Do you suspect much of the survey data used to justify unneeded fishery closures is based upon boastful reports on sites like this?
Problem is: If we report catching a limit, that number is added towards reaching the SAFMC species catch limits. If we report catching absolutely nothing, thats used to show the fishery is depleted.
Personally, Nicole, Dylan and I went out in Tomfoolery on a calm sea and 60 degree air temp to the Chas 60 area on Thursday. We didnt fish at all. We just motored around dropping squid to feed the poor endangered fish. We did burn a lot of ethanol polluted gas (soon to be 15%) thereby helping support the factory-farm corn ethanol industry, subsidized with $millions$ of our tax dollars, and scientifically denounced by every agency except the politically lobbied EPA and current administration.
TOMFOOLERY, Sea Hunt 21ft CC / Yamaha on I.O.P.
Realtor - So ask me!
when the dealers at the boat show ask if you’re gonna buy? why bother we can’t catch anything anyway! these govt. agencies won’t listen they’re mind is already made up! yeah we know our science is faulted but until we figure something else out that’s all we have! Gimme a break!
I don’t have a degree in Marine fisheries or anything for that matter, but let’s think about something for a moment. Just because someone catches a limit of BSB doesn’t mean they will be around for ever. Look at the red fish. We almost lost that fishery. The efforts that were put in place for a few years had the fish make a big come back. Same for the striped bass up east. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to slow down for a year or so? I do think they should get NC, Ga. and Fl on board or their efforts will not be worth the paper they will be written on. All I ask is lets do what best for the future of our fisheries.
I don’t have a degree in Marine fisheries or anything for that matter, but let’s think about something for a moment. Just because someone catches a limit of BSB doesn’t mean they will be around for ever. Look at the red fish. We almost lost that fishery. The efforts that were put in place for a few years had the fish make a big come back. Same for the striped bass up east. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to slow down for a year or so?[/b] I do think they should get NC, Ga. and Fl on board or their efforts will not be worth the paper they will be written on. All I ask is lets do what best for the future of our fisheries.
FishCrazy
The SAFMC are not trying to slow things down. They want to eventually close all recreational fishing for certain species in order to bring about Catch Shares, which will make these fish completely off limits to us. Just look at their track record thus far. Once they pass certain regulations, there won’t be any going back.
Ask our divers if theres a shortage of black bass. Even the Feds admit the survey statistics are flawed.
Mark Twain said:
There’s Lies, Dam ned Lies, and then there’s Statistics!
TOMFOOLERY, Sea Hunt 21ft CC / Yamaha on I.O.P.
BSBs are thicker than mosquitoes in the lowcountry. I've been slapping mosquitoes for years and they keep coming back. Just like we told the SAFMC... Put a mask on and get your ass down there! Unfortunately, they prefer to count fish with pencils behind a desk instead of getting out on the water.
I don’t have a degree in Marine fisheries or anything for that matter, but let’s think about something for a moment. Just because someone catches a limit of BSB doesn’t mean they will be around for ever. Look at the red fish. the fishery was completely unregulated, no size limits, or catch limits, along with commercial netting. There is also a major stocking program for redfish</font id=“red”> We almost lost that fishery. The efforts that were put in place for a few years had the fish make a big come back. Same for the striped bass up east. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to slow down for a year or so?The fishing was “slowed” down in the early 90’s with the inception of the M.S.act. Since then the BSB’s have rebounded in numbers and size. We are just now starting to reap the benefits of size and catch limits from previous SAFMC boards. </font id=“red”> I do think they should get NC, Ga. and Fl on board or their efforts will not be worth the paper they will be written on.GA and Fl have almost no affect on the BSB’s, SC is at the southern end of the commercially fished areas for blackfish. Any law that comes to pass on BSB’s will extend from the NC/Va border south to Key West Fl.</font id=“red”> All I ask is lets do what best for the future of our fisheries.
FishCrazy
This is how the propaganda machine operates…tell everyone that there is a problem, use terms like “EMERGENCY CLOSURE” and you get a panic response from people that don’t get out there or don’t have years of fishing here. Our population is healthy! move the size up to 14" and drop it to 10 per person, but don’t close a great and thriving fishery! Ask these pinheads at the meeting how many trips they have made…
All I ask is lets do what best for the future of our fisheries.
They can’t even decide the actual condition of the fishery, how can they decide what’s best. I wouldn’t have a problem with slowing down, either, but only based on sound science and not the monkey spunk they’re using now … [:0]
I don’t have a degree in Marine fisheries or anything for that matter, but let’s think about something for a moment. Just because someone catches a limit of BSB doesn’t mean they will be around for ever. Look at the red fish. We almost lost that fishery. The efforts that were put in place for a few years had the fish make a big come back. Same for the striped bass up east. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to slow down for a year or so? I do think they should get NC, Ga. and Fl on board or their efforts will not be worth the paper they will be written on. All I ask is lets do what best for the future of our fisheries.
FishCrazy
you have a very good post here.
I started in these offshore waters 25 years ago,inshore was earlier than that.the offshore fishing has taken a huge step back,for whatever reason.no limits to speak of,and the fish were plentiful.I fish the deep water more now than I did back then,simply because the equipment and gear make it easier for me.
sailfish have been protected for some time,look at that fishery now.spot-tailed red drum were very hard to come by in the 70’s-80’s,now I catch them in my cast net.they were off limits for a while.
a closure sucks,but so does the last day of deer season,duck season,turkey season,rabbit season,squirrel season,dove season,hell we even have alligator season.if we didn’t stop,we would not have anything left.
funny,I used to hear a commercial all the time,for a company that sold oil filters…“Pay me now,or pay me later”.
Oops_lost, do you regularly fish for BSB? If so, do you limit out on 12" fish or do you throw them back? Many of us will not keep them under 14" (as sellsfish is saying), nor do we always keep our 15 limit. However, since right now you can’t keep ARS, grouper or b-liners, we keep our limits on BSB. When the other fish are “in season”, how many of us keep every single BSB limit on our boat?
I would second what sellsfish recommended. Make the size limit 14" and change the limit down to 10 (a 33.3% reduction)!
Bolbie, didn’t tightening the slot and reducing the limit create the thriving redfish fishery we enjoy today? Just saying…
“Sometimes I think it’s a shame, when I start feelin better when I’m feelin no pain…”.
Oops_lost, do you regularly fish for BSB? If so, do you limit out on 12" fish or do you throw them back? Many of us will not keep them under 14" (as sellsfish is saying), nor do we always keep our 15 limit. However, since right now you can’t keep ARS, grouper or b-liners, we keep our limits on BSB. When the other fish are “in season”, how many of us keep every single BSB limit on our boat?
I would second what sellsfish recommended. Make the size limit 14" and change the limit down to 10 (a 33.3% reduction)!
Bolbie, didn’t tightening the slot and reducing the limit create the thriving redfish fishery we enjoy today? Just saying…
“Sometimes I think it’s a shame, when I start feelin better when I’m feelin no pain…”.
GW 205
F200 Yam
if you recall,the spot tails were closed completely.could not keep one, no matter the size.
Oops_lost, do you regularly fish for BSB? If so, do you limit out on 12" fish or do you throw them back? Many of us will not keep them under 14" (as sellsfish is saying), nor do we always keep our 15 limit. However, since right now you can’t keep ARS, grouper or b-liners, we keep our limits on BSB. When the other fish are “in season”, how many of us keep every single BSB limit on our boat?
I would second what sellsfish recommended. Make the size limit 14" and change the limit down to 10 (a 33.3% reduction)!
Bolbie, didn’t tightening the slot and reducing the limit create the thriving redfish fishery we enjoy today? Just saying…
“Sometimes I think it’s a shame, when I start feelin better when I’m feelin no pain…”.
GW 205
F200 Yam
if you recall,the spot tails were closed completely.could not keep one, no matter the size.
The major difference with the BSB fishery and the Redfish is that there is NO PROBLEM WITH BLACK SEA BASS! I remember in the late 80’s early 90’s that you could always find blackfish, but they were small. There many commercial boats potting the fish all winter. Now there are only a handful of comms with the permit for BSB’s and they have been closed since Dec. The laws that are in place are working! no need for more regulation. The large fish (16"-22") are the norm!
Redfish populations boomed because of very intensive stocking programs.
.
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
"Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brun
The major difference with the BSB fishery and the Redfish is that there is NO PROBLEM WITH BLACK SEA BASS! I remember in the late 80’s early 90’s that you could always find blackfish, but they were small. There many commercial boats potting the fish all winter. Now there are only a handful of comms with the permit for BSB’s and they have been closed since Dec. The laws that are in place are working! no need for more regulation. The large fish (16"-22") are the norm!
Redfish populations boomed because of very intensive stocking programs.
You are 100% correct. Most of the local live bottoms or wrecks that I dive on are covered with BSB. Skinneej has seen the same thing! I dive at the aquarium and get swarmed with BSB. It’s the same off shore! The CHS 60 is covered with spades, sheeps AND literally hundreds of BSBs. EVERY time I have been down there!
If the “powers that be” really wanted to help the fishery, they would place some sort of bounty on Lionfish AND put their efforts into the artifical reef program! Simple.
The DNR folks do as much as they can, but they can only stretch their $$ so far. Build more habitat, spread out the fishing pressure, and the fish will thrive.
Also… A “bounty” on Lionfish, for divers AND hook & line folks. A good example? For every 4 Lionfish you kill (bring back for verification), you get a voucher (transferable) for NEXT years salt water license. The state looses $10 on your license, BUT those 4 dead Lionfish don’t impact next years catch! If you kill another 4, then you get another voucher to give to your buddy… It’s a complete win-win for US and the DNR.
My biggest complaint is that the government ONLY seems to know how to regulate a problem, not SOLVE the problem.
A “bounty” on Lionfish, for divers AND hook & line folks. A good example? For every 4 Lionfish you kill (bring back for verification), you get a voucher (transferable) for NEXT years salt water license.
Second that!
quote:Originally posted by sellsfish
move the size up to 14" and drop it to 10 per person, but don't close a great and thriving fishery!
THIRD!
quote:Originally posted by edgeH2O
Does anyone know how they calculate when Annual Catch Limits are met by recreational fishermen?
MRFSS for fishery-dependent ACL data i believe... mostly shore-based creel surveys. a question i've been trying to get an answer for is how quickly the squeaky wheels of government can roll after feb 1 in order to actually enact the closure... days? weeks?
i’m lucky enough to get out to BSB territory only occasionally, and i am very protective of the fillets in my freezer this time of year. i’d be happy with a restricted bag and bigger size as long as i can still get out there.
i’m lucky enough to get out to BSB territory only occasionally, and i am very protective of the fillets in my freezer this time of year. i’d be happy with a restricted bag and bigger size as long as i can still get out there.
"Americans eat a lot of seafood; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates they spent about $75.5 billion on fishery products in 2009.
In 2009, they consumed 4.8 billion pounds of fish and shellfish, or 15.8 pounds per person. However, 84 percent of that seafood was imported, up from 68 percent in 2000 and 54 percent in 1995, NOAA says"
There seems to be some sort of trend here… Black Sea Bass are definitely endangered. Just not in US waters!!! Apparently, we just let South America have all the fun catching fish and we send them checks to support their fishing as we slap ourselves in the face for keeping a cooler of bass.
