Petition to abolish nets in the Chesapeake Bay....please sign!

[polywog999]

This issue has the DNRs attention.
Please sign it to help the Chesapeake bay.

http://www.hometownannapolis.com/news/env/2011/02/25-20/Move-to-ban-fish-nets-grows.html

About 3,000 people have signed an online petition asking the state to ban commercial fishing nets in the Chesapeake Bay.

That's on top of 800 who signed a pen-and-paper petition over the weekend at the Pasadena Sportfishing Group's annual flea market.

Jerry Collier, a self-described "avid outdoorsman" from Severna Park, said he started the petition to channel all the anger and frustration he'd seen since large-scale illegal rockfish netting operations were discovered in the Chesapeake Bay.

"Everybody was complaining and there was all this finger-pointing," Collier said.

He rented a table at the fishing flea market, where the petition was a popular draw.

After that, he created an online petition that spread rapidly this week, as signees posted links on Facebook pages and talked about the petition on the popular fishing discussion boards at TidalFish.com.

"It highlights just how concerned people are, because it's growing like crazy … If it wasn't an important issue, I don't think people would respond," he said.

Collier doesn't see himself as a crusader or activist. And he emphasizes that he's not trying to put watermen out of business - he just wants to spur discussion (and maybe action) on the issue of netting for fish.

He enjoys fishing and worries that the rockfish population could be in trouble - which makes recent poaching activity all the more worrisome......

Click link for more.



The petition:

http://www.petitiononline.com/yrrejmaj/petition.html

Thanks,
Polywog AKA Scott

PS
Please, also link to your FB or other media outlet.

[SnyderShrugged]

I would never sign a petition that could end an individual's business, especially when no evidence of actual harm has been presented.

[polywog999]

I would never sign a petition that could end an individual's business, especially when no evidence of actual harm has been presented.

You are flat out wrong....http://www.nomoregillnets.org/

Gill nets kill whatever swims into them. This includes fish like The Atlantic Sturgeon, sharks, perch, Croker, indiscriminate to the fishes size or whether it is endangered, etc.

Also birds, horseshoe crabs, turtles, ANYTHING.

[SnyderShrugged]

You are flat out wrong....http://www.nomoregillnets.org/

Gill nets kill whatever swims into them. This includes fish like The Atlantic Sturgeon, sharks, perch, Crocker, indiscriminate to the fishes size or whether it is endangered, etc.

Also birds, horseshoe crabs, turtles, ANYTHING.




Thats great, can you post where these abuses are occurring in Ches. Bay? Maybe use a somewhat less biased source too?

[d0ublestr0ker0ll]

I would never sign a petition that could end an individual's business, especially when no evidence of actual harm has been presented.

I see what you're saying, but the illegal netting is absolutely ridiculous. Those guys they caught last month who wasted 20 tons of sealife by leaving their **** unattended need to be put under the jail for a while - as far as I'm concerned.

[polywog999]

65% of their catch is by-catch:
Birds
Turtles
Non-targeted Fish

Also, this destroys the bottom of the bay and it's rivers.

[AsburySkinsFan]

I would never sign a petition that could end an individual's business, especially when no evidence of actual harm has been presented.

The fishing is already illegal. Your logic is not far removed from an anti-drug petition, because some drug dealer might lose his job. Love ya SS but I think you need to rethink this one.

[polywog999]

Thats great, can you post where these abuses are occurring in Ches. Bay? Maybe use a somewhat less biased source too?

The source is NOT the topic. If the source is wrong, tell us why.

[LD0506]

So let's wipe out the rock and the legitimate fishermen by just dismissing this due to political persuasion? Don't want to put words in your mouse, but the illegal netting has already far exceeded quotas and threatens to damage the ecosystem by overharvesting. Poachers hurt watermen, they hurt the industry and can throw the future viability of rock in the bay into question. Something needs to be done, so if not this, what?

What bugs me is that the fishing community on the Eastern Shore is very tightly knit, someone knows who is doing this. Commercial vendors and processors know, but again, the almighty buck overrides all other concerns.

[stoshuaj]

The fishing is already illegal.

that's correct but the petition is not just a request to increase enforcement and punishment of an already determined illegal activity, it's a request to completely abolish commercial netting in the Bay.

illegal netting is ridiculous but let's not lump in those that are abiding by the rules with some broad sweeping power grab.

How about, enforce the frigging laws that are on the books? There's plenty of them to choose from

and, this summer when you're bitching about a basket of crabs costing you a fortune, thank the resurgence of the rockfish (not that I'm using this to condone ILLEGAL poaching and netting)

[GoSkins561]

For the sake of the crabs, they need to open up Rock season just a tiny bit more.

[polywog999]

We should abide in the will of the people in this case and not cave to special interest.

[SnyderShrugged]

I see what you're saying, but the illegal netting is absolutely ridiculous. Those guys they caught last month who wasted 20 tons of sealife by leaving their **** unattended need to be put under the jail for a while - as far as I'm concerned.

since the netting they are doing is already illegal, what is the purpose of the petition? To make it more illegal?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:15 AM ----------


The fishing is already illegal. Your logic is not far removed from an anti-drug petition, because some drug dealer might lose his job. Love ya SS but I think you need to rethink this one.

If its already illegal then why not just enforce the law? I dont understand the purpose of the petition?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:17 AM ----------


The source is NOT the topic. If the source is wrong, tell us why.

The source you posted is a website dedicated to the elimination of the item you are petitioning. Not exactly presenting both sides of the debate is it?

[polywog999]

since the netting they are doing is already illegal, what is the purpose of the petition? To make it more illegal?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:15 AM ----------



If its already illegal then why not just enforce the law? I dont understand the purpose of the petition?


It is not illegal...It needs to be.

[SnyderShrugged]

We should abide in the will of the people in this case and not cave to special interest.


So let me get this straight....

You think that the special interest net fishing lobby has convinced the local law enforcement to make an illegal act legal? And 3000 people signing a petition to make an illegal act wrapped into legal acts is now the "will of the people"?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:21 AM ----------


It is not illegal...It needs to be.


Now I'm confused. Didnt someone post earlier that its already illegal?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:26 AM ----------

No, Poly I just looked it up. They are already illegal for use in Chesapeake bay.



YOU WON!!:silly:

[stoshuaj]

It is not illegal...It needs to be.

please define "it" (by your definiton and the purpose of the petition)

b/c if 'it" is referring to poaching, I'm with you and all for the enforcement thereof

If "it' is all commercial netting, then I'm not sure how you can reconcile these statements from the petition's author: "said he started the petition to channel all the anger and frustration he'd seen since large-scale illegal rockfish netting operations" and 'he's not trying to put watermen out of business - he just wants to spur discussion (and maybe action) on the issue of netting for fish".

Is he (and you) pissed off aboutthe already illegal netting/poaching of fish?
Do he (and you) want to spur discussion on the issue of netting for fish?

if so, I'm with you BUT that's not (as I interpret this petition) what this petition is written to accomplish

or

Do you want to impose your will upon those that earn a legal living by completely banning all commercial netting within the Bay?

because that's what the petition is alluding to NOT the current illegal activity or the discussion of netting. The article and it's associated quotes are much more sugar-coated than the actual petition.

"1) That the practice of using nets (excluding cast nets, landing nets, dip nets and eel pots) on the Chesapeake Bay, and its tidal tributaries, be abolished as a means to harvest non-crustacean fish."

no, that doesn't work toward putting commercial fishermen out of business at all and certainly doesn't have anything to do with "large-scale illegal rockfish netting operations" now does it?

[twa]

So let's wipe out the rock and the legitimate fishermen by just dismissing this due to political persuasion? Don't want to put words in your mouse, but the illegal netting has already far exceeded quotas and threatens to damage the ecosystem by overharvesting. Poachers hurt watermen, they hurt the industry and can throw the future viability of rock in the bay into question. Something needs to be done, so if not this, what?

What bugs me is that the fishing community on the Eastern Shore is very tightly knit, someone knows who is doing this. Commercial vendors and processors know, but again, the almighty buck overrides all other concerns.

Yes it is troubling and correctable w/o a total ban

[barefoot]

You are flat out wrong....http://www.nomoregillnets.org/

Gill nets kill whatever swims into them. This includes fish like The Atlantic Sturgeon, sharks, perch, Croker, indiscriminate to the fishes size or whether it is endangered, etc.

Also birds, horseshoe crabs, turtles, ANYTHING.

Hate to argue ,but from someone who has fished with gill nets for @30yrs, gill nets do NOT kill just anything that swims into them.
They are classified by size of marsh (mesh), large and small. Small fish will go thru larger mesh nets and big fish will bounce off of small mesh nets.
A responsible gill netter does no more harm than a rec fisherman, however an irresponsible gill netter is bad news. just like a responsible driver does no harm but a drunk driver is bad news.
Most complaints about gillnetters are about things they do that are ALREADY ILLEGAL. If current laws would be enforced correctly most of the problems would be taken care of.

[polywog999]

So let me get this straight....

You think that the special interest net fishing lobby has convinced the local law enforcement to make an illegal act legal? And 3000 people signing a petition to make an illegal act wrapped into legal acts is now the "will of the people"?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:21 AM ----------




Now I'm confused. Didnt someone post earlier that its already illegal?

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 09:26 AM ----------

No, Poly I just looked it up. They are already illegal for use in Chesapeake bay.



YOU WON!!:silly:

LOL! No, we were BOTH wrong.


As a clarification, please red what you are signing, this is for all nets in the bay.

To: Fishery Regulators of the Chesapeake Bay
Petition to Abolish Nets on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s Tidal Tributaries

We, who use and enjoy Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay’s natural resources and have concern for the long-term viability of the fin fishery of the Chesapeake Bay, request:

1) That the practice of using nets (excluding cast nets, landing nets, dip nets and eel pots) on the Chesapeake Bay, and its tidal tributaries, be abolished as a means to harvest non-crustacean fish.

2) That substantially higher penalties be established, then what exists as of February 14, 2011, against those who violate the law that governs the use of nets, as a means to harvest fish on the Chesapeake Bay
Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Hey, they baned all commercial fishing within 100 miles of Florida, why not here?

[stoshuaj]

LOL! No, we were BOTH wrong.


As a clarification, please red what you are signing, this is for all nets in the bay.

To: Fishery Regulators of the Chesapeake Bay
Petition to Abolish Nets on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s Tidal Tributaries

We, who use and enjoy Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay’s natural resources and have concern for the long-term viability of the fin fishery of the Chesapeake Bay, request:

1) That the practice of using nets (excluding cast nets, landing nets, dip nets and eel pots) on the Chesapeake Bay, and its tidal tributaries, be abolished as a means to harvest non-crustacean fish.

2) That substantially higher penalties be established, then what exists as of February 14, 2011, against those who violate the law that governs the use of nets, as a means to harvest fish on the Chesapeake Bay
Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Hey, they baned all commercial fishing within 100 miles of Florida, why not here?

Item 1 in the petition has absolutely nothing to do with the purported agenda as espoused in the article.

The bolded part of your quote however, speaks volumes as to the actual agenda. At least you had the balls to say it, unlike the petition's author.

[polywog999]

Read some of the comments from the article I posted~



Being a waterman does not entitle you to fish every last $ out the bay. Poaching will be a problem as long as the feeling of entitlement exists. Nets are destructive to every fishery. That is the push behind this petition. It has nothing to do with being anti-waterman. Nets indiscriminately destroy everything in their paths. States that have outlawed them still have waterman and have seen fantastic results in the fishery.

Tom L - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral



One of the reasons this has gotten so hot is the continuing failure of the law abiding watermen to turn out the poachers. This a small, tightly knit community. Rather than aggresively condemn the thieves, all we hear from the community is weak excuses and calls of persecution by NRP. Y'all need to clean your own house. Every single day that passes the entire community loses more and more credibility. Unfortunately for the legit guys, as long as no one is willing to finger the thieves(that are taking food out of the mouths of the legit guys), the entire industry gets painted as being in collusion. This group makes the Mafia look like blabbermouths. GIVE UP THE THIEVES WHILE YOU CAN STILL SALVAGE YOUR REPUTATION!

charles depkin - , - Karma: Neutral


ANNAPOLIS On Tuesday, Jan. 24, Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) charged six watermen with taking oysters from an area closed to oyster harvesting at the mouth of the Severn River off of Tolly Point. Charged with taking shellfish (oysters) from closed waters were: Eric S. Cantler Sr., 57, of Annapolis, Guy E. Spurry, 41, of Easton, John E. Hambleton, 42, of Bozman, and James B. Haddaway Jr., 42, William T. Cummings, 51, and Michael C. Larrimore, 53, all of Tilghman.

[stoshuaj]

enforce the laws, throw them under the jail for all I care.

last I checked, they don't take away everybody's car b/c some people got away driving drunk.

anyway, i have some nets to go tend to............while I can

[GoSkins0721]

For the sake of the crabs, they need to open up Rock season just a tiny bit more.

Can you explain the connection between rock & crabs? I don't think I've ever seen/heard of this.

[polywog999]

Can you explain the connection between rock & crabs? I don't think I've ever seen/heard of this.

Rockfish eat the crabs, but we used to have high numbers of both.

[SnyderShrugged]

LOL! No, we were BOTH wrong.


As a clarification, please red what you are signing, this is for all nets in the bay.

To: Fishery Regulators of the Chesapeake Bay
Petition to Abolish Nets on the Chesapeake Bay and it’s Tidal Tributaries

We, who use and enjoy Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay’s natural resources and have concern for the long-term viability of the fin fishery of the Chesapeake Bay, request:

1) That the practice of using nets (excluding cast nets, landing nets, dip nets and eel pots) on the Chesapeake Bay, and its tidal tributaries, be abolished as a means to harvest non-crustacean fish.

2) That substantially higher penalties be established, then what exists as of February 14, 2011, against those who violate the law that governs the use of nets, as a means to harvest fish on the Chesapeake Bay
Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Hey, they baned all commercial fishing within 100 miles of Florida, why not here?


No, it doesnt appear that I was wrong in the slightest

[polywog999]

No, it doesnt appear that I was wrong in the slightest

I'm sure you never are.


http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2006/032006a.html

http://dnr.maryland.gov/dnrnews/images/stripedbass_discovery.jpg
Over the past two weeks, Natural Resources Police officers have seized more than 10 tons of illegally caught striped bass. In light of these discoveries, DNR has shut down the February striped bass gill net season. Read the press release for more information.

ANNAPOLIS— The end of February marked the end of the striped bass drift gill net season in the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officers working up and down the Chesapeake Bay confiscated 71 illegal gill nets during the three-month season. Nearly 1,000 pounds of fish along with waterfowl were removed from those nets.

Sixty-three nets were seized in the Upper Eastern Region from Rock Hall to James Island. These nets were unattended, unmarked and some were anchored. No arrests or charges have been filed on any of the nets; however, all are still under investigation.


Three nets were seized from the Lower Eastern Region and Michael A. Parks, 48, of Ewell was charged with fishing an anchored net. Five nets were seized from the Central Region from the Patapsco River and near Holland Point. These nets were unattended, unmarked and some were anchored. No arrests or charges have been filed on any of the nets; however, all are still under investigation.
Used for the commercial harvest of fish, a gill net is maintained in a vertical position in the water with sinkers or floats. It ensnares fish by means of a mesh too small to permit passage of the body of the fish or withdrawal of the head once the posterior margin of the gill covers has passed through the mesh. A drift gill net is not secured or anchored to the bottom, including a net rigged with up to 20 pounds of weight at each end. It must be attended by the licensee in a boat within two miles of the net while it is in waters of the Chesapeake Bay, or within one mile when the net is in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal bays and their tributaries, or a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. An anchor gill net is a net that is stationary in the water and secured to the bottom by conventional anchors or heavy weights.


Gill nets are not "illegal" in Maryland. There is currently a limited season, though.

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 01:38 PM ----------


Yes it is troubling and correctable w/o a total ban

I don't agree. I DO AGREE that many people know who is doing the illegal netting and NO ONE is speaking up.

[SnyderShrugged]

I'm sure you never are.


http://www.dnr.state.md.us/dnrnews/pressrelease2006/032006a.html

ANNAPOLIS— The end of February marked the end of the striped bass drift gill net season in the Chesapeake Bay. Maryland Natural Resources Police (NRP) officers working up and down the Chesapeake Bay confiscated 71 illegal gill nets during the three-month season. Nearly 1,000 pounds of fish along with waterfowl were removed from those nets.

Sixty-three nets were seized in the Upper Eastern Region from Rock Hall to James Island. These nets were unattended, unmarked and some were anchored. No arrests or charges have been filed on any of the nets; however, all are still under investigation.


Three nets were seized from the Lower Eastern Region and Michael A. Parks, 48, of Ewell was charged with fishing an anchored net. Five nets were seized from the Central Region from the Patapsco River and near Holland Point. These nets were unattended, unmarked and some were anchored. No arrests or charges have been filed on any of the nets; however, all are still under investigation.
Used for the commercial harvest of fish, a gill net is maintained in a vertical position in the water with sinkers or floats. It ensnares fish by means of a mesh too small to permit passage of the body of the fish or withdrawal of the head once the posterior margin of the gill covers has passed through the mesh. A drift gill net is not secured or anchored to the bottom, including a net rigged with up to 20 pounds of weight at each end. It must be attended by the licensee in a boat within two miles of the net while it is in waters of the Chesapeake Bay, or within one mile when the net is in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, its coastal bays and their tributaries, or a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. An anchor gill net is a net that is stationary in the water and secured to the bottom by conventional anchors or heavy weights.


Gill nets are not "illegal" in Maryland. There is currently a limited season, though.

---------- Post added February-27th-2011 at 01:38 PM ----------



I don't agree. I DO AGREE that many people know who is doing the illegal netting and NO ONE is speaking up.


No, I am wrong all the time, just not this time. Poaching outside of the season is still illegal. I also learned in this thread that not all gill nets are bad. The illegal ones are.

[polywog999]

No, I am wrong all the time, just not this time. Poaching outside of the season is still illegal. I also learned in this thread that not all gill nets are bad. The illegal ones are.

We don't agree. Who-would-a-thunk-it.

[SnyderShrugged]

We don't agree. Who-would-a-thunk-it.

what would you disagree about? Didnt you read the post from the actual fisherman who explained it earlier?

[polywog999]

what would you disagree about? Didnt you read the post from the actual fisherman who explained it earlier?

I say gill nets are bad. You say only some are. As far as I'm concerned that's where "our" debate ends. We don't agree.


You were wrong earlier in saying that they were illegal. There is a limited season.

[SnyderShrugged]

I say gill nets are bad. You say only some are. As far as I'm concerned that's where "our" debate ends. We don't agree.


You were wrong earlier in saying that they were illegal. There is a limited season.

Again, didnt you read the post from the fisherman earlier in the thread that explained the use of the nets. Shouldnt the words of someone who has actually used them and been around them have some bearing?

How often have you been around net fishing or gill nets?

It is already illegal to misuse the nets and to poach with them. You seek to outlaw all commercial net fishing with that petition and I dont see why.

[polywog999]

Again, didnt you read the post from the fisherman earlier in the thread that explained the use of the nets. Shouldnt the words of someone who has actually used them and been around them have some bearing?

How often have you been around net fishing or gill nets?

It is already illegal to misuse the nets and to poach with them. You seek to outlaw all commercial net fishing with that petition and I dont see why.

I have been a fisherman a lot longer than you. I know about gill nets.

Oregon
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Gill-net fishing must be reformed
Published: Monday, January 18, 2010
http://heraldnet.com/article/20100118/OPINION02/701189993

Excellent Jan. 10 column in The Herald, “Who’s really in charge,” by Jerry Cornfield about the legislative session now under way, and a list of our legislative representatives by district.

One bill that has been introduced, HB 2266, is a ban on non-selective way of fishing by gill nets. The bill replaces it with selective methods, proven over the years to work, but deemed illegal many years back through the legislative process.

The importance to this is a law mandating that the Fish and Wildlife Commission make fishing available for commercial and sport fishers alike. Both groups are trying to catch hatchery fish, designated by a missing adipose fin, clipped at the hatchery before the fish are released as smolts.

The problem is that many wild fish that are listed as threatened or endangered are being caught while fishing for hatchery fish. Gill nets don’t allow you to sort and release the fish unharmed. Killing endangered fish and non-targeted fish like sturgeon, and also birds, is the issue. The law states that only targeted hatchery fish may be kept. All others must be released, but are usually dead.

Common sense would tell us that this wasteful method needs to be reformed.

Sport fishers already use selective methods and it is time that commercials fishers follow suit.

Hopefully, our legislators will want to preserve and protect a Washington state icon that represents us on our state quarter. Please take a few minutes to e-mail your legislators. They want to hear from you.

Lewis Boyd
Everett

http://critters.blogs.starnewsonline.com/11710/gill-nets-killing-too-many-sea-turtles/

http://www.faircatchhawaii.org/pressrelease_monkseal.jsp

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Apr/26/op/hawaii4260303.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/01/2862091.htm?site=widebay&source=rss

[SnyderShrugged]

I have been a fisherman a lot longer than you. I know about gill nets.

Oregon
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Gill-net fishing must be reformed
Published: Monday, January 18, 2010
http://heraldnet.com/article/20100118/OPINION02/701189993

Excellent Jan. 10 column in The Herald, “Who’s really in charge,” by Jerry Cornfield about the legislative session now under way, and a list of our legislative representatives by district.

One bill that has been introduced, HB 2266, is a ban on non-selective way of fishing by gill nets. The bill replaces it with selective methods, proven over the years to work, but deemed illegal many years back through the legislative process.

The importance to this is a law mandating that the Fish and Wildlife Commission make fishing available for commercial and sport fishers alike. Both groups are trying to catch hatchery fish, designated by a missing adipose fin, clipped at the hatchery before the fish are released as smolts.

The problem is that many wild fish that are listed as threatened or endangered are being caught while fishing for hatchery fish. Gill nets don’t allow you to sort and release the fish unharmed. Killing endangered fish and non-targeted fish like sturgeon, and also birds, is the issue. The law states that only targeted hatchery fish may be kept. All others must be released, but are usually dead.

Common sense would tell us that this wasteful method needs to be reformed.

Sport fishers already use selective methods and it is time that commercials fishers follow suit.

Hopefully, our legislators will want to preserve and protect a Washington state icon that represents us on our state quarter. Please take a few minutes to e-mail your legislators. They want to hear from you.

Lewis Boyd
Everett

http://critters.blogs.starnewsonline.com/11710/gill-nets-killing-too-many-sea-turtles/

http://www.faircatchhawaii.org/pressrelease_monkseal.jsp

http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2010/Apr/26/op/hawaii4260303.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/04/01/2862091.htm?site=widebay&source=rss

That article isnt saying anything different than I am. Non-selective gill nets are already illegal. The seasons are for selective nets.

are you against all gill net fishing, even the selective type with large mesh?

[polywog999]

That article isnt saying anything different than I am. Non-selective gill nets are already illegal. The seasons are for selective nets.

are you against all gill net fishing, even the selective type with large mesh?

I am against all net fishing in the world. It is evil.

[SnyderShrugged]

I am against all net fishing in the world. It is evil.

Got it. Thought that would end up being the agenda.

[stoshuaj]

I have been a fisherman a lot longer than you. I know about gill nets.


since it's been shown in this thread that you don't know much about gill netting other than cut and paste, do you know the difference between enforcing the laws that are on the books and leaving law abiding people the hell alone?

or at least tell your petition writing friend that if he's going to try and put somebody out of business, just say so. don't write one thing and then frame it as something else

you know what's worse and less selective to a fishery's destruction than commercial gill netting?

pesticides - ban farming
industrial waste - ban Baltimore and Newark
raw sewage - ban ****ting

[SnyderShrugged]

since it's been shown in this thread that you don't know that much about gill nets other than cut and paste, would you happen to know the difference between enforcing the currents laws as they are written vs. leaving law abiding people the hell alone?

or at least tell your petition writing friend that if he's going to try and put somebody out of business, just say so. don't write one thing and then frame it as something else


didnt you know? It's all about starting a dialog! LOL

[polywog999]

since it's been shown in this thread that you don't know much about gill netting other than cut and paste, do you know the difference between enforcing the laws that are on the books and leaving law abiding people the hell alone?

or at least tell your petition writing friend that if he's going to try and put somebody out of business, just say so. don't write one thing and then frame it as something else

you know what's worse and less selective to a fishery's destruction than commercial gill netting?

pesticides - ban farming
industrial waste - ban Baltimore and Newark
raw sewage - ban ****ting

To me, you know how to actually do it, you just don't understand the consequences.

Sorry, I can't be all things to all people; your trade hurts the bay. You have not offered anything to show me different.

"Law abiding people," Set 74 illegal nets that killed 10 tons of Rockfish.



Got it. Thought that would end up being the agenda.

That's my personal feeling. Sorry if you call it an "agenda."

[stoshuaj]

your trade hurts the bay.

"Law abiding people," Set 74 illegal nets that killed 10 tons of Rockfish.



once again show me how the legal netting of rockfish is hurting the Bay any moreso than the other items I mentioned. You and the petition's author are simply looking for the easiet, least painful target, not the most effective way of caring for the Bay. If it makes you feel good, so be it but it doesn't make a more worthy endeavour.

Read you own quote, it makes absolutely no sense. no, law abiding people didn't set ILEGAL nets. you know who set the illegal nets? yes, you do.... people breaking the law......sheesh, it's not that hard but it's just easier to jump up on a soapbox and paint everybody with a broad brush instead of demanding that the current laws are adequately enforced.

[polywog999]

once again show me how the legal netting of rockfish is hurting the Bay any moreso than the other items I mentioned. You and the petition's author are simply looking for the easiet, least painful target, not the most effective way of caring for the Bay. If it makes you feel good, so be it but it doesn't make a more worthy endeavour.

Read you own quote, it makes absolutely no sense. no, law abiding people didn't set ILEGAL nets. you know who set the illegal nets? yes, you do.... people breaking the law......sheesh, it's not that hard but it's just easier to jump up on a soapbox and paint everybody with a broad brush instead of demanding that the current laws are adequately enforced.

OK. You win. Time for nighty-night.