Lobster Hoop Nets DFG meeting

[Guy]

Originally Posted by rojodiablo

The reason for a gear restriction first is the DFG has also studies the effectiveness of the different types hoop nets. They have not seen a drop off in reproduction of lobster, and at this time their first response is not to limit the overall take by recreational anglers. Much of the reasoning behind this is the knowledge that there are many new illegal commercial operations being run using hoopnets. Expect more rigid enforcement on the rules regarding cards and gear.
For every one of us who does only moderately well with hoop gear, there is someone out there who has mastered it, and is abusing the resource. This means going well beyond just getting an easy limit every once in a while. WAY beyond that.

I hear ya, and I know you make a good point, I do get a little annoyed at the hint of more restrictions coming down the line.
When I fish in North Carolina your license prints out of the state computer and the guy hands you a single 8 1/2 by 11 inch piece of paper that has saltwater species size, bag and seasons clearly marked.
You don't need a lawyer, calender and current set of charts to plan a fishing trip..........there is a better way than how we do it here...IMHO

[rdrrm8e]

Moot point....

Where are you going to hoop after the MLPA's are put into place?

The commercials won't survive.

[Bigfish69]

I'm okay with flat nets 5 per person. Thsi is how it was and how it should be.

69R

[twice bit]

Thanks for the report.

[Customboatguy]

No worries. We'll just do what we are told.

5 or 10, flat or eclipse, I plan on Q-ing some cooka rachas this season.

[tailsurfer]

Originally Posted by rojodiablo

For every one of us who does only moderately well with hoop gear, there is someone out there who has mastered it, and is abusing the resource. This means going well beyond just getting an easy limit every once in a while. WAY beyond that.

What! I dout that. I have never seen that on this board.

[desert_s10]

"Hello Mr. Stafford,

According to Lt. Eric Kord out of La Jolla, "There is currently no definition of a baited hoop net. Anything that is considered more "trap-like" than a hoop net might not be allowed by any local warden that contacts you. There are regulation proposals being drafted by the Department that will finally legally define what a hoop net is. The proposed regulations, which are still being worked on, may or may not outlaw certain types of hoop nets that do not lie flat on the bottom. The Fish and Game Commission has not made a decision on this yet. You can voice your opinion to the Fish and Game Commission on what type of hoop net you would prefer at any one of their public meetings."

For more information about how to contact the Fish and Game Commission, you may want to visit their Web site at /www.fgc.ca.gov/contact/contact.asp. I hope this information is useful to you,

yours,

Mary Patyten
MPatyten@dfg.ca.gov"

[Carnivore]

Nothing like waiting to the last possible minute to make a policy or rule change. Only took them 5 months to decide when to make the change.

[Thozguys]

"The reason for a gear restriction first is the DFG has also studies the effectiveness of the different types hoop nets. They have not seen a drop off in reproduction of lobster, and at this time their first response is not to limit the overall take by recreational anglers. Much of the reasoning behind this is the knowledge that there are many new illegal commercial operations being run using hoopnets. Expect more rigid enforcement on the rules regarding cards and gear.
For every one of us who does only moderately well with hoop gear, there is someone out there who has mastered it, and is abusing the resource. This means going well beyond just getting an easy limit every once in a while. WAY beyond that."

I get it, we can't do our job correctly and effeciently as far as policing the offenders, so we are going to go after the honest people who will be easier to identify. That makes so much sense. If you don't have the people to enforce what already exists, why create more work? There must be some governmental agency about to lose more funding so they need a method and a reason to exist, thats the only explanation that I see...

[rojodiablo]

Originally Posted by Thozguys

I get it, we can't do our job correctly and effeciently as far as policing the offenders, so we are going to go after the honest people who will be easier to identify. That makes so much sense. If you don't have the people to enforce what already exists, why create more work? There must be some governmental agency about to lose more funding so they need a method and a reason to exist, thats the only explanation that I see...

With ALL real fisheries management, there is a lag between technology being deployed vs. the assessment of it's effectiveness. If you could imagine, what if fishing gear was like medicine, and everything had to be approved BEFORE it was sold on the market!?
Look back to history on every fishery front, and see how it works. As fishermen, we tend to be creative in pursuing our quarry. Just like hunters and trail cams, scents, camoflauge, etc. So, we find better tools for fishing. We can be too effective. It happens. It can become an issue of overharvesting of the resource. The line is there, and it is not always clear, especially not at first. After an explosion of numbers of recreational fishermen on hoopnets, there were several improvements to the hoops themselves. The question becomes, 'is it too effective?' Do the newer nets create an unfair advantage? Do they start to have retention that is more in line with commercial traps rather than recreational gear? It does come down to overall take numbers with regards to the resource also. The commercial take is pretty steady. There has never been a collapse in lobster here due to commercial take. But YOU and I, the recreational hoopnetters and divers were the first ones to complain about catch numbers falling. So, stop and think about what has changed- More commercial pressure? NO. More diving pressure? NO. More hoopnetting pressure? BINGO. So, they are looking at managing the resource, rather than closing it down. There was no data base for recreational catch rates for lobster, that is the reason for the lobster cards. They waited 2 cycles before making any suggestion on gear changes. They do not have any full data base yet. As they gather information regarding lobster catch data, and overall stock health, we will see other regulation changes.
No different than rockfishing; gone are the days of 10 hook gangions. The depth allowed was brought very shallow, the stock was reassessed, and the depth restriction was relaxed. Next we will see catch allowed relaxed a bit, especially on Bocaccio, as the stock is assessed again. It is impossible for an agency like the DFG to be 100% pro-active on fishery management.
You also muct average in some level of poaching take within the total amount of lobster harvested each year. And that number is on the rise steadily also. They know it, but it is hard to catch them.

[plj46]

it sounds like a lot of the proposed changes are because of illegal lobster fishing . i sure hope they dont want to screw us honest guys for it.the proposals would not mean shit to a poacher anyway,he is gonna do what he wants to do until he gets caught then he will get his hand slapped pay a small fine and he starts it all over again . i sure hope somebody from the dfg is reading this stuff.

[gpomplin]

Well if you end up being able to only use flat laying hoops, at least you can take the promar's and remove the side supports and it will lay flat so you wont have to get rid of them and buy more....