[Lipripper92592]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that most people that are "for" this type of new legislation live on or near the coast. Please keep in mind, that some people do not live on the coast and get to fish in with any regularity. Therefore the once a year angler gets "screwed" and the folks with free time and boats.....well they have it a different way. I have a proposal that should "level" the playing field for all involved, this being the sport boats and commercials as well as the private anglers.
IF we truly believe that reducing the catch will ensure that the overall stocks go up, then why not have a tag system for keeping BFT. Price per fish, min and max size limits. YOU pay to play.
Please I hope that NOAA has "earned" your trust. They sure haven't earned mine. Our Deputy Directory in the Northwest has no Environmental Experience or training/education....she is a trained politician....PHd in political science.
The Director of the Southwest.....25 + years in academics......no real world experience, university funded studies. There is some old saying around that goes something like this..." those that don't know much......teach". And nothing against teachers, in my experience, they tend to be the ones who couldn't hang in the business/private sector world.
NOAA has been playing a Climate Change game manipulating past temperature datasets to make the present climate seem more warm that past temperatures.
There is well documented evidence of this, cached NOAA pages have shown this as well as the raw datasets.
Why would I be inclined to believe their stock assessments. Unless they can convince the public they are solving "problems" they will loose funding. I'm not saying the stocks have not dropped. Please consider the "rights" you are willing to sacrifice for yourself, and force on others all in the name of environmentalism. Unfortunately most good environmental groups have been high jacked for political purposes, thus it's very hard to find good studies on the subject. Just check the background of the sitting board members......should give you lots' of confidence in the studies they produce.