Another meeting of the ASMFC and I'm sure another waste of time. Just more kicking the can down the road. While I was tempted to join and listen I couldn't bring myself to do so. I just don't care anymore. They've won, and the striped bass have lost.
I kind of followed the meeting updates on The Striped Bass Pledge page on Facebook where Ross Squire gave a kinda blow by low of what was going on. If you remember when they punted in the fall one of the points was to create a Kumbaya "Work Group" where members would join forces and try to solve all the ills of the striped bass, or at least put it into a White Paper. Nowalsky threw the bait out there and the voting members bit on it hook, line, and sinker.
So when I saw that people in the meeting were trying to figure out who, how, why, and what the group would be working I had to laugh. How did you just accept Status Quo and vote for
a group before the guidelines were in place? It reminded me of a time made famous by Nancy Pelosi,
Without going into details they came up with six tasks the group should focus on. Yada yada yada, Yawn. Yawn. And a bigger yawn. But here they are;
Interestingly, as recent as yesterday, they hit on some of the things I've talked about on this blog. One's that stick out are any potential for striped bass stocking programs and researching if there are other rivers that may be nurseries for YOY striped bass. With mention that a lot of the work couldn't be done until after the 2027 Stock Assessment what are we left with and what will we see or hear? Who really cares anymore?
To show you just how stupid this all is just look at one of the things they looked at during the fall meetings...How to properly measure a striped bass. Well, that was months ago, it's now
February, and it was decided that States have until January 1, 2027 to implement a plan. WTF are you talking about? Pinch the dam fork or not, period. Effective....immediately. Is it me?
Below is the directive about the Work Group and what they hope to accomplish, as outlined in the six tasks. If you read at the top there's more questions about the who and what's
then answers. It's all just a waste of time, and the striped bass don't have time on their side. I'm so glad I didn't listen live. It was my day off between days in the hospital and I didn't want to experience chest pain. I'll see enough of that today.
