Striped Bass Fishermen, Where's The Outrage on the Proposed Conservation Equivalencies???

[george]

The real question is, should we have CEs at all? That could keep the politics out. We spend all of our money on science and then we hold a vote?

 

[pequa1]

Did the moratorium in the 80s work ? Or whenever it was. (Never targeted bass in the 70s and not until the 2000s.)

 

[Roccus7]

The real question is, should we have CEs at all? That could keep the politics out. We spend all of our money on science and then we hold a vote?

ABSOLUTELY, screw CEs

 

[Roccus7]

Did the moratorium in the 80s work ? Or whenever it was. (Never targeted bass in the 70s and not until the 2000s.)

Apparently the "Moratorium" wasn't coast wide for recs. At least that's what I've heard from other states.

 

[george]

Apparently the "Moratorium" wasn't coast wide for recs. At least that's what I've heard from other states.

New Yorkers had a commercial only moratorium with a 36-inch minimum. It was actually under the guise of high PCB levels in bass. But we are comparing apples and oranges. There were NO bass before.

 

[buddha162]

The real question is, should we have CEs at all?

Absolutely not! And while we're at it, place striped bass under federal jurisdiction --- like bluefish --- and they might stand a fighting chance to recover. NJ managed not only to squeeze out 3" off the slot but also expand that stupid bonus tag into the Spring season...my state is represented by the most irresponsible people.

 

[Bassman909]

Has there continued to be any discussion on the mandatory use of circle hooks? Haven't been able to find anything about that topic.
Thanks

 

[pequa1]

Fairly certain its not going into effect until 2021, and for baitfishermen.

 

[george]

Has there continued to be any discussion on the mandatory use of circle hooks? Haven't been able to find anything about that topic.
Thanks

Circle books will be required for bait in 2021.

 

[MakoMike]

The real question is, should we have CEs at all? That could keep the politics out. We spend all of our money on science and then we hold a vote?

O.K. I'll defend CE. Not all states that are members of the ASMFC have the same availability of regulated species. So each individual state has to have some flexibility in meeting the ASMFC's stated objectives. Take fluke for example, the states of NC, VA, MD, & DE see very few large fluke, while the states of NY, CT, RI and MA do see very large fluke. So while a size limit of say 19 inches may be acceptable for those states that see big fish, that same size limit would prevent any fluke retention in states south of NJ.n ow would that be "fair"?

How about cobia? Catch one up here and it makes headlines, down south they have strict size/bag limits. If we had those limits you wouldn't be able to keep one if you did manage to catch it.

The point of CE is to allow the states to tailor their regs to the fish's availability in that state, and lord knows that fish availability is not the same for every member of the ASMFC and for every species.

 

[pequa1]

While I understand that, what is the point of allowing some states, any state, from harvesting fish before they even make it to sexual maturity, let alone having a slot limit ?