Let's talk about the Atlantic Striped Bass Moratorium

[DarkSkies]

It happened so long ago that many anglers today didn't fish during the time before and leading up to it.

Let me be the first one to stand up and say I didn't fish through it.
I was too busy chasing girls, Sex and Drugs n Rock n Roll.....

People sometimes come to me looking for answers. While my thirst for fishing knowledge is insatiable my experience is nowhere near that of guys who have fished the salt for 50 or 60 years and seen the wide range of fishing that we once had.






I asked myself....

1. How is it fair to for us to expect a guy who has only been fishing for 5 or 10 years to understand what it was like?

2. How can something that happened so long ago have a bearing on our experiences today?

3. Isn't the striped bass population recovered?

4. If so, why should any of this ancient history crap be shoved down the throats of younger anglers who had nothing to do with the abuses of the past?

[DarkSkies]

It was in thinking about this that I developed the idea for this thread. It's nothing that hasn't been discussed before.

I could summarize it all in the following thoughts...

Bass were overfished trending in the late 1970's until the early 1980's. Anglers, Recreational, and Commercial, may have had some inkling about it. Some even spoke out about it as a warning to others. Most people paid little attention to these "Chicken Littles"

Marine fisheries management back then wasn't nearly as advanced.

There was a dis-joint between the actual catches and the catches estimated by Marine Scientists.

Fisheries management, being behind the curve, failed to notice the dwindling of a few year classes that were critical to a sustainable striped bass population.

As a result that population almost crashed.

Drastic measures were needed.

A Moratorium was drafted.

Several Atlantic states, but not all, agreed to adopt the Moratorium (Back then it WAS voluntary, people. AND there were actual fishermen representatives on the boards of many fisheries management committees. Imagine that. )

A Moratorium was put in place, stocks recovered, everyone was happy, back to the party at the Pub, right?

The Striped Bass recovery was hailed as the biggest success story in the history of fisheries management.


So why not end it there?

[DarkSkies]

I spend a lot of time watching the results of people arguing their positions, either on the internet, meeting rooms, Assembly meetings, rallys for fishermen, etc.

I've seen a lot of people committed to their causes. That's because they have something to protect, a vested interest, if you will.

I don't mean that disrespectfully. What I would like people to understand is that the ones you find most heavily involved in a protest are those who have something to lose or gain if things don't go their way. That's human nature. We can't change that.

What I do find among fishermen is that we are a tough group to convince of the position of another if it doesn't seem to affect us.

That's human nature as well. Think back to a time when people protested about a prison, psychiatric institute, or garbage dump proposed for a certain area.

The protestors who were most vocal would be the ones who lived across the street from it, right?

Naturally.

Same thing in fishing.

It's been a gradual process for me to learn that people remain unconvinced of a program or platform until you can persuade them how it affects their lives.

That's why politicians are so effective at getting votes during bad economic times. People are hurting, or struggling. Politicians throw them a lifeline, and many empty promises they'll never be able to deliver on. Works every time, Politics 101.

So it's been my experience that people MIGHT be inclined to change their views, but today's generation wants concrete proof before them every time before they're willing to support a cause or issue. Many remain skeptical.

As JimmyZ says, it is what it is.

[DarkSkies]

As I explained in many other threads, my opinions aren't really important in the end. Everyone has a different take on things. My main goal is to raise awareness on these issues so people can see a different perspective.

The meetings and protests I go to have allowed me to learn that I must turn every one into a learning experience. I've been fortunate to meet people from many walks of life in my travels.

I've met commercial fishermen who tell me stories of being forced to dump thousands of pounds of dead fish, because they weren't permitted to keep them.

I've met recreational fishermen who are blazing with energy in trying to get people to see what they see.

I've also met fishermen on both sides who are concerned with no more than the and $$$ from catching the next big bass. Nothing else matters to them. They feel the striped bass stocks are in danger but disavow any personal responsibility for it. So they might as well keep quiet about it.

It's always the fault of the other guy.

[DarkSkies]

I can't do this alone guys and girls. I tend to get too involved in these things as it is. I'm asking you to share your experiences with us (Again) if you did fish through the Moratorium.

What was it like leading up to it?

How did you know that things were in trouble?

Tell us about the slow road to recovery.

Tell us about any parallels you see to then, and now.




If you're too young to be able to answer any of these questions, please help us help others see things differently by posting any references or stories related to how things were back then. As always, please cite your sources if referencing copyrighted material.

Thanks for the help, guys and girls.


Just remember, all opinions welcome here. Please make any discussions respectful so I don't have to waste time editing.

[finchaser]

Last time it was more do to the commercial guys,this time it's being done at a much faster pace and primarily by the recreational fisherman.

Things that are different this time around.

1)Back then we didn't have the number of people fishing for bass mostly caused by restrictions on other fish kinda like fluke fisherman gone wild
2) The explosion of bunker creating the bunker snagging so call bass fisherman who can't catch bass with out live bunker. They are demolishing the breeding stock. Here and north in the Spring and Virginia in winter months
3) The illegals who keep everything they catch no matter what size and no one does a thing about it,even when the authorities are called in.
4) In NJ the bonus tag that started as a trophy tag and is now a way to keep 3 fish most of the time going unchecked. most true bass fisherman don't apply for them.
5 in general people have no understanding how long it takes a bass to reach 20,30,40,50 pounds.
6) The YOY index is way down fewer and fewer small fish in the fall
7) Next to no resident fish in winter and spring
8) 2007 and 2008 reported lower catches
9) Same signs as last time only this time.
10) Even worse this time most NMFS and NOAA jobs are government appointed jobs to people who don't have a clue.
11) Last months meeting in Galloway they admitted something needs to be done but it could take 2to 3 years.