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The argument against striped bass game fish that claims that people who don't want to recreationally fish should have equal rights to the resource through fish markets just isn't valid. The population of striped bass is far too small to make any meaningful contribution to feeding the public. The big old fish that comprise the so-called commercial catch virtually all go to expensive restaurants or at outrageous prices in a few fish markets for a very short length of time each summer. Recreational fishermen are only allowed to keep one of these fish per trip. Last thing I knew the average recreational angler for striped bass kept just 1/2 of one fish per season!

There are no market allocations for black ducks, whitetail deer or wild brook trout. It just is neither feasible nor sensible to maintain a market fishery for every fish in the ocean. Making certain high value recreational species a game fish is an idea that's time has come. Many states around the country have already done it with several species. The real opposition is in the handful of people who are really recreational fishermen, but sell their catch in order to enable themselves to do more fishing. These are the so-called commercial striped bass fishermen, and managing things for their benefit is really a travesty. The system is pressured by money to allow too many fish to be caught, and illegal fishing flourishes because the value of the scarce resource is so attractive.