"Mud Cod" Closure for 2011??

[dustinfromnh]

Rec guys put just as much pressure on those spawners as commercial guys. For example, both eastmans and gaurons reported multiple days where they came in early because everyone on board had limited out on codfish. these guys got big boats... and often run 3 to 4 charters a day when the fish are inshore like that. say theres an average of 50 guys per boat (although i know 2 of eastmans boats take 70+ guys at a time with room to spare), and each of those 50 guys catches their ten codfish. we'll be conservative and say they average 20 lbs per codfish. thats 200 pounds of cod per person. multiply that by 50, and you've got 10,000 pounds of cod on the boat...that's just one boat. keep in mind that there can be as many as a couple dozen party boats fishing whaleback when the cod are in thick. One party boat that limits out does a pretty good job pulling in as many fish as a dozen commercial guys on a given day. (they're really not allowed that many pounds of cod per day for their quota, i think its like 500 or 800 lbs when they fish inshore?) Now with weight of fish, how many people are on board, the number of party boats in the area, etc. as variables, we can assume that the amount of cod caught daily by party boats can vary significantly- although on any decent day, you can imagine that a full party boat is pulling in several thousand pounds of cod at a minimum.


So it's kinda ridiculous to say the rec guys don't do as much damage as the commercial guys. just because the commercial guys can meet their daily quota in a single haul, doesnt mean that they're taking more fish than a party boat spending 4-8 hours picking away at cod all day. honestly, the party boats seem to pull in more fish on a daily basis than any inshore commercial guys are allowed in their daily quota. AND, rec guys are allowed to fish whaleback far longer than commercial boats are.

closing down whaleback for a few years to everyone can do nothing but improve the cod stocks. tons upon tons of valuable egg-laden cod are pulled from their every year by recreational guys alone. bear in mind that on weekends, when there can be well over 200 private rec boats fishing whaleback too, all those boats have  got to equal the equivalent of another half dozen or more full party boats as far as numbers of fish caught are concerned. Rec guys have thousands of miles of ocean to drop their lines for codfish. no need to depletye a valuable resource just to say you caught ten cod over 30 pounds.

[hook-set]

although i don't beleive your stats to be near accurate i do agree that all are putting pressure and a closure could only benifit the population ....

[surflizard]

Party boats generate a lot of money from this fishery. Why are they considered recreational  In my opinion, I think if they profit from this fishery, they should be considered Commercial ! My 2 cents

[NMSBob]

The sector boats fish no limits till their quota is filled which shuts them out of the fishery. Non sector boats have to wait till July first to get in there and still fish boat limits. In a typical year opening july first it takes the commercials no more than two weeks to clean up the area fishing boat limits of 800 lbs?? Fishing no limits during the peak of the spawn this year could have done tremendous damage to the fishery. Time will tell. Nothing left inside for the non sector commercials that start July first this year.
The only thing limiting the sector boats is the threat of exceeding their quota at a time of low cod prices and being shut down later when the cod prices rise. Cod mismanagement?
Watch out for when they reach their quota and start lobbying for unused quota from other sectors like the rec sector.

Bob

[NMSBob]

"In the southern GOM there are two significant spring spawning aggregations.  One is found in the Commonwealth’s spring CCZ and the other in “Whaleback,” a federal waters area located just south of the Isle of Shoals off the New Hampshire coast.  The New England Council is working to adopt a Massachusetts-like approach to protecting the Whaleback spawning aggregation in 2011.  "

[james]

Party boats generate a lot of money from this fishery. Why are they considered recreational  In my opinion, I think if they profit from this fishery, they should be considered Commercial ! My 2 cents

I totally agree, if they really looked into where the fish goes that are caught from party boats, they would find a large percentage are being sold commercially and illegal.

The sector boats fish no limits till their quota is filled which shuts them out of the fishery. Non sector boats have to wait till July first to get in there and still fish boat limits. In a typical year opening july first it takes the commercials no more than two weeks to clean up the area fishing boat limits of 800 lbs?? Fishing no limits during the peak of the spawn this year could have done tremendous damage to the fishery. Time will tell. Nothing left inside for the non sector commercials that start July first this year.
The only thing limiting the sector boats is the threat of exceeding their quota at a time of low cod prices and being shut down later when the cod prices rise. Cod mismanagement?
Watch out for when they reach their quota and start lobbying for unused quota from other sectors like the rec sector.

Bob

Great post Bob

 Whats worse though? a dragger coming in early while the cod are spawning  and making a set or two and filling their quota and leaving, or a dragger coming in later and having to drag for several days for the same results, doing massive damage to the bottom, from dragging the net, and doors and tickler chains,rock hoppers,and other assorted junk that must weigh around a ton, and scooping up lots of by-catch, like juvenile cod in the process.    

[NMSBob]

Undersize cod supposedly aren't much of a problem for the sector boats because they aren't supposed to throw them back. They must bring all they catch in and it counts against their quota whether they can sell them or not. They would much rather catch legal size fish and there is incentive for them to do so.  Thats the company line anyway , thats also why observer coverage is so important.

Still I would rather see these fish caught after they spawn.

Bob

[landlockedsalmon]

Single hook and line only.PERIOD.no more longlines,no more nets,Then there would be enough for everyone,for ever,PERIOD.just my .02.LLS

[salmon stalker]

Single hook and line only

I agree it should go to R&R or Handlines only.....it would make a huge difference I think

[kbush08]

Absolutely, i totally agree with you.. that would solve all the problems.. or at least most of them

[fishcaptain1]

that area should be closed to everyone period no fishing from may 1 to july 1st and that includes all the recreation guys they are just as much of the overfishing as the commercial guys