Amazing Story..read on

[goodtides56]

It really is sickening to see how many Swords are being slaughtered.
I heard Dean killed over 1200 pounds in a week.

It seems people have an overwhelming need to be photographed with a "big fish". They are so excited abouting immeadiately posting the pictures on the forum and showing them to anyone who will look. Isn't the experienced burned into your memory good enough?

Think about their history, how long they have been alive, if they have had a chance to reproduce yet, what it will be like when your kid or grandkid wants to catch one. For heavens sake, take a picture of the fish being release and post that. Give it a shot, see how good you'll feel.

Using electrics to catch swords is NOT sportsfishing. If longlines were legalized again, I know some of the butchers on this forum would be using them, so that they will increase their chances to be photographed with a bleeding fish.

Folks, these fish were nearly decimated. Give it some thought and be a real MAN.

I met a hunter yesterday that has killed one deer in his 22 consecutive years of hunting for them. He killed his first and only in his second season, it was a nice 10 point buck. Over the years, he has looked at hundreds of big bucks in through the crosshairs of his scope and has not shot another. He prepares all year long for a short rifle season and passes on most everything he sees.
I asked him if he would ever kill another and he said he would when the right animal presents itself. BTW, he can legally kill one per year.

Guys, it's all about the challenge, the experience, the opportunity to share these majestic creatures and their incredible strength with your family and friends and watching them swim away to LIVE another day.

Want to keep one here and their,that's perfectly fine.

Please Stop killing the Swords!

[UFCroft]

Here we go again.......

I would be more concerned about people who routinely kill fish before the maturation age. Many more fish are killed in that slot that the ones that are way over. Swordfish don't mature until they are at least 150 lbs for males and 200 for the females. So, is killing a big one better than a small one? At least they HAD the chance to spawn several times.

As for deer hunting, deer a much more managable species as you can get a reasonable census on them. And much of deer hunting is herd propagation management. Thus thinning out the weaker genes. Poor comparison.

[goodtides56]

I was not comparing swordfish management to deer management.
My point was all about this hunters mentality. A true sportsman no doubt.

He could have have killed lots of nice ones, but chose NOt to.
Unfortunately,people have an overwhelming need to KILL and brag.
Pretty sad, if you ask me.

When we catch a sword we choose whether it lives or dies.
Let these warriors live.

[UFCroft]

Sorry for the misunderstanding.

As for the amount of swordfish, "Being Slaughtered," are you not more concerned with other forms of more aggresive fishing than recreational? As for the daytime fishing, lets see, a 370, a 340, a 240, a couple 100 lb'rs, another 300lbr, a 250, then a 300 and a 500 in over 2 months of public posting. I wouldn't exaclty call that a "Slaughter." Go look at the fish hold of a long line vessel up North. I respect your opinion, but just think it would be more effective and/or appropriate in a more applicable area.

[Max'd Out]

I can't wait till I get the new Prius Electric Reel with Heavy Duty Shock Rod. You're going to see some Killer pictures then. We have to save the US swordfish quota some how.

[UFCroft]

Yeah, i'm getting mine with the optional 230 Volt Power Boost.

[Uncle Buck]

NO. I'm not going to stop killing swordfish, or any other tasty "meat" fish I may bring boatside. I like to eat fresh fish. My family likes to eat fresh fish. My friends like to eat fresh fish. And golly gee, I like to catch and share the fish we all eat.

Besides, swordfish are destined to be "sustainably" slaughtered anyway. They're a commodity like any other global seafood resource. Even if all recreational anglers choose to release every swordfish, it won't make a damn bit of difference. Whether it be by our US commercial fleet, or another nation's fleet, the quotas will be caught. I have no shame in taking my legal share of the catch. And if our crew has a stellar multi-fish streak, I know a lot of friends and family that'll be very happy.

Your hunter friend sounds like a man with his own sense of hunting ethics. He has every right to kill or not kill that deer. Good for him for knowing he has a choice. His choice is commendable. But to each his own.

[Captain Ollie]

Its such a hard concept to comprehend.....That we have to kill as many fish as possible right now to be able to continue killing them at a "sustainable level" in the future. That is what you have to come to grips with. Its the reality of the situation and until people manage to grasp this concept, we will not have unity in this fishery. AND that, my fellow fisherman may be the straw that breaks the camels back. UNITY. The infighting that takes place on this website that IS read by the fisheries people. It will be the very thing that will be used to divide and conquer us. In the next couple of months there will and must be a genuine effort to get all the different factions in this fishery into some kind of alignment, through compromise. It won't be easy, but it must be done for the continuation of the fishery. The nightime recs, the bouy guys, the day time electric/manual deepdroppers, and the PLL'ers. We must all get together, make compsomises, and find a tie that binds. The consequences are great. With the most tangible being that this area may be closed for a good portion of the year, when the now reduced quota is reached early, do the fact that provisions made for revitalization were made much too late.

BTW the fishery will be shut down once the total harvest is within 80% of the goal. Due to a 200% overage in the shark fishery that was due to late reporting.

[weekendbender]

Where is the "amazing story" that you talk about in your headline? The fisherman on this forum are overwhelmingly conservationists and protectors of this fishery. None of us want to kill a fish for a picture. We harvest fish for the delicious delicacy that they are. There are also quite a few people on this forum that benefit from the swordfishery as their business and primary source of income. We do not abuse this fishery! We are trying to protect it for future generations. Along the way, yes we will harvest fish - big ones, small ones and all of it within the mandated and legal size.

Your post will strike a chord with many people that look to this forum to learn where the fish are biting, what the best and newest techniques are to do so and for many of us that are stewards of this fishery. Do not be surprised that you are due to receive some unhappy comments back toward your post.

This fishery is in good health and if we ever learn that not to be true by factual data, I for one and many on here will call for increased minimum ljfl and or other ways to curb our catch. Until then I plan on continuing to enjoy the fishery and look forward to harvesting many legal fish in the future.

[NightCrawler]

I kill em for the trophy and toss the meat overboard

[quack quack]

GT56 your friend is a bad hunter and clueless on deer management.I hope he killed of few doe's over the years.Because if not he most likely caused deer to starve to death.Not to mention he must not like to eat venison.
I understand your point but you chose a bad comparison.

Like Ollie said we all need to find common ground and work together.If we do not then some very bad things "are" not might but "are" going to happen and what would happen would make us wish it was only llers we were dealing with.Any one want to stop swordfishing for 6 months out of the year?

[quack quack]

Steph those are the fish you caught last week right.

[NightCrawler]

yeah right

[lcagator]

Originally Posted by Captain Ollie

Its such a hard concept to comprehend.....That we have to kill as many fish as possible right now to be able to continue killing them at a "sustainable level" in the future. That is what you have to come to grips with. Its the reality of the situation and until people manage to grasp this concept, we will not have unity in this fishery. AND that, my fellow fisherman may be the straw that breaks the camels back. UNITY. The infighting that takes place on this website that IS read by the fisheries people. It will be the very thing that will be used to divide and conquer us. In the next couple of months there will and must be a genuine effort to get all the different factions in this fishery into some kind of alignment, through compromise. It won't be easy, but it must be done for the continuation of the fishery. The nightime recs, the bouy guys, the day time electric/manual deepdroppers, and the PLL'ers. We must all get together, make compsomises, and find a tie that binds. The consequences are great. With the most tangible being that this area may be closed for a good portion of the year, when the now reduced quota is reached early, do the fact that provisions made for revitalization were made much too late.

BTW the fishery will be shut down once the total harvest is within 80% of the goal. Due to a 200% overage in the shark fishery that was due to late reporting.

Well put.

Does the three fish I've caught this year hurt the Quota...I think not; actually, I am hurting it. But I sure kept them all! And they were oh so tasty.

Does anyone have some fairy dust that I can sprinkle on my new boat to take this 4 month bad streak I am having on the new vessel lately? It still has not been baptized with sword blood yet.

I should have never traded in my previuos good luck charm.

[Big Squid]

I will be out there late this afternoon with my Kristal 651. I will set up my drift at sundown and fish until 12 or so. I hope to catch my limit and I will kill every legal fish that swims past my boat. I will then report them tomorrow morning and help fill our quota. This will do the resource a great service because it will be my way of ensuring that our quota is not allocated to some third world country who does not care about the fishery the way that I do. There is nothing wrong with killing a fish if it is reported and I think most of the people on this forum are responsible enough to report their catches.