Blair999 wrote:
certainly not pointling fingers at anyone. But I would like to know the season totals of a few people out on the bay. Is the guy who fishes once a year and keeps 5 really worse than the guy who fishes 5 days a week, keeping 4 a day???? Funny how some use the words conservation and sustainable.
Pea's from the same pod as far as I'm concerned. Nothing wrong with enjoying some fish, but anybody who is keeping 20 walleyes/week is at the very least a fish hog and probably in violation of the law unless they are eating 4 walleye a day, 5 days a week. Daily limit is 4 on a sportfishing licence, but it is also the posession limit. So if you take 4 home, from then on you're only allowed to catch one walleye for every one you eat. Still got two in the freezer then the next time you are out your limit is two. Put one over 24.9 in the freezer and you can't keep another one next time out.
No, one person keeping one extra fish on a single trip to Quinte is not going to jeapordize the fishery, but if everybody who made the trip to quinte did the same, well then you can see the larger impact.
Both cases people are breaking the law so they can take home more fish than they are allowed. IMO the current regulations strike a great balance of allowing you to take some eaters home for a meal, and keeping one trophy sized fish if you so wish.
To me conservation means not taking home a limit every time you can, just because the law allows me so many fish, and sustainability means selective harvest so that most of big breeders go back to help repopulate the fishery.
Not going to get into a numbers game here, just say in my experience that the hardcore anglers who are out there alot are usually the ones most concerned with the health of the fishery. You might find they keep less fish in a year than many of the casual anglers who keep a limit every time they can catch one.
_________________
Bruce Ogilvie
"Fish Hard, Hunt Hard, Live Hard"
http://www.muskiescanada.ca/
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