Quote:
Originally Posted by Natural Light Kid
"What I am against is anybody pushing for regulations without adequate science to back up their position."
Meaux fishing
Guides do it all the time. You don't have to be a "scientist" to have valid position on a subject. In fact, I think common sense (which isn't so common) trumps scientific studies sometimes. What works on paper doesn't always work in the real world. Do y'all really think the decrease in the limit in an open estuary system like Calcasieu is effecting the fishing that much? Sabine has had a lower possession and larger size limit for a long time and everyone is running over there to fish now. Could have more to do with weirs, erosion, etc. than the limit but I'm not poor or a scientist so what do I know.
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Sabine has not had their oyster reefs destroyed.
Usually factors work together to negatively impact a situation. In Calcasieu, the biggest factors negatively impacting specks are (in no particular order):
1. Oyster reef destruction
2. Speck limit of 15 (lowered from 25) leading to overpopulation of specks relative to their food supply and slower growth rates
3. Management of weirs preventing flow of forage from marsh to lake
4. Erosion degrading habitat for peak forage production
5. Overpopulation of black drum (destroying oysters and reefs)
6. Overpopulation of red drum (competing for limited forage)
The biggest error in CCA thinking is that sport fish are the main resource. Habitat is the main resource. Protecting what the fish eat is more important given the current dynamics. CCA is trying to produce more beef by shoving 400 cattle into a 100 acre pasture. All they are doing is destroying the grass and lowering the overall production.
Just like the cattle would bust down the fences in an overpopulated pasture, the specks have started hanging out in nearby waters where there is better grass (more forage).