It's not the first time something like this has happened. There's something about big fish that makes people throw out rhyme or reason. They get so excited, they lose sight of reality.

258

It's impossible to say whether a life jacket would have made a difference for Mr. Seidel, but certainly it would have helped. Had this individual had a life jacket on, he certainly would have improved his odds.

191

Any time you introduce a new species into an ecosystem, there will be disruption, but we don't know what that disruption will be.

185

It was a very nice fish. Whether it was an actual state record we'll never know because as soon as we realized it wasn't caught from an approved trout water in season, we stopped the verification process although we did have some doubts about the size.

182

We kind of said, 'We need this whole area to be off limits,' but we didn't have the data to be site specific. Although we're not the permitting agency -- we're advisers -- if we're going to advise, we need good data.

143

Mussels may be invisible to most folks, including anglers. But if you don't protect them they're gone, and with them a critical link in the whole chain of natural resources.

142

It's still something we feel, as a staff, is viable. That's especially so if the money it raises gets plowed right back into supporting youth programs that get kids fishing.

136

There's no cause and effect here, but it's a nice coincidence. Could we use some of that [DEP] money toward the work of the center? Sure.

107

We don't have anything up our sleeve ready to go. There's a lot to flesh out. But we want to at least start the discussion.

87