Quote:
Originally Posted by Arbutis
How about this for a compromise (I don't think this has been proposed):
Agree to the 19" 3 bag limit with shortened season,
but reduce the penalty for keeping smaller fish, more fish, or out of season fish to $10 per violation.
Create the law to keep things "official" in the eyes of the state. That way they can feel like they did their jobs and got something passed. But on the flip side make the penalty relatively low with the anglers knowing there is a 'fish at your own risk' ordinance in place. Make the state work for their extra money in the form of fines but make the fines not so bad as to be detrimental to all fishermen - especially those people who only get a handful of chances to go out fishing each season (like me). I am certainly not putting a dent in the overall fish population as to affect the quota - but on the rare times I go fishing, I wouldn't mind risking $10 per fish (should I be checked by the state) if it meant being able to take home a little more fish for my family to eat and enjoy. The state might even find that they make some money this way and people won't mind paying as long as it's not overly excessive. After all, a fluke at the seafood market costs at least 10 bucks.
They could even regulate the fines on a scale that increases after 5 fish or after a certain date - that way they could have slightly more control.
I'm sure this idea is falling on deaf ears because it's so hard to make a dent through the bureaucratic BS unless you are a high ranking official. But you never know. So I thought I'd throw it out there.
Make the law say whatever you want to satisfy the bureaucrats, then bury the fines and implementation of said laws somewhere in the fine print.
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Hmmmm - 2 things here
1) The law is the law and and if you don't like it get involved and change it or the people representing you...
2) More importantly, this does nothing long term.... Every year we'll be fighting the same battle.... We need to get Magnuson fixed and sweeping changes in the NMFS.
The issue here is not the regulations, they are the symptom... It's the Magnuson Act, and the quotas that are the root cause. Look at Sea Bass... The stocks are rebuilt and yet the NFMS is talking about a closure??
Your a Dentist right?? If someone comes in needing a root canal you don't give them some them some pain killers and send them home, you pull the tooth.
Same thing here.. We need to fight for Magnuson reform and we need changes in the NMFS.. If the people who represent you don't carry that torch then is time to pull them too....
So the question becomes do you as a fisherman want pain pills or do you want to have the tooth pulled. No one wants to hear this but it's a choice of short term pain or long term gain.
No guarantees here either.... Lets face it we've got the environmental groups fighting against us as well as the conversationalists and that seems to be a growing trend....
We need to unite like they do or we don't stand a chance.... Like it or not that's what Democracy and Politics is and has always been about.
If you want a long term solution, get involved in trying to get things reformed. If you want short term relief, take some pain pills, but eventually those pills are not going to work any more and you're going to have to get the tooth pulled.
There is no easy way out of this guys.... If we want a long term solution we need to pull the tooth.
