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James,
I absolutely agree with you that drag boats are a major problem and menace to the health of our ecosystems. They should definitely incur more expansive restrictions and be more closely regulated. As for poaching, its a no brainer. It should not be tolerated, and those caught engaging in it should be severely punished. That said, to pretend that sport angling does not play a major role in declining fish populations is naive and flat wrong.
I have worked as a deckhand on sport fishing charters. Time and again we would pull up on a rock, make a drop, and in two minutes every line would have 3 or 4 reds on it (this by the way in less than 120'). By the fourth or fifth pass no one was catching anything. Do you know why that is??? It's because there were no more fish on the rock. How screwed up is that? We would just wipe out an entire local population in an hour and move on down the line. Why? Because you NEVER tell a customer to stop fishing. Guys would fill multiple sacks and keep right on fishing. As I'm sure you know, limits are NOT respected. "Extra fish" are just hidden up in the bow until Fish and Game is clear. If the mentality of fisherman was different, maybe we wouldn't be in the mess we're in. But unfortunately its always been about taking as much as you can today, and to hell with tomorrow. So here we are.
I'm sure you personally, like me, respect limits and the health of the ocean. I'm sure you are also aware that we are the exception not the rule. All the MLPA will do is set aside small areas of critical habitat to allow it to rehabilitate and help undo decades of damage. There will still be more than enough prime fishing grounds left open to sport angling. Not least among them, areas adjacent to reserves where research has shown that fishing consistently improves.
Please think about it. This is not about picking on sport anglers. I wouldn't support it if it was. If anything its largely about protecting sport angling for our kids and theirs.
Best,
Eric
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Hes blaming sportboats for hiding fish over ther limits? anyoen seen this themselves?
He claims to be a deckhand on a charter boat at one time... So if he saw customers stuffing fish why didnt he stop them himself if he thought it was wrong?