Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge - New Bass regulations most likely?

Read this the San Diego Union Tribune; IMO it's better to have the fish managed than have area's completely close to fishing due to incomplete science and lies.



new regulations anticipated for saltwater bass

Written by
Ed Zieralski
It’s probably not going to happen right away, but recreational anglers can expect a big change in regulations regarding calico bass, sand bass and possibly spotted bay bass within a year.

The Santa Barbara Independent reported Saturday that state Fish and Game officials who met in Santa Barbara last Wednesday agreed that new regulations were needed for those fisheries to prevent further decline.

Erica Jarvis, a Fish and Game researcher, and other state Fish and Game fisheries biologists suggest that the Fish and Game Commission consider three measures to allow the ocean and bay bass to repopulate.

According to the news report, the measures include a “reduction in the bag limit, which currently allows fishermen to catch 10 fish a day; an increase in the size limit, to 13 inches or larger, to ensure that younger fish will have more time to reproduce; and the possibility of a seasonal closure of two weeks or more during the peak of the spawning season.

The commission may also choose to consider restrictions on where charter boats may fish during the season.

Captain Ron Baker, who runs the Point Loma for owner Fred Huber, spoke at the December meeting of the Fish and Game Commission in San Diego and said he was in favor of reducing the limit to five bass.

Jarvis’ figures showed the barred sand bass catch has fallen by 85 percent since 2001, and the calico or kelp bass catch has fallen by more than 70 percent since the 1980s.

Both species represent the most targeted fish by recreational anglers in Southern California. But Fish and Game Commissioner Richard Rogers questioned the use of a Scripps Institution of Oceanography report that blamed the sportfishing industry for the decline.

“The ocean is immensely complex,” Rogers said. “It’s easy to point at fishing because it’s far easier to see and document than other factors.”
Rogers and Michael Sutton represented the Fish and Game Commission at the meeting.