RI Reps Vote to Increase Commerical Catch, HUH?

Recently the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council took a vote on increasing the commercial take of striped bass along the Atlantic coast. Each state had a vote as did the National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Fortunately, the motion was defeated 10-4.
Guess what RI voted for? TO INREASE THE COMMERCIAL CATCH. Huh? After the poor year of striper fishing we just experienced and with dwindling stocks of stripers, our representatives, Robert Ballou (Acting Chief of RI Div. of Fish and Wildlife), William Mc Elroy and State Rep. Peter Martin (Newport) decided to cast their vote in favor of expanding the commercial take. Apparently, this was after public hearings in which 92% of the public urged no increase. Why hold public hearings if you are not going to listen to your constituents? Just one more example of poor representation from RI public officials.
The latest newsletter from RISAA has numerous informative articles on this matter. You can read the entire newsletter from the RISAA website at http://www.risaa.org/