I do not think that draggers, for the most part cull anything. The following actually happened several years back. A local dragger captain, now retired, caught 5000 pounds of fluke in his first haul. The pound limit set at the time was 2000 pounds. I knew the dragger's captain, and he is really a hard working good person. He knew that to be legal he would have to toss 3000 pound of dead fluke over the side. When the word "cull" is mentioned, it means to me that one would keep a small legal sized fish until such a time comes that your creel limit is reached and then a bigger legal sized fish comes in over the side. In the case of togs that are kept in a large water filled barrel, or togs that are kept over the side in a meshed net, one could argue that they are not damaging the fisheries. They would lose the argument if caught, but it is almost impossible for someone culling to get caught. You would have to toss the fish over the side right in front of the law enforcement agent and even then who is to say which was the largest fish as the evidence swims away. I think what is troubling many form members is that they believe that draggers are killing small but legal sized fish to keep legal but larger sized fish. Their quotas are based not in the number of fish kept, but rather in the number of pounds kept. While it is true that a five pound fluke might sell for $2.75 per pound, and a two pound fluke will sell for 2.25 per pound, the small difference in the price per pound is not going to be enough of an inducement for a dragger to go through the trouble of doing another drag. He has to hope that his luck is going to hold out by tossing out many small fish (worth money) and praying that he will catch a few larger fish (worth more only if the poundage is nearly the same; he could lose money if the poundage is less) by doing another drag. Each drag costs him money, fuel, and time. Getting back to my friend, it is not culling when you are looking at 5000 pounds of legally caught dead fluke on your deck. Dragging is one the most wasteful and destructive fishing techniques used in our area, but it is unlikely the culling part is happening to any great degree. The law stated 3000 pounds must go over the side. Of course, the captain picked out the biggest of the dead fish to keep. However, it troubled him to toss so many dead fluke over the side, especially since there were many soup kitchens in our area that could use the fresh fish to feed the poor. The captain came up with an on-the-spot idea. He called the DEP, while still on the fishing grounds, and informed them he is coming in with 3000 pounds over his limit. He also added the fish are dead, however, he will not sell them as he will donate them to our local soup kitchens. The DEP was waiting to arrest him as he pulled into the dock. They confiscated the 3000 pounds of fluke which I was told did end up at our local charities. The case went to court and the ruling was, no penalties for the captain this time, but the next time he does it, his license will be pulled. While culling can happen to some degree, by far it is the wasteful fishing technique used that is causing the major depletion of our stocks. I would ask any recreational angler, just how many seasons of fluke fishing would it take you to catch and kill 3000 pounds of fluke? Keep in mind that fish tossed over the side, alive or dead, do not count toward any limit nor are they to be reported. |