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?
