Is It Time for Conservation

[Zeno]

I read with interest the posts regarding OTW Cup ,conservation and other treads regarding (usually) bragging rights each day.Is something that we don't see much in NY ,guys discussing their catch in online forums .At least not to the extend I see here.Not that there is anything wrong with it.......

my curiosity is peeked by something else ,closely related to the subject
I am curios if there are differences in conservation ethics between NY and other anglers in northeast ,most notably NE and NJ.
I tabulate entries for a year long contest that 16 NY surf fishing clubs participate in .The contest is based on honor system in order to encourage catch and release.Fish are almost never killed for the contest itself ,as a little wood plaque on the end of the year is hardly worth a life of a cow bass.
My club (High Hill Striper Club) releases about 99% of the fish each year.Maybe we keep one or two that is in bad shape or cant be revived.Other clubs have similar conservation guidelines and killing fish is (although not forbidden ) is not encouraged.Even my wider circle of fishing friends ,those not affiliated with the clubs ,rarely take a fish home.
If you ever stood along the hundreds shoulder to should in fall Montauk blitzes you would see that not to many fish are laying on the rocks after blitz commences.
Is it not surprising then that a NY entree in OTW thingy is nowhere to be found.
I know my friends would be dead set against any contest or gathering were they must kill fish,regardless if the prize is a boat or a pot of gold.Maybe because our local legend and one of the best known striped bass conservationist ,Fred Schwab is a member of my club ,that we are so anal about conservation.
But I am curios...is this kind of sentiment prevalent in RI & MA ?

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by Zeno

I read with interest the posts regarding OTW Cup ,conservation and other treads regarding (usually) bragging rights each day.Is something that we don't see much in NY ,guys discussing their catch in online forums .At least not to the extend I see here.Not that there is anything wrong with it.......

my curiosity is peeked by something else ,closely related to the subject
I am curios if there are differences in conservation ethics between NY and other anglers in northeast ,most notably NE and NJ.
I tabulate entries for a year long contest that 16 NY surf fishing clubs participate in .The contest is based on honor system in order to encourage catch and release.Fish are almost never killed for the contest itself ,as a little wood plaque on the end of the year is hardly worth a life of a cow bass.
My club (High Hill Striper Club) releases about 99% of the fish each year.Maybe we keep one or two that is in bad shape or cant be revived.Other clubs have similar conservation guidelines and killing fish is (although not forbidden ) is not encouraged.Even my wider circle of fishing friends ,those not affiliated with the clubs ,rarely take a fish home.
If you ever stood along the hundreds shoulder to should in fall Montauk blitzes you would see that not to many fish are laying on the rocks after blitz commences.
Is it not surprising then that a NY entree in OTW thingy is nowhere to be found.
I know my friends would be dead set against any contest or gathering were they must kill fish,regardless if the prize is a boat or a pot of gold.Maybe because our local legend and one of the best known striped bass conservationist ,Fred Schwab is a member of my club ,that we are so anal about conservation.
But I am curios...is this kind of sentiment prevalent in RI & MA ?

Hate to say it Zeno, but the prevailing mindset around my neck of the woods is, if it's a keeper, it goes home. Both go home if someone gets two.

I eat bass. I love fresh striper and my wife is a hell of a cook. My favorite fish to keep is one around 15 pounds. 35" or so. I get two fresh meals out of it for me and my wife and that's it. No excess, no waste. If I have to keep a bigger one because it's a bleeder, or I can't revive it, the neighbors get half. It boggles people's minds when they watch me release a 20 or 25 pound fish under their noses. "Hey mister, why didn't you keep that one? It was big enough"

[capesams]

something that never comes up in these discussion is the fact your dealing with two complete generations now....those that were there before and during the 16" age who thought that the fish were endless only to see it crash and now know fish can be wipped out and for the most part take only what they can eat......

the second generation of new fishers who never even knew what it was like before and or don't want to hear or be told to cut back on what they catch because......it could happen again....will look at you like you have two heads.

how would one try to convince the new generation to lission to the history of the by gone days without being told it 2006 and get with the times ya old fart.

[Back Beach]

CS,DZ:

The crux of all my posts here is not to imply that there are endless fish and no conservation is needed. My feeling is despite the current harvest levels, there seems to be plenty of fish.The bilogists/scientists data(not used in the past) seems to support this view. The difference this time around is that there are alot of smalls(replacement fish), unlike just before the collapse when it was all super large(bad).The last thing is that our preferred style(surf or shore fishing) doesn't always produce a true representation of what's available out there. Jump in a boat like DZ said and really anyone can catch large in good quantities. That's a sign that the times are good. I personally keep less than 1% of my annual catch regardless of size and typically just keep the incrementally larger fish. Everything else is released.

Clammer: What type of inner tube should I try and how many #'s of air do you need to put in? Hopefully I can cast the thing.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by capesams

the second generation of new fishers who never even knew what it was like before and or don't want to hear or be told to cut back on what they catch because......it could happen again....will look at you like you have two heads.
.

I disagree strongly, I think you'd find that the "new" generation of fisherman practice catch and release more than the old. Many of us begain fishing when we knew the population was in trouble, we never witnessed the massive cathches of the 60,70s. We know what overfishing can do and many of us have more of an environmental approach to fishing. I dont want to turn this into an old vs. new, but I believe your generalization is way off.

[spence]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I disagree strongly, I think you'd find that the "new" generation of fisherman practice catch and release more than the old. Many of us begain fishing when we knew the population was in trouble, we never witnessed the massive cathches of the 60,70s. We know what overfishing can do and many of us have more of an environmental approach to fishing. I dont want to turn this into an old vs. new, but I believe your generalization is way off.

Was going to say something similar...a lot of the new generation is much more accepting of conservation in principal...we've grown up with it.

To be honest I look at the notion that anyone has the right to take fish, especially from a comercial perspective as quite absurd. I grew up in the midwest and watched the collapse of the "family farm" back home...it's not any different.

-spence

[JohnR]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I disagree strongly, I think you'd find that the "new" generation of fisherman practice catch and release more than the old. Many of us begain fishing when we knew the population was in trouble, we never witnessed the massive cathches of the 60,70s. We know what overfishing can do and many of us have more of an environmental approach to fishing. I dont want to turn this into an old vs. new, but I believe your generalization is way off.

I see people in both groups that really care and are active about as well as those that could give a rat's buttocks about it...

I think one thing that often gets overlooked is that the majority of anglers on boards like these or in fishing clubs tend to be fairly to strongly conservation minded - for example I keep generally less than 5 fish per year - than say your average joe walking into the B&T looking for 2 three packs of frozen bunker and then going next door to the packy.

There are a LOT of people that just don't know ~or~ could give two bleeps. That is where it is important to get the word out to promote a conservation friendly mindset.

Fortunately, we have been having a very strong YOY index, ususally year after year - this bodes well for the future. Unfortunately, problems like general lack of forage fish, disease, polution, and excessive bycatch have a negative impact. I can't see how this tourney - as it stands - can have an even insignificant impact on the species.

As for Tourneys though, I recently had a long and interesting conversation with the fellow that runs the FLW Striper tour. Very interesting and even positive