Stripers Forever members - Stripers Forever's landmark Southwick Study proved that there are many more good-paying jobs provided by recreational striped bass fishing than by the commercial sector. A high percentage of those jobs are through guiding. In addition to simply being economically valuable, guiding provides a very useful service to the public, introducing many anglers to striped bass fishing at a level that would take years to achieve on their own.
We at Stripers Forever have long believed that our elected officials will listen to the guiding industry because, as is the case with commercial fishermen, guides represent jobs that simply wouldn't exist without the wild striped bass resource. That resource is the future - and the jobs can only exist in harmony with the resource, not by plundering it.
Here is a quote from Captain Dave Pecci, representing the newly formed Maine Charterboat Captains Association:
"As professionals who make a living from our public marine resources, we realize that federal game fish status for striped bass will improve the quality of our fishery. Though striped bass stocks appear abundant to some, those of us who are on the water know that larger stripers are disproportionately missing from the stocks. Game fish status for striped bass will set a course for the recovery of our larger, older stripers - the prime breeding size fish - and provide a true quality fishery for our clients and the general fishing public to enjoy."
"Through Stripers Forever's efforts we will once again speak of striped bass in terms of pounds rather than inches"...
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