Response from The Director of RIDEM

[bridgebastard]

ecduzitgood.have you ever fished on a dragger or gillnetter, i find it interesting the ignorance of some people, do you do any catch and release fishing,if so you also kill fish ,the vessel i work on employs 6 people throughout the year and supports six families.We are a small vessel,50 ft,made out of wood, we also rod and reel commercially on the same vessel.There is a big misconception about large mesh gillnetting and stripers. We see three to four bass in the gear every year thats it. We dont set on stripers its foolish. About the waste in the dragger fishery absolutely true, however there have been modifications to the gear that have lessened the enviromental impact. Do some research and check out squid gear with 12 inch hanging chains. Many assume we tow up millions of stripers but that is not the case. Those fish to the south were killed by large factory purse seiners seining menhaden.I get tired of the ignorance and condemnation of something when its only ignorance and misinformation. We would take anyone of you fishing to see what we do.