Striped Bass Growers Association

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The Striped Bass War is about to have a climactic battle in Massachusetts, pitting the interests of recreational anglers against local commercial fishermen, fish markets, restaurants and tackle shops.

The Committee on Natural Resources is scheduled to debate the “Conservation of the American Striped Bass” at 11 a.m. Thursday in Room A-2 of the Statehouse. House Bill 796 threatens to abolish commercial striped bass fishing. It also would affect recreational fishermen, diminishing their limit to one striped bass per day either between 20 and 26 inches or over 40 inches.

This slot limit allegedly protects more prime breeding stock. Recreational fishermen are currently permitted two fish over 28 inches, all year long. Commercial fishermen have been limited to fishing between July 12 and Aug. 26, with a limit of five fish on Sundays, and 30 from Tuesday through Friday.

Text of the bill is available at www.mass.gov/legis.

H.B. 796 implies that commercial fishermen harmfully diminish striper stocks. The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission, comprised of experts appointed by the governor to assist in developing laws, rebuts that claim, highlighting the fact that recreational anglers took 90 percent of the 2008 catch.

Far more harmful to stripers is the massive pollution from farming interests around the Chesapeake, affecting spawning and causing lethal disease outbreaks of mycobacteriosis. Worse yet is the overharvesting of bait fish, specifically herring and menhaden, that our game fish depend on.

Respected authorities south of Massachusetts paint a bleak picture of diminishing striper stocks. In contrast, many fishermen and biologists reported plenty of local fish whose movements last season were dependent on the location of baitfish. If you fished where bait schooled, you caught fish. Some feel those results and other population studies confirm continued sound, scientific management of our Massachusetts stocks. Our marine fisheries commission believes that prohibiting commercial fishing will just shift allocation of the resource 100 percent to recreational fishermen, actually hurting striped bass, increasing mortality and lowering opportunities for the public to purchase wild caught bass in local markets and restaurants.

Maintaining stripers at peak levels, without addressing the decimation of critical baitfish populations in the Atlantic, may be harmful to other fishery goals, like the restoration of Atlantic salmon and shad, both of which are struggling. They suffer significant predation of their young by stripers having difficulty finding enough other baitfish. Anglers regularly fishing the Connecticut and Merrimack can attest to this counterproductive feeding by stripers.

Veteran striper fishermen remember the ’80s, when just catching a striper warranted note. Since 1995, stocks have successfully rebounded and remained sustainable under the highly regarded management of our Department of Marine Fisheries. No one wants another crash. Should we discount the success and recommendations of our fisheries scientists? Should we eliminate commercial fishermen rather than wholeheartedly pursue the critically harmful offenders?

Many commercial striper fishermen love their tradition, while for others, it’s just an extension of their recreational fishing, a way to pay for their sport. Then there are some economically challenged Cape Codders who have had to become multitaskers to make a living and really need this extra income. We need to think twice about taking away one of their fragmented means of income. We have an equal obligation to be fair to the fish, which have no alternative means of survival other than our advocacy.

Recreational proponents include Stripers Forever, which characterizes commercial striper fishing as an economically unwise and disproportionately unfair exploitation of the resource; and House Bill 796 petitioners, Reps. Karyn Polito, R-Shrewsbury, and Jennifer Callahan, D-Sutton. The battle lines are passionately drawn, and politicians, rather than fisheries scientists, will ultimately cast the deciding vote.

Mark Blazis can be reached by e-mail at markblazis@charter.net.

A bill that would prohibit the harvest and sale of wild striped bass in Massachusetts begins its upstream legislative journey next week in the State House.

The joint committee on environment, natural resources, and agriculture has scheduled a public hearing on House bill 796, "An Act relative to the conservation of Atlantic striped bass," filed by Rep. Matt Patrick of Falmouth, at 11 am on Thursday, Jan. 14, in room 3A.

The striped bass figures large in Island culture. It is the focus of legions of Island and visiting recreational fishermen and supports a vibrant commercial and charter boat fleet. Past proposed changes in the state's management of striped bass have spawned hot debate and this bill is no exception.

Island lawmakers Rep. Tim Madden of Nantucket and Senator Robert O'Leary of Barnstable sit on the committee that will hear the bill. The public hearing procedure, according to a committee staffer, calls for those who would like to comment to sign in prior to the hearing. There is a three-minute time limit.

Numerous other bills are also scheduled for a public hearing the same day. The committee has some 100 bills to review before March when the current session ends.

The bill as now written prohibits commercial fishing for striped bass and directs the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) to create new rules that would only allow recreational fishermen to take one striped bass per day between 20 and 26 inches in length or greater than 40 inches in length. The so-called slot limit is designed to preserve sexually mature breeder bass but still allow for fishermen to take a trophy fish.

Current regulations allow recreational fishermen to take two fish per day over 28 inches in length. Commercial fishermen are allowed to take fish over 32 inches in length until the state's quota, set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, is reached. In 2009, fishermen who held a commercial rod and reel bass license took almost 1.2 million pounds of fish.

An avid striped bass fisherman, Matt Patrick has a keen interest in the future health of striped bass stocks. In a telephone call from his State House office Monday, he said his concern about the declining number of fish along our shores coupled with information he received from Stripers Forever, a Maine-based nonprofit that supports gamefish status for bass, spurred him to act. The information included data about the economic importance of striped bass and the decline of the brood stock that is essential to the future health of the fishery

"I just thought it was an appropriate and timely piece of legislation to file," Rep. Patrick said. "I knew it would be controversial."

Mr. Patrick said the public hearing is only a start of a public discussion about how best to manage striped bass. Typically, bills may take several years to move through the legislative process, and they often emerge with many amendments, he said.

Wes Brighton, a Chilmark commercial fisherman who fishes primarily for lobster, said he thinks there is much in the management of striped bass that commercial and recreational fishermen could agree on. In a telephone conversation, Mr. Brighton said his main complaint about the bill is that it seeks to bypass science-based management. Legislation should not be used to bypass the management process set up to address fisheries issues, he said.

Mr. Brighton said the striped bass commercial fishery also provides an entry fishing opportunity for young people that does not exist with many other species, either because the fishery is closed or the cost of a license is too expensive.

Better management of the resource, not closing off one group is the answer, he said. "Even though there are size restrictions and it goes from a two to one bag limit, it's just a reallocation of who has access to the fishery," he said.

MOREHEAD CITY, NC – The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for commercial and recreational fisherman and scientists to serve on two Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committees.

One of the committees will assist the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries in updating the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River portion of the state’s Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan. The other will assist in updating the section of the plan that pertains to the central and southern waters of the state.

The commission uses fishery management plans as guides for implementing regulations and other management measures.

Individuals interested in serving as an adviser should be willing to attend meetings at least once every two months and actively participate in the committee process. Advisers will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties.

No Fluke: Obama's ocean policy task force gets mixed reviews

by Captain Dave Monti, Warwick Beacon

Hats off to president Obama for tackling the oceans and the environment in addition to two wars, the worst economy in years, national health care reform and much, much more.

An interim report has been issued by president Obama’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. The task force is recommending some bold steps to insure the well-being of our oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes for now and in the future.

The report in its entirety can be found on the Whitehouse Web site at www.whitehouse.gov , search for the report by its title, “Interim Report of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force”. The report does not reference recreational fishing uses. But it does suggests spatial planning for oceans and advocates for ecosystem-based management, all of which have raised red flags in the recreational fishing community.

The 38 page report relates proposed policy areas for its agenda and a number of organizational recommendations on how to get the job done. The Task Force recommends the following nine priority objectives.

• Ecosystem-Based Management: Adopt ecosystem-based management as a foundational principle for the comprehensive management of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.

• Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning: Implement comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based coastal and marine spatial planning and management in the United States.

• Inform Decisions and Improve Understanding: Increase knowledge to continually inform and improve management and policy decisions and the capacity to respond to change and challenges. Better educate through formal and informal programs to inform the public about the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.

• Coordinate and Support: Better coordinate and support Federal, State, tribal, local, and regional management of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes. Improve coordination and integration across the Federal Government, and as appropriate, engage with the international community.

• Resiliency and Adaptation to Climate Change and Ocean Acidification: Strengthen resiliency of coastal communities and marine and Great Lakes environments and their abilities to adapt to climate change impacts and ocean acidification.

• Regional Ecosystem Protection and Restoration: Establish and implement an integrated ecosystem protection and restoration strategy that is science-based and aligns conservation and restoration goals at the Federal, State, tribal, local, and regional levels.

• Water Quality and Sustainable Practices on Land: Enhance water quality in the ocean, along our coasts, and in the Great Lakes by promoting and implementing sustainable practices on land.

• Changing Conditions in the Arctic: Address environmental stewardship needs in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent coastal areas in the face of climate-induced and other environmental changes.

• Ocean, Coastal, and Great Lakes Observations and Infrastructure: Strengthen and integrate Federal and non-Federal ocean observing systems, sensors, and data collection platforms into a national system and integrate that system into international observation efforts.

So how do these policy objectives relate to recreational fisherman? No one knows right now and that has created some concern nationally and locally about the president’s new ocean polices.

Concerns from the recreational fishing community focus on the first objective (above), “ecosystem-based management as a foundational principle for the compressive management of the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes”. The recreational fishing community is concerned about the absence of any reference in objectives (or the report) to the positive impact recreational anglers have on aquatic conservation. Concern over the consequences of spatial planning or zoning of waters could translate in restrictions such as the elimination of many popular recreational fishing areas. In a recent press release Gordon Robertson, vice president of the American Sport Fishing Association said, “Providing the angling public with access to public resources in no less important than conserving those resources”.

Robert Sexton, U.S. Sportsman’s Alliance vice president for government affairs said, “We hope the administration recognizes that sportsman are the greatest conservationists and will not accept any proposal shutting off large tracts of coastal territory to them.”

Local recreational fishing thought leaders agree. Captain John Rainone, president of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association, said, “… this is a way to stop recreational and commercial fishing in any areas that the government and special interest groups deem necessary.” The recreational (and commercial) fishing communities feel that this is not a valid way to mange fisheries. “We are constantly put to the task of conserving fish stocks with large minimum sizes, smaller bag limits, shorter seasons and early closures”, said Rainone.

Richard Hitter, a member of the Rhode Island State Fisheries Council and a board member of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association said, “I agree with the idea of managing the oceans on an ecosystem basis rather than piece by piece as it is now done. I do worry though that the people in charge of the task force do not give recreational fishing the status that it deserves. We showed that in RI alone Recreational Fishing contributes over $160-million per year to the economy. “

So overall, the recreational fishing community welcomes policy changes that will enhance the fishery but are concerned about the lack of detail in the plan as it relates to recreational fishing.

Captain Dave Monti has been fishing and shell fishing on Narragansett Bay for over 40 years. He holds a captain’s master license and a charter fishing license. Your fishing stories, comments and questions are welcome… there’s more than one way to catch a fish so e-mail Captain Dave at dmontifish@verizon.net.

From spawning fish to deer birth control, it's all about mating. That's what drives species management, as practiced by humans on other life forms.

How important? We had three cases last week.

The Young of the Year striped bass survey, which the Department of Natural Resources has used for more than a half-century to measure spawning success, showed a slight decrease this year from the long-term average. Biologists placed the index at 7.9; the average is 11.7.

Tom O'Connell, director of the Fisheries Service, calls it "a decent year" that is "well within the normal range of expectations."

At 3.2, last year was considered a recruitment failure. Three consecutive failures trigger mandatory conservation measures from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

But that's the nature of the beasts. Wet weather, cold temperatures and salinity are just some of the factors that tip the index from good to bad. In 2002, it was 4.73. The next year, it was 25.75. A dry spring in 2006 dropped the index to 4.3. In 2007, it rebounded to 13.4.

Fortunately, the Chesapeake Bay has produced some eye-popping numbers in recent years. In 2001, the index was 50.75, the second highest on record, and 2003 was about half that. Those older fish are about to enter the spawning stock.

"Those are years of incredible abundance where you can fish off one class for a decade," says Eric Durell, the biologist who oversees the survey.

The state has 22 sampling sites in the four primary spawning systems: the Upper Bay and the Choptank, Nanticoke and Potomac rivers. Once a month from July through September, biologists take a seine net and see how many fish born that spring they can scoop up in two passes. The index number is derived from the average number of juvenile fish caught in 132 hauls of the net. So if there are 132 fish caught in 132 samplings, the index number is 1.

Durell notes that from 1959 to 1972, the period before the steep population decline, only four year-classes were above average. Since the lifting of the striped bass fishing moratorium in 1990, 10 year-classes have been above average.

"We're living pretty high off the hog," Durell says. "We've got a lot of good things going for us."

The striped bass numbers will certainly be used in the debate Tuesday night when the Sport Fisheries and Tidal Fisheries advisory commissions hear a request from O'Connell to regulate catch-and-release activity that precedes the April-May trophy season.

Specifically, the Fisheries Service has proposed to limit the number of lines on a boat to six, prohibit the use of bait and dropper, or "stinger," hooks, and require barbless hooks.

More than 75 percent of the East Coast's striper population began life in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Egg-laden females cruising up the coast from warmer waters arrive here early each spring to rendezvous with the boys.

State fishing regulations put spawning waters off limits during that time, but a growing number of recreational anglers - perhaps hoping to break their cabin fever - go out and catch and release the females before the start of the season. The Fisheries Service says there's been a fivefold increase in fishing trips in March and April during the past seven years.

The early birds contend that there's no harm done when water temperatures are low and the fish are released quickly. There is science to back up that claim: The mortality rate on shallow-hooked, expertly handled fish is just below 1 percent.

However, anglers have made themselves more efficient fishing machines, with electronic fish finders and by rigging their boats with so many rods that they look like Sputnik. And from the looks of the photos e-mailed to The Baltimore Sun, it appears there are a lot of folks who don't know how to safely handle a large fish.

Plus, one potentially significant question remains unanswered: Does catch-and-release fishing stress the females to the point that they don't spawn?

The answer will probably elude biologists since penned fish - the kind used in experiments - refuse to spawn naturally.

Why take a chance? The restrictions being proposed for March 1 until the start of the trophy season on the third Saturday in April are pretty innocuous and in keeping with good fishing practices.

Finally, it's worth noting that the Environmental Protection Agency has approved the use of the deer contraceptive, GonaCon. The action is being hailed by the animal rights community as a humane alternative to hunting that leaves the issue of birth control between a doe and her attending biologist.

But a few quick points. A dose ranges from $2 to $10. A doe must be tracked down and then marked after being darted with GonaCon; the federal government puts that cost at $500 to $1,000 per animal. A field study in Maryland showed that the effectiveness of the vaccine decreases 50 percent after a year. Maryland has 230,000 deer, half of them females and most of them in wide-open spaces.

So unless Sen. Olympia J. Snowe, the Maine Republican, writes a GonaCon clause in her version of the health care bill, the anti-hunting types had better be ready to pass around a mighty big hat.

The staff at the Blackwater Fisheries Research and Development Center has been busy this spring producing more than 4 million fish for Florida waters.

Dave Yeager, one of the senior fisheries biologists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) facility near Holt, said the fish include striped bass, white bass, hybrid striped bass and largemouth bass. The fingerlings were either stocked in Panhandle waters or taken to the Florida Bass Conservation Center in Webster or the Welaka National Fish Hatchery in Palatka.

“In the past when we produced hybrid striped bass we collected wild white bass and stripers from our rivers or lakes, but this past year we held both species in tanks at our facility,” Yeager said. “Maintaining the fish on site saved us significant time and effort.”

He said the high-tech method of producing stripers in the past involved injecting female fish with human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) hormone to stimulate egg development and spawning. When striper eggs are very early in the developmental stage, Yeager said, HCG doesn’t work well.

In its place, he said, Blackwater staff developed a new hormone technique. Using the new technique this spring they produced more than 1 million striper fry.

In an effort to measure stocking success, Yeager said, striped bass and white bass fingerlings stocked in the Ochlockonee River and lakes Talquin and Seminole were marked with a dye that produces a yellow mark in the bones of fish. By marking the stocked fingerlings, biologists should be able to determine to what extent hatchery-produced fish contribute to the population, versus natural reproduction.

Although the emphasis was mostly on species other than largemouth bass, Yeager said the hatchery produced and stocked 35,000 fingerling largemouth bass in Lake Talquin. All of the bass are tagged with small, metal micro-tags. He said the micro-tags will be useful in the future for looking at survival rates.