[Destroyer]

Originally Posted by Blue_Runner

The saddest part of it is what they did (and are doing) was/is legal. The powers that be decided to change the law so they now can keep 2000 lbs rather than just 50 fish. Problem is those nets do not discriminate and can hold WAY WAY more than 2000 lbs of fish. Anything over 2000 lbs (previously 50 fish) caught in the net dies from being crushed from the enormous weight. Why not force them to shrink the nets or set out less than the whole net? Horrible waste and I agree it needs to stop!

Head on over to this link and see the interview with Rick Caton of the popular charter boat the Free Agent out of Hatteras/Oregon Inlet. Rick is also known as Captain Cussword (for good reason). Rick tells it like it is and is mightily opposed to what is going on with the striper trawlers.
http://reelbuzz.com/fishreports/cato...152&reply=1152

Blue, the really sad part is how they are trying to justify the killings. They (the commercial rabid animals that have the nerve to call themselves fishermen) say that recreational fishermen caught 2 million stripers last year and discarded 1 million, so the 340,000 dead stripers they discarded are nothing. But that's simply a spin to try and justify the killing. When they discard a fish, (due to injuries suffered from being crushed in the net) it's either already dead or it's dying. When a recreational fisherman discards a fish usually it's because it's undersize or they are practicing catch and release. Either way, the recreational fish that are put back in the ocean are alive. The commercial fish are dead. Both are counted as discards, but the dirty little secret they don't tell you is that the recreational fish are still alive. Great post, thanks for the link to that interview.