This will make you absolutely sick to your stomach..

[Bonecrusher]

Granted, this takes place in Hawaii but a large % of the posters here chase bonefish as well and thought this would be of interest.

http://www.sandylang.net/news/?p=443

Legal or not, it both angers and disgusts me to see a school of bonefish flopping around in a net on the beach. Culture, tradition, blah, blah, blah.

[FLGator]

Sad.

With Hawaii's budding bonefish destination status you'd think the Hawaiian's would embrace conservation measures to preserve the species inorder to increase the economic benefit from bonefishing. I believe the University of Miami did a study on the economic impact of bonefishing in the State of Florida and found a single bonefish brought in something like $3500 per year!

Hope things change...soon.

[Tight Line SXM]

Not that I am condoning the practice but remember that they have been fishing like this for generations. It's part of their culture similar to the Indians of the Northwest fishing for salmon and has limited effect on fish stocks.

Growing up on an island myself I have been part of these types of hauls. The reality is that the development on an island has a much greater adverse effect on the marine life than the "locals" hauling a net on occasion.

On St. Maarten where I am the commercial development of marinas and dredging had, has and will continue to have a more damaging effect on marine life than hauling a siene net four or five times a year. It cannot be compared to the commercial fishing vessels around the world.

Probably the worse effect on marine life are the dozens of jet-skis that race across the inshore waters all day long driving fish, birds, turtles and everything else running for their lives and into habitats that are not normal just for them to seek safety.

We've since shut down the indiscriminent setting of gill and seine nets along inshore waters and each net that is set must be liscenced and the owner registered, therby controlling and limiting this type of fishing.

Tyt Lynz!

[Onshore]

Conservation will not happen overnight. As Tight Line said, remember that they have been fishing like this for generations. It's part of their culture similar to the Indians of the Northwest fishing for salmon and has limited effect on fish stocks.

[Bonecrusher]

I have to disagree that netting doesn't impact stocks. When you pull in a net with hundreds of fish, you're not only detroying those immediate fish in the net but you're also destroying future generations of fish from the eggs these females would have laid. Redfish stocks in the southeast were devasted by netting.

I realize that someone who doesn't fly fish for bones with the passion that many of us do, probably looks at a bonefish like a look at a carp or catfish, but it still disturbs me to see this netting taking place.

[MarkZ]

It seems to me that bones and interestingly enough stripers on the NE flats (when there during that particular season) tend to acclimate to certain flats and stay there. I see the same groups of Stripers with the same individuals on certain flats day after day. Bones do the same are obviously much more vunerable since they are there throughout the season. By netting a flat the population there is devistated. A fly guide in the South Paific (Cook Islands)that posts on RT occasionally has documented this.

[pinky]

nearly every bonefish destination has netting problems they are just keeping quiet. with us they are using bonefish to catch 90 cents a pound snapper. even some of the guides are doing it . they just do not know and care about consevation.