Chalk One Up For The Little Guys.

[briansII]

AB 1253 has been amended.

Due to the significant opposition to the bill generated by the sportfishing community with support from environmental groups, during the hearing the author notified the committee that all the language in the bill would be removed regarding the striped bass fishery. Instead of stripping the striper's sportfishing status and opening it to indiscriminate harvest, Fuller offered an amendment to require the CalFed Independent Science Panel to review all of the predation studies done in the estuary and to report their findings to the Legislature on whether or not additional studies are need to better understand all the impacts of fish predation that occurs in the estuary.

The whole story and the amendment can be read here.

http://www.calsport.org/4-28-09c.htm

This just goes to show, things can get done from a grassroots level. The opposition started from volunteer fisher men and women, envioromental groups, and small businesses. They were able to stem the tide.........for now. Thanks go out to the folks that took a minute to sign the petitions, and showed/voiced their opposition to the bill.

briansII

[Papasequoia]

Great news, Brian! I have never fished for these but have long wanted to. Now I will still have the chance.

[briansII]

Great news, Brian! I have never fished for these but have long wanted to. Now I will still have the chance.

Pat on the back goes to you Jon. You brought up the bill on this forum. The stats show that www.flyfishingaddicts.com was one of the contributing forums to the cause.



briansII

[RiverRat]

That is great news!

thanks

shane

[Trootfisher]

If this law WERE passed, wouldn't practicing catch and release be a way to help sustain the recreational fishery?

Or does all recreational fishing for non-native stripers result in keeping whatever you catch?

[rayfound]

If this law WERE passed, wouldn't practicing catch and release be a way to help sustain the recreational fishery?

Or does all recreational fishing for non-native stripers result in keeping whatever you catch?

Yes, BUT it would open the fishery to commercial harvest, and we all know there is a lot of catch/kill going on. If the fish isn't classed as a gamefish, there aren't even bag limits.

[briansII]

If this law WERE passed, wouldn't practicing catch and release be a way to help sustain the recreational fishery?

Or does all recreational fishing for non-native stripers result in keeping whatever you catch?

There is widespread poaching going on now, and a black market for the meat. If you ever seen the lineup of striper fisherman, that do take home what they catch, and understand they wouldn't stop fishing till they couldn't fit anymore fish in the vehicle, well..... We have a local reservoir that was a world class striper fishery. The popularity with recreational fishermen, almost whipped out the lake. It's a shadow of it's former self, and doubtful it'll ever recover. Commercial operation will have a huge impact in the ocean and bay estuaries. If you take away all of the harvest regulations, the fishery will collapse, even if there is some C&R being practiced. The reason the bill was introduced, is to shine the spotlight away from the real problem(s), and to take some of the sportfishermen out of the picture. If you don't have a fish to fish for, you don't have a dog in the fight. Many think stripers were just the beginning, and other gamefish could be/would be next.

briansII