I attended the "Redistribution of Rods" meeting last night
Sitting on the "panel" were a NRP Officer, a CCA representative, Frank Tuma (charter captain), a woman representing surf fishermen, Vince Ringgold (MSSA), Mark DeHoff (MSSA and UBBB
) and Phill Langley (charter captain).
Part of the "public" in attendance were myself, Jeff (27chesapeake), Allan (JustChillin), Rob (Fishnut), Keith Fraisier (AllTackle), and maybe one or two other people.
DNR has requested that the 3 rod rule be eliminated THIS YEAR
We should know in about 3-4 days if the General Assembly votes to agree on this postponement. Indications are that the 3 rod rule will be rescinded.
This was a GEAR committee, and lots of gear types were discussed and commented on. Some gear that was addressed were Crossbows, Eel Pots, Jugs, trot lines, Cast nets, and a couple others.
No where was planer line or boards listed in the "gear definitions" handout we received for the meeting.
However, someone on the panel (who jigs) decided he had to bring up planer boards and length of lines
As you can guess, a couple stories about near collisions or trollers not knowing the "rules of the road" had to come up
I don't know why we have to jump at the opportunity to give privileges away. I sat behind the person that proposed the idea saying, "no, no, no"
I immediately interjected that we had a NRP officer present, and we should ask him how many times a NRP boat needed to be sent to resolve a conflict over boards and line length!! Someone else on the board said they had seen trollers run over each others lines and cut off gear
So I asked them "how often did you see this happen?". They had to admit that it was a rarity.
Planer boards, and line length, was dropped from the conversation
If I think there was one thing the panel got through to the DNR people, it's that there is a big difference between Tidal and Non-Tidal waters, and that different regs are needed for both.
They discussed Jugging regulations (yet no one on the panel jugs), they discussed Trot Lining for fish regulations (yet no one did this either). I took this as an opportunity to tell DNR that I thought this was at the very HEART of the problem with DNR. I told them that they continuously take recommendations from stakeholders who have no knowledge (or very little knowledge) about a type of fishing that they are addressing
I went on to read a prepared statement I had composed that focused on DNR's constant attack on my fishing "effort". I pointed out that the PSCR restrictions had little to do with conserving the stock. Similarly, the 3 rod rule was never even proposed to be about conservation. My point was, that if DNR actually believes that the stock needs some conservation methods to be implemented, they have "tools" in their possession to accomplish this. However, they need to stop addressing my ability to "catch" (and return to the bay), and focus on my "keep" (those fish I put in the box and will never spawn again).
I have to say that DNR seemed very receptive to all comments. I thought I was only going to be able to read my prepared statement, but I was able to interject whenever the panel was finished discussing any of the topics. Rob, Allan, and Jeff were all able to make points freely as well. I'm glad we attended. We are all going to sign up for "constant contact"; an email service from DNR that will keep us updated on any future meetings.
All in all, it was a productive meeting. I do feel that this issue is not dead and buried. In three or four days, it may be dead for this year, but I believe it will continue to be addressed by DNR in the future. We need to stay vigilant. Too many stakeholders are quick to give up the privileges of another stakeholder group.
When the person who jigs was speaking about ELIMINATING planer boards, his theory was that without boards, a boat could only run a max of 8 or 9 lines. If this is the principle behind their theory, then why not regulate the size of the boat allowed to fish the bay
Of course this sounds stupid
. But isn't this exactly another way to limit the amount of rods used? If all private boats were limited to 16 ft, you could limit rods. Or, how about horsepower, lets regulate the max hp allowed on the bay. Don't start down a road that's not needed.
I digress, the meeting was well worth our time and effort.
5th (Marty)