Gamefish Status???

[EricM]

Agreed with the proposition to return to 1 fish a day, 36" minimum, all up and down the coast.

As a practical question, what is the best means to advance this proposal? Are there any organizations that are supporting this that, in turn, deserve our support? Let me know.

[piemma]

I think CCA and Stripers Forever both support increased size limits.

[deputydog]

Originally Posted by piemma

I think CCA and Stripers Forever both support increased size limits.

I can't speak for the CCA but Stripers Forever has no position on bag limits and never has. Many members favor a slot limit in the 20-26" range or a trophy fish, but the organization's only official goal is game fish status (no commercial harvest)


As for the assertion that CCA has supported the opening of the EEZ, that's also incorrect. CCA pushed hard to keep it closed for all fishermen, recs and comms. So did Stripers Forever.

The notion that this move is a sneaky way of getting the EEZ open for recs after shutting it permanently for commercial fishing is just that, a notion. The comments received by NMFS regarding the reopening of the EEZ were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping it closed, and I mean 90% territory

[RIROCKHOUND]

Originally Posted by deputydog

I can't speak for the CCA but Stripers Forever has no position on bag limits and never has. Many members favor a slot limit in the 20-26" range or a trophy fish, but the organization's only official goal is game fish status (no commercial harvest)
As for the assertion that CCA has supported the opening of the EEZ, that's also incorrect. CCA pushed hard to keep it closed for all fishermen, recs and comms. So did Stripers Forever.
The notion that this move is a sneaky way of getting the EEZ open for recs after shutting it permanently for commercial fishing is just that, a notion. The comments received by NMFS regarding the reopening of the EEZ were overwhelmingly in favor of keeping it closed, and I mean 90% territory

Right there is my BIGGEST problem with these org's.
No reduction in bag for stripers (for recs) but a complete clousre for commercials
.
Why do commercials take the only hit?
If changes need to be made, do it on both sides of the ball. Bycatch and others are issues, but like flap mentioned, let's get it back to full-time commercial guys. Their catch is still remarkably lower than rec take. We need to tighten up the commercial regs (I sat in a meeting last year next to DZ and we were both amazed that a CT guys can still hold a RI commercial striper license... something aint right there.) AND drop the bag and up the size to1 fish @ 36". Unless the biology shows me otherwise (and I'm not smart enough to understand detailed fish biology) a slot limit is tougher to enforce, encourages more small fish poaching and is probably only supported by the light-tackle schoolie crowd who couldnt catch a 36" fish...
rant over

[deputydog]

Originally Posted by RIROCKHOUND

Right there is my BIGGEST problem with these org's.
No reduction in bag for stripers (for recs) but a complete clousre for commercials
.
Why do commercials take the only hit?
If changes need to be made, do it on both sides of the ball. Bycatch and others are issues, but like flap mentioned, let's get it back to full-time commercial guys. Their catch is still remarkably lower than rec take. We need to tighten up the commercial regs (I sat in a meeting last year next to DZ and we were both amazed that a CT guys can still hold a RI commercial striper license... something aint right there.) AND drop the bag and up the size to1 fish @ 36". Unless the biology shows me otherwise (and I'm not smart enough to understand detailed fish biology) a slot limit is tougher to enforce, encourages more small fish poaching and is probably only supported by the light-tackle schoolie crowd who couldnt catch a 36" fish...
rant over

Bryan,
You bring up the main reason that Stripers Forever doesn't advocate for a specific bag limit for stripers. You could get a dozen ardent anglers in a discussion and get no consensus among them on what the appropriate limits should be. If the fish were managed exclusively for recreational fishing the fisheries managers could stop worrying about killing every fish up to their target levels designed to reach "maximum sustainable yield", and worry about achieving a healthy population throughout the fish's age range. It would be easy to set bag limits coast-wide and recreational anglers would accept them. They may grouse and whine, but they'll accept them.

If you limited the commercial bass season in Massachusetts to "full- time commercial guys" (residents only), you could fit them all in a small room. I would assume the RI group would take an even smaller room.

Personally, I like the slot limits. The Maine reg of 1 fish between 20-26" OR one over 40" works just fine.Sure there are knuckleheads who don't adhere to the regs but that happens everywhere.
I've caught plenty of big fish. I release them because they are all female and the prime spawners in the population. Smaller fish taste better anyway. You kill those big fish why exactly?

Market gunning for ducks and geese ended seventy years ago. That was a few commercial guys squandering a public resource for personal gain. Stripers are a lot more popular as a public resource today than waterfowl were then. How about leaving a single fish species for the public?

[macojoe]

I think Bush should stay with something he knows about!! Wait he doesn't no anything!!

Leave the fish alone and figure out the war that he has asked 190 something Billion dollars for in the last 3 weeks!!

You no when my ck book is empty I have to wait for the next pay day!!

Bushes ck book ran out 100 trillion dollars ago, and he is still spending!!