The striped-bass situation is one which highlights my point that fish are not evenly distributed. Apparently (I'm no expert) virtually all striped bass spawn in the Chesepeake. Therefore, without some controls there, not only would the species thin, it could almost completely disappear. For some species, the idea that they can simply multiply off of banks where the fishing boats have abandoned their efforts may not always be true. The controls put in place proved to be quite effective at increasing the population of striped bass in the 28-36 inch sporting range. (Don't get me wrong, sportsmen would love 46 inchers but I haven't seen much of that. One problem the stripers have is they are so darn good eating. If someone catches 6 and takes home 1 it is probably one of the top 2 or 3 he caught that day that gets eaten. You can't know for sure since you make the call to keep it or put it back on the spot. Who can pass up 15 lbs of cleaned bass on the table?) It was an example of government enforced management practices that "worked" from the POV of most anglers I know.
On the whole I don't really disagree with anything you've said. I just wanted to highlight some of the market's rough edges that are especially apparent in the field of wildlife management and fisheries it seems.
Rippin
wow, they would have to get help measuring em that long...most men could reach only about 33".
(think about it...it'll come to you)
Fair enough, everything is a negotiation. Best to start bold, cave on the little stuff....then beat the cr@p out of em in a dark alley.