Wrong Article Fluke By-Catch

[Billfish715]

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/sports/outdoors/fishing/hook-line-and-sinker/2014/05/29/fluke-bycatch-waste-noaa/9736765/

This should be the correct article.

[Billfish715]

Did NOAA cover-up the by-catch figures to the public? Are the by-catch numbers of discarded fluke higher than they will admit? Is their claim of scientific data really accurate? Should the offshore scallop areas be put off limits during peak migration periods? What other fish were included in the by-catch totals? When we don't get all of the facts because information has been withheld intentionally or unintentionally, we have to be concerned. But, we've come to expect that kind of behavior from a government agency. I'm sure there is a commission being formed and an investigation being arranged. I don't expect anything to change for quite a few years until they get more scientific data.

[KevinH]

That is disgusting

[Ironman580]

if they were allowed to keep it all and put it towards their catch quota there would be allot less waste in this world !! and allot less dragging . somethings gotta give before the resource is depleted beyond repair :mad:

[Billfish715]

What is so confusing to me is that the recreational guys like you and me and the charter and party boat captains were complaining about the commercial quotas. This article points a finger not at the guys who trawl for fish but at the guys who drag for scallops among other things. The same government which is sworn to protect the fluke is passing regulations which call for those same fluke to be wasted and destroyed. It is inexcusable for the group from NOAA to have not informed the public or to not have studied the by-catch data before proposing size and bag limits for fishermen. So, again, did they know about the waste or did they choose to ignore it?

[dakota560]

As sad as that report is truthfully it's not a surprise. The poundage of fish wasted is staggering but the fact it's a common practice or residual effect of other legal commercial methods is not. Someone please tell me how or why the winter flounder fishery hasn't completely rebounded since it's been alost three or four years since the two fish limit was imposed and for all practical purposes there is no fishery anymore. One or two seasons and we should have seen a massive increase in flounder populations which hasn't happened. Some on the board will say the population has definitely increased but the fish are at the Farms or the Mud Hole or somewhere, I don't buy that for a minute. They probably were at these locations always just no one ever really targeted them there. 40 years ago there were thousands of people fishing for flounder in the spring when they started spawning and heading off shore and you'd catch 40 - 50 fish a day. With the season all but closed recently, these fish should have come back with a vengeance. They haven't. I would guess as mentioned in the article that flounder are being pounded when they migrate off shore by draggers, there's no other explanation. As with everything in life, this is all about money and some %^%#$%# politician is getting his or her bank account lined so that commercial interests can ravage the ocean and other non targeted fisheries while the recreational angler takes it up the a-s! I used to subscribe to abiding to regulations, it's hard to turn a blind eye any more when someone is picking your pocket every day and destroying a resource intended for all of us.

Dakota

[dakota560]

In addition to my earlier post, what has happened to the inshore sea bass season! With all the closures there should be sea bass all over the inshore grounds. There's not. What there is are pots all over the place! Don't know if there sea bass pots or lobster pots but something just isn't right. All these jumbo sea bass that were not harvested off shore when the season was closed during the winter should translate into a banner season for sea bass but again another stock mysteriously doesn't show the strength it should. Again for the people who will say you have to know where to look, I don't completely disagree that guys who do this for a living who have numbers which would be the envy of all are having good catches but other areas in shore which should be benefiting from these regulations and seasonal closures simply are not.

We traveled yesterday from the Shark River Reef up to the Highlands and the number of pots we passed was INSANE! Again don't know what type of pots they were but the numbers were staggering. I've heard countless reports from other anglers all having the same experiences. Something simply doesn't add up. It's hard to believe the sea bass stock is improving right now based on the pitiful catches most recreational guys are experiencing. No one can tell me that all these &^%$(^% pots doesn't have something to do with this fishery as well. It won't be long before it simply doesn't pay to throw off the dock lines anymore and to add insult to injury I guarantee everyone it won't be long before the salt water license issue comes up again and this time becomes a reality for the privilege we're all granted being able to fish in an ocean void of fish! Our beloved sport is quickly be taking away from us.

Dakota

[Billfish715]

Dakota, I feel your pain and share your concerns. We should continue to question our legislators' decisions so as not to have them assume that we are passively appeased. These topics have to be continuously debated and questioned. You mentioned the flounder recovery but how about a mention of the whiting! How many years ago did the Russian trawlers leave? Did I mention mackerel? If this is a model of how to restore fish populations, then why have a commission? The striped bass recovery seems to be the only success story.