On Mon, 13 Apr 2009 08:52:51 -0400, "mmc" wrote:


Vic,
I know from experience that doing away with commercial fishing of redfish in
FL really helped the fish stocks to recover. Add to that the ban on gill
nets which had been used to harvest mullet for thier roe, and our whole
picture immediately looked a lot brighter.
I've heard mullet on Floridas left coast have made a come back after being
almost completely wiped out. The mullet are very important to the food chain
and thier harvest was being sent to, guess where? Japan. Harvest all the
eggs and the fish disappear. It's not rocket science.
I used to think that anyone working these kind of jobs would do what they
could to protect thier own future by not abusing the very thing that kept
them employed - but not so. Thier nets not only gathered the target fish,
but also every other fish that became entangled; reds, trout, angels,
puffers, sail and hardhead cats, etc, etc, etc. This is known as "by-catch"
and is tossed over the side.
Thankfully, the state of FL acted before it was "too little, too late".

Good to hear about the recovery in Florida. My dad was always
bitching about the netters, and since he fished almost every day
he claimed they affected his catch.
Most commercial fishermen, like clear cut loggers, are in it for the
money. History show very little effort at conservation of wild
species when commerce has the upper hand.
Chinese dining habits alone could wipe the earth clean of wild
animals.

--Vic