All Fisherman Please Read This......

[onegreenray]

NMFS is proposing a complete closure on FLUKE for the 2007 season.

The quota that the service is proposing for the 2007 season is 5.2 million. If this quota is the final quota it is as good as a complete shut down. This is for both sides the recreational and commercial fishermen.

Your action is needed immediately to help fix the National Marine Fisheries Service summer flounder quota proposal. Contact your legislators automatically at the United Boatmen of New York website!


heres the link to the petition to stop them from doing this. guys let all your fishing buddy's know.


fluke fishing

 

[cb747]

Hmmm this has been the best season with the highest stocks in years. Cutting the qoata back that much will really hurt all the commercial fisherman. For us recreational fisherman we will essentially be cut out of any catch. I agree that there needs to be a quota to avoid overfishing and decimating the fluke stock but to base this decision on a law that was made approx 10 years ago based on a very inexact science is nuts. There needs to be flexibility. I for one signed the letter and sent it.

 

[JCnflies]

I would be shocked if this goes through. be wary of a similar law that protects the commercial guy. Congress is very faithful to their interests, to the decimation of some fish at times, and I suspect the commercial guys will have their say.

Commercial fishing is a very tough thing for everyone. Not only am I a recretaional guy, but I am the purest and snobbiest of them - a pure fly fisherman, salt and fresh. That said, I don't want the guy that has been commercial fishing to lose his income or livelihood..... but the laws today are ridiculous. Have you ever wondered why hundreds or even sometimes thousands of gulls can be seen following the trawlers?

The commercial guys have limits, both in size and quanitity, of what they can keep. But the mortality rates of what is in the nets is mindblowing. In the wake of the trawlers can be miles of floating fish. i remember late one season seeing tons of dead floating weakfish and striper shorts. The gulls just picking away at them. Rightfully folks get worked up over the pictyures of hte piles of wasted fish the haulseiners used to leave. The right picture of the floating fish scene could easily look like a massive poisoning.

My buddy Kenny, a captain in Shinnecock for about 40 years, had a counterintuitive solution. He used to say let the commercial guys go one day a week, maybe two, and let them keep everything they catch. That way it all gets used and most of the fish make it through (also protect the peak migratory periods.)

I hope I wasn't too long winded, and I don't know what the best answer is. I just live in fear of the striper crash of the early 80s repeating itself. Hopefully they can find a balance on the fluke. One thing for sure - fresh caught fluke fillet is awesome!

 

[onegreenray]

i agree with both of you. what they need to do is place more restriants on the commercial fishing and party boats. to place a ban on all fluke fishing is to harsh. when the bass fishing dies i go fluke fishing evry year. plus i would love to have the congressmen tell my girl friend she can't have any more fluke. its the only fish she eats and hounds me for every year. lol

 

[Justjoe]

Chris from AMW is very active in all things fishing, and here is what he has to say:

I am sure some of you have heard of this by now, but there are plans to have a complete closure of the fluke season for next year. Fluke numbers are strong, the stock is no longer listed as over fished, and they are still continuing to rebuild. Complete closure is not the answer. Fisherman, both recreational and commercial, are important to rebuilding these stocks. Telling them they cannot fish anymore is not going to help. Look at what many hunting groups (Ducks Unlimited, Wild Turkey Federation, etc...) have done for land preservation and conservation in general. The groups that use the resource are the strongest advocates for the resource.
Please contact you legislator about this issue. Below is a link that will make this easier for you. Email letter is fine, but one VIA snail mail is much better.

http://capwiz.com/unitedboatmen/issues/alert/?alertid=8986401&type=ML&show_alert=1

 

[JCnflies]

I kind of agree but also disagree some with the Chris. DU, TU (I have done a lot of work for them on the Carmans River) and turkey groups are not influenced by significant commercial interests. Recreational guys have as a big interest they idea of preservation. You wouold think that commercial guys would to, except the history of their practices, and the bycatch necessitated by their methods, suggest otherwise.

One of the great examples of wildlife management is with wild trout in Montana. The state fisheries biologists found that stocking actually decreased the numbers of fish and that successful management rested on smart conservation practices. Thewy have much stronger stocks now, with just wild fish. But Montana is sure to protect breeding size fish.

One of my big concerns with stripers is the size limit. Stripers breed at around 31 inches and up. Most recreational guys want a slot limit - one fish under 28 inches and then one trophy fish (say 40 something inches plus) per day. That way, the bass would be sure to replenish their stocks each year. As of now, commercial guys resist that type of system, thuogh it would pretty much guarantee perpetual stocks of bass for future revenue.

This is a really contentious topic that has caused some major rifts. If anyone is interested in learning more, there is a group called stripersforever.org. They do a lot of great research and diseeminate it to those who hope to protect the local bass fishing.