Posted by randy54 on April 11, 2001 at 10:42:29:
In Reply to: It's Time To Be Responsible posted by Jim Hoffmann on April 11, 2001 at 08:53:41:
As someone who hunts with a camera, I am inclined to agree with you. But I think your more shooting the messenger. hunting sport divers are very inefficiant hunters. While limiting sport divers hunting practices may help, and they already are limited, they are not the cure. The commercial fishing industry is by far the main problem. Take an article in the paper yesterday or Monday about squid fishing. The DFG wants to limit the take. It's not known how much is taken, or how much is available to take, and the fishing industry is screaming about how unfair it is to put up a limit when DFG doesn't even know if there's a problem yet. This is the same industry mentality that has all but wiped out the blue whale, several speicies of salmon, atlantic cod and on and on and on. The average size of a yellow tale has gone from several hunderd pounds to less than one hundered, yet the commercial fisherman still insist there's no problem. If the commercial industry won't stop or severly limit over kill, and by product kills, nothing you do to the sport divers hunting is going to help. It is just too small of a piece of the pie. Certainly it is not economical for the sport diving hunter to feed his/her family that way. It's lots cheaper to go the store or fish market. I would much rather see everyone hunt with a camera. I would also feel safer. There is responsability for divers to take, and yes it includes limiting what they take, but also by helping to support commercial limits.