watcha youall think?

Would like to see opinions on this!:confused::confused:

WILMINGTON, N.C.

A bill that would ban the sale of three kinds of coastal fish in North Carolina is pitting commercial fishermen against recreational anglers.

The StarNews of Wilmington reported Saturday that the bill would designate red drum, spotted sea trout and striped bass as coastal game fish and require those species be taken by hook and line fishing only.

The bill gives commercial fishermen some relief by having the state pay them what they would have made off those fish for three years, up to $1 million each. Sean McKeon, president of the professional trade association for commercial fishing, North Carolina Fisheries Association, said there are 4,000 to 5,000 commercial fishermen in North Carolina.

It wasn't clear how much the compensation program might cost.

The goal of the bill would be the preservation of the species, but the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries opposes the bill.

Agency director Louis Daniel said game fish status would give the recreational fishermen preference over commercial ones. The fish also would not be available in restaurants or markets.

"It's not just a recreational/commercial thing," Daniel said. "It's a consumer thing, too."

Stephen Ammons, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association's North Carolina chapter, said his group supports the measure as a way to keep the fisheries healthy and viable and to bring more recreational fishermen to the state.

Ammons said the three species make up just a small part of commercial catches in North Carolina.

And he noted that recreational fishermen also bring in dollars to the North Carolina economy.

McKeon said he doesn't think recreational fishing suffers because the fish are open to commercial fishing, but he said a commercial prohibition on those fish will hurt businesses.

"What kind of a person would put another man out of work and harm his family so that he could have more fun?" McKeon said.

Joseph J. Smith Jr., the owner of Atlantic Seafood in Hampstead and a member of the state Marine Fisheries Commission, said the industry already is hurting because of regulations.

"Those fish don't belong to just one group of people," Smith said. "They don't belong to commercial or recreational. No one can take possession of those fish. That's wrong."




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No easy solution. Somebody will lose someone will win. The nets in NC have got to the point of absurd, virtually blocking all river mouths. So who will win, guides or commercial fisherman. all make a living. One is no better than the other. Now watch the price of fish in restaurants!! sure to sky, leaving the ones still able to fish better off. In a few years it will all equal out. And us weekend warriors will catch more fish:)

Well,, I believe in flat rate for income tax.. along same lines, The same regs show be placed on all!
( it alot deeper than that, I know, but it needs to start off fair!)

Omega has damaged the Ches-bay fishing for many, many yrs!

Some good stuff here Steve. I guess Carolina is trying to wipe the egg off there face from letting THERE commercial fleet KILL THOUSANDS of stripers and leave them to die this year within 3 miles of there coast. Being a fisherman it was hartbreaking to see 30 and 40 pound stripers floating by the thousands. This is the TRUTH it is on video not once but 2 different weekends.

And it was legal and required by law. (rockfish) It is akin to pulling the stomack out of an 18" flounder to watch it float away. Catch 20 flatties, kill 5 and can only keep 1 cus it is over 19".. Yes they saved the fishery, Ha.

They tried to handle this situation by changing the law to allow a weekly poundage allotment instead of the numbers per day. Then it did not matter what size the fish were. I think You could also give some overage to go towards another commercial fisherman's allotment. I know a bunch of guys down here that commercial fish and they get squeezed more and more every year. Many have left the business because of tighter regulations and rising costs to operate drove them out. I believe there is a balance to be had. If We don't watch out, Fishing will become a rich man's sport only by inviting all this regulation because regulation seems to always invite new types of fees for recreational fisherman to pay as well (NC Saltwater License). States gonna loose tax revenue also from the commercial fisherman that go out because of the encroaching regulations that seem to get stricter every year. Guess who they will look to to replace that revenue? We are not talking about chump change either. Be careful what You wish for. You may get it.CF

im glad im primarily a crappie/panfisherman & dont have to worry about netters decimating the populations of panfish.i heard about the rockfish kill this winter and think everybody involved should be deeply ashamed of themselves,from the ones who set the regs & allowed the netters to put out such long nets to over fish the rockfish. to the netters themselves who know that RF travel in large schools at that time of year. how much is enough? what will it take for everyone to wake up?i can remember when RF were not even allowed to be kept at all because there were not hardly any around.i pray that a balance can be reached soon for everyone before RF go the way of the carrier pidgeon and the doe-doe bird.

I think a seasonal weight limit for stripers should be set. All stripers netted must be kept and a boat must stop netting stripers once they reach their limit. The limit can be increased or decreased each year depending on how well the stripers are doing.

This would allow commercial fishermen to earn part of their living by catching stripers while protecting the fish from over harvesting.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PanMan_VA

I think a seasonal weight limit for stripers should be set. All stripers netted must be kept and a boat must stop netting stripers once they reach their limit. The limit can be increased or decreased each year depending on how well the stripers are doing.

This would allow commercial fishermen to earn part of their living by catching stripers while protecting the fish from over harvesting.

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They do have a poundage limit that once reached, the season gets shut down. That is one way Marine Fisheries is trying to keep some kind of management. They were also th ones who said that You could only have 50 fish a day so You know what the commercial guys did. The culled for the big ones. Now You can only have 50 but You catch a couple hundred in a pull. Now You have a bunch of dead fish that You have to throw back. Then we all saw what happens with this stupid rule. So they finally asked the public for suggestions on what to do about it. A commercial fisherman responded saying "why don't we just have a weight limit instead of a creel limit so that we can keep all sizes and don't waste any?" I think that is what the geniuses at marine fisheries decided was the best idea. It looks disgusting seeing all those fish dead like that and knowing that the people who were put in charge of regulating and are supposed to be charged with keeping a healthy population of a species would come up with the idiotic regs that would only result in what has happened and instead of helping the population, if left unchecked would decimate it. They let that go on for so long and the only reason why it was finally noticed this yea is because the Rock finally moved down to NC for the first time in 4 or 5 years in good numbers. This same group of non elected regulators will only let the recreational fisherman keep 2 fish a day but would make regulation so that causes this kind of waste. I have to buy a salt water fishing license to fish some of my crappie waters every year and they get a lot of the funds. They also don't care about what the general public has to say. I have friends who have called to make suggestions or a complaint and they act very arrogant and don't really care what You have to say. Why would they? they are like the EPA, they are not voted in. They just regulate without answer. If I was a commercial fisherman and had to abide by the rules and my livelihood meant I would have to throw hundreds of dead fish back so I could feed my family, I guess I would too. I would be sick to my stomach but I understand what they are having to deal with. Those fish that they are throwing back are also their seed fish for the future as well and they know it too. That is their way of life and in most cases, is all they know and they do it well. Leave it up to government to screw it up. Makes me mad as he77.CF

You hit the nail on the head there CF.