W.S. Bassatola! 9/2/07

for whats its worth, last time I was at the capitola pier the guy selling the fish said the catch is from a guy with a commercial permit.  There was a DFG guy right there so I tend to figure it must be legal.

but technically are they supposed to have some shingle up?  How does anyone know beyond the word of the fisherman if he is allowed to sell or not?

I definately don't like people treble snagging fish! It's so micheal vick. On the other hand i have no problem with someone selling or tradeing a fish or 2 caught fair and square. I trade fish for venison/wildboar with my neighbor all the time. those commercial guys harvest 95% of the fish taken from the ocean. so if they don't like what us recreational guys do with our fish; I say tough shit! get over it. if they weren't overdepleting the ocean then we might get along a little better

For the record, the snatch of conversation I heard about "They snag them" came from some other lookie loo in the crowd around the fish and not from the woman guarding the fish or the boat shop types.
But that's not to say they weren't snagged any more than the comment I heard the next day that "commercials" caught a bunch the day before means they were not black-market commercials.   

there are several groups of people on small boats who fish with a commercial license and launch from the capitola pier. they have been using this pier for years, since i started renting skiffs off the folks there.

i remember coming in after a day and always looking to see what they had in their big coolers. they too work hard for what they get.

speaking of snagging, if anyone can snag a white seabass i'd love to see it myself. i dont believe they were snagged, not for a second. they dont call them "ghosts" for nothing. just because someone on the pier said the word snagged it does not mean they were. having spent some time in the water with wsb i would say that anything more amazing would be to see someone actually snag one.

as for people selling at the pier in general, well go to hmb during albacore season, boats go out and come back in selling directly from the boat. this is legal and it happens not only at the capitola pier.

i cant believe people get all puffy chested about something that is happening legally at the capitola pier. all of these accusations come up and start brewing into something bigger over what is really nothing. There is no crime being committed.

per the dfg rules 2007:

the white seabass fishery is year round north of point conception and as long as the fish is legal size of 28" it can be sold. below point conception its only one fish per commercial boat if the fish was taken incidentally while trawling. The season  for WSB South of point conception is closed from March 15 - June 15th for Commercial take.

im happy for these guys who caught the wsb. there are probably many days these few guys come back with little and this was their big day. they are probably doing something they love for work as well. i didnt get a wsb even though i saw them in the water at capitola but i am glad they did.

It is totally legal to give away fish. In doing so, you can trade for other things...like venison. I give my neighbors and coworkers fish all the time. Thats half the fun of bringing fish home; sharing with friends.
But you cannot catch a fish, then turn around and sell it to the highest bidder. At least, not without proper commercial registration and paperwork.

And, yes, it IS possible that this may have been a legal transaction. (I considered this when I first posted) But I have been down there at least 5 times in the past 4 weeks and this is not what I saw. Have only seen a warden there three times in the past 2 years. But if e2g saw a warden down there while these guys were conducting business...then, well, maybe they aren't quite as unscrupulous as I thought.

(-:
PK

It is totally legal to give away fish. In doing so, you can trade for other things...like venison. I give my neighbors and coworkers fish all the time. Thats half the fun of bringing fish home; sharing with friends.
But you cannot catch a fish, then turn around and sell it to the highest bidder. At least, not without proper commercial registration and paperwork.

And, yes, it IS possible that this may have been a legal transaction. (I considered this when I first posted) But I have been down there at least 5 times in the past 4 weeks and this is not what I saw. Have only seen a warden there three times in the past 2 years. But if e2g saw a warden down there while these guys were conducting business...then, well, maybe they aren't quite as unscrupulous as I thought.

(-:
PK

i hear you on what your saying but what "proper commercial registration and paperwork" are you talking about?

I have bought fish off boats at half moon bay and not once was there any papers other than cash which was handed about. this was right next to the harbor master's office and they had a big sign directing people over to buy fish for cash.

i think they probably have to record what they catch but is there really any paperwork that is required to sell the catch? i have purchased crab, fish, off boats and not once was it documented on any papers as far as i could see. these were commercial boats selling as well at the pier.

i'd be curious to see what was required in terms of paperwork.

I think the paperwork is the commercial fishing license itself.

you buy fish from somebody that only has a sport fishing license and you break the law.

J

I am referring to the process of applying for and receiving a commercial license. It can be a difficult process. Especially when it comes to qualifying your vessel.
Virtually anybody can go get a comm license (its only like 100 bucks)...but in order to legally harvest fish, you need to have an approved vessel. Nowadays you have to literally buy the comm licensed vessel just to get the permit (because it is so difficult to obtain the permit otherwise).

It doesn't really matter to me...so I'll just shut up now. People can do whatever they want; legal or illegal. But if I see it, and its illegal, and it makes me angry, then I am calling 1800-DFG-CALTIP.
PK

I am referring to the process of applying for and receiving a commercial license. It can be a difficult process. Especially when it comes to qualifying your vessel.
Virtually anybody can go get a comm license (its only like 100 bucks)...but in order to legally harvest fish, you need to have an approved vessel. Nowadays you have to literally buy the comm licensed vessel just to get the permit (because it is so difficult to obtain the permit otherwise).

It doesn't really matter to me...so I'll just shut up now. People can do whatever they want; legal or illegal. But if I see it, and its illegal, and it makes me angry, then I am calling 1800-DFG-CALTIP.
PK

im with you on that one. if i see it and it looks illegal, im gonna call as well. that is the dutiful thing to do and it does protect our resources as non commercial fishermen.

even more so when the mpa's are in place soon.

john

It is totally legal to give away fish. In doing so, you can trade for other things...like venison.
PK

Not to hijack this thread, but I was reading on Coastside the other day that a person is only allowed 2 salmon in possession, including in their freezer at home. In that case wouldn't it be illegal for someone without a fishing license to accept any non-store-bought salmon from a fisher-friend? Not that i care, I'm just bringing it up for the sake of conversation...I mean, does the DFG really think that when the fishing is hot, like in '04, that nobody is going to stockpile fish in their freezer and then go out fishing again? We need something to sustain us during the off-season!

It is totally legal to give away fish. In doing so, you can trade for other things...like venison.
PK

Not to hijack this thread, but I was reading on Coastside the other day that a person is only allowed 2 salmon in possession, including in their freezer at home. In that case wouldn't it be illegal for someone without a fishing license to accept any non-store-bought salmon from a fisher-friend? Not that i care, I'm just bringing it up for the sake of conversation...I mean, does the DFG really think that when the fishing is hot, like in '04, that nobody is going to stockpile fish in their freezer and then go out fishing again? We need something to sustain us during the off-season!

same type of rules for abalone as well. you can get 3 a day and have only 3 in possession at any time for yourself. you can however give the three you get today to your wife or kids and get 3 more tomorrow. these are deterrents for people to limit their take for a day but it cant really stop them from going out day after day.

on the other hand, when you take a license or a stamp, punch card you have already agreed to it that the dfg does have the right to search your house being that you are a license holder and agreed to the t&c's of search by an officer when you purchased the license.

i knew a guy who had the dfg come to his house early one sunday morning to see how many abalone he had in his freezer. they just showed up, he never was a poacher or ever did anything illegal in terms of game taking but they said that they ID's his car from one of his trips up north and were just doing surprise visits. if he had more than 3 abalone in his fridge this day he would have been busted as he lived alone.

sure the limits are there but there are easy ways around it and i think they are just more as deterrents for a day's take. these are some rules that can easily be broken. who's to say that the friends aren't just holding game for you? the dfg would like to believe that the honor system works but each year, they find people who don't play that way.

i dont know of anything so good i have to have more than a couple of in my fridge. i usually eat everything as soon as i get home because i like really fresh fish and abalone. im a pig like that. oink.