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

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by MikeToole

I would ask that if a fishery is at a point where you limit the general public to only 2 fish a day, why is it acceptable to have a commercial fishery. Not saying I want to see the limits increased.

I would guess that it is because there are exponentially more recs than comms and it *should* be relatively easy to track and limit the take by the comms.

Recs are pretty much unregulated in how much they can take outside of the daily bag limits and the season is open year round (even though the fish aren't really here year round).

[jmac]

Anyone know if these people @ Stripers Forever look to get the R.I season closed down also ?

I think its just a matter of time before they spread their agenda up and down the Coast.....

[dannyplug1]

I dont want to put lighter fluid on a wild fire but, the problems in Maine (the lack of fish) are not caused by the slot limit. I just finished #^&#^&#^&#^& Russels Striper Wars and the problem is that the fish that migrate to Maine are for the most part Chesapeake fish. The problem is that the chesapeake is in bad shape. Look at the young of the year indexes look at the destruction of the menhaden population that filters the waters of the bay and provides food for the bass. Huge portions of the bay are dead zones. The problems with the bass in maine are not related to the slot limits. The real problems with the bass are not so simple to put a finger on. That being stated I still am in favor of making bass a non commercial species. I hope they win at the state house.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by dannyplug1

I dont want to put lighter fluid on a wild fire but, the problems in Maine (the lack of fish) are not caused by the slot limit. I just finished #^&#^&#^&#^& Russels Striper Wars and the problem is that the fish that migrate to Maine are for the most part Chesapeake fish. The problem is that the chesapeake is in bad shape. Look at the young of the year indexes look at the destruction of the menhaden population that filters the waters of the bay and provides food for the bass. Huge portions of the bay are dead zones. The problems with the bass in maine are not related to the slot limits. The real problems with the bass are not so simple to put a finger on. That being stated I still am in favor of making bass a non commercial species. I hope they win at the state house.

This has been my exact point all along. People are quick to say that Maine's fishing sucks because they have a slot, but there appears to be little evidence to back either position - maybe it has, maybe it hasn't but there is no way to tell.

Correlation does not prove causation.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by tattoobob

Check out this pretty much sums it up

Telegram.com - A product of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette

Sums up the opponent's side of the argument. Otherwise, nothing he states is really supported.

I agree with his statements about pollution in the Chesapeake and with regards to protecting the bait. Otherwise, his only arguments against the bill is that commercial fisherman won't make money on the fish and the commercial quota will be redistributed to the recreational fisherman, which doesn't make any sense since the recreational take is so poorly tracked.

Gamefish status is the way to go.

[JohnR]

Hopefully some of you are going to this today, I can't make it due to work.

As shattered as opinions are in this thread and in the angling community, we're screwed in the long run because we will be divided into pieces and consumed in those pieces.

[CowHunter]

Some People just dont get it.... If an extremist FlyFishing group like stripers Forever could band together and totally close the commercial fishery down in Mass because the fishing sucks in maine is really unbelievable... I would love to see some PETA Seal loving group band 3 bus loads together and shut downthe entire Cape Beaches from Race Point to Chatham just so the Seals can be unbothered and Happy. What the hell is the difference? The closings of entire areas can be next, just because its done offshore doesnt mean it wont get done on the surf. Hell they are trying to do it down certain beaches here in NJ due to the "Animal-Like" behevior of certain people fishing the beaches, the trash, fish racks, etc... I love how NJ is a "Green" Gamefish state according to StripersForever but they kill more fish than probably a combination of states with the regular rec catch and the 360,000 lb bonus AKA BS Commercial Quota...
There have been seasonal weather and bait pattern changes that I am sure affected Maine..... Maine is on the upper end of the northern migrational Patterns as is North Carolina to the south. Look at North Carolina this year, somehow I dont think they will get much or any of the Commercial Quota filled because the ocean temp is the coldest its been in year 41, and the bait and the fish have move well outside of three miles and will probably stay there along with the many other bodies. Its probably been a decade since surfcasters had a good shot at them down there. Hell I remember running down there in the late 90's and chasing those fish down the beach from Duck, Kitty Hawk to hatteras... The Bait was inshore so is the fish. I remember walking down to the mouth of the saco river years back, surfcasting at night... My wife caught her first Maine Striper there. The amount of bait at the river mouth was unbelievable. Alot of the bait has moved offshore so have the bass, just a fact, look at Stelwagon, gulf of maine. Why come inshore and scrap for crusteceans??? That cant sustain those big bodies of fish, thats why they show with the Herring runs, Mullet runs, Bunker runs, Mackeral and squid....
Here off NJ Ive been fishing 2-3 miles offshore with my charters, mostly by myself... Hell I even filmed a tv show there this past June which I put up on my FB page. It will air sometime this month... Gotta see the bites I get there, by myself....Where is land? Where are the boats?
Some people hate the thought of commercial fisherman. They are on the Extremist Side that feels Striped Bass should be a gamefish, no one should be allowed to kill one, (Unless of course they want a 20" slot), and the fish should be there to provide catch and release pleasure like a child going to the park.....
On the other end of the spectrum we have the Diehard Commercial Guy....Kill everything by any means necassary until there is nothing left and make lots of $$$ on it! Mindless barbarians that think Fish are an unlimited resource....
I would hope that we all on this board were a median having respect for both commercial and rec, because we both do need to coexist and work together to preserve a fishery that we mutually want to be healthy for us, our kids, grand kids and so on.
I whole Heartedly agree with what John R Said, We are screwed in the Long run because we will be divided in pieces and consumed in those pieces....

[maddmatt]

Originally Posted by CowHunter

Some People just dont get it.... If an extremist FlyFishing group like stripers Forever could band together and totally close the commercial fishery down in Mass because the fishing sucks in maine is really unbelievable... I would love to see some PETA Seal loving group band 3 bus loads together and shut downthe entire Cape Beaches from Race Point to Chatham just so the Seals can be unbothered and Happy. What the hell is the difference? The closings of entire areas can be next, just because its done offshore doesnt mean it wont get done on the surf. Hell they are trying to do it down certain beaches here in NJ due to the "Animal-Like" behevior of certain people fishing the beaches, the trash, fish racks, etc... I love how NJ is a "Green" Gamefish state according to StripersForever but they kill more fish than probably a combination of states with the regular rec catch and the 360,000 lb bonus AKA BS Commercial Quota...
There have been seasonal weather and bait pattern changes that I am sure affected Maine..... Maine is on the upper end of the northern migrational Patterns as is North Carolina to the south. Look at North Carolina this year, somehow I dont think they will get much or any of the Commercial Quota filled because the ocean temp is the coldest its been in year 41, and the bait and the fish have move well outside of three miles and will probably stay there along with the many other bodies. Its probably been a decade since surfcasters had a good shot at them down there. Hell I remember running down there in the late 90's and chasing those fish down the beach from Duck, Kitty Hawk to hatteras... The Bait was inshore so is the fish. I remember walking down to the mouth of the saco river years back, surfcasting at night... My wife caught her first Maine Striper there. The amount of bait at the river mouth was unbelievable. Alot of the bait has moved offshore so have the bass, just a fact, look at Stelwagon, gulf of maine. Why come inshore and scrap for crusteceans??? That cant sustain those big bodies of fish, thats why they show with the Herring runs, Mullet runs, Bunker runs, Mackeral and squid....
Here off NJ Ive been fishing 2-3 miles offshore with my charters, mostly by myself... Hell I even filmed a tv show there this past June which I put up on my FB page. It will air sometime this month... Gotta see the bites I get there, by myself....Where is land? Where are the boats?
Some people hate the thought of commercial fisherman. They are on the Extremist Side that feels Striped Bass should be a gamefish, no one should be allowed to kill one, (Unless of course they want a 20" slot), and the fish should be there to provide catch and release pleasure like a child going to the park.....
On the other end of the spectrum we have the Diehard Commercial Guy....Kill everything by any means necassary until there is nothing left and make lots of $$$ on it! Mindless barbarians that think Fish are an unlimited resource....
I would hope that we all on this board were a median having respect for both commercial and rec, because we both do need to coexist and work together to preserve a fishery that we mutually want to be healthy for us, our kids, grand kids and so on.
I whole Heartedly agree with what John R Said, We are screwed in the Long run because we will be divided in pieces and consumed in those pieces....

hear, hear....

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by CowHunter

Some People just dont get it.... If an extremist FlyFishing group like stripers Forever could band together and totally close the commercial fishery down in Mass because the fishing sucks in maine is really unbelievable......

I wouldn't call them extremist, but they certainly have a self serving agenda. I have to believe the legislature is going to take the same view and tell them to stuff it.

[numbskull]

I get it. And Pew gets it, too. When fishermen fail to reign in their overuse of the resource they only further demonstrate their inability to be objective stewards of the environment we (the entire public) share. That greatly strengthens Pew's position.

Being "right" and having a lot of money and a unified focus means Pew is soon going to be calling the shots. That will mean MPSs. The places that make the most sense for Marine Protected Sanctuaries are Stellwagen (already a protected area of sorts), the outer Cape (off the National seashore), and Nomans...(already a wildlife reserve). Of course there will also be shore areas that become off limits.

This bill will fail, and all of us will eventually suffer for it. If you like to fish for striped bass.....not make a living from them (as valid a use as that is).....gamefish status and greatly reduced recreational take was your best hope.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by numbskull

This bill will fail, and all of us will eventually suffer for it. If you like to fish for striped bass.....not make a living from them (as valid a use as that is).....gamefish status and greatly reduced recreational take was your best hope.

I could not agree more.