Over the years I've worked hard, and with some success, to see the other side when it comes to fisheries management. But it's moves like this that make it hard sometimes. The full article can be found here, but the gist of it is they don't like the reefs off of Moriches and Shinnecock because they will interfere with their tows on squid and other species.
So for once, our local state agencies took the step to keep the materials in our waters and use them for fishing reefs. One of those reefs saw two state records come off of them this year for Sheepshead and Bonito. The reefs serve the over 1/2 million anglers that contribute over 3-billion dollars a year to the local economy. And they have proven to be a success in building habitats to attract fish.
You see this is much more than debris being in their path. I'm sure they can find these fish outside of the small piece of bottom they need to avoid. There's little doubt they will still reach their quotas. This is about the fact that these reefs are for recreational use only, and I guarantee you their next move will be to try and gain equal access to them.
The law is clear, commercials must stay 500-feet off and away from all manmade reefs in state waters. We all know this will not affect their bottom line. They'll make their quotas, and if they can't maybe it needs to be reduced. There are plenty of times I go fishing and I can't get to my preferred spot, so I move to another one. That's what they will have to do.
This is an attempt by the commercial industry, lead by Bonnie Brady, who by the way is very very persuasive and who I have a lot of respect for. I think this is a play to allow them to fish those reefs, ie: pots.
They knew these reefs were going in, and never a peep and now they're trying to shut them down. It's moves like this that make it hard to see the other side.
So for once, our local state agencies took the step to keep the materials in our waters and use them for fishing reefs. One of those reefs saw two state records come off of them this year for Sheepshead and Bonito. The reefs serve the over 1/2 million anglers that contribute over 3-billion dollars a year to the local economy. And they have proven to be a success in building habitats to attract fish.
You see this is much more than debris being in their path. I'm sure they can find these fish outside of the small piece of bottom they need to avoid. There's little doubt they will still reach their quotas. This is about the fact that these reefs are for recreational use only, and I guarantee you their next move will be to try and gain equal access to them.
The law is clear, commercials must stay 500-feet off and away from all manmade reefs in state waters. We all know this will not affect their bottom line. They'll make their quotas, and if they can't maybe it needs to be reduced. There are plenty of times I go fishing and I can't get to my preferred spot, so I move to another one. That's what they will have to do.
This is an attempt by the commercial industry, lead by Bonnie Brady, who by the way is very very persuasive and who I have a lot of respect for. I think this is a play to allow them to fish those reefs, ie: pots.
They knew these reefs were going in, and never a peep and now they're trying to shut them down. It's moves like this that make it hard to see the other side.
