist from CT who
has calculated that natural striped bass mortality is much greater than
assumed."

There is more info on Stripers Forever Website
information on our website regarding the reasons SF opposes the reopeningLast weekend we sent members at that time copies of e-mails from unnamed
fishery officials from Chesapeake Bay who told us loud and clear that
things are bad down there, and another ASMFC fishery scientist from CT who
has calculated that natural striped bass mortality is much greater than
assumed.
of the EEZ. Simply put, though, we feel there is no good reason to
reopen the EEZ. It will just create more pressure on a fish that already
has too much pressure on it. And while we have no sympathy with any
aspect of the commercial fishery, they certainly don't need more territory
either. The Mass. commercial quota is pursued by 4,500 people and was
achieved in a month. We heard that the catch came in so quickly to some
dealers that they couldn't find a market and had to refuse to buy any
more. The price was ridiculously low. Stripers are a schooling fish, and
in the middle of the summer a lot of fish are located in finite locations,
and are easily caught in volume. The commercial fishermen don't need more
area, some of them just feel like doing their fishing in the EEZ, and it
is only their personal fishing pleasure that they have any concern about.
As soon as a commercial fishery is open in the EEZ netters will be
catching stripers that they claim were taken with a rod and reel and
demanding markets and quotas for what they call bycatch fisheries,
attempts will be made to get around state gamefish laws, and the already
bloated and totally ignored illegal commercial fishery will become even
larger.
There is plenty of reason for concern about the future of
striped bass fishing, and we do not need to open new ground, especially on
the back of the disgusting 42% increase in the coastal commercial quota
this last year. Make no mistake about it, it is only a couple of the most
zealous commercial fishing state fishery directors that are behind this
move. We hope that you will get out to the meetings and let them know
that we need no new areas to kill striped bass.

Brad Burns