Striper Fly
Recreational fishermen will be able to spear-fish striped bass in state waters of Massachusetts if a recent bill approved by the Mass. House of Representatives passes in the Senate. Other species such as flounder, cod and fluke can already be landed via speargun in Massachusetts.
Nearby states, such as Rhode Island and New Hampshire, allow the spearing of striped bass and spear-fishing tournaments.
Proponents of the bill feel that spear-fishing benefits the striper population by allowing “selective harvest” of only legal-sized fish.
Sen. Daniel Wolf, D-Harwich, a sponsor of the current bill, said that, during a legislative hearing on the bill last June that the risk of catching and killing undersized striped bass is greater from those blindly using hooks and lines.
Opponents of the bill feel that the striped bass stock is already stressed and overfished currently.
This is the second time a striped bass spear-fishing bill has passed the House. A similar bill stalled in the Senate last session.
For complete details, read the original article at the Gloucester Times.
-_-Source, Collen Quinn, State House News Service _
