Editorial: Conservation Equivalency is a Scam on Anglers
Conservation equivalency is a fraud. It was never about fairness or science. It is a political tool that lets states rig the rules to favor their own and leave others holding the bag.Look at our sea bass regulations. Two boats in the same federal waters, fishing side by side, same gear, same fish. One keeps a cooler full of legal fish. The other throws back fish that would be dinner if they launched from the next state over. That is not conservation. That is legalized cheating.
This system invites states to carve up seasons and size limits to please the loudest lobbyists and the most connected politicians. It is nothing but gerrymandering on the water. And the fish and the anglers pay the price.
There is absolutely no need for conservation equivalency in federal waters. None. These are shared resources. They should have one set of rules, applied equally, to every angler. Anything else is corruption with a pretty name.
The result of this nonsense is simple. States fight over who can take more. Enforcement becomes a joke. Anglers lose faith in the system. And the fish populations we are supposed to protect take the hit.
It is time to kill conservation equivalency and get back to one set of fair, coastwide rules. Until that happens, this is not fisheries management. It is politics in waders.
Publisher
George R. Scocca
