Dec 16th ASMFC Striper Meeting Recap

[bunker dunker]

why is it so hard????,just use more common sense.you kill the breeders,you have no offspring.you take all the forage you have no fish.you have open season during spawning you have poor spawning.why do we need graphs and data when
the answers are right in front of us.i guess it just me,FOUR!!!!

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

why is it so hard????,just use more common sense.you kill the breeders,you have no offspring.you take all the forage you have no fish.you have open season during spawning you have poor spawning.why do we need graphs and data when
the answers are right in front of us.i guess it just me,FOUR!!!!

BD, you nailed it! This isn't complicated and we certainly don't need more data or time. Corrupt states like VA., businesses, graft, corrupt politicians and misguided corrupt agencies is what we need less of and I don't see that happening in our lifetime. Gerry, Adam I'm sure is a good friend of yours but he's part of the process which has miserably failed the recreational sector and stock management. The facts and declines in both stocks, recreational allocations and restrictions to access couldn't be any more clear in that regard.

[AndyS]

Connecticut State Environmental Conservation Police
·
On Tuesday December 17, 2024 two EnCon officers and K9 Luna were patrolling the Housatonic River for striped bass poaching activity. Officers located a group of six anglers fishing. As the officers watched, they observed an angler climb the riverbank, climb over the guard rail, run across the road, and enter a steep wooded hill side on the opposite side of the road, disappearing into the woods. The angler appeared to be carrying something heavy. After a few minutes the angler returned to the riverbank empty handed and continued to fish. Contact was made with the anglers, two had no fishing license. They claimed to have caught and retained no striped bass. K9 Luna was deployed on leash along the roadside and requested to search the wooded hill side. She located four separate bags of striped bass each buried in the ground and covered with leaves, the bags spanned a 75 yard long stretch of roadside. In total there were 34 striped bass, all ranging from 12.5” to 25” in length, in violation of the striped bass slot limit which is 28” to 31”. The anglers had 64 striped bass violations and two license violations. They were issued fines totaling $4,974.00. All fish were seized and donated to a non-profit wildlife rehabber.
Connecticut Fish and Wildlife.

[bunker dunker]

so we have finally graduated to arguing with common sense,we really have come a long way.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

so we have finally graduated to arguing with common sense, we really have come a long way.

BD I've been campaigning on behalf of the recreational sector with common sense, facts and a tremendous amount of research for the better part of eight years. I've put my money where my mouth is and reached out countless times to all the corrupt organizations mentioned in these threads. The problem is no one gives a shit and when push comes to shove the sector always backs down. We are our own worst enemies and if changes aren't made somewhere in this dysfunctional process, we will eventually lose this legacy pastime of ours, at least the salt water component.

[bunker dunker]

Bill,it as easy as this"Money talks and bs walks".as long as the wheels keep getting greased,then we get what we get.it is funny though,that we live in a country that is suppose to be ruled by and for the people but is ruled by the wine,dine and pocket lined.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

Bill, it as easy as this "Money talks and bs walks".as long as the wheels keep getting greased, then we get what we get.it is funny though, that we live in a country that is suppose to be ruled by and for the people but is ruled by the wine, dine and pocket lined.

BD sad but very true. Doesn't mean there's not a way to even the playing field, I just don't know what it is anymore in the absence of a lawsuit against the federal government and these corrupt agencies which is expensive and no small task.

What I do know is we can't continue abusing these resources and expect them to be around for generations to come and enjoy both commercially and recreationally. We've done it for decades if not centuries so it can be done. We'd all be losing something very precious if these stocks disappear.

Commercial and recreational interests can co-exist and flourish but not the way these stocks are being managed currently. If decisions don't start being made with the health of the stock in mind and a long-term lens, I'm very concerned as I think most of us are we're causing irreparable harm to the future of many of these stocks. Right now we have the fox guarding the chicken coop, that has to change. All these groups are acting on behalf of their own best interests and not the best interests of stocks first and both the commercial and recreational sector second.

The problem as you said is money talks, bullshit walks and there's too much money involved in this multi hundred million dollar industry and too many greedy bastards involved in this process to think they'll ever start making decisions to actually manage these stocks for the long-term as opposed to lining their own pockets. That's exactly why I believe litigation in some form is the only hope for the future.