Commercial fishermen will go nearly a year without a red drum season following an unusually large harvest in the fall that has prompted a closure. The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina “obviously very concerned about the significant amount that the commercial red drum quota was exceeded,” said CCA-NC Chairman Greg Hurt. jdnew.com Read more here 11:36
NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?
While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here
When are fisheries managers going to learn that fish populations have boom and bust “cycles”, always have, and always will? Fishing landings prohibitions by fishing regulators do not and cannot control these cycles. That is the delusion of the current day “population dynamicists” in fisheries “management”.
Ill-advised and disproportionate regulations actually create the bycatch. Bycatch is a function of out of whack restrictions on landings of species that happen to be having a “bumper crop” year! In the New England fishermen spend more time trying to avoid the “forbidden species” than they do fishing. Currently and for the last few years we are inundated with black sea bass but most of the time are only “allowed” to land small amounts if at all. The ocean bottom is paved with them…so bycatch, bycatch, and more bycatch.
These fishermen are not targeting red drum anymore than New England Fluke fishermen are targeting Sea Bass. Of course, that certain species swim together seems to be a concept beyond the understanding of some scientists and regulators. What they also seem to miss is the “mixed stock exemption” as outlined in the regulations.
Seems to me it’s the CCA-NC that is “clearly targeting” some commercial fishermen.
estimated rec landings of red drum last year surpass 1 million pounds commercial fishermen just over 250000lbs.a well know guide said the recs don’t eat red drum so what did they do with them
nc landings