Mass Striper decline numbers from NOAA

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by jimmy z

Why is the Striped Bass in trouble? How do we know they're in trouble. Because it's what is done to all fish. They're cleaned out. Flounder, Ling, Whiting, Cod, Bunker and Herring.
This is a surprise to some? Just look at the big picture and it tells on itself. So why do some think that there still is no problem? Look at the track record of how we just wipe it all out!
Are the Flounder stacked like they used to be in Quincy Bay like they were 30 years ago?

Yup. Think about the management mandate: "maximum sustainable yield". Translated into real-speak, it means manage the fishery to the edge of a crash and pray that it doesn't go over the edge.

[angler229]

Originally Posted by Mike P

Yup. Think about the management mandate: "maximum sustainable yield". Translated into real-speak, it means manage the fishery to the edge of a crash and pray that it doesn't go over the edge.

This is the exact problem with fisheries management as a whole. Instead of managing a species to make sure populations don't crash they are trying to take as much of possible the whole time verging on causing a crash.
Take winter flounder in the Gulf of Maine...how long ago had that fishery totally collapsed now we are finally seeing good fishing the last few years and management just almost doubled the commercial season limit from 510,000 to 1.1 million lbs. So instead of sticking with a management plan that has allowed the species to rebound and grow they are heading right back down the same path. How long before we see the same thing happen again?