Lets legalize freedom!

[broken bobber]

Originally Posted by O'Connor

I long for the days of a night crawler, bobber and a cold beer.

Bobber and Cold Beer...... ...... when ya coming home son.....

[Islander II]

Just think, we catch those fish, we eat them. When a dragger hauls his net, and he has a thousand pounds, or more, over his limit, those fish go back as by-catch. So, if you add up the amount of fish that go back, dead, that adds up too. A lot more! The recreational fisherman did not wipe out the stocks!

[italianfisherman]

Originally Posted by Islander II

Just think, we catch those fish, we eat them. When a dragger hauls his net, and he has a thousand pounds, or more, over his limit, those fish go back as by-catch. So, if you add up the amount of fish that go back, dead, that adds up too. A lot more! The recreational fisherman did not wipe out the stocks!

AGREE...

[kmaty]

Can anyone tell me the diffrence which takes more a trawler that takes 1000lbs of fluke or a party boat that takes a thousand pound of fluke. I have done alot of ling fishing this winter and i Have seen countless baskets of cleand ling if the trawler takes the same why is he the bad guy.

TRawler by catch sucks but so do we when we catch just as much.

[piston529]

I'm thinking the commercial boat will harvest 1000 lbs in a much shorter period of time especially with the 14 inch size limit they enjoy. Then do it all over again.

Joe
panacure@aol.com

[Detour66]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

When it comes to some of the fisheries nothing could be further from the truth. Flounder was WAY over fished for way too many years when they were in small tight confined pockets , and the days of guys filling garbage cans and coolers def had a GIANT impact on them.

I have to disagree sir... not even close to what the draggers are bringing in! How can we be close .. they are feeding the masses of the world! Supplying seafood for the restaurants, fish markets, animal food and mass produced frozen fish products. Yeah years back guys would catch and keep more than they should but to say this will compete with a boat with spotter planes and a mother ship, no way! I say freedom .... but not a slaughterer!

[JBird]

Spotter planes for flounder?

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by Detour66

I have to disagree sir... not even close to what the draggers are bringing in! How can we be close .. they are feeding the masses of the world! Supplying seafood for the restaurants, fish markets, animal food and mass produced frozen fish products. Yeah years back guys would catch and keep more than they should but to say this will compete with a boat with spotter planes and a mother ship, no way! I say freedom .... but not a slaughterer!

I didnt say we are beating them in total catch , your post said rod and reel fisherman can never hurt a fishery. I showed you real numbers for what could be caught by the AMOUNT of recreational fisherman just here in NJ .

boats feeding the World are not just catching the fish off the NJ coast.

When you add up how Little a catch needs to be caught when your talking about over a 1/4 million anglers it adds up fast

[lingding]

Lot's of responses here.- lots of good input.

One thing I think all fishermen could agreee on (and all scientists could not refute) is that if we had an 'any' rule it would work and also achieve conservation rules.

'ANY fisherman can take up to 10 Fish ANY time, ANY size and ANY where'; beyond the first 10 fish, formal rules and regs kick in.

It's too easy, and satisfies too many consituents. - and that's why they would never allow it! They are taking away our liberties, but they can't take away my dream of a better society. Let's not give up the good fight!

[DBJR]

No comment... Lets catch fish in season.