08-11-2011, 05:32 PM
What else would you suggest a place like doc's do with the fish when they come in? Of course they are going to package and freeze it, you aren't going to keep fish fresh by placing it in a cooler of ice for days or weeks while you're still exploring alaska or fishing and traveling home.
Something DOES need to be done about our halibut. There is no arguing that they are not what they used to be. But this is not what should be done.
"Cheating the system, if you ask me."
It's not cheating any system at all. The reason for possession limit in Alaska is to prevent wildlife waste by making sure it is consumed or preserved before it spoils. Look at the possession limit on the Kenai for example. This year they had over 1.5 million sockeye return to the kenai. Drift net fleets were emergency opened for fishing almost every day of july in the Cook inlet, and over 2/3 of July was also opened to set netters along the beaches near the rivers. The number of fish that entered the kenai was considered "over escapement" which according to the fish and game is harmful to the other species of salmon that share the system with the Sockeye. In THIS case, the ADFG doubles the sockeye limit from 3 to 6 for sport fishing per day. The possession limit also doubles from 6 to 12. Why would they not just do away with the possession limit? It's not because they want to limit people to 12 sockeye while they are here on vacation for a week, it's to make sure people who retain fish are consuming or preserving them before they spoil!
Here is just one reason why your argument has extremely low value. Sport fishermen take somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-2% of the total halibut harvested in Alaska waters. The restrictions should not end up on sport fishermen. Look at the information about bycatch alone, that 11 MILLION POUNDS of halibut they wasted is only ONE SPECIES of fish they waste! Think about all the Salmon, Steelhead, and other species that are wasted as well.
The other point is that there is a total quota that the feds have set for halibut harvest from both sport and comm fisheries. This bill is re-asigning the halibut from sport fishermen to commercial fishermen.
I'm not even a halibut fisherman. I don't enjoy dragging a 4x8 sheet of plywood up from 300 ft depths. But we need to fight this as SPORT FISHERMEN. Who knows what they will take next if they are successful with this.
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Something DOES need to be done about our halibut. There is no arguing that they are not what they used to be. But this is not what should be done.
"Cheating the system, if you ask me."
It's not cheating any system at all. The reason for possession limit in Alaska is to prevent wildlife waste by making sure it is consumed or preserved before it spoils. Look at the possession limit on the Kenai for example. This year they had over 1.5 million sockeye return to the kenai. Drift net fleets were emergency opened for fishing almost every day of july in the Cook inlet, and over 2/3 of July was also opened to set netters along the beaches near the rivers. The number of fish that entered the kenai was considered "over escapement" which according to the fish and game is harmful to the other species of salmon that share the system with the Sockeye. In THIS case, the ADFG doubles the sockeye limit from 3 to 6 for sport fishing per day. The possession limit also doubles from 6 to 12. Why would they not just do away with the possession limit? It's not because they want to limit people to 12 sockeye while they are here on vacation for a week, it's to make sure people who retain fish are consuming or preserving them before they spoil!
Here is just one reason why your argument has extremely low value. Sport fishermen take somewhere in the neighborhood of 1-2% of the total halibut harvested in Alaska waters. The restrictions should not end up on sport fishermen. Look at the information about bycatch alone, that 11 MILLION POUNDS of halibut they wasted is only ONE SPECIES of fish they waste! Think about all the Salmon, Steelhead, and other species that are wasted as well.
The other point is that there is a total quota that the feds have set for halibut harvest from both sport and comm fisheries. This bill is re-asigning the halibut from sport fishermen to commercial fishermen.
I'm not even a halibut fisherman. I don't enjoy dragging a 4x8 sheet of plywood up from 300 ft depths. But we need to fight this as SPORT FISHERMEN. Who knows what they will take next if they are successful with this.
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