Thank you Morefish, much appreciated, please accept that i am not trying to start a fight with you as i respect and understand your viewpoint as well as that of the KMLAC, regardless of our disagreements.
But now i'm sorry to say that i did in fact mean nearshore fishing. Sorry by sportfishing, i meant recreational C&R fishing, i sometimes forget that the term sportfishing refers to offshore big game fishing exclusively. The most intended species of my last posts are regarding omilu, ulua, and moi. All of which being species that i target at Kaupulehu for C&R fishing.
Please re-read my last posts, i am not trying to derail the project at all. I would just love to see Hawaii adapt C&R zones into its management scheme. By assembling a petition for the reasons I previously stated, it would simply make the suggestion to KMLAC stronger than just a few solitary voices. This project would serve as a perfect platform to engage some conservation minded regulations for the state.
You must believe me that I am not out to ruin the project, i am also not your enemy. In what way have i shown that i have no knowledge of the nuts and bolts of fishery management? All i have shown is a difference of opinion of how we view the same situation/fishery.
If it is the KMLAC's will that "we dont play with our food", then you are correct in the sense that i am an enemy of that viewpoint. I dont fish for subsistence, i fish for fun, and take about 5% of my catch from the shoreline home with me. When i do fish for food, i use my boat to target smaller bottomfish species, and never concentrate on one area too much.
What we have here is a core difference in the way we each view a fish. SInce i am clearly not Hawaiian, does that mean that my viewpoint does not count towards wanting a better fishery. I suppose a good argument could be made either way, and i will not dispute it if you say that my voice does not count in regards to traditional Hawaiian fishing values. Absolutely correct. But in the sense of what fishing means to Hawaii right now, i feel that my viewpoint is legitimate. C&R fishing is a growing practice here in the State among Hawaiians, locals, and us foreigners. I have Hawaiian friends that regularly practice C&R, are they also wrong to enjoy it as apparently i am?
In regards to C&R fishing being cruel practice, i have heard and agree with some of the arguments against it, but that will never stop me from doing it. A few years back now; Germany adopted policy that essentially stated that if you have no intention to eat the fish, then you should not be fishing. Within their law, it was stated that each fish caught must be killed efficiently as possible. So this kind of thing has been employed before.
If the fishing public, State, and DLNR officials tell me that C&R fishing has no place in Hawaii, then i will pursue the issue with KMLAC no further. Until then, i stand by it as a means to establishing healthy fisheries.
Morefish, keep in mind that even if i get nowhere with my suggestions and petition to the KMLAC, i will still support the project. My passion for recreational fishing is second to none, thus my standpoint on the issue. I am not the enemy, and would still crack a few cold ones with you.
