2024 and 2025 Fluke Options Poll

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by hammer4reel

AND if you really look at those numbers can you honestly believe recreational discards are double what the commercial are ?
That's saying they discard 1/10 , and we discard 1/4
Bad info in , bad info out

Here's the problem. Your numbers based on what I posted are correct, that is what they assume. Their own discard statistics from federal observers prove commercial numbers reported on trip reports and used in setting quotas are wrong.

Two other issues. With lower recreational possession limits of 3 coupled with the ridiculous paper thin slot the last two years, if you catch 20 fish in a day trying to get your three keepers and their models assume one of those 20 die, you're already at a 1:3 or 33.33% dead discard to landings percentage. If the models assume three die, then the ratio is 3:3 or 100% dead discards to landings which translated means the recreational quota would be set at 50% landings and 50% discard mortality. Meaning the recreational harvest limit "RHL" would decrease substantially leading to more reduced possession limits, further increases to size limits or even shorter seasons. It's the insanity of how these models work and how the unfathomable use of size minimums to manage the fishery have not only hurt the stock but backed the recreational sector into a corner. In the words of the Perfect Storm, "It's not going to let us out!"

Commercial on the other hand have statistics which show actual dead discard to landings is substantially higher than what operators report on their trip reports. Instead of addressing those issues or charging the commercial sector with those higher percentages in establishing quotas, NMFS swept those statistics under the carpet. The mortality percentage NMFS uses in their models assumes 80% mortality of discards that come up in the nets. Does anyone with a brain honestly believe that translates into as you said 1 dead discard for every 10 fish harvested. I'd bet since size plays such an integral part in commercial fish harvested and catch values, the actual ratio is greater than 1 dead discard for every 1 fish harvested for the commercial sector which would exceed 100% of landings. The negative implications of this alone on the fishery are enormous.