Posted by finfan on September 10, 2002 at 10:32:11:
In Reply to: Finfan, you should make an effort to be more accurate posted by Brad on September 04, 2002 at 16:55:06:
Sorry for the late response I've been out fishing last weekend and just got back to the office.
Just for giggles - what was inaccurate - did you or did you not say you doubt the hatchery would have much impact to restoring the fish populations??
Did you or did you not say you doubt pollution and sedimentation had significant impact?? In fact, as I recall the post you said pollution was just an excuse and the studies were nothing more than bought commodities??
We could could check the thread, but I think we both know the answer. So again what do you find to be inaccurate with my comments??
As to basing your opinion on the number of returned tags - let me ask you - what percentage of tags from caught fish do you think are actually returned?? Do you honestly believe fishermen would take the time to return every fish head and tag from every white seabass ever caught to F&G? Come on, even in fantasyland, there has to be some sense of reality.
Something you might find interesting is that one of the folks I had an opportunity to talk to this weekend at my tournament up north was a biologist from the So California division of F&G (Mike Gusti, he fished the tournament with me). I shared with him the facts you have presented and my theories.
He nearly fell out of his chair when I told him you know for fact that it was the recreational fishermen that dessimated the Catalina population of shallow rockfish. When he stopped laughing he told me that if you polled the marine biologists on the west coast, recreational fishing would not make it to even a top ten list of causes behind the reduction in rockfish population.
His own list would have commercial fishing as #1 (principally the gill nets and the Japenese, followed in order by pollution, disruption of the food chain (again caused by commercial fishing of sardines, anchovies and herring), loss of estuary and breeding habitat through coastal development.
He also told me that the least effective way to remove fish from the ocean is through hook and line fishing. Opps their goes that theory of yours - Period!
Mike's comment was that whether through hook and line or naturally attrition the weak would be removed from the population. It's called natural attrition. Where have we heard that before? That's right it was one of my points.
Lastly, I asked him about your reserve size theory. He thought I had an interesting point about a cold versus warm water fishery, but didn't think that it wasn't the most significant reason why reserve size was irrelevent. Mike said by definition the species of rockfish we have normally take up residency and then would only move for food. Combine that with the cold water and the fish piece of suitable structure with an abundance of food is where those rockfish will concregate. Mike said the fact that the reserve proposed is so large would almost guarentee that enough structure and food could be found at the Islands that the populations would never travel far and so most areas would remain barren and a few thrive until they become negatively impacted due to having to many fish in such a concentrated effort.
So let's see - as I see it you have 3 choices here -
a) You can blow all of this new information off and simply believe that there never was any biologist for F&G and I'm just making it up to support my position.
b) You can follow suit and Blow Gusti off as nothing more than a paid commodity or better yet just believe his life work doesn't have any credibility and that he is clueless.
c) You can finally admit that your position that all recreational fishing should be banned is one of an extremist and you can actually be part of the solution rather than just another flamming environmentalist that believes the worlds oceans are only there for your purpose/interests and actually recognize that we all have a stake in the solution and as much a right to those oceans as you do.
I wonder what Bradly will decide?? Bet I could guess.