Interesting speaker at RISAA tonight

[Sashamy]

Further more that guy has forgotten more about the Striped Bass than any of us will ever know!

[Mr. Sandman]

He is no friend of the SB does and does not have conservative bone in his body. He is a puppet. If he isn't forced to do something, he doesn't . He supports commercial SB fishing in MA because it is an "Historical fishery" same goes for why RI's get to comm fish in MA . I asked him face to face.

[numbskull]

Originally Posted by Sashamy

Further more that guy has forgotten more about the Striped Bass than any of us will ever know!

Unfortunately, he seems to have done that on purpose.

I would like to see some information on survival of the last several YOY classes. My impression is that the number of small fish has declined drastically over just two years. Yes we hear story after story about acres of bass offshore, but these seem to be primarily large fish.

Where are the next generation people hope to target in years to come?
I suspect they are gone, victims of mycobacteriosis perhaps. I think the drastic decline in recreational catch numbers (not poundage) reflects this.

I doubt Mr Diodati will consider that, however.

[Sashamy]

Actually i had a converstaion with him the other day that was quite to the contrary....but u guys think what you want...u still hate the commercial fishery it has nothing to do with Paul or YOY! U have some inbred hatred for commercial fishng..do you hate yourselves for doing it in the 60's and 70's when the limit was 16" and you killed everything to pay for your beer? I pay a a lot of my actual bills thru the commercial use of the bass...really when it comes down to it I believe we will all see a reduction in the next couple of years and with that we will probably see limit entry or catch share programs...

[numbskull]

Nobody "Hates the commercial fishery". What we hate is the continued pressure from commercial AND recreational special interest groups to keep on killing as many striped bass as we can twist the science to justify.

Catch rates in numbers of fish is plummeting.
Small fish have disappeared.
Blame recreational fishermen, commercial fishermen, seals, or bacteria, it doesn't matter......something is obviously wrong even if you chose not to see it.
Something should change, but it won't.....not with people like Mr Diodati pulling the strings.
Maybe we'll get a great year class and it will save us yet again.
Counting on that while the remaining large fish are slaughtered does not strike me as a prudent fishery management plan.

[piemma]

I don't want to get involved with the comms vs, the recs. What I do have is a very strong opinion about the the rec limits. 2 fish, 28" is contributing to the down turn in the bass fishery.
I lived through the moritorium. I lived through 1 fish 34", then 1 fish 36". The bass came back. One fish a day is enough.

The charter guys take 6 guys out and everyone limits out. That's 12 fish not counting the mate and the captain. The charters go 6 or 7 days a week.

Do the math. One boat could kill 250 to 300 fish a month. That number times all that charters in Mass and RI and all the recreational boat fishermen and the recreational surfishermen and ...well just do the math. The commercial guys are NOT the problem.

A one fish limit would go a long way toward more fish and bigger fish. I often hear the argument that many guys cannot catch a 36" fish. Tough *&^%. Learn how to be a good fisherman and you will catch bigger fish. There use to be a saying in the surf crowd about putting your time in. Now everyone wants instant gratification and the 28" size lends itself to that very thing.

Personally, I don't kill many fish anymore. If I do, it has to be over 20# which is 36".

But then again what the hell do I know. I've only been chasing these fish for 43 years.

[Mr. Sandman]

I don't hate anyone and I respect your views. I have a comm lic myself! I actually support R&R comm fishing as it is more ethical then draggers in the sound who dump discard. What I don't like is the way it has been/ and is being managed. You yourself admit things will get worse, yet you still want to exploit them commercially for personal gain...and you call me a bad guy???

It's been mismanaged (on many fronts) for so long now I think we have to take a reduction...something like 1 fish for recs and no comm fishing (IMO) as a minimum.

The only reason he spoke out against the gamefish bill is it takes HIM out of the managing loop. This would no doubt help the fish and dethrone him. Of course he would say it was a bad idea, what would you expect? He can not be objective, he is a puppet for the commercial fisherman's interest. Your in good hands.