In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Seaweed Rebellion: North Coast Enviros Battle Schwarzenegger and Big Green Over MLPA posted by Chris Knight on June 22, 2009 at 10:22:59:

Lingcod, yes we have a problem, I think the take should be reduced to 6 per year and 1 per day with tags.
Vermillions and other rock species, yes, I'm seeing less and less. Some peopoe I know have a habit of shooting coves up and taking too many fish out of one location IMO. One of the last things that anglers have access to (party boats and private boats).The pressure is getting bad.
Salmon, a complete disaster, but a multi cause scenario, ranging from excessive commercial take with a theft rate from sea lions at about 60% (source-the fishermen themselves), silting of critical gravel beds upstream, pollution, recreational take.

Abablone, the three per day 24 a year seems to be working well. Myself and many others that dive here regularly are seeing huge numbers and many small new ones. Personally I don't see a reason to change it right now. If numbers decline based on observation then reduce take and annual bag limit or close it down. I don't know a better or more scientific way of assessing populations other than regularly getting in the water at many different locations and physically looking. Isn't that what they do with fish counts?
I don't know how they determine what historical levels were. Do you know?
If a place is paved with abs does that mean that at one time there were 10 times more? How would you know that? how does anybody know that. Hoew about before the Russians came and wiped out the otters, where those historical levels. Or was it right after the Russians killed all the otters and left and before freedivers came on the scene.
Is it my imagination or am I seeing more abs now than when I started abbing when the take was 4 and no annual limit? I personally think so. That is why IMO the new rules are working. Get rid of poachers and we should be golden.
If abs were far and few between and you'd come accross one once in a while I would say they are scarce, but I don't see that as being the case, sorry.

I guess we can agree that we disagree.

• Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: The Seaweed Rebellion: North Coast Enviros Battle Schwarzenegger and Big Green Over MLPA Chris Knight 10:30:04 06/23/09 (0)