Whiting @ Wegmans= disgrace...

[shresearchdude]

Hey Bob.

That may just be the case. Utilizing what they have caught and trying to make a few $$.. I suppose that the sized fish you saw could be used in soups????

someone must be buying them....

[Little Sister Charters]

Originally Posted by shresearchdude

Hey Bob.

That may just be the case. Utilizing what they have caught and trying to make a few $$.. I suppose that the sized fish you saw could be used in soups????

someone must be buying them....

Since the late 70's when there were still BIG whiting, the draggerds in the tri state area discovered a huge market for tiny whiting overseas. The big stuff got marketed in NYC (Fulton) and the small stuff got shipped to Spain where it is still very popular. Since they were getting as much or often more for the small stuff, they started concentrating on it and soon enough, thats all there was as they didn't ever give them a chance to grow. The same has been happening in Point Judith and Gloucester though in Gloucester thereare still some patches of large left (but not for long).....JC

[bulletbob]

Thanks for that excellent and enlightening reply capt. Jason..
So its actually making them money catching and selling Whiting the size of Smelt??.. Scary to say the least.. However there might be a tiny cause for optimism.. maybe.. If there are marketable numbers of those small Whiting around, there must be some breeders as well... Maybe if the commercial pressure on them eased up for a few years.... I know, dreaming...... bob

[shresearchdude]

There are more big ones Bob. On the trawl survey I was on this year the NOAA survey boat kept bringing up the "NEW" record size of all time, it was cool to see. That means that they do get through to that size class.

[bulletbob]

Was that trawl survey done in the NY/NJ area or was it further north??.. Just wondering.
We just don't see many "baseball bats" among the few we see every year in NJ.. Mostly less than a foot, or spikes... bob

[philnichols]

When I started fishing in the 50's there were 180 million people in this country. There were no Asian markets like there are today. Today the population of fish eating humans has doubled with Asians, Hispanics and other fish eating cultures growing every day. Not to mention the proliferation of other fish eating mammals - seals, sea lions, etc. I think that an out of control population that likes to eat fish has a lot to do with the problem. With current administration policy, it will only get worse. All the seafood stores here cater to Hispanics, signs in Spanish, employees Hispanic.

[bulletbob]

yup... very simple.. We killed and ate too many. Doesn't really matter where or how they were caught.. We ate too many, and now there just aren't near as many left. bob