Rock Fish

[dsafety]

I am going to boldly display my ignorance here so please be gentle with your responses.

I just read Adi's post that showed a boat load of small red rock fish that he and a bunch of buddies recently caught. While I am certain that all of those fish made for a wonderful dinner, I am not sure about the wisdom of catching limits of rock fish these days.

Everything that I have read tells me that of all the fish populations in our region, only the rock fish population is less than robust. Am I misinformed?

Since rock fish are easy to catch and a popular target for the party boats, (where a large portion of the catch ends up in the trash), I have always felt that this was not what I should target when out on the water.

I have very little knowledge on this subject but would like to know the facts. Those who know, please weigh in.

If this fish population is healthy, I see some tasty fish tacos in my future. If not, maybe we should all use a little restraint and encourage others to do so as well.

Bob