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Originally Posted by psterling76
It appears that it has finally happened. This has been in the works for a while. I just wanted to see what everyone thought about this. State Creates Marine Havens - Los Angeles Times
I think it will help the fishery, but we need to do more to restrict commercial boats. If that means you pay $15/# @ the store, so be it. This is not a farm and the resources when gone will not be easily replenished. |
This whole closure thing is a bad joke without a punch line! I've been following the story in WON from the beginning. The powers behind the closures are radical environmentalists--and, yes, those punk *** PETA terrorists who have been arrested several times for attacking fishermen. They want to stop fishing altogether. The only reason that Governor Terminator has backed these closures--he could care less about fishing one way or another--is that his wife, Maria Shriver, told him that this would be a good way to pull in votes from Democrats who are sympathetic to the environmentalists, especially "the limousine liberals." These are people who own property in Malibu and don't like their view ruined by the unsightly sportfishing boats. Some other "dirty little secrets" about the closures.
The reasons for the closures were based on sketchy anecdotal observations, old data, and a fisheries scientist--Dr. Milton Love--who used to write for WON--who made several dives in a one-man submarine and declared that the areas he visited should have been full of rockfish, but now it was like a desert. His reports were later refuted by independent reports that stated that the areas he visited had never held a large population of rockfish!
Also, the DFG had a few meetings where fisherman were invited to give their input, but many in attendance said they felt that the "fix" was already in, and their views meant nothing. The closure cabal have targeted recreational fisherman from the beginning, but seemed to gloss over the impact of commercial fishermen. For years they have been slaughtering fish with impunity, literally scraping the bottom of the ocean and destroying rockfish habitat. For years they have been long-lining and gill-netting with disastrous results. But thanks to a vocal--and well-paid army of lobbyists--they keep on raping the fisheries while politicians--of both parties--continue to line their pockets.
In other words, this is not a Republican vs. Democrat flame war. Both parties share guilt equally--and us--the recreational fishermen who practice catch & release, obey bag limits, and do our best to practice conservation--are forced to suffer for the sins of the greedy *** commercials.
I know almost everybody on these boards does catch and release and obeys the limit regulations. This description also applies to the majority of recreational fishermen. We are not the problem, and closures will have absolutely no impact on the commercial guys. They will be free to waste tons of "bycatch" while we lose thousands of square miles to closures as the PETA juggernaut breaks into thunderous applause!
