520lber caught!

[Vagabond]

According to the report, the guy used stand-up gear with harness - hardly light tackle.

[JRT]

I have got say that in my experience of the yanks is that they are light years ahead of us when it comes to C&R and fisheries management.

I would be surprised if the skipper of this marlin boat didn't get alot of heat from others.

 

I haven't been on a US charter where C&R is not enforced, especially for sport fish. More than I can say for the UK charters.

Just look how they have turned around the Striped Bass fishing on the east coast.

 

The yanks also enforce their laws and regulations and have a dedicated coast guard. We have office-based DEFRA pencil pushers that refuse to investigate reports of selling undersized fish due to 'lack of evidence'. Don't get me started on this...

 

This new 48cm Bass ruling is going to be worthless unless it is enforced and offenders prosecuted.

 

JRT

 

[ 13. October 2005, 10:45 AM: Message edited by: JRT ]

[Simon Everett]

Hey guys, how many of you have folowed the link from the FULL REPORT HERE button below the picture?

 

It is very saddening. Thee Capt Jay has pictures on his advertising website - one of them is of ONE "angler" posing with TWO dead broadbils on the pontoon.....

 

I have sent him an email asking for his reasoning behind the killings and whether or not they can be tagged and released - they are fishing 15 miles off Miami. Usually the US fish and Game dept.are very conservation minded, so it will be interesting to find out the thinking behind this fishery because there are dozens of charter boats running this kind of trip....and the IGFA HQ is only just up the road in Dania Beach!

[Vagabond]

JRT:

I have got say that in my experience of the yanks is that they are light years ahead of us when it comes to C&R and fisheries management.

Very true, the better outfits are, but there is this darker side unearthed here. I wonder if the fish was sold?

[Ian Burrett]

The yanks certainly didn't like the posts on AN.

 

check out their Forum

http://www.swordfishingcentral.com/forums/...ishing3290.html

 

Might be fun to post a few more replies to their thread. The site takes seconds to join

 

Apparently we are all fxxxxxxg Wxxxers

[Elton]

Please don't go winding other sites up for the sake of it, as it's me and the moderators who have to deal with it. Likewise, the guys who run that site.

 

I can't stop anyone and if people have a contribution that they feel they need to make, then that's fine, but please don't cause grief for 'fun'.

 

Pretty please, with a Hokkai on top....

[Scotty T]

Check out Minkmans last comment, oooooooooooooooooo handbags!!!

 

Scotty

[Broadbill]

Good Morning,

I am from Florida a bit north of where this fish was caught. I have read all of your comments that were relayed through our swordfishingcentral web site. I wanted to clarify a few things because apparently you don't catch swordfish where you live. First off I would like to say most all of the swords I catch we tag and release, but a swordfish is a commercially sold species throughout the world. People like us (recreational anglers) are not even scratching the surface of this fishery. You need to be concerned with the longline boats fishing throughout the world killing tons upon tons of swordfish and every other fish that swims by. The few fish we keep we enjoy eating, and we are extremely cautious of not overfishing.

Second, for those of you who have never had the pleasure of battling a swordfish please don't compare it to a marlin. For the comments about being able to catch a fish like this on stand up gear in "60-90 minutes no problem", you need to go swordfishing then place your ridiculous comments. Sometimes anglers in our area hook fish at mindnight and fight them into daylight the following day with 30#'s of drag. It is not a marlin! I have caught blue , black, and white marlin and a sword half there size would discrace them.

Last, a swordfish can be an extremely difficult fish to revive. Like I said I try and tag and release most all of mine, but even after a short fight (sometimes 10 minutes)some swords give out once at the boat. We have drug fish for 20 minutes trying to revive them, but if we feel like they are not going to make it I would rather eat and enjoy it rather than Mr. Mako.

Hope this information helps a bit. Didn't want you guys to think us Yanks were slaughtering the ocean over here. I am glad to see you are strongly practicing catch and release. You need to place your concern however on areas like South America where commercial fishing is hardly regulated and fish are being wiped out. We all try hard to protect our fisheries and we certainly are not hurting ours keeping a couple of swordfish for dinner.

Thanks for your time, and tight lines!!!

-Scott

[Scotty T]

"The few fish we keep we enjoy eating, and we are extremely cautious of not overfishing."

 

18 pages of mainly dead swordfish, plus the other galleries, hardly a few fish.

 

Scotty

[jabee]

Thanks for clearing that up Scott.

I would make the following points though.

From my point of view, I did not take exception to the fact that a fish was retained - be it to feed 1, 2 or 50. I do not even take particular exception to the photo of the fish itself (although I think such 'Glory' shots in bad taste when an animal is strung up in such a mannner). I do, however, take exception to the angler in question, who has previously posted pics and links on this forum that have taken me to pages of pictures of dead sharks either stretched bleeding across the gunwals with the captor behind it grinning ear to ear, or, suspended under a jib so that anyone vain enough to care can get themselves in a photo.

I would prefer that he did not post such things here again.