A story last week by the Associated Press – attached file recreational catch - was headlined in the Portland, Maine newspapers “Casual fishing Cutting Into Stock”. The story is about a report that claims that the percentage of fish taken by recreational anglers is greater than previously thought. It goes on to say that scientists are urging the government to put greater controls on recreational fishing.
The article also quotes Jim Donofrio of the RFA, who challenged some of the data. He may be right; we certainly think that with striped bass, and other fish, that there is a tendency by commercially oriented regulators to inflate the recreational catch estimates. They do this while making no allowance for commercial high-grading, the "under the table" catch, while grossly underestimating by-catch in the commercial fisheries.
Stripers Forever, though, is more riled by the notion that there is something wrong with a large number of the public wanting to catch their own fish. The AP story reads as if it was alarming that there are so many recreational anglers out there fishing. With a handful of species, claims the report, the fishing public takes more than 23% of the total catch. Imagine that! Probably a couple of million participants are being compared to a few hundred part time commercial fishermen. Commercial fishing for those species should be ended right now. Certainly it should for striped bass.
The full report is also attached, as is a statement by Tom Fote of the Jersey Coast Angler’s Association, revealing that the study in question was financed by the Pew Foundation to pave the way for no fishing zones.
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