Re: 2014 Pending Fishing Regulations Master Thread
The biggest flaw of all with the science being used to regulate our fishery is the assumption of a historical stock. Europeans started fishing here over 500 years ago but nobody started anything one could call a scientific count or assessment of fish populations until well into the 20th century. The only certain thing is that there were far fewer fish by the time anyone started counting and it sure as hell wasn't recreational fisherman doing the damage. We are being penalized for the last several centuries of poor management, overfishing, greed and shortsightedness of the commercial sector. Why should we suffer when we are a drop in the ocean as far as the damage already done? WE should be getting any scraps the NMFS deems worthy of doling out NOT the commercial guys.
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