And yet.....the ASMFC still has not made a positive move to modify the striped bass regulations.
...promising instead, that they will do something....in 2015?
It has become apparent to me,
1. that they are waiting for the
one year that the YOY was good, (I believe it was 2011)...to become mature, so that one year class, can carry the weight of the whole fishery.
2. That there are undisclosed parties who are now influencing the way the ASMFC makes decisions....IE special interests have convinced them of possible local economic damage from changing the limits, and they are procrastinating every year.
**What is clear to me, is that
there is procrastination, despite their claims that the catch numbers, and
SSB biomass (Spawning Striped bass, a key figure used) are down significantly.
It is also possible that before they institute the changes for 2015 (and these changes have already been discussed at length, this time I have very credible proof that they will happen)....
but by that time.......without immediate modification.....it will take several years for the SSB to recover......
This is what vexes me, and why I sometimes have trouble sleeping at night.....this is an organization that was mandated to be stewards of the striped bass population....and they have done a very poor job.