Report: MA gamefish bill meeting

[DarkSkies]

11. Tim Silva, cf
"50% of my income comes from bass fishing. This bill is selfish."


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12. Thomas Short, cf
"This is a sustainable fishery"


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13. Darren Saletta, cf Chatham


"I have a marine sciences degree from Cornell. We don't hi-grade our fish. We are accused of not contributing to the fishing culture. Many families come to the docks to see us come in. It's true there are many inactive permits, but people maintain these permits to keep their options open. "


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14. Allen Forrest, rf, Cape Cod, fishing for 50 years


I was once a cf, am now solely a rf. I believe we need to protect these fish. We all deserve better fishing than what we're having now. The preservation of this species has been maligned, like it only benefits a special interest group. I say that statement is false. The making of the striper a gamefish will ultimately benefit us all, and because the numbers are down, now is the time to do it."


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15. Russell Cleary, cf, representing the Commercial Anglers Assoc. (CAA)
"Striped bass are not overfished. This bill would place an undue burden on many families. I was on the MFC advisory committee at one time."


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16. George Watson, rf
I have many years of fishing experience. I grew up fishing with John Tolten. I have issues with several claims put forth with commercial fishermen:
a. No one will eat farm raised striped bass and people will lose restaurant customers if they try to serve it.
This is an untrue statement. If you look at the value of farm raised vs wild striped bass in the fish markets, wild striped bass sells for only 10c more/lb than farm raised. What does that tell you about market forces? People are already eating farm raised striped bass and paying for the privelege with no complaints. Market forces have dictated that farm raised is comparable to wild bass, at least from an economics standpoint.

b. All striped bass are healthy as sold.
This is another fallacy. The larger striped bass have higher concentrations of PCBs. This has been scientifically proven. There is also a high % of mycobacteriosis in bass who spawn in the Chesapeake bay. They are having serious problems with that now.

c. The striped bass fishery is sustainable.
This is another fallacy. In the 1800s there were 100lb striped bass. The average size has been decreasing since then. I don't expect people to have 100lb bass as a standard now. After all, that was over 150 years ago. However, this continuous harvesting of the bigger bass has had a negative effect on average striped bass size. I maintain it is decreasing, and will continue until we do something about it.


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17. Dave Tripp, cf & charter captain
"The slot limit is bad because it doesn't allow bass to spawn"

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18. Jose______, cf
"rf has more mortality than cf"

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19. Hunter Mark (14 years old) and David Mark (uncle), cf, Chatham
"This bill will restrict us and not allow us to make a living"

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20. ______________ , rf
(I didn't get this guy's name. Anyone who recognizes his testimony here, plse let me know and I'll edit it in later)
'I was a cf for many years, and now just fish rf.
I may be one of the few in this room who is a regular ASMFC attendee.
Some of you have criticized the Southwick Study put up by sf. I remind you that -
'Results of this survey should not be used to make decisions for research allocations or mandates.'

Although I feel something needs to be done, I DON'T support the slot limit. Bad science is bad science. I firmly believe that a 20-26" slot is bad. May I remind you that Maine went to a slot limit in 1997. By 1999, 2 years later, reported catches had risen 1000%.

I will read a letter from Dr Michael Armstrong, retired head of the RF program for the state of MA:
'....the slot limit does not work...the economics for that size don't work.'

I can report that the latest ASMFC meeting, there was an updated stock assessment. This assessent says that the overall biomass is trending down. There will ultimately be some sanctions recommended by the ASMFC to restrict striped bass catches somewhat.

That's how this matter should be handled, on the ASMFC level.


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21. Brian Curry, cf, fishing 50 years


"This bill unfairly targets cf, while rf kill many more bass than cf. I don't see where the science behind it is accurate. On the Cape, we have had differences in bait migration. We also have an abundance of seals and cormorants whose population is unchecked and growing. I don't feel it's fair to place the whole blame squarely on the shoulders of cf. '