Maryland closes stripped bass season!
- Thread starter screaminleeman
- Start date
screaminleeman;4869411; said:
Don't get mad at DNR. Blame the greedy poachers! They are are F"ing ridicules. Three Frickin Tons of huge Rocks fish! And thats just teh nets thatthey found imagine the loss in the nets that they didn't find. Poaching in the Bay on both teh VA and the MD side has gotten out of control. You should find a read the article about the undercover op the Dept of Interior, EPA, MD DNR and VA DNR completed involving poachers and commercial resellers. I think is was a Sun article. I am glad the EPA and DNR have finally started to put their foot down concerning the Bay!. Maybe now we will really start getting Maryland's waterways healthy.
LOL....sorry YOOPERs and Critter but I just hate it when people falsely accuse someone or group without all the facts, it sounds to me like its the poachers....not ALL commercial fisherman or the Maryland state DNR who are at fault here so Screamins incessant posting got me a little riled up. I think Ill have a beer, I should have just followed the old adage about arguing with fools!YOOPER;4879184;4879184 said:
The state voted to reinstate the last two days of the striped bass gill net season. I guess I have mixed emotions as a result of the decision.
In a way, I am happy. The approval for allowing fishing for the last two days of gill net season all but assures that the recreational season not be restricted as a result of the poaching this February.
On the other hand, I am extremely disappointed in the entire commercial gill net fishing industry. The state started with a $6,000 reward for the information leading to the arrest of the guilty parties. It has nearly reached $40,000. I do NOT believe that many ordinary locals or recreational fishermen have any clue as to who did this, if we did, I think most of us would have been chaffing at the bit to turn them in FOR FREE!
I do believe however, that it is knowledge that numerous commercial gill netters are fully aware of. IMO, the state extended their offer to allow for the "decent honest" commercial gill net fishermen to come to a consensus decision to unanimously turn over the guilty party(s). IMO, there is a code of silence among the members of this commercial gill net guild. The fact that nothing came out (again IMO) just proves that this code is far more important to the commercial gill netters than the fishery itself! The offer did not even make a single commercial gill netter bat an eye even at the risk of the rest of the season closure. They called the states "bluff", what is exactly what it was, and Maryland proved that it could NOT stick to it's guns. The vote gives me a warm fuzzy feeling about this years recreational striped bass season! I will however go on record now saying that the precedent that the state has set with this decision will not go un-noticed! Mark my words, next years poaching will be on the order of a magnitude over this years.
My brother jokingly said that we should go into gill net manufacturing and make a fortune catering to the poacher fleets!
In a way, I am happy. The approval for allowing fishing for the last two days of gill net season all but assures that the recreational season not be restricted as a result of the poaching this February.
On the other hand, I am extremely disappointed in the entire commercial gill net fishing industry. The state started with a $6,000 reward for the information leading to the arrest of the guilty parties. It has nearly reached $40,000. I do NOT believe that many ordinary locals or recreational fishermen have any clue as to who did this, if we did, I think most of us would have been chaffing at the bit to turn them in FOR FREE!
I do believe however, that it is knowledge that numerous commercial gill netters are fully aware of. IMO, the state extended their offer to allow for the "decent honest" commercial gill net fishermen to come to a consensus decision to unanimously turn over the guilty party(s). IMO, there is a code of silence among the members of this commercial gill net guild. The fact that nothing came out (again IMO) just proves that this code is far more important to the commercial gill netters than the fishery itself! The offer did not even make a single commercial gill netter bat an eye even at the risk of the rest of the season closure. They called the states "bluff", what is exactly what it was, and Maryland proved that it could NOT stick to it's guns. The vote gives me a warm fuzzy feeling about this years recreational striped bass season! I will however go on record now saying that the precedent that the state has set with this decision will not go un-noticed! Mark my words, next years poaching will be on the order of a magnitude over this years.
My brother jokingly said that we should go into gill net manufacturing and make a fortune catering to the poacher fleets!
Regarding the code....if you knew anything of the histories of the commercial fleets of the bay, you would now that they have alway's banded together, regardless of the cost. There was even a small war over oysters. Commercial fishing vessels went to work with cannons on board.
Secondly, has anybody stopped to think of why these people are poaching? I've known quite a few waterman, and they all grumble about the same things. No tags. I have seen watermen pushed out of their livelihood, some of them were from families that had been watermen for generations.
I am not advocating poaching, by any means. I think this whole thing is a travesty, right from the regulations to the poaching to the "enforcement" If they really wanted to catch these guy's theyve got a whole academy of navy boys who need the training, right where this is happening.
Secondly, has anybody stopped to think of why these people are poaching? I've known quite a few waterman, and they all grumble about the same things. No tags. I have seen watermen pushed out of their livelihood, some of them were from families that had been watermen for generations.
I am not advocating poaching, by any means. I think this whole thing is a travesty, right from the regulations to the poaching to the "enforcement" If they really wanted to catch these guy's theyve got a whole academy of navy boys who need the training, right where this is happening.
