We're screwed on Sea bass!

[Rob Rockcrawler]

Wow, that is a hell of a drop. I dont target them at all but i read the fisherman every week. Seems that regardless of the open season they are biting every where. If the reduction is warranted because of some good scientific evidence im all for. If its just a grab for commercial fisherman than they really need to look more closely at the issue.

[tattoobob]

Who needs to keep 25 fish a day? that's 1500 fish per 2 month period per person

[niko]

these fish are very abundant and the stocks are in great shape as far as i can tell. i can catch a limit of them, if i wanted that many, in an hour, or two if it's "slow". this is a rediculous reduction. a 1 fish limit - you've got to be kidding me. i'd be fine with a 10 fish limit

[afterhours]

Originally Posted by tattoobob

Who needs to keep 25 fish a day? that's 1500 fish per 2 month period per person

what bob said...

[MAKAI]

Draconian measures , fish "Science" is far from perfect.

[robc22]

Originally Posted by tattoobob

Who needs to keep 25 fish a day? that's 1500 fish per 2 month period per person

What?? you work for nmfs's?......that how they add things up.....lottsa rec. folks sea bass 3 or 4 times a year tops and TRY to fill the freezer, whats wrong with that?......and since sea bass are boat caught fish.....not cheap to run a boat these days.....most guys try to get the most out of the day they run there boat.......again, what's wrong with that?

[tattoobob]

I don't have a problem with what you state, I'm just saying my example is excessive IMO

[afterhours]

instead of the usual "let's kill 'em 'till there gone"...i think it's good to be proactive for once. sure wish they'd treat stripers the same way.

[Mr. Sandman]

Like I said elsewhere...fishery agency problems are unfix-able.

Turning on and off fisheries is not "management".

The "1500 fish / month is not enough for you?" thinking is rampant esp when comm fishermen are pitted against recs. I would bet no one fishes anywhere near that much as it is asinine to make such assumptions. In reality most people will stop fishing for them when the catch limit is low. Look at Tog in MA...3/day, many of the fishing reports show guys not even trying because it is not worth it for a 3 bag limit. I heard the same argument for fluke when cuts there were being battered about.


What I want to know is if NMF folks are assuming we go every day and take our limit? That is what is sounds like. If not what is their assumption(s) to assume a 45% reduction?

[InTheHole]

[QUOTE=Mr. Sandman;811948]Like I said elsewhere...fishery agency problems are unfix-able.

Turning on and off fisheries is not "management".

That is a good point, if the stock is in such dire straits that we go from 20 to 1 bag limit, how is it possible that "they" did not see this coming 1 or 2 seasons ago and make adjustments then? Maybe we just don't have all the facts at hand.... but this just does not add up.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by afterhours

instead of the usual "let's kill 'em 'till there gone"...i think it's good to be proactive for once. sure wish they'd treat stripers the same way.

Exactly my thought. Unfortunately, many people have a mindset of "if fisheries managers aren't letting us exploit a species to the fullest, then they aren't doing their job."

That mentality is working at well for the striped bass.

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Exactly my thought. Unfortunately, many people have a mindset of "if fisheries managers aren't letting us exploit a species to the fullest, then they aren't doing their job."

That mentality is working at well for the striped bass.

The stock is at 150% of the msy biomass. They are supposed to manage to the msy biomass, that is the law. The problem is twofold 1) they don't believe their own numbers and 2) they are taking so many
'precautionary" measures that it makes the stock assessment meaningless. If they managed striped bass like this we wouldn't have a 2011 season!

[MakoMike]

Originally Posted by afterhours

instead of the usual "let's kill 'em 'till there gone"...i think it's good to be proactive for once. sure wish they'd treat stripers the same way.

If they did manage striped bass this way we would't have a season!

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by robc22

The fish and game folks apply the word "harvest" when referring to hunting as well .......as in harvesting a deer.....go figure?

Just another example of the same situation. Sounds better to the general public to say the animals were "harvested" than "killed". The whole thing seems silly to me and it's merely done as a PR thing.

Originally Posted by MakoMike

The stock is at 150% of the msy biomass. They are supposed to manage to the msy biomass, that is the law. The problem is twofold 1) they don't believe their own numbers and 2) they are taking so many
'precautionary" measures that it makes the stock assessment meaningless. If they managed striped bass like this we wouldn't have a 2011 season!

MSV is a terrible metric that is impossible to reliably compute because it is based on numbers with a massive margin for error.

Some precaution might just be a good thing. I wish they'd use some precaution when managing striped bass. While you say that if they managed striped bass like this you wouldn't have a season, I say that if they don't *start* managing striped bass like this then eventually there will be no fish to have a season for.

[JackK]

Originally Posted by MakoMike

If they did manage striped bass this way we would't have a season!

If they cut the S-B daily take by ~40 percent, and increased the size limit, we'd have 1 fish per day at 36", which many people (myself included) seem to be in favor of.