Quote:
Originally Posted by HerringKing
Everybody talks about the "old days" where they had no regulations and you kept a dozen 20 lb fish or 3 at a time. Doesn't anyone realize that's part of the problem? Stripers were wiped out before regulations in the 70's and 80's. Everyone has heard the stories about keeping dozen of big tiderunners in burlap bags, now my generation can't find a 5 lb weakfish. Winter flounder aren't around ( except offshore in the summer) even it we had a bigger bag limit.
I think you old timers need to stop bragging about the "old days" and realize that you are part of the problem. You can't keep 20 big reproducing fish in the 1970 and then complain about there not having fish 30-40 years later.
Just my 2 cents
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I understand your consternation,,, Let me say this however... Recreational pressure does not collapse salt water stocks... Simply not enough hooks in the water.. On a local level, say in a bay or river I can see it happening during any given year, however most of these stocks were wiped out by massive commercial fishing, much of it from foreign fleets, with factory ships the size of small towns.. Massive exploitation... We could NEVER do this sort of damage to stocks with a few baited hooks..
Until the advent of gigantic foreign fleets, inshore fish stocks were robust decade after decade after decade... Blackfish were everywhere, and easy to catch forever, UNTIL they became a commercial species of high value.. Same with winter flounder, same with whiting etc etc..
Yes we should have been more conservation oriented, and used some self control back ibn the "good old days"... However, the outcome would not have changed one iota...
Whiting are gone even though anglers catch none..
Flounder stocks are miniscule compared to 30 years ago,, even with a limit of two..
Did recreationals catch all the Bluefins? Swords? Sharks?.. We catch vey few of these large predators in the grand scheme of things.. Its the commercial longliners that have decimated those fish..
Do sport fisherman take too many Menhaden??. Those stocks are down as well..
No thats a strictly commercial only effort...
Eels??? Nope, most recreational guys don't want them, however, they are way down in numbers in recent years.. How could that possibly be?
Horned Dogs?... Pout?.. These species are stressed as well if you listen to the NMFS... whats next, sea robins in peril??..
I agree with the fact that the days of full burlap sacks are at an end and should have been years ago.. However thats NOT why so many food fish are in trouble... Be kind enough to read this article i posted, and then get back to me on where the BIG pressure comes from... bob
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Factory_ship
