And do we base this off of what NOAA tells us or what the commercial/charter captains that routinely fish these species every day tell us?
....a big difference....remember lobbyist and agendas...i know of a couple prime examples right now
There are still plenty of swords....albeit maybe not the size class that they once were, but plenty. The by catch hurts the swordfish image.
Plenty of bluefin tuna....best it has been in years off of NC coast. Who wants a giant anyway? Footballs to 300lbers were thick off the coast from Jan to last month....meaning the giants are still out there breeding like mad.
Sea bass....Chilean? Idk?
Grouper....ask anybody that goes to the deep regularly....maybe not in Florida anymore....the Goliaths gotta eat something....why not a 20lber?....lift the moritorium off of the goliaths....maybe on a draw tag or over the counter tag per year basis....your snappers and smaller species of grouper will rebound. Know of a couple of different people that have fished Florida of recent years and at times they couldnt get their catch up before a goliath got em. Special interest groups are seeking closures to several reefs/wrecks for no apparent SCIENTIFIC reason...what better way to keep boat traffic out of an area than to shut down the primary reason for being there....grouper and sea bass fishing....we'll just close it in the name of the interest of the fishery. Helps to know people in the know on this stuff and to see what the fisheries are really like before coming to conclusions on their status.
Have the fisheries decreased....most certainly on a lot of things. With the exception of menhaden, and the species reliant on them (a lot) in VA and NC...I can't think of anything that is over fished beyond reason, other than large sharks. The effects of finning are taking their toll on the shellfish. Rays/skates eat shellfish, sharks eat rays, the Asian countries like their shark fin soup. No LARGE sharks, no shellfish. There are plenty, but not enough to keep the rays and skates in check. Finning is wsteful in terms of what is taken from the resources versus what is used.
You can have your talapia and farm raised catfish....after Ive seen how
some and I stressed
some talapia are raised...Ill pass. I generally don't eat anything I don't catch anyway. A waste of money for me when I have access to fresh fish.
Sorry TB...didnt mean to sound as if I were jumping your ass, just like to set the record straight from what NOAA tells us versus what is REALLY out there from the guys that use the fishery every day. Theyre smart, not like in decades gone by when they rape it til it's gone. They know if not properly managed, it will be gone, along with their livelyhood. If the guys I know that commercial fish and charter captains say it's alright, I have no reason not to trust them.
