Dorothy B SPEAK UP FOR STRIPERS!!!

[JBird]

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, or ASMFC, is going to change the regulations coastwide for Striped Bass for the 2015 season.
Their data suggests that, although overfishing is NOT occuring (their own claim which we happen to agree with), the spawning biomass is in decline and therefor a reduction is the harvest is warranted.
We have been given a list of options intended to achieve that reduction during this period of public comment and none of them include keeping things STATUS QUO. Captain Kevin has been on the water since 1951 and firmly believes that Striped Bass are more abundant now than they have ever been. There are many more men like him that agree. Their opinions may not be founded in data collected from samples but they still merit as much consideration as any biologists projections that were cooked up in a lab.
The over six decades spent at sea by Capt. Kevin and others like him are as valid a qualification to assess striped bass stocks as any biologist with a degree and we feel that this has NOT been taken into account.
The ASMFC is accepting public comments now through September 30th and I strongly urge everyone in the NJFishing community to go to their website www.asmfc.org and read the proposals offered. Though status quo is not one of the official options that is our "write in" vote. The least of all evils is option 7, which is 1 fish at 28-34 inches and one fish over 36 inches. I guess we'll have to throw back the 34 and 1/16th inch to 35 and 15/16th inchers. :confused:
Like I said, it's the lesser of the many evils.
Speak up, folks! Let your opinions be known!

www.asmfc.org look in the "Breaking News" list on the right hand side of the webpage, Striped Bass Addendum IV

[KevinH]

Email sent. 130 views on this thread should mean 130 opinions sent. If you don't voice your opinion don't complain when were limited to 1 fish

[Joey Dah Fish]

Email sent. 130 views on this thread should mean 130 opinions sent. If you don't voice your opinion don't complain when were limited to 1 fish

Agreed email sent

[Gerry Zagorski]

Just sent mine in

Comments need to be sent via email to mwaine@asmfc.org

Here is how yours might go:

Subject : Striped Bass Draft Addendum IV Public Comment

I am for a status quo option for the Striped Bass Management Regulations. Since that does not seem to be one of the options available, of the options that are available I would prefer Option 7.

Your Name and Address

[HDMarc]

Done. Nice write up Jeremy, hopefully we can flood their e-mails to show our disgust with how they keep taking from the recreational fishermen and screw with the livelihood of all the captains, crews, and local tackle shops that survive off this industry.

[JamesDaChef]

Done and Done
Thanks for the great info!!

[Walleyed]

Sent!

[kurtisb]

Done.

[penn50w]

Unless I'm reading this wrong - why wouldn't we opt for C3, 1 fish @ 28" - 35" & 1 fish @ over 35" not having to throw back the 34 1/16" -35 7/8" fish? Would be like NY but 35" instead of 40". Yes, no ?

[ReelNauti]

Unless I'm reading this wrong - why wouldn't we opt for C3, 1 fish @ 28" - 35" & 1 fish @ over 35" not having to throw back the 34 1/16" -35 7/8" fish? Would be like NY but 35" instead of 40". Yes, no ?


thats the issue, you've mis-read

The tables below provide a suite of options for both the coastal and Chesapeake Bay recreational fisheries.

stick to the "B" options, write your email stating you'd prefer "status quo" but if forced to choose another, B7 or B8 is your preference (providing you'd like to see the sponsor boats who target striped bass stay in business

[vinntastic]

Done sent....

[tjd24]

Sent

[tuna john]

Just sent mine in

Comments need to be sent via email to mwaine@asmfc.org

Here is how yours might go:

Subject : Striped Bass Draft Addendum IV Public Comment

I am for a status quo option for the Striped Bass Management Regulations. Since that does not seem to be one of the options available, of the options that are available I would prefer Option 7.

Your Name and Address

Thanks made it easy Im sure a lot will do know

[Inishmore3]

I voted but...... My question is this. Where is Frank Pallone? A vocal captain in AH used to carry the flag for Frank Pallone. I don't see Frank Pallone's name mentioned. I don't see him stepping up to the plate for the fisherman. I don't see this vocal captain mention Frank Pallone. Did he stop helping? Did he give up?

The NJ Governor won't help. He is too busy getting ready to run for President and saving the total disater and failure that is Atlantic City. I don't think Booker and Menendez know what a Striper is.

The problem is in NJ the politicians are worried about the total failure that is Atlantic City casino's. Nationally, we have ISIS and other problems. Stripers are not on the radar and NMFS knows it. That is why there will be a change for the worse in regulations for Stripers, Fluke, Seabass and who knows what else.

Unfortunately the captains and fishermen are on their own and at the mercy of NMFS. Remember you could have had eight fluke but gave it up for five?

I hope I am wrong but I think this business is going the way of the Atlantic City Casino's.

The CAIII out of Barnegat Light, NJ will close after the fluke ending until the opening of sea bass. That is three weeks of not sailing. Then they will try to sail daily for a week depending on if the sea bass are in reach. If not, its weekends only or nothing at all and pray for the blackfish opener.

Last year in the LBI Surf Tournament we had maybe a couple of bluefish weighed in. Why is that? We had Stripers. They say the hurricane had something to do with it. It was two years ago. I don't know.

Here is a question for the educated stock market people on this site. If the fishing business, meaning party boats and or tackle shops were listed on the NYSE, would you buy the shares? Would it be in your IRA? Or 401k? The answer is no. I'm just talking about saltwater here.

This time of year I would buy stock in the Salmon River Sport Shop. I would in Bass Pro Shop with all the fishing at the big lakes like Toledo Bend in Louisiana and Texas, Table Rock in Missouri and the North Carolina lakes named Norman, Gaston and Kerr.

The bottom line is its so sad that this business is going away. We grew up with it. We passed it on to others. We helped people on board. They helped us.

I hope i am wrong. But I think I'm not.

[scooter1010]

Email sent !

[togzilla]

Here was my email that I sent to Mike Waine:

It would be refreshing if the asmfc would disclose on the front cover of their amendments as follows:
" We have no interest in scientific data unless that data itself can be manipulated into our hidden agenda of robbing the recreational sector of a natural resource in order to protect our own self-serving and political interest"

I vote for status quo and an independent council of actual marine scientists and full time charter captains to investigate the integrity and validity of the asmfc so called scientific findings!

[Fin Reaper]

Email sent

[shrimpman steve]

Done

[Qman]

Unless I'm reading this wrong - why wouldn't we opt for C3, 1 fish @ 28" - 35" & 1 fish @ over 35" not having to throw back the 34 1/16" -35 7/8" fish? Would be like NY but 35" instead of 40". Yes, no ?

I have to agree with this I am not a lawyer but the way I read we have all of these choices.
A status quo
B1-9
C1-3
D1
Problem with status quo is it would mean greater cut backs in following year or two.
Just my translation.

[Bigadam119]

Can someone explain how NJ didn't even come close to our quota in 2013, would not come close to even the reduced quota in 2015 under the current regs and still have to change our regs?

[broken bobber]

done deal

[TAGGED FISH]

This takes less than a minute....................

If these scumbags take a fish away we may never get it back .
These animals are only changing the regs to justify thier jobs . They do not give a flying fu@k about you or i.
How much time have they spent on the water this year?
When was the last time they even caught a bass ? Or have ever caught one ?

Speak up !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Capt. Lou]

Message sent , everyone on this board should speak on this very important issue now .It could not be easier to do so like I just did!!!:mad:

[Michael82929]

Done

[dales529]

Done.
Never ceases to amaze me when you read these proposals how they basically admit that there is no statistically valid reason to make the changes but they are going to do it anyway based on the hypothetical. For as much time and people as it must take to generate the document it seems getting real information from Real fishermen, real catch data, real stock assessments would suit all of us better. its just like the weather, you want an accurate forecast look out the window, you want to assess the stock get out on the water or LISTEN to those that are out there. I know it doesn't work that way BUT

[hammer4reel]

Would have prefered they went to a slot such as
1 fish at 24-28
1 fish over 36
that would have allowed multiple years of fish to not be taken.

That being said ANYONE that thinks striped bass arent being overfished really has the blinders on/
Amazing that you want to believe they arent being fished because they said so, yet all the other fish they claim are being overfished we want to disagree with them .

Time to have actual surveys about whats going on on the water NOT the bull shit surveys they now take.

Everytime I get suveyed they just want to know how many times the boat carried anglers, NOT 1 question about how many fish were caught

[dales529]

Would have prefered they went to a slot such as
1 fish at 24-28
1 fish over 36
that would have allowed multiple years of fish to not be taken.

That being said ANYONE that thinks striped bass arent being overfished really has the blinders on/
Amazing that you want to believe they arent being fished because they said so, yet all the other fish they claim are being overfished we want to disagree with them .

Time to have actual surveys about whats going on on the water NOT the bull shit surveys they now take.

Everytime I get suveyed they just want to know how many times the boat carried anglers, NOT 1 question about how many fish were caught

Dan, we have agreed to disagree many times before and with all due respect for you and your time on the water I am responding mainly to your statement that overfishing IS occurring regarding Stripers and assume you mean by recreational fisherman. Please expand on that. Even with "dock shots" of catches including Breeders these fish are everywhere for the most part, Schoolies, Breeders/ inside estuaries, outside in the ocean when bait allows within 3 miles or then outside 3 miles where only a very very small percentage are taken by those indifferent and they are there for many months outside the "usual" striper migration patterns but that's a whole different conversation
Also when fighting these assesments you state flat out fisheries management doesn't get it right with the surveys and its never that we agree with Overfishing or Not. Its just calling them out on their own words when they put in these bogus report that Overfishing is NOT occurring.
I appreciate Striped Bass as a game fish but IMHO there is no need for further regulation at this time. Status quo would continue to work, and save some jobs

[hammer4reel]

Dan, we have agreed to disagree many times before and with all due respect for you and your time on the water I am responding mainly to your statement that overfishing IS occurring regarding Stripers and assume you mean by recreational fisherman. Please expand on that. Even with "dock shots" of catches including Breeders these fish are everywhere for the most part, Schoolies, Breeders/ inside estuaries, outside in the ocean when bait allows within 3 miles or then outside 3 miles where only a very very small percentage are taken by those indifferent and they are there for many months outside the "usual" striper migration patterns but that's a whole different conversation
Also when fighting these assesments you state flat out fisheries management doesn't get it right with the surveys and its never that we agree with Overfishing or Not. Its just calling them out on their own words when they put in these bogus report that Overfishing is NOT occurring.
I appreciate Striped Bass as a game fish but IMHO there is no need for further regulation at this time. Status quo would continue to work, and save some jobs

Dave IF you follow where these fish come and go from you would see they are hammered for the whole year minus a few weeks.
Its not just NJ fishing for these bass.
The chesapeke stocks get hammered from Thanksgiving until thier closure In April.
Then they come here and get pounded from May till July, from here they head towards Montauk and north where they get beat on nightly until October, then back here to get hammered again during the fall, unless the stay well offshore during that fall migration.
There are WAY more people fishing for them than ever before , and having great success as they are many ways to target them.
While the Bay fishery was awesome this spring, the ocean fishery here was BY far the worst it has been in the last 7.
Way too many people killing LOTS of bonus fish on top of their limits, just ads to it.
ADD upall the charter boats just here on the NJ fishing site. there are 5-10 times that fishing , and beating on the fish daily.
Add those numbers up , then add all the landings from all the other states fishing for the same body of fish.,
They most def are being overfished

[spyro]

..DONE......:cool:

[Blackfish Doug]

This thing is not user friendly I can't figure out how to respond to it. It's pages & pages of data that I don't understand. Please anybody use my name I can't figure out how to email my opinion. I would vote for anything you guys suggest. I'm sure there are plenty more like me who feel the same way. I only wish there was a open page where you could use your name & info & vote. Make it simple but this is obviously it's intended that way just so we can't voice our opinion.

[Chris1129]

E-mail sent this morning.

[Jay]

Done deal!

[JBird]

All comments should be sent to mwaine@asmfc.org

As far as the bass getting "hammered, pounded" or whatever other term for catching them, I feel that because the State of New Jersey has no commercial fishing industry for striped bass we are being unfairly punished in order to make this quota.

If other states followed suit this "problem" dissappears in an instant. I know that commercial fisherman need to work too but the economic importance of striped bass to the recreational fishery far outweighs that of the commercial one.

Personally, I'd be willing to pay a fee to compensate the commercial guys loss of income for a year or two until they had time to adjust to the change, that's just me personally though.

Lastly, I wonder what recreational "landings" means exactly. Commercial landings means dead fish going to market, something easier to track because there are (or should be) records from wholesalers who buy the fish at X dollars a pound. All the ASMFC has to do is get the records of those transactions and count up the pounds.
How they estimate our "landings", which I assume they mean dead fish going back to the dock, is another kettle of fish. (pun intended) How on earth can they possibly get an accurate estimate? Why don't they ask the people that are out on the water day in and day out what their assesment is?

[TomKaye]

This thing is not user friendly I can't figure out how to respond to it. It's pages & pages of data that I don't understand. Please anybody use my name I can't figure out how to email my opinion. I would vote for anything you guys suggest. I'm sure there are plenty more like me who feel the same way. I only wish there was a open page where you could use your name & info & vote. Make it simple but this is obviously it's intended that way just so we can't voice our opinion.

I simply copied and pasted Gerry's suggestion.... Thanks Gerry.
To :mwaine@asmfc.org

Subject : Striped Bass Draft Addendum IV Public Comment

I am for a status quo option for the Striped Bass Management Regulations. Since that does not seem to be one of the options available, of the options that are available I would prefer Option 7.

Signed my name and address.

Tom K.

[Roman' Round Charters]

Done email sent

[stevejordan]

does this apply to the hudson north of the gwb?

[Blackfish Doug]

I simply copied and pasted Gerry's suggestion.... Thanks Gerry.
To :mwaine@asmfc.org

Subject : Striped Bass Draft Addendum IV Public Comment

I am for a status quo option for the Striped Bass Management Regulations. Since that does not seem to be one of the options available, of the options that are available I would prefer Option 7.

Signed my name and address.

Tom K.

Thanks for that layout not everybody is computer savvy. It's just a shame that they don't have a page where you could just vote. A lot of fisherman like myself just get frustrated & give up. But I just did what you said & sent the email.
Doug

[penn50w]

Once again I have read and re-read the proposals and I cannot find where it says that we "MUST" stick to the "B" options - if someone can point out the language before the 30th, then I'll vote that way, otherwise I would pick C3 as originally stated or possibly D1 which also seems semi reasonable to save fish and still take 2 fish per man.

[bigal427]

email sent went with option b1. Stripers are heading for trouble with people keeping 3 fish over 30 pounds. Do you really need more then one.

[Badreddog]

Thank you Jeremy for the activity presented to us. I sent my E Mail for option 7. There are two days left to send out the E Mails. Please stick up for our rights in NJ.

[MattRedShirt]

Message sent. Thanks for making us aware of the situation and options under review.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Today, September 30th, is the last day you can send comments in.