Hi Capt. Mark,
As I stated above the comms make up less than 1% of the total striper
fishermen, yet they account for more than 25% of the total harvest. Even with
a dull pencil this seems to be a bit disproportionate.
It would also seem to be quite easily proven that a striper is worth much more
alive than dead. True a rec fishermen may choose to harvest the fish if it meets
the size requirements. But the fish has no such option if a comm fishermen
catches it.
Back in the days when everyone who fished for stripers was a comm fisherman,
we figured if we could find the fish we would catch them. SO if a comm fisherman
gets on a school of fish he can keep catching and killing them until they move or he
decimates the school. The rec fisherman on the other hand can get one and
thats it.
BY the way if you visit the DMF web site you will notice that they admit that
their data collection is somewhat suspect. People who work with computer models
tell me that their model itself is quite flawed. So if we have a flawed model
and flawed data, is there much chance that the conclusions of biologists
can be given much credence?