Quote:
Originally Posted by Saba Slayer
The DFW maintains that a seasonal limit will reduce commercialization of the recreational fishery and share opportunities with other recreational fishermen.
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Well that's BS. There is no such thing as "commercialization of the recreational fishery"
There is recreational fishing and poaching and they are not the same thing.
Recreational fisherman fill out there cards and keep to the regulations like the daily catch limits. Poachers who illegally sell lobsters do whatever they want because they are outside the law, and they will keep on doing whatever the want even if law abiding recreational fisherman are given a seasonal limit.
I would argue that having no seasonal limit is actually better because a poacher is far more likely to fill out their card if there is not some set season limit, and if someone is caught selling lobster the card becomes evidence that could be used against them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Saba Slayer
Mechanized (power driven) pullers will probably be allowed only to people in possession of proof of disability. Hand operated davits or single pulley systems will be allowed.
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More BS: Few recreational fisherman use pullers and their impact on the fishery is nil. The limit of lobsters is 7 per day. I fish my skiff with a puller and my kayak with a boom and pulley. In both cases I take the same maximum of 7 lobsters a day. They only difference is that with a puller I can hoop deeper water where most do not hoop.
Didn't they just say something about
: "opportunities for other recreational fishermen"? Well allowing guys like you and I to use pullers let's us hoop areas that are not hard hit by the majority of hoopers or divers and also frees up shallow inshore areas like breakwalls allowing greater opportunity for less experienced fisherman.
I think both these "proposals" have been put forward by the commercials and they are doing for a simple reason. If their catch is limited they want to limit ours as well.
A seasonal limit would limit the recreational catch of the best recreational lobster fisherman, and the puller rule will limit the areas recreational fisherman can hoop forcing us to all fish the same shallow inshore waters.
There's nothing new in this game. Commercials have always fought seasonal catch quotas (limits) and tried to get seasonal limits placed on recreational fishing. That's because the want the largest slice of the pie possible.
That said this just isn't the way it's done.
Commercials have quotas, we have daily bag limits.
For instance there is a set seasonal quota for Pacific Bluefin Tuna. We as recreational fisherman are not included in that quota, we do not have a seasonal catch limit, and we do not have to fill out the catch data that the commercials have to fill out for the year. We can keep our limit of tuna each day if we can catch them. While the commercials fill their quota every year we rarely even get our daily limit. I know I've never limited out on Bluefin, and I do not know many that have.
Now with the report card system they can stick us with a commercial style seasonal lobster quota. It's BS because we already have a functioning daily catch limit in place.
So who's really creating a "commercialization of the recreational fishery" if they are the ones who want to regulate us like the commercials.
This is why I was against the whole report card system to begin with. It was sold to us as simply a information gathering tool, now it becomes a way to limit our catch, a quota system.
I have a counter proposal. If we are now going to have a seasonal quota or catch limit for lobsters, then do away with the daily bag limit. They want to regulate us like Commercials then let us play on the same field. We should be able to take as many lobsters as we catch per day until our quota of 70 lobsters is filled. That's what the commercials are going to do. They will take every legal lobster they catch until their quota is filled.
I've had nights where I could of taken fifty or more legal lobsters in a single night. They want to stick me with a Quota then let me fill it like a commercial. I'd be happy to fill my quota in a few trips. It would save me both time and the money for fuel and launch fees.
If they don't like that idea they should shelve the quota idea and just let us hoop for our daily limits just like it's always been.
Jim