[macojoe]

Yep just away for the comercials to get the fuel they need to argue there qouta.

Also a way to collect names for the up commingn saltwater lic. They have brought it up so many times that it will get done, just a matter of time!

I have said it before and I will say i again, I will never get a Lic for saltwater fishing!!

1 its a free ocean!!
2 its my god givin right
3 what do I get for the money??

it use to be that the dragers stayed off shore to fish, but after years of over fishing and killing of the fishing areas they have come inshore, and now you can see the inshore fishing going the same way the off shore went!!

receratiion guys have been taking it for years now!! They can go out and get 7- 17 1/2 Fluke a day, wow thank you!! BFD! >:(

Comercial guys can get rod & reel 200# of 14' and dragers 300# of 14!!
That does not tell you what the dragers throw over the side DEAD!! go by your local fish house and see all the door mats the dragers bring in, I garantee you they have no 14" fish in there catch!! All culled out!

Then they blame all the recreation guys for taking under size fish!

and and and and I better stop now don't get me going!!!! >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( >:( I have been to meeting on this subject before!! And I have read stuff I wrote.
mostly on the Fluke as this is were my passion is, But we need the recreation guys to stand up!!

All you see at these meetings is a handful of rec. guys and the commercial 100% of them show!
Here in Ma. there is like 300 comercial dragers, and 1 million rec people, and its the 300 that get what they want!!
and its because they all show up and stick toghter! and till the Rec. guys do the same they will always be the one to get slamed!!

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This is a letter I wrote and read then gave to the commision in 2003


Well here we are again, still fighting over whom will be the king of the Fluke. It seems to me that this commission needs to **** or get off the pot! Is the Commission the rule makers or not? When you have two children fighting over the same toy what do you do? Well if you are a good parent you make them share the toy equally. Giving each the same rules of play and the same shared responsibility that the toy will be treated well, and be taken care of. Well this fishery is much the same as those kids, and this Commission is much like the parents of those children. You don’t let the children run the show because they can’t. Well you don’t let the fisherman run this council. It is up to the commission to act in a responsible manner and distubute the fishery in a fashion that will protect the fishery not the fisherman. This is your responsibility. And as with the children you must make the rules, and see that the fisherman follows the rule. They may not like it but this is the way it needs to be. As the Commission you no the state of the fishery and you should no how to fix it. Never mind worrying about stepping on other people’s toes, just do what’s best for the fishery.

So let’s see, let’s try to some it up. A good parent will sit down with there children and try to work things out in a sensible way. Not giving one child, or in this case one group of fisherman more then the other. And if one is not following the rules, then they need to be reprimanded.

So let’s sum this up :

Draggers:
90% of the catch by there own omission over the years
Hook:
10% of the catch
Draggers:
20% of the quota is saved for a winter fishery.
Hook:
0% of the saved winter fishery
Draggers:
100 lbs. during the squid season
Hook:
0 lbs. During the squid season
Draggers:
300 lbs. per day during the season
Hook:
200 lbs. Per day during the season
Draggers:
Dragging the ocean bottoms destroying the habitat and count less other juvenile and other fish speciales.
Hook and liners:
Fish without harming juvenile fish or other species. And with out harming the environment.


(This was added on the spot after Dragers talked and gave the numbers}

So lets see, the draggers want 90% and give the Hook’s 10% because this is tradition over years??

Well I won’t fight that, I will just use them numbers cause that’s what they say. What this means is that we are not in this room today cause of the 10%, no sir by there own admission they get 90% there fore we are here because of them!!

I purpose that giving these numbers that we change the purposal before us today to 90% to hook and liners and 10% to the draggers!! Since they showed they can’t handle it!

I don’t think that this is a fair arrangement, do you? Now they the Draggers want to change the rules again to suite there needs. Is this fair? As with the children do you let one change the rules when they want? Simply because one is older and stronger or do you look at the whole picture, and as a parent makes them stick to the rules so no one of them abuse that toy. The same goes for this fishery. The Draggers have been doing this for generations and by there own omission they have played the proment role in this fishery. Which is on the brink of disaster? Because they are the older of the two fisheries and the stronger does not give them the right to tell the smaller one what to do. It is the commission place as the parent, or in this case the rule maker, to see that it is shared equally and not abused by the other.
So why is it that, that has been the way this fishery is being run? Why are the Draggers getting what they want? When the fluke season was in June they wanted it changed to July. This was to push otherwise fluke fisherman to the stripers. Giving the draggers more of the fish. Now that did not work so they want to put it back to June, so that the small boats who season really don’t get going till July won’t be able to get as many days out because of weather, ect. This will get them more of the catch. Change the no fish days to Sat and Sun instead of Fri and Sat. so that the small fisherman, who have other jobs, and can only fish Sat and Sun. Will not have a day on the water giving yet another share to the draggers. All this is giving the bully more and more fish all the time. And the commission isn’t acting as a good parent because they let the bully keep on changing the rules to fit their own needs.

It does not take a genius, or a scientist, to see what’s going on in the ocean, and to see the adverse affects of the fish stocks, after years of Dragging.

When Hooks catch fish they are handled with care and are released to live and grow for another day, with the environment the same way as they found it
When Draggers finish their drag it not only destroyed the habitat but how many other species and juvenile fish did it pick up and drag over? After they have been dragged over and dragged for a few miles, pulled up to the boat’ dumped on the deck to be sorted threw’ how many of them will live when released?
Commissioners look at the facts, the history, and the numbers of fish out there. All the studies have been done! You no what needs to be done! Don’t worry about who feelings get hurt! Do the right thing for the fishery not the fisherman! The fisherman did not do the right thing for the fish, and this is why we have these debates today.
Be the parent and these two groups following the rule that are best for the fishery not the individual groups.