MSBA Action Alert--Stripers Forever Bill Could Pass- Only One Hearing--This Thursday

[BassDawg]

i just read everything that ALL of you said~~~
well put, some self-servingness, mostly passionate!

it ocurrs to me that "gamefish" status needs to be more clearly defined, since it seems to vary state-to-state. while i am for a comm moratorium, i believe that their 10% should be completely removed from the take quota so it does not become a fish grab. i also would support a reduction in the recreational take by at the least 75% of what it is currently allowed by ASFMC. very simply, 1 Striper @ 36" per day. 1/day would get you 50% less of a rec take, the 36" would (i'm guessing) be good for somewheres close to 25% more, roughly? this would be more of a compromise from both sides of the fishery killing machines and would certainly ease some pressure on our precious stocks.

lastly, i agree with Pat that thankfully SF was shut down. peer based science is most definitely the way to go with regard to ASBass. yet, this ALL seems moot if we DO NOT address the contingent issues that are most definitely intertwined within the intricacies of our marine resources. for me and my tax dollars spent, we should do ALL of the following:

1)FIX THE FORAGE: a ten year moratorium on ACMenhaden, period!!

2)FIX THE BAYS: the estaurine and spawning grounds pollution of the Hudson, Chesapeake, and the Outer Banks Stocks has led to, imho, the single most egregious waste/kill/depletion of our beloved species and on a much broader spectrum than science can EVEN MEASURE right now. as i understand from what i've read, it is impossible to generate the numbers/science that can give us an accurrate assessment of the horrific levels of damage that has been wrought by the big money interests(golfing, fertalizing, PCB'ers) and Industrial Greeds(Poultry, Pork, Purse Seiners) attached to this worsening plight on the species AND their spawning domains.

3)FIX OUR TUDES: as has been said, and i wholeheartedly AGREE, if we cannot reach mutally agreed upon limits and guidelines for the betterment of the Striped Bass' biomass moving forward, then we are falling into the well placed snares of these multi-lateral conservationists groups that WILL NOT stop at limiting our kill.

if we place our joint concerns and financial interests towards the advancement of a healthy and viable American Striped Bass fishery, then perhaps we could actually walk away from these boards with a legacy that does not echo our ignorant past, that promotes proactive conservationary actions for our future, and a proud legacy that reflects an attitude of change towards our resources and species as cohabitants to this God Blessed and God Given beauty that truly is The Striper Coast. in my view, it behooves us ~exponentially so~ to do NO LESS than to reasonably sacrifice what we deem is OURS simply because we are the dominant species.

how's about ONCE, just once, we GIVE something back to Nature(the surf) and something back to Beast(the stripah, bunkahs) at the unconscionable~ at least by today's standards ~ benefit to BOTH!!! is it even possible for us to get out of our own greedy, self-proliferating way at this point of "civilization". or has capitalism and the industrialization of America done enough, YET??!! what will it take for us to change our attitudes towards our resources,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,a collapse in our environment, ice caps melting, completely unviable estuaries??

something clearly has to GIVE, and we seem to be the only entity capable of doing so,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,the bigger questions lie in the WHEN, HOW, and the WILL WE, change???

[Sashamy]

Right BD that would be great in a world where the streets were paved with gold, but they are not! People make their livings utilizing the SB and until science proves that we are overfishing this stock than nothing needs to be done...however we do not disagree on all points the forage issue does need to be addressed, but again your attitude albeit positive, is not realistic...there will never be a 10 year moratorium on a fish that for the past 100 years has lived in cycles that scientists can not explain...by reducing the catch the way u see it we will putting a lot more fish back into the sysytem...probably not we will mostly create a population of skinny bass again...malfeasian economics says it best populations will control themselve with war famine and disease...the striper is best left alone to its own devices right now....we need to clean the environment that they spawn in..thats what brought them back in the 90's not only the 36" size requirement.

Doug

[BassDawg]

Originally Posted by Sashamy

Right BD that would be great in a world where the streets were paved with gold, but they are not! People make their livings utilizing the SB and until science proves that we are overfishing this stock than nothing needs to be done...
Doug

utulizing or abusing??
American Buffalo ring a bell?

one man's uses,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
is another man's abuses!

why does responsible, proactive, conservative action
at the expense of Industry or Commercialism/Capitalism
with regard to our Natural Resources, limited as they are, have
to be equated to "pie in the sky" pipe dreams??

Doug, does science or does it not work in reverse? Can numbers or can they not be manipulated to support both sides of the equation? and surely, a reduction from both sides of the killing zones would serve the species well, no? 10 years was a little over the top, but if ya shoot for ten and get five, then i would say that we've made an impact on behalf of the ACMenhaden.

further, why the HELL cain't Omega Protein farm soy? there is no STINKING way you will ever convince me that the disappearance of the Great Silver Balls of the turn of the century and even up until the mid 50's of bunker has not had a prolifically detrimental impact on BOTH~~~ estuaries and stripers!!

their filtering qualities alone coupled with the increases in pollution and a decimation of their numbers from what they were during the "Pre-Purseseinic Era" is unknowable at this time, why? because the menhaden harvesters have been able to haul to their hearts and fatt- arsed wallets content since the early '60's. cease and desist for five years and even YOU would be amazed at the result, i'd wager!

and to answer your querry, Charles,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,YES!! wholeheartedly i would switch to a different fish, should the numbers and reasonable science support a moratorium on our beloved prey. might have to go pelagic on yer butts. i'd figure some way to get my angling fixes fixed!!! i am very hopeful we won't screw this one up again. however, maintaining the staus quo seems futile at best.

[MAKAI]

Bassdawg.
Once you go pelagic. You get the bug bad.
Everything else becomes trout fishing.
Your money just disappears,
Sad it is.
Once the spring Bass bite is over we switch gears till the leaves are off the trees.
It's like chasing 18 yr old girls all over again.
Umm.. Sort of.