At a meeting on Tuesday, August 5, 2014 the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Striped Bass Management Board finally approved a Draft Addendum that proposes management measures to reduce fishing pressure on the striped bass stock. The addendum will be released the week of August 11 along with a schedule of public hearings. Options in the addendum include reducing fishing mortality in one year with an immediate 25% reduction for 2015 or spacing out the reduction over a three year time frame. On The Water fully supports the immediate 25% reduction (Option B)as recommended by the most recent benchmark stock assessment. We will keep you informed as the official document is published and public comment opportunities are announced, and we encourage all striped bass fishermen to submit public comment.
ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment
Alexandria, VA – The Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Draft Addendum proposes new fishing mortality (F) reference points, as recommended by the 2013 benchmark stock assessment, and associated management measures to reduce F to a level at or below the proposed target within one or three years.
The Draft Addendum responds to results of the 2013 Atlantic striped bass benchmark assessment indicating F in 2012 was above the proposed F target, and female spawning stock biomass (SSB) has been steadily declining below the target since 2006. This means even though the stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring, SSB is approaching its overfished threshold and stock projections show SSB will likely fall below the threshold in the coming years. In addition, a similar decline has been observed in total harvest.
In response to these factors, the Draft Addendum proposes management options to reduce fishing mortality to the target level. The Draft Addendum includes a suite of management options to reduce recreational and commercial harvest along the coast and in the Chesapeake Bay under three reduction timeframes. The timeframes include (1) reducing F to its target in one year with a 25% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015 (2) reducing F to its target within three years with a 17% reduction in 2013 harvest in 2015, and (3) reducing F to its target within three years with a 7% sequential reduction in harvest for three consecutive years starting in 2015. Specific options to be considered include bag, size, slot and trophy size limits for the recreational fishery and quota reductions for the commercial fishery.
Given the Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River (A/R) stock of striped bass contributes minimally to the
coastwide complex when compared to the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware, and Hudson stocks, Draft Addendum IV proposes it be managed by the State of North Carolina using stock-specific biological reference points. These stock-specific reference points, which have been approved by the Board, would result in a separate quota that is set to maintain F for the A/R stock at its target level. The Board tasked the Technical Committee with the continued development of Chesapeake Bay-specific reference points for future use.
It is anticipated the majority of Atlantic coastal states will conduct public hearings on the Draft Addendum; a subsequent press release will announce the details of those hearings once they become finalized. Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addendum either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. The Draft Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Public Input the week of August 11th. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on September 30, 2014 and should be forwarded to Mike Waine, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at mwaine@asmfc.org (Subject line: Draft Addendum IV). For more information, please contact Mike Waine, at mwaine@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.
How about commercial fishing regulations thats where all the fish are going
I believe the reduction would be across the board – so a 25% reduction in the commercial quota, and a change to recreational regulations that are expected to result in a 25% reduction or greater.
I would agree 100% I do not want to see it like late 80s early 90s when stripers were really hard to come by even small ones.But it also concerns me about other species such as fluke, seabass, and tautog among others that we have seen a decline in over the years. Especially if they become the main target to fish for because of the state of striped bass. I might stand alone on this but maybe we should go catch and release on a number of species . But the commercial industry would also have to take a big hit and I for one no that will never happen.
I too remember the days when you could fish all week and not catch a striper, let alone see any. lets not make that sad mistake again. However, you can manage the striped Bass till the cows come home (no pun intended) and not make any significant impact on population levels if nothing is done to protect the bread basket of striper production meaning the chesapeake bay. The overall health of the bay has been in serious decline for several years now, I’m not completely clear on the main problem but it appears to be large “dead ” zones in the bay. These dead areas are basically water with oxygen levels too low to support life. the main problem seems to be runoff high in nitrogen causing excessive algae blooms from I believe huge chicken farms located in close proximity to the bay. I don’t feel its right that anglers in other states should pay the price for the failure of mismanagement of such a precious resource at its most critical breeding ground and nursery. pressure should be brought to bear on the governing body responsible for the proper management and protection 0f this vital area for the future of this fishery. As a short term solution we are faced with the likely reduction of recreational bag limits, this should be across the board with all states and the commercial quota inclusive.
Im behind this 100% and we need to push for 1 @ 32″!
That’s bull shit bring back the slot fish. Don’t raise to 32″ that just means more big cows will be kept instead let us keep a smaller fish .
The regulations need to change across the board. They need to bring fishing back to it’s roots no more draggers. It all relates to the food chain, it starts at the bottom and works it’s way up. Atlantic Herring has been on the decline for years and now it is starting to make a comeback but it is still slower then expected. The draggers catch everything in their nets and everything is killed that needs to stop. As far as the bass specifically it should be one fish between 24-32 inches for recreational fishermen and pounds per season for commercial. Charter boats should be in a completely different category and be able to keep 2 fish per person 24-32 inches or one “cow” above 32 inches per person *note new regulation would not include captain and/or mate as an angler* Thanks for reading. please note this is just my opinion based on facts I have read or taken from other regulation proposals.
Slot limit is the way to !!!
I respectfully disagree with this position.. I feel that a slot fish of 24-28 inches with a true trophy fish of 42 inches or better would be a better approach. A forty two inch fish would average around 12 years old, well past breeding age. In addition, the current mortality tables tell us that one in approximately ten hooked bass will die. I would argue that a subsistence angler would fish until they bagged a legal fish. At least by having a slot fish, you would cut down on some. C and R guys will continue to fish no matter what. I know sod bank anglers who catch several hundred in the summer months when the risk of mortality is even greater. They release them all but how many perish? Hot water= more stress on fish. So in addition to the slot and true trophy, I would suggest a closed period in all areas at certain times of the year. Not just back waters. . JMO.
Where is the scientific evidence that a 12 year old fish is “well past breeding age”?
I don’t know what the age is that they stop breeding but thinking that a 12 yr old must be near the end of it’s life cycle. I believe that stripers can live on an average, 15 yrs. I personally don’t consider a 32 inch striper a “cow”. I would think that trophy should mean a special fish. Although in today’s society, kids get trophy’s just for showing up. Are we going to start doing that in our sport too?
Mike,
I have seen roe in 30″ fish and from that I would have to consider any fish of breeding length as a cow. That is where the terminology came from, not because its size. Things need to happen at the Chesapeake Bay level where the Stripers spawn and the young live until it’s time for them to leave. The US Marine Fisheries needs to hold the EPA and the states surrounding the Chesapeake responsible for not putting measures to help control the run off. Slot Limit is the way to go. We have caught a lot of very healthy 25″ to 27″ stripers this year in Plymouth just off the beach, (approximately 200 caught and released by 4 of us), which in turn could be a very good class of fish in the next couple of years. All of our fish released, lived to bite another day due to using Circle hooks. Maybe a ban on J hooks is another way to go. I have seen too many fish hooked with Js floating so I net them, find a deeply embedded hook in it’s gullet and sure enough it is J hook and I just put the fish back to its watery grave.
I respectfully disagree
This is why ” Not all stripers spawn every year, especially older ones that may spawn every four or five years. It is estimated that a 12 pound bass will lay approximately 850,000 eggs per spawn, whereas a 50 pound bass will lay roughly 4- 5,000,000 eggs per spawn”
The regulations should be the same in every state , I’m defiantly in favor of a slot limit
like they have in Maine
A person may take and possess 1 fish per day. The fish may be between 20 and 26 inches
in total length, inclusive,OR 40 inches or greater in total length.
A commercial reduction will make a huge impact, all serious recreational fishermen and charter captains know this. Striped bass are needlessly killed commercially by fishermen seeking another source of harvest.
I also believe in a slot limit, but to many people with to many opinions so I’ll take the reduction of 2 fish to one fish.
Really, the success story of the snook the stripers southern cousin should be a wake up call. They have a slot limit between 28 and 32″ and I believe you can purchase a trophy tag. The season is closed in the breeding season and open the rest of the year. They lost half of there biomass breeding stock in 08 09 winter and are almost fully recovered. I don’t see anything wrong with being able to keep a fish but having to work a little harder to get the right one.
Another question is when in the past years did the limit become 2 anyway?
I would support a 1 fish a day and slot limit… but think we save more fish by closing seasons and/or places where schoolies are targeted and cought (and “released”) in tens or hundreds a day by one fisherman. Catch and release in large numbers should be addressed as harmful, specially for larger spices like tuna and stripper .
Do you have hard numbers on this? Who in their right minds would target schoolies? Your bait goes out and what ever swims by bites the hook. You can’t see the fish, especially when you are fishing from the beach. I keep daily stats and submit them to the MASS Marine Fisheries so I have basis to work with. Yes, there is a definite decline in our number fish being caught, especially fish over 28″. But I saw this 5 years ago when we were catching a lot of fish under the 28″ limit and very few keepers, the following year it improved and just got better. I think every fish stock runs a cycle, you just have to keep stats and see what happens year after year to get a clear picture.
If you fish to eat then one 28-32 yields plenty for any family meal….keep it fresh let the cows keep this great sport going
I know this may sound stupid but how about actually enforcing. .the laws we now have beef up patrol and when u get ticketed and u dont pay u dont get to renew driver’s license or registration. This will cut back on all the short fish and poaching that has become out of control. You tie the fine in with actually not being able to renew driver’s licenses or registration you will see things change very quickly
I am also for a reduction to a one fish limit. I would like to also see spearfishing addressed. In C.T.you can’t spearfish for bass. I know that this fishery doesn’t yield the weight that others do ,but how many dead bass are a result of a poor shot not recovered and left for lobster bait. They are also mostly targeting jumbo breeders.
Simply said..the big commercial fishermen targeting sources other then striped bass are too blame. A friend filmed a large commercial vessel off shore dumping 50 to 60 dead stripers 25 too 40 pounds over board. When he approached the authorities with his evidence, he received a harsh rebuttal and was told he should mind his own business. What then?
This is the correct, legally reqired action on the part of the commercial fishermen. You are in the wrong. There is nothing the authorities could or should do despite your evidence. The fact is, commercial guys don’t want to catch bycatch. They want to catch their target species. However, if a boat goes out for squid or herring, they stand a good chance of catching a whole lot of stuff that they don’t want to catch. When you’re targeting bigger fish, you can just use a bigger net size. When you target smaller fish and the bycatch fish are around, there really isn’t a lot you can do. Besides, while tossing 50-60 stripers overboard seems like a waste, it is insignificant compared to the waste produced by sport-fishermen. If you go to the water to catch schoolies for fun or bigger fish for catch-and-release, you are killing 1 out of every 10 fish you throw back. One person that goes out and catches 100+ schoolies in a night, kills 10 of those schoolies, which will never get a chance to breed. And the feel-good idea of catch-and-release kills the same 10% of fish, but if you’re practicing catch-and-release, you have no intention of keeping the fish for food, so there is no value other than your entertainment. Commercial fisherment catch fish for food. They are regulated, controlled and inspected (although, not nearly as closely as they should be sometimes). In many fisheries, they can pull far too many fish out of the water, leaving few for the recreational catch. Bycatch of striped bass isn’t the primary issue, and, in reality, neither is the commercial harvest of stripers. The real issue is the state of the Chessapeake Bay and the excessive harvest on the recreational side of the fishery.
I do almost all catch and release, and will only keep around 2-3 stripers a year. I would like to think I don’t kill 10% of the fish I catch. Personally, I think the whole ” You kill 1/10 of the fish you catch.” is a bunch of bull shit the commercial guys made up to make themselves look better. This could be true if every one used live bait and let the striped bass swim around with it in there mouth for two minutes before setting the hook. But I do think a 24″- 30″ limit would do the job.
I totally agree with strengthening regulations and have been preaching it for the last 5 years. Go back to the slot Ct had 24″-30″ and over 40″, but with the stipulation that you can only keep 2 fish if 1 is on each side of slot.
Slot limits are a terrible idea for stripers, especially if you throw in a trophy fish allowance. It will work great for the next 3-5 years as all the fish just below the slot size will live to become a breeder for the next 5 years. However, they fish that are 1 year older will be the breeders for 4 years, and so on. Now, the fish which are in the slot are hit hard and all the harvest comes from that biomass. And all the schoolies which move into this size class are hit hard. 5 years out, the fishery will crash hard and the only option will be a total moratorium for 5 years while we wait for the schoolies to get big enough to be breeders. I’ve said it before but I will say it again. If the fishery can’t sustain 2 fish per day, at any size, then the limit should be less than 2 fish per day. If the 28″ fish hasn’t had a sufficient number of years to breed, then the size should be increased. It is simple resource management.
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What do you think about the use of circle hooks or barbless hooks for recreation fisherman.
How does a proposed 25% reduction equate to reducing the rec catch limit in half from 2 to 1 bass? by my math that would produce close to a 50% reduction in the rec catch and I don”t hear a 50% reduction being recommended in the commercial quota .. . Prior to 2 at 28″ it was 2 at 32″ in RI anyway.. .. I would be in favor of that or a reduction in the length of the season before the limit gets halved. Of if a single fish per person is adapted I would like to see a “trophy” tag.. like a deer.. you get one with your license maybe pay a extra 10$ and if you already have your one fish and get the bass of a lifetime.. you can tag it on the spot and yo are legal. It would keep a lot of cooler bass from being “released”..
That’s bad math, Greg. If all anglers took 2-fish per person per trip then cutting the bag limit in half would achieve something close to a 50% reduction in fishing mortality. However, the reality is they do not. If most anglers take 1-fish, then adjusting the limits to 1-fish is not going achieve much of a reduction in fishing mortality. Therefore, the minimum size gets cranked up to it more difficult to obtain a legal sized fish.
I’m all for reduction, be it slot or bag but the issue is as always, enforcement.
What good are the regs if they aren’t enforced?