Catch & Release Discussion

[blackcloud9]

Bob, you need to read up on California's checkered history with bottom-
trawling and gill netting, sounds like you may be familiar with the latter.

One commercial boat caught close to 2000 lb. of WSB in ONE NIGHT last
year in our local waters, on hook and line, at the kelpline. And gill nets
(outside of 3 miles) still account for more than 50,000 lbs of white
seabass each year in California - that's three more than Josh!

So, basically the numbers are staggering and I'm whole-heartedly agreeing
with all of dos ballenas, dorado50 and cioppino's great points on page one.


And in case you released all your fish ....

I recommend using the green, yellow, red seafood scale when considering
buying seafood.
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/c...CoastGuide.pdf

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by blackcloud9

Bob, you need to read up on California's checkered history with bottom-
trawling and gill netting, sounds like you may be familiar with the latter.

One commercial boat caught close to 2000 lb. of WSB in ONE NIGHT last
year in our local waters, on hook and line, at the kelpline. And gill nets
(outside of 3 miles) still account for more than 250,000 lbs of white
seabass each year in California - that's three more than Josh!

Thanks again Larry. My education continues.

Based on the majority of the responses to this thread, it appears that my position on C & R is not the prevailing one among our little group. That surprises me, but so be it. Just having this discussion is useful because it makes each of us take a closer look at the issue. There are plenty of valid arguments on all sides and a healthy discussion like this one gives everyone the opportunity see the big picture.

Your latest post startled me a bit. I had no idea that the gill netters were still allowed to operate as close as three miles from our shores. That is well within kayak fishing range. Even more startling was your statistic regarding the size of their WSB take. If someone who cares about this stuff as much as I do is unaware of this fact, we can be fairly certain that the majority of the MLPA backers, let alone the general public have no idea that this is happening. 250,000 lbs of WSB? That is 5000, fifty pound fish. Wow!

Your comment about the commercial boat catching 2000 lbs of WSB in one night also hit me. Was that a cattle boat or some other kind of commercial boat? If those fish were caught on a commercial fishing boat, (not a cattle boat), how did they get by the three fish per person limit, (one fish during the summer)?

Cattle boat issues could be a whole new discussion. This is a free country and commercial sportfishing is a legitimate activity that has been with us forever. Most of us have enjoyed a few trips on those kinds of boats over the years. The problem is that a successful trip on most of those boats is measured by the number of fish caught. Big fish, little fish, bi-catch, it all goes into the sack. I doubt that much C & R is practiced on the party boats.

Worse, that tourist from Iowa who filled his gunny sack with 50 pounds of whatever he could catch, probably did not eat any of those fish. After a photo session, his trophies probably ended up in the trash. This is perfectly legal but, in my view, very wrong.

On the other hand, plenty of responsible fishers, just like you and I, fish from the party boats because it is their only way to enjoy this sport. They do not have access to a private boat or kayak. Lets assume for a moment that the 2000 pounds of WSB caught on the night you mentioned were landed by 25 different people all fishing from a party boat during the time of year when the WSB limit is three fish per person. Everyone had a valid fishing license and paid good money to go on this trip. On this particular night, everyone got lucky and limited out.

While some of us may not like it, this would be perfectly legal. A trip like this would make the front page of the sport section in the paper and be featured prominently in the Convention and Visitor's Bureau's sales literature. A similar take could be made by 25 yakfishers during the next squid bite. Would it be unreasonable for all of these folks on that imaginary party boat to take their legal limit of our treasured WSB? Maybe. What if the harvest was made by a bunch of yakfishers?

Comments in this thread have hashed out both sides of that question. This is a tough issue.

Bob

[Iceman]

Josh that is definitely excessive, 40 pounds of ice would suffice!

...Right into sixty pounds of ice .

[Billy V]

Originally Posted by dsafety

s.
Worse, that tourist from Iowa who filled his gunny sack with 50 pounds of whatever he could catch, probably did not eat any of those fish. After a photo session, his trophies probably ended up in the trash. This is perfectly legal but, in my view, very wrong.



This is a tough issue.

Bob

Its actually illegal to waste any game fish in California, but enforcing this law is nearly impossible.

"Although there is no limit at this time on the number of Humboldt squid that can be caught, anglers should be conservation-minded and take only what they can comfortably use. Landing reports indicate that large numbers of squid are not only being caught, but also being kept. The DFG is also receiving disturbing reports of a number of fishermen actually then dumping these dead squid when returning to the docks. Not only is this unethical but it also constitutes violations of wanton waste which is willfully wasting the state's fish resources (CCR Title 14 Section 1.87.)"

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/QandA/2009/20090205.asp