What Gonna Happen??????

[Anthony of the ARK]

en-light of the Global Warming thread and what I've learned here in collage about society and the economy, it seems to sound like the our great country and even the world are starting to head down the toliet.

What I want to know from you guys is what is going to happen to the thing that is one of the most important things in our lives "Fishing". My captian who has been fishing for longer then I've beeen alive says he has seen a decline in the fishing since he started fishing, but hes not always the most optimistic person I know. I always hear my dad talk about day when there was acres of blues and stripers breaking in the Chesapeake. I can't say I've seen that things like that since I was really young.

What I want to know from you older guys, have you seen a decline in fishing in the last 10 or 15 years, and if so do you think it will stay on the decline.

Is there going to be fish left in the ocean so that I can take my kids my fishing, like my Grandfather, Father, and uncles took me?

[gradywhite273]

wish i knew the answer to that question. When i was young, we had the seatrout run twice a year. What a blast that was, there were some croakers and blues in the mix, but mostly huge weakies, now they are a rarity. When flounder fishing, we would inevitably catch blowfish. then people found out they were good to eat, now i never see a blowfish caught anymore.

We are fishing deeper and deeper every year. somewhere along the line, something has got to give.

[hotrodmarlin]

Yes I have seen a big decline in the last 15 years and I'm wondering the same thing...

[Thin Blue Line]

I love to fish and hunt, and enjoy eating what I harvest, preservation of a species needs to start with some basic conservation and management principles. I myself limit what I take. Im not preaching its a perosnal decision I have made. I also dont fault anyone who likes to keep their full limit either. For example, I limit myself to one keeper striper a year for myself. If someone on my boat wants to keep more, so be it, its up to them. This isnt a holier then art thou thread, just what I do so maybe my grandkids will have a few fish around in 40 years or so.

[Green Machine]

Guys, I respectfully disagree. Some of our fisheries are in excellent shape. Some are in much better shape then they were in 10 or 20 years ago. Some of them do need help, but not all, and I don't buy this "all fisheries will be exhausted by 2040" crap.

Here are some facts from fishing in NJ since about 1980:

- The fluke fishing is the best it's ever been, and the estimated stock biomass is the highest it has ever been in recorded history
- There are more school size bluefin tuna around now then in the mid 90's.
- The yellowfin and longfin fishery in the NE canyons could not be a whole lot better.
- While there are far fewer bigeye tuna around then in the "old days" as described by Tred Barta, there were more this year then in the last 20 years
- There are more swordfish in the NE canyons then anytime in the last 20 years
- There are about a million times more striped bass around then there were twenty years ago.
- Strict cutbacks in Blackfishing (Tog) have brought the fishery back
- Despite all the competition from the record numbers of bass, bluefish stocks are healthy and continue to provide a consistent fishery

Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of issues, many of which I can't comment on cause I don't know enough about. However, some I am aware of include:

- Giant Bluefin are in serious trouble, largely due to enormous fishing pressure world wide and the insatiable demand on the Japanese sushi market. Since bluefin breed later then other tuna, this has put the entire species in jeaporday.
- Longliners had a devastating effect on swordfish for a long time. While the stocks continue to rebound, any re-issuing of permits or re-opening of closed areas even for "research" will put the fishery at risk.
- Large coastal sharks - especially game sharks like Makos - are in serious decline. While 97% of sharks are harvested commercially worldwide, and largely for their fins, a significant number of sharks are landed by recreational anglers. A catch-and-release culture is needed for sharks much like what exists today for nearly all species of billfish.

So, while there are plenty of issues and many species that are over fished or need protection, there are also plenty of examples of fish making a strong rebound. What we need is real science and a realistic management plan for all species moving forward.

[OffTheHook13]

That is no doubt the answer.

More SCIENTIFIC management of the ALL fisheries.

The Fluke/Flounder debacle is a perfect example of how far off base the syatem really is.

[heavy389]

Haven't seen a nice "Tide Runner" Weekie in years,like 30 years

[OffTheHook13]

Haven't seen a nice "Tide Runner" Weekie in years,like 30 years

Where I am, we haven't seen them since maybe the late 70's

[92 feet down]

Yeah, Weakies are definitely down from the 80s when I used to catch them as a kid. Same with the "Mackerel Run" in April off MD. Sharks & white marlin need some help, too.

[Deep C]

Some of it is cycle... Blows and weaks might fall into that category. Others have just moved. They go where the food is iinstead of where it used to be... Yes its devestating what we have done to forage stocks.
Then there are some that are down and you can put your finger on direct causes....
Blue marlin at Bimini which for decades was a strong fishery is now very hit and misss. The body of fish that work past there for the most part eminate in the gulf of Mexico. More specifically in international waters where they get the bejeeziz beat out of them by long liners.
Bluefins, I think most of us are well enough versed to see that the European gang have them rounded up and are whacking them at over twice the rate that can be sustained.
Sharks, commercial harvest has really trounced some of that population . They are not alone though. Recs whallop the snot out of them too...

Some causes ar not quite as clear but can still be attributed to man. Trying to help in the end may hurt. Protecting dogfish has decimated forage stocks for other more desirable species stocks. As much as we love striped bass they are another that may have grown just a little too big and thus the near erradication of the winter flounder.

Fisheries management has been a political interest bs program from the beginning. It needs to be totally scrapped and redone. I'm not gonna get on the circle hook soapbox here but that rule was implimented and their own figures state that it should save about eighty white marlin a year, at a cost of millions to rec interests... Then they open the sword nursery to longliners down in white marlin country despite a near 100% public rejection of the idea.