Mola said he called Smith two years ago, after fishermen began picking up the traps by mistake and coming across unmarked fish pots.......................This was the comment in regard..how do you pick up a fish,lobster,crab,etc pot by accident???Ahhhhhhhhhh curiosity??It was only a couple of years ago that fish pots did not require markings.Still to this day i beleive in NY you do not have to mark conk pots.Either buoy or pot.So what gives anybody the right to pick up a buoy and haul it,no matter whats on the END.It ain't your's you did not set it..Don't effin touch it.Mind you business and go on your merry way.And the balls of some people to engage in illegal activity themselves and then go bitchin to the law about what they think they may have found.I'm sure they released all the fsh after a healthy dinner of hermits and a nice massage.It probably was more like man we only had 2 fish in 24 beers..this is wrong,that's why we did'nt catch anything.I'm totally miffed on how somebody pulls gear by mistake.Maybe i should spend the day pulling moorings by mistake and re-setting the whole mess as a blackfish reef.As far as fish gear goes for togs.....i like dirty gear it catches better.The pots have escape vents and panel.I think the vent size i use is 3 1/4 inch circle.It is attached to a piece of pot wire that measures 6"x6" and attatched with biodegradble rings that melt out fast.Barnacles in the vent...........give me a break....a tog is going to come up to this vent and say ohhhhhhhhhh no i can't go through there i'll scratch my pretty white chin.Yeah right.Fish potting if done correctly is one of the cleanest fisheries.This fishery has almost zero discards.On occasion i will pot a bluefish that dies due to lack of swim-bladder.The fish swim into a pot or trap because they want to,not have some hook slammed into their head or gut rendering them dead.Lost gear is not an issue as the biodegradable vents quickly release the catch.JR not bitchin at you just wanted to shed some light on this subject as well as addressing some of your concerns about by-catch and addresing how the media blows thing out of proportion.
This post edited by commfish 09:14 PM 12/27/2007
