Ted Williams Article On Striped Bass As Game Fish July 2009

[JIM KIRN]

http://www.stripersforever.org/Info/Stripers_BBoard/I011EB99C.0/TW%20FRR%20piece%20on%20SB%20July%202009.pdf

Stripers Forever members - we have posted to our website an article from the current issue of Fly Rod and Reel magazine by the noted author Ted Williams, regarding the state of striped bass with comments on making striped bass a game fish in his home state of Massachusetts. You'll find it a good read. We have very little argument with the basic points that he clearly and very emphatically lays out.


The above attachment is a story by the noted author, Ted Williams which appears in the current issue of Fly Rod and Reel. The story addresses the state of striped bass in his home state of Massachusetts and Ted's thoughts on making striped bass a game fish. You'll find it a good read. Here is a brief summary of Ted's credentials.



Ted Williams - not the baseball player - has been writing full time on environmental issues, with special attention to fish and wildlife conservation, since 1970. In addition to freelancing for national magazines, he contributes regular feature-length conservation columns to Audubon and Fly Rod & Reel where he serves as Editor-at-Large and Conservation Editor respectively.



In April 1997 Williams was presented with the Conservation Achievement Award by the National Wildlife Federation at its annual convention in Tucson. In March 1999 he received the Federal Wildlife Officers Association award for his conservation writing. And in August 2003 the Federation of Fly Fishers presented him with its Aldo Leopold Award for “outstanding contributions to fisheries and land ecology.” Williams has been named to the Jade of Chiefs--the highest conservation award given by the Outdoor Writers Association of America. And for his reporting on federal forest-fire policy, the American Society of Magazine Editors voted *Audubon* one of five finalists in the National Magazine Awards.

[Sweet Marlyn]

Great article. Thanks for posting.

The scariest part of that whole article is:

"Typically a year or two before the collapse of any fishery you get big fish; then it bottoms out."

Hmmmmmm.

[hammerheadman]

that was agreat article.Thanks for posting .I keep on saying STRIPED Bass need to be a game fish from Maine to the Carolinas,

[philjam]

that was agreat article.Thanks for posting .I keep on saying STRIPED Bass need to be a game fish from Maine to the Carolinas,

I respect your opinion. :thumbsup: In a perfect world we would know how many stripers exist, how many can the habitat support, and harvest levels. Game fish means no commercial harvest of wild fish. In my opinion, that is unfair. Comms have a right to harvest, and people who do not fish for stripers have a right to purchase legally wild caught fish at the market. There is no argument from me that rec stripers are worth a whole lot more economically than comm stripers.

We are at ground zero. We know next to nothing about the relationships between all the fishies in the sea. Our kids and grandkids will figure it all out.

I don't put stripers on a pedastel, and I don't say all comms are evil. I am from the generation where there where no stripers - now is better than then.

[SRF]

Thanks Jim,

Great article. I hope everyone takes the time to read it. Every state has to be on the same page or nothing will ever get accomplished. Unfortunately bass are taken a beating that cant be sustained for much longer .

[MakeMeNuts]

from the article...the only paragraph you'll need:


Let’s get back to the apparent striper
crash. First, fish crashes generated by professional
fisheries managers take a good
deal longer to manifest than five years,
as we saw with the cod crash, the haddock
crash, the white-marlin crash, the
swordfish crash, the tuna crash, the grouper
crash, the snapper crash, the snook
crash, the redfish crash, the weakfish
crash, the winter-flounder crash, the fluke
crash, the southern-flounder crash, the
Atlantic-salmon crash, the Pacific-salmon
crash, the steelhead crash, the river-herring
crash, the menhaden crash, and the
first striper crash, to mention just a few.

[casapulla]

Stripers Forever is currently working on an active bill right now in the MA legislature and are working hard to try and pass it and making the Striped Bass a GAME FISH. After we are finished there we can turn our energies on another state, and perhaps if we are successful we will inspire some of our volunteers further south.

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[aimless]

"Comms have a right to harvest, and people who do not fish for stripers have a right to purchase legally wild caught fish at the market"

I guess we should just let the fishery go away because everyone has a right to catch the fish.


"We are at ground zero. We know next to nothing about the relationships between all the fishies in the sea. Our kids and grandkids will figure it all out."

If there are any left when they get old enough.:(

[mattlist]

I respect your opinion. :thumbsup: In a perfect world we would know how many stripers exist, how many can the habitat support, and harvest levels. Game fish means no commercial harvest of wild fish. In my opinion, that is unfair. Comms have a right to harvest, and people who do not fish for stripers have a right to purchase legally wild caught fish at the market. There is no argument from me that rec stripers are worth a whole lot more economically than comm stripers.

We are at ground zero. We know next to nothing about the relationships between all the fishies in the sea. Our kids and grandkids will figure it all out.

I don't put stripers on a pedastel, and I don't say all comms are evil. I am from the generation where there where no stripers - now is better than then.




Check out the book " the most important fish in the sea" It has really cool historical accounts from the late 1700's when you could go in the back waters and grab a bass by sticking a frying pan in the water"- no joke. Of course we are way too overpopulated to ever get back to that, but that is the perfect world scenario. The thing is, in the big picture, that wasn't really too long ago, maybe four or five generations back. Go back four generations and our shores were teeming with bunker schools miles long, whales off the coast, Giant Schools of BET,BFT,YFT. We have done allot of damage in the past 150 years. I don't think "skunked" existed before the 1940's and 50's.

[MakeMeNuts]

hey Matt... the comm's will fish whatever resource they can catch easily and in large quantities. The NJ restrictions on bunker fishing has clearly INCREASED the numbers in our area. I have never seen as many off our beaches in the early fall as the past couple of years.

it is really sad when you think about how stocks have been devastated.

[hammerheadman]

Stripers Forever is currently working on an active bill right now in the MA legislature and are working hard to try and pass it and making the Striped Bass a GAME FISH. After we are finished there we can turn our energies on another state, and perhaps if we are successful we will inspire some of our volunteers further south.

http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/statusicon/user_online.gif http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/buttons/report.gif (http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/report.php?p=1959531) http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/misc/progress.gif http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/buttons/edit.gif (http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/editpost.php?do=editpost&p=1959531) http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/images/buttons/quote.gif (http://www.thebassbarn.com/forum/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=1959531)
I keep saying one state at a time will get it done.

[BlueFen]

I keep saying one state at a time will get it done.

Do we really have the luxury of time to wait for that to happen? I don't think so. The Stipers Forever people have their hands full in Massachusetts. Speaking to them at the shows did not give me the impression that their efforts would be seen locally at any time in the forseeable future. I remain a member of that organization however.

[philjam]

The question is :

Shoud commercial fishermen be prohibited taking Striped bass

So what say you all?

My guess is most people on this site want protection. I have an argument for wild striper harvest. There is a commercial market for wild stripers (just as there is a commercial market for wild salmon.)
Wild fish taste better than farm fish.
Future generation will figure it all out.

[mattlist]

The question is :

Shoud commercial fishermen be prohibited taking Striped bass

So what say you all?

My guess is most people on this site want protection. I have an argument for wild striper harvest. There is a commercial market for wild stripers (just as there is a commercial market for wild salmon.)
Wild fish taste better than farm fish.
Future generation will figure it all out.


Yes. If you want to taste a wild striped bass then go take a headboat or charter boat and catch it and cook it like hunters do. Its not "your right" to go to the Acme and buy striped bass or any other fish for that matter.

[philjam]

Yes. If you want to taste a wild striped bass then go take a headboat or charter boat and catch it and cook it like hunters do. Its not "your right" to go to the Acme and buy striped bass or any other fish for that matter.

Sounds like you are saying that people who want to eat a wild fish must catch it themselves. That means what exactly for fish markets - only farm raised fish? End commercial fishing? It sounds unrealistic. :nuts:Just my opinion.

[boatliftman]

I think there are way to many bass around for there own good. The fishery is no where near a collapse that silly to even think. I was catching 20 schoolie bass every night in March you just need to look around. The bass are like saltwater carp they eat evreything. I believe we should stop comm. fishing of weakfish and let the boys target bass and bring things back into balance:)