Quote:
Originally Posted by Another Grand
96 boats in the tournament = around 500 baited hooks in the water.
500 = the approximate number of baited hooks on 1 longline set
I know some of you that were in the fleet looked around last night and thought, how is a fish going to swim through this mess to get to me. Imagine if there were 10-20 longline boats fishing in the straights......not subject to the weather like we are, not subject to angler error.
Puts everything in perspective doesnt it?
Anyways, just some food for thought.....  We need to realize how great of a resource we have out there.
 Johnny |
Just thought I'd point out that the area in question for the reopening of PLL is NOT in the Florida Straits. It is about 60 miles offshore of Ft. Pierce on the eastern edge of the Gulf Stream and North of that area.
Ollie...NOT cool. I had a pet ferret and they rock.
Now for my food for thought moment:
People have been talking about recreational fisherman needing to take responsibility for their actions. I absolutely agree with Broadbill Pro: if you put a hook in the water you need to share the responsibility. Now, it is true for the most part that recreational fisherman have a much less impact on stocks than commercial fisherman, however, that does not absolve rec fisherman of responsibility.
This includes releasing a fish in the best possible condition. I hear a lot of people comment that marlin and sails caught on longlines are usually released in poor condition and probably die. However, you then see plenty of recreational fisherman pulling sails and small blue and white marlin out of the water into the boat for a photo...tearing fins, removing slime and then putting the fish back in and calling it a "healthy" release. It absolutely is not. When you remove a billfish that you intend to release from the water (which is ILLEGAL might I add), you greatly reduce it's chance at survival (and this includes sub legal swordfish as well). Granted it takes place on a much larger scale during longlining, but that is no excuse to not take every possible precaution to release the fish you catch with the best possible chance of survival. If you don't (ie. remove sails and marlin from the water prior to release), don't complain about longliner's poor release methods.
Responsibility also includes following the law, regardless of whether or not you think it is reasonable. Fisherman need to comply with the regulations that are put in place. Many rec swordfisherman made the fight against allowing longliners back in to the closed area off Ft. Pierce a lot more difficult by not following the rules. This includes not reporting fish. Many people still do not report their fish. This will only hurt us in the long run. This also includes other illegal activities that I will not mention. Illegal activities hurt everyone.
Regardless of how you feel on the whole commercial vs. recreational fight, you need to be responsible in your actions while you are fishing.
My 0.02.