Quote:
Originally Posted by Gerry Zagorski
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Gerry sincerely thanks for all your efforts keeping people informed about the process and what's going on here. After twenty to thirty years of getting the "proverbial short end of the stick", I think everyone sees how NMFS, ASMFC and MAFMC function and it's all about politics and not at all about managing salt water stocks for the future. Commercial owners, politicians, corrupt officials, corrupt businesses etc. and all the Members of these agencies get off on the power they yield and the money they make while the average hard working recreational angler and party and for hire owners literally get shit on. I'll take a line from Adam Nowalsky himself years ago. "You can send me as many emails, analysis and charts (created from NMFS's own data) as you wish, it won't make a bit of difference in how these fisheries are being managed". In other words, stay the %&^$ out of our affairs. The members of the Council and Committee are puppets concerned only about grabbing as much money and quota for their own states and personal benefit and aren't at all concerned about the state of fisheries or the recreational sector they're responsible for managing and representing. I'm at a stage in my life where I say let the fluke and striped bass fisheries completely collapse if that's what it'll take for everyone to realize just how misguided and destructive management of these resources are due to personal agendas and greed. We don't need death by a million cuts as we've been experiencing, get it over with and start the rebuilding process if it's not already too late as it was with whiting, winter flounder, weakfish, cod, mackerel etc. and when these two stocks stocks fail, which they assuredly will, what will commercial concerns have left to fish for and what will the politicians have left to horse trade with. NOTHING!
Short sided ill advised short term decisions with long term and potentially permanently crippling economic and social results. If that's what it takes to change this corrupt process, let it start now. In two years the same problems that've caused the striper fishery to decline will cause it to decline even further and then what, we wait another two years or close it down completely. That's what Adam Nowalsky and the ASMFC essentially accomplished in this latest meeting, secured the fate of this fishery through 2026 and it won't be pretty.
When a business is on the brink of bankruptcy, does the management team or Board say lets wait two years, collect more data and see where that takes us. By then the doors would be padlocked. How is this any different? This is a complete failure from the federal government right down to the state government and ASMFC and MAFMC are right in the middle of it all. And ASA sits on the sidelines or even worse is involved in these decisions causing an absolute shit show funded by excise taxes from the money the recreational sector spends on this recreational sport. Time to call bullshit what it really is.
Our hard earned tax dollars at work, not sure how anyone can support what's happening here or pay homage to any Member of the Commission or Council if you know the facts and understand how this process works. When stocks start growing and recreational and commercial regulations become significantly less restrictive due to the decades long sacrifices of the recreational community, then and only then is it time to give credit where credit is due. Until then, let's refrain from dolling out accolades because no one involved in this process deserves positive recognition for delivering years of failed results. Again to put this in perspective, we're living through a 42% cut in fluke quotas and staring at a potential striped bass moratorium. No one would have ever predicted this in our lifetime yet here we are yet again with two more fisheries in distress and the answer is kick the can down the road.
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH, would you agree Gerry?
Your words, not mine.
