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gill netting striped bass?

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linesider1969

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View Postis it true that striped bass are being legally gill netted anywhere in the northeast?

 

 

I believe that RI and NY allow gill netting. RI's quota is a drop in the bucket. NY requires a minimum 6" and a maximum 8" net opening, and the fishery is grandfathered to include only people who can demonstrate that they fished commercially for bass in limited, specified years.

"…if catching fish is your only objective, you are either new to the game or too narrowly focused on measurable results.” - D. Stuver

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jigger,you seem like a knowlegable guy,just by-catch of striped bass is bad enough,i am sure you agree.legalizing netting is a bad idea no matter how i think about it,maybe you have a positive thought?i moved off cape cod[sandwich] 20 yrs ago,is fishing w sand eels in "portugee hole"[no offense to anyone]in the shadow of the mighty sagamore still a lucrative endeavor?believe it or not my grandmother showed me all the spots my grandfather fished in the canal before he died,before i was around.

Bob
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As far as I know, gill netting has been legal in those two states for years. Gill netting is somewhere in the middle, as far as wasteful methods goes. It's not as clean as pound traps or hook and line, but nowhere near as dirty as haul seining. The nets have to be tended regularly, and can't be set and forgotten. In theory, the net size regulation allows smaller fish to pass throwugh, and prevents bigger fish from entering (I'm also sure that in practice it doesn't work as well as on the drawing board. In NY, the areas where nets can be legally set isn't as far as you think, and everything along the bays west of Moriches Inlet is basically off limits. The regulations are pages long. Lots of the baymen don't even bother with bass anymore, I'm told.

 

Not many people jig sand eels at Portagee Hole, but I'm sure you can still get fish that way. What has changed over the last 20 years is this---you can't get cod there any more. frown.gif 20 years ago, I'd be ouit there right now jigging sand eels for cod.

"…if catching fish is your only objective, you are either new to the game or too narrowly focused on measurable results.” - D. Stuver

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We're talking about gill nets, not haul seining. Haul seining is illegal in NY and everywhere north of Virginia.

"…if catching fish is your only objective, you are either new to the game or too narrowly focused on measurable results.” - D. Stuver

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Um, what I described was gill netting. That was the point, the crew modified their apporach to use gill nets. Having personally witnessed the nets many many times in action, I would not say they are clean, I was surprised how they catch everything. And those set by boats are most certainly left unattended.

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There are at least 2 gill net boats working the waters off Robert Moses Park (LI south shore) every day. I watched one - The Scungii II drop 5 sets of nets across an area of about one mile, starting about 100 yards off the beach and running south - as one would expect prime territory. Each net was several hundred yards long. When the 5th net was set they looped back around and started hauling the first one. I watched with binoc's from the parking lot, they had no shortage of fish in the first set, they boxed some and threw some back. I know gill nets are legal in NY, I believe they cannot be unattended (to avoid ghost nets). I'm not sure how far you are allowed to move off the nets or how long you can let them sit though. I don't know what the size or bag limits are, but those guys are out there if the weater permits. I also think they attempt to limit the by catch kill by having size restrictions on the net openings (doesn't sound real effective to me tho).

I've seen others just off Montauk also.

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