Quote:
Originally posted by Krispy
This is a dangerous view. First its game fish, only. Then its C&R only. Then MPP's for bass. No live bait fishing. Artificials only. Flyfishing only.
Proper management is the answer and not draconian regulation of the biggest fishery on the east coast.
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I agree with Krispy on this - unbelievable but true. I believe the strongest direct influence on the state of the stocks of stripers is the recreational angler. The biggest indirect and likely even more damaging is the state of the forage fish: Menhaden #1 and then in no hard fast order; herring, mackeral, butterfish, mullet, and whiting.
Idealy, you would want a very healthy biomass of bass across the entire age spectrum. So you would have an ideal proportion of small fish and trophy size fish and everything in between to maintain the healthy sustainablility of the stocks and then some. In my opinion, this goal should be paramount above what I feel are less important issues like allocation. Where SF irks me is that they are concerened more about giving the fish to recs and about reallocating fish away from comm anglers - NOT fixing the problems in the fishery. They are doing very little to
FIX THE REAL PROBLEM. Allocation does not and will not solve the problem with these fish. Say if you removed the entire commercial harvest of stripers in all size classes, the underlying forage supply COULD NOT HANDLE the reduced pressure. So what would you do? Tell recs to keep three fish per day? Sounds STUPID to me. Fix the problem!!!!!
Maintaining a healthy fish stock requires looking at the fish, not who gets to fish them. I would rather see indescriminate fishing methods done away and bycatch reduced and an effective education process for recreational anglers than just to say - "you comm guys, get your bleedin' hands off my bass". It seems to much of money grab to me. YES, I do feel that as far as allocation goes, the rec angler SHOULD have a much bigger piece of the pie and you know what? We do. But if you had actually achieved the most important object of fixing what's wrong with the bass (and other species), that they need to eat, they would be a healthier population that with good management, would bring back these fish across the age classes.
StripersForever DOES NOT FIX THE UNDERLYING PROBLEM. If they focused on they real issues at hand and in the true best interests of the fishery I would personally support them. They don't. They go back and fight the same fight of the 80s and 90s - allocation. Didn't we learn anything from that? That all allocation does is say who has the legal right to take the pie? Not baking a better pie.
We need to make a better pie. We know how to make a better pie. Some say that will never happen because the biggest issue facing these fish is the lack of forage and that the regulators are too tight with the commercial harvesters of menhaden and herring et al. But that is where our fight needs to be and to be won. MAKING A BETTER PIE. Not picking who can have what piece...
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