Sea Bass Limits?

[dales529]

Couple of points:
1) Not everything is a conspiracy theory!
2) In its intention the registry adopted by NJ was to aid NOAA and NJ with direct feedback from NJ anglers on the water and if utilized properly without the conspiracy crap it may have educated the management councils on a more accurate fish count but more important fishing "EFFORT" which is overly inflated. Instead anglers choose to buy in to its bad and we are stuck with a faulty (admitted by NOAA) MRIP program that overestimates catch and effort ten fold which then leads to faulty regulations /increased sizes/ lower bag limits etc.
3) Accountability is required not only from management but also from anglers and there is very little from either side. Dont blame the intention but the process where neither side helps the other.

[hammer4reel]

Originally Posted by AndyS

With all due respect Dan, if what you are saying is true I can get my aunts, uncles, neighbors, brothers and sisters to sign up for the FREE Saltwater Registry, then we will get an increase in bag limits and longer seasons.
I can go down to local craft bazar and get hoards of people to sign up, even though none of them go fishing.
I can even get people from Pennsylvania to sign up !!!

It gives recreational fisherman , a bigger voice .
But not sure it would increase bag limits .
It’s a management tool .

But its purpose was because the Feds said we either gave a license or register with them for 15 bucks .

Because NJFG was told they were not going to get more revenue to hire more CO they opted for a free registry instead .
One of the few times they didn’t take your money when they could have .

I personally would rather see a paid saltwater license .
Use the resource , pay for the resource .
.
And IMO we would get way more back in funds from actual moneys spent already on the excise tax we pay on all the gear we buy .

.

[AndyS]

I have no problem buying a saltwater license. If I pay for something and get nothing in return, well that's going to be a problem.
I remember when they first implemented the free Saltwater Registry, the big "bust" for not having one was a visitor from Pennsylvania fishing with his son at the Manasquan inlet. Should people from out of state be required to sign up ???

[tautog]

Is anyone getting fined for not having the registry? I get checked at the canal several times a year, and the COs have never even asked about it.

[bunker dunker]

i gotta ask.why when folks ask questions or state their thoughts, does it always have to be a conspiracy theory. can't someone just ask a question about the
where and whats anymore??.

[Broad Bill]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

i gotta ask.why when folks ask questions or state their thoughts, does it always have to be a conspiracy theory. can't someone just ask a question about the
where and whats anymore??.

BD in my opinion fisheries regulations have gotten so bad people are just fed up and even when something which appears as benign as the salt water registry comes up it becomes a powder keg. Being older, and hopefully wiser, fisheries years ago ALL were healthy year in and year out. There was never a question, you just knew every year fishing was going to be great. We lived through the ground fish debacle when our government sold our resources to Russia, decimating the cod, pollock, whiting and ling stocks. We lived through the striper fishery being destroyed by southern states being allowed to annihilated the breeders during their spawn. We lived through the toll recreational anglers and purse seiners did to the weakfish stock and then one by one every fishery seems to have gotten worse. We lived through the winter flounder fishery being handed to the commercial sector after they destroyed the summer flounder fishery and that great year in year out fishery hasn't recovered in 45 years and never will. All while our esteemed fisheries management bodies sat by and watched and in many cases caused these declines while corrective measures were nowhere to be found.

It's management's responsibility to manage current conditions, create a workable balance so both sectors benefit while the fishery sustains itself and very simply they're not. They're playing politics with public resources and this isn't just with fisheries management, it's true with our everyday lives and quality of life being more and more controlled and influenced by government. People are sick and tired of being told by politicians or figureheads who don't have their best interests at heart what they can and can't do so those same individuals can make millions while playing judge and jury or Russian roulette with our lives. This isn't as simple as vote your conscience to have representatives in office who share your individual values, our institutions in this country have become so corrupt truthfully I don't know what a path to change is anymore. Just look at what's happened in this country the last few weeks, it's an embarrassment to us all.

[bulletbob]

well done... Your words speak the heart of many I would imagine....bob

[dales529]

Originally Posted by bunker dunker

i gotta ask.why when folks ask questions or state their thoughts, does it always have to be a conspiracy theory. can't someone just ask a question about the
where and whats anymore??.

Agreed and exactly what I posted! Thanks