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As a person trapped behind a desk all week, I would like to thank everyone who posts reports on the yaks boards. I live vicariously through these posts. I do not chase the reports around trying to increase my success.
As far as Will B's assertion that posts and articles somehow threaten future fish stocks and wipe out fisheries, this is not accurate. Each fish harvested is not a net loss to the population. These are compensatory populations. There is a harvestable surplus in our fish populations. Harvestable surplus is the number of individuals that can be harvested from a population without affecting long term stability or average population size.
As mortality (harvest plus natural mortality) increases, natality (birth rate) and recruitment also increase. Growth rates also increase as mortality increases. Limits are based on the amount of havestable surplus in a population. If data shows a long term decline in a population, the harvestable surplus has been exceeded and limits are adjusted accordingly. This is why I have been able to harvest fish in San Diego for over 40 years.
If you really are catching 100 spotted bass a day, then some harvest would likely increase the size of those spotties. Thank those meat hunters because they are helping you catch bigger bass. Yeah, I already pissed off a bunch of people this week, so what's a couple more.
Good Fishing, Kayote (AKA Seal Boy)
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