[Broad Bill]

The more relevant question is why is there a need for a closure of a fishery where one fish per angler per day between 28-31 inches can be kept. The fishery should be thriving. Years ago when there were no limits, the fishery was robust. If there is in fact a decline, what's caused it and how about we address the core problem as opposed to jumping to a moratorium. For starters, clean up the Chesapeake and kick Omega Protein / Cooke Inc out and stop the money grab by Virginia. If they do end up closing the fishery down, they had better close bunker netting in the bay down as well. Why pass legislations which will negatively impact all Mid-Atlantic states and so many small businesses when one state's greed and polluted spawning grounds is materially causing the problem. The young of the year indexes of both Maryland and Virginia are down alarmingly from historical numbers. A season closure won't improve the health of the stock if the big girls aren't spawning or the eggs not surviving in the stock's largest spawning ground due to pollution. All it'll do is push small businesses to the brink and place undue pressure on other stocks.