i'm not sure it's intended as a punishment. with evidence of substantial amount of illegal fish being taken, i assume there's pressure from asmfc (the other concerned parties) for MD to more accurately account for the fish taken in MD.
last winter, large amounts of fish were found in illegal nets. as i understand it, if MD had not reduced harvest somewhere, asmfc could have shut down all fishing in the state until acceptable accounting was agreed to. and i guess MD could have taken that from rec side; but i think that would have back-fired on commercial in the press/public view.
if i understand, the rec 2 fish limit is effectively set by asmfc. but if that's true, and MD was not harvesting its share, it seems like lenghthening the rec season would be possible.
here's asmfc link; click managed species link on contents list, then choose striped bass, scroll down to amdt 6.
http://www.asmfc.org/
i was out new year's day and C/R'd some nice fish. from past experience, i think there will be netting in that same area any time. when they do, i'll be able to buy those same fish at the store, assuming they're not exported to some other state or country.
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