the current fisherman mag..

[Joe]

It's too bad the scientific community is not beyond reproach....

[ThomCat]

Trip limits or not, these draggers are only interested in big fish. When jumbos are paying $4 a pound and mediums (the smallest that can be kept) are paying $1.75, it seems a lot more jumbos and large hit the dock than mediums. When the daily limit goes down to 100 or 75 or 50 pounds a day, all of a sudden only joes seem to find there way into the net. Hmmmm.........

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by ThomCat

Trip limits or not, these draggers are only interested in big fish. When jumbos are paying $4 a pound and mediums (the smallest that can be kept) are paying $1.75, it seems a lot more jumbos and large hit the dock than mediums. When the daily limit goes down to 100 or 75 or 50 pounds a day, all of a sudden only joes seem to find there way into the net. Hmmmm.........

Tom,
what would you do when the trip limit is 50 pounds and you have 150 pounds of fish on the deck? Only keep the 14 inchers? We need to find a better way to limit/monitor the catch, trip limits always produce regulatory discards.

[macojoe]

Very complicated issue, but first off realize that the fluke fishery is NOT in trouble. There are more fluke around right now than at any time since they started to keep records.

Tell that to all us that fish Lucas area!! We have to get 17 1/2 fish and only 5 fish! It gets worse for the recreational fisherman every year!! While the Commercials continue to rape the sea!!

Takes hours to weed thur the small rats, that I release alive!!

Use to go there just a few years ago and get all you want in just a few min. and all good sizes!

Go to the fish house in NB and watch the dragger's unload 300 pounds of Jumbo's!! What the net missed all the 14" fish I have been catching all day right next to them??

Not to start with you, Thats not my intention!

But the Fluke are in trouble and so is any other inshore fishery as long as the system allows dragger's to fish the inshore water ways!!

And again this is why I will never buy a saltwater lic!

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by macojoe

Tell that to all us that fish Lucas area!! We have to get 17 1/2 fish and only 5 fish! It gets worse for the recreational fisherman every year!! While the Commercials continue to rape the sea!!

Takes hours to weed thur the small rats, that I release alive!!

Use to go there just a few years ago and get all you want in just a few min. and all good sizes!

Go to the fish house in NB and watch the dragger's unload 300 pounds of Jumbo's!! What the net missed all the 14" fish I have been catching all day right next to them??

Not to start with you, Thats not my intention!

But the Fluke are in trouble and so is any other inshore fishery as long as the system allows dragger's to fish the inshore water ways!!

And again this is why I will never buy a saltwater lic!

Bitch to the MA authorities, AFAIK MA is the only state that has high enough trip limits to make it worthwhile for the draggers to target fluke during the summer. All the other states have 50 or 100 pound limits so that most draggers won't untie the dock lines..

There is no doubt that with relatively low trip limits a lot of high grading goes on. How can we stop it? If you're fishing in an area where the dragger are working, its no wonder you don't see the tremendous increase in the fluke numbers!

[Team Rock On]

This is from another board...
I just received an email from a well respected colleague of mine on the MAFMC who is a commercial fisherman from North Carolina. It clarifies many of the issues we have been discussing here:

" I have just spoken with Capt. Rodney Avila to confirm the fact that Massachussetts trip limit was indeed 100 lbs of Fluke. The tow pictured in the April26, 2007 "Fisherman Article" was landed legally in Virginia where the trip limit was 12, 500 lbs. Please distribute accordingly. Thank You....Jimmy"......Gene

[Ed B]

Originally Posted by Team Rock On

This is from another board...
I just received an email from a well respected colleague of mine on the MAFMC who is a commercial fisherman from North Carolina. It clarifies many of the issues we have been discussing here:

" I have just spoken with Capt. Rodney Avila to confirm the fact that Massachussetts trip limit was indeed 100 lbs of Fluke. The tow pictured in the April26, 2007 "Fisherman Article" was landed legally in Virginia where the trip limit was 12, 500 lbs. Please distribute accordingly. Thank You....Jimmy"......Gene

This is extremely significant and journalistic integrity is on the line, so these comments must not be thrown out carelessly. The Fisherman is using that cover photo as proof of mismanagement of the resource and the photo is being used as the evidence behind the assumptions and conclusions in the article. If in fact the fish in the photo were legally sold, most were counted against the commercial quota and that is contrary to what was stated in Zach's article.

Zulu Hotel ?? are you out there? and can you provide more information about this photo?