Good old Ronnie Raygun wasn't half as conservative as people remember. Overall, taxes went UP under Reagan and he and his administration helped deregulate Wall St. ( along with Slick Willy, Bush 1 and 2) which helped lead us to where we are now; the greatest disparity in wealth the country has ever known and a giant crap sanwich the 99% has been eating since 2008.
I believe NOAA mostly has their head up their butts but I also recognize that some regulation is needed. I believe that had we done nothing in the past (no pollution control, no seasons, no bag/size limits etc) we would have no fishery at all. For anything, really. The New York Bight would be a stinking, fishless cesspool. Do we need better science and research? You bet. Just don't be mad if the results don't please you.
Times have changed and the writing is indeed on the wall. Our worldwide human population will continue to put enormous pressure on the oceans to provide sustenance. Recreational anglers don't put anything on the endangered species list but we still need to recognize our impact and we must be good stewards of the resource that belongs to all of us.
Overall, we tried "freedom" for the better part of 200 years and it guess what? People are greedy. If we are all "free" to do as we please then you will end up with a lot of honest people doing the right thing and a minority screwing the whole thing up by polluting and overfishing (seriously, a garbage can full of flounder? and you wonder why we now have limits).
Been there, done that. That's why we have these restrictive rules to begin with. Are they stupid and useless and using flawed science at times? Yup.
But the alternative of total freedom doesn't work either, unfortunately, as we can see through years as some fisheries collapsed. See: cod, striped bass, redfish etc.
"But wait!" you say. "There are tons of bass and redfish and cod are coming back!"
Yeah. You know why? Rules and regulations. Sometimes it works. Sometimes.
amen kevin,i to am glad i got to see the "good old days' and be part of a better way of life.
Bunker, It just seems to get worse as we go along. You still have the fishing talent to put together a good catch when you go.
Nothing or no one stopping you from fishing with a bobber and a worm. The power of choice is yours.
I am sure impaling a worm on a hook in California where I live is illegal.
Yeah and meanwhile he approves of "fracking the crap out of the area"
Like Dan (o'connor) said, california is a complete disastrous nightmare, we have it pretty good compared to them right now.
Sportie my Friend , they saw it coming in California and too few people took action . Two of my Friends in San Diego stopped Saltwater Fishing all together . Don't think for one second that it won't happen here .
Last edited by Ol Pedro; 03-06-2012 at 12:05 PM..
Catch restrictions are a must but they cannot be a fisheries saving grace. Catching less fish will not and never improve a fishery. We need to spend more time replacing a footprint that we wiped away 40 years ago. If we make an effort to restore the live bottom that was wiped away to almost nothing many years ago, we will see fisheries thrive like never before. Fish need habitat to thrive. If we replace what we wiped out then fish will thrive. Catching less fish doesnt do sh*t for our future. We need to make more fish through habitat restoration. Plain and simple.
Just heard the "Indian" out of Pt. Loma went out of business. They referenced increasing regs. and fuel prices as the reason. Out here they get you on bag limits, closed seasons and the big kick in the stones is when they shut down areas of coast like you referenced. Imagine shutting down sandy hook point around to the cedars. That is what we just lost at Point Vicente to abalone cove. Used to be a great spot for white sea bass and halibut. For a fight now I just go down to the MMA Gym and get my head kicked in by 20 year olds. Much more fun.
Just heard the "Indian" out of Pt. Loma went out of business. They referenced increasing regs. and fuel prices as the reason. Out here they get you on bag limits, closed seasons and the big kick in the stones is when they shut down areas of coast like you referenced. Imagine shutting down sandy hook point around to the cedars. [/QUOTE] I hear you Brother . They did all that work to get the White Seabass and Halibut back then they close the waters . The Bambi's are winning out there .