On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 08:45:17 -0500, Jeff Miller
wrote:



damn... the stripers have given some life during the winter to the
fishing economy on the outer banks. we have developed a huge
tourist-charter and sportfishing industry off the nc outer banks for
stripers during the winter - and this year has yielded good fishing. i
haven't heard/read any reports of diseased fish being caught off oregon
inlet this year, and we just had a new state record set two weeks ago -
a 62 pound striped bass. i don't doubt there have been some, and it may
be limited because water temps haven't hit optimum for the run from up
north. we have good to excellent striper (rock) fishing in the
alligator river and the roanoke river in march and april - all the fish
i've caught have been healthy and without sores.

Don't worry. With a _scientist_ called "Wolfgang" on the case, can a
solution be far behind? I mean, these same folks have only been
predicting this same eminent, immediate, and total catastrophe for, oh,
about 10 years. And this Wolfgang has his own personal opinion of the
absolutely necessary solution: "The need to fund the disease
research..."

Translation - "I'm a grant away from needing a cardboard sign that says,
'Will postulate for a Frappamochachino'..."

Is there a problem? Yeah, probably a small one. Is the sky failing?
No, not likely, based on the actual data. This seems to be yet another
genetic-blip-meets-man's-interaction that causes a population reduction
until the affected species adapt. And remember, "genetic blips" and
other natural events cause population swings even when man provides no
influence - look to bream population swings, esp in closed systems, for
similar swings that a fund-seeking "scientist" could use to separate
funders from funds.

TC,
R