You guys all make valid points. One of the biggest problems is apathy of the majority of fishermen.

Some issues swirling together for a perfect storm...

1. Increased visibility of commercial landings and dead discards.

2. More awareness of YOY declines, and Yearly catch stats of recs and comms. Even with this, if you look closely at the actual stats out there, and really examine them, it starts to look like something is wrong with the #s. Finchaser has been sending me some real damning data lately, Sorry but this is the first chance I've had to throw some of it up. The more I look, the more convinced I become that some groups are fudging their numbers. Yes, Recs do catch more than Comms, that's a fact. But the Comm landings data is so low that it seems incredible. Don't just take my and Fin's word for it. Look at these numbers, and see if they make sense to you.

3. Failure of Rec fishermen groups to organize into a cohesive lobbying force. I blame part of this on modern parenting. Some of our parents raised us to believe we always have different choices and options.When I say "Modern" parenting, I'm referring to parents in the 60's and onward. The parenting in the 50's and before was different. Kids learned they had to get along with the world, and adapt to it.

Now, kids are told the world must adapt to them and their needs. This doesn't work when you need people to come together for political action. People need to learn to sublimate their specific needs for the good of the whole.
Some might question my logic here, and think my reasoning is crazy. That's your opinion, you're welcome to it.

But think about it....right now, all over the internet on fishing forums, people are discussing the options, talking about choices.Some are actually getting involved.
That's great!
However, when I have time, I scan different message boards for the tone of some of the threads. IMO there are too many out there who are willing to disparage the efforts of others, just because the platform doesn't fit their exact needs.
Ex: "I am a surf fisherman, I don't see the RFA or another PAC as representing my exact needs, so I will not support them....."

And then you have those who will attack the ideas of others simply because the idea of one PAC doesn't represent the PAC that they believe in.

This will not do any of us any good in the long run, folks.
I'm sorry to sound pessimistic, but after long conversations with some of the old-timers out there, who lived through the moratorium and fought to bring Conservation into focus as no longer being a dirty word, it still seems to me that we won't get it together in time to prevent another moratorium.

We are our own worst enemies


4. Political groups are using fishermen for their own agendas. There are cases where, with the NOAA, they pretend they are listening to fishermen. Meanwhile, they already have the agenda planned. If and when striped bass is shut down, they will blame the fishermen this time, saying they "did all they can"