Part II of a Multi-Part Series:

Part I: Are Striper Regulations Really Working?
Part II: Threats to the Striper Population
Part III: Ask an Expert: How are Stripers Managed?
Part IV: Ask an Expert: What is Gamefish Status?

Recruitment and known fishing mortality are not the only things that determine how many striped bass are out there. There are several factors that could be affecting the striped bass population in a significant way and are not completely accounted for in the current management plan.

Mycobacteriosis

Many anglers speculate about the effect of mycobacteriosis, a chronic bacterial disease that can kill striped bass. The last detailed report to management on the subject was presented to the Striped Bass Management Board at their February 2010 meeting. The report was filled with both alarming news and typical disclaimers, warning that the research was unfinished and results were preliminary. Small mycobacteriosis clusters have been found in both the Delaware River and the Hudson River spawning areas. In addition, the disease has been found in coastal migrating fish, dispelling the notion that the disease was limited to the Chesapeake and would be cured once a fish migrated through cold waters. Due to an increased but unknown number of fish dying from this disease, it is likely that more bass are dying of natural causes then are accounted for in the scientific models. How many more fish are dying is not yet known. This extremely important question can only be answered in a benchmark stock assessment. This will be a central question in the next benchmark stock assessment.

Poaching and Illegal Fishing

Another source of mortality that comes up in the striped bass discussion is that of illegal poaching. For years anglers have been concerned about the hundreds of Massachusetts rod and reel commercial permits that report no landings or sales each and every year. Speculation about why a person would spend over $100 for a license but not sell fish include black market sales and the ability to harvest more than the recreational limit for personal use. In either case, commercial catch not counted on the quota is poaching. Another concern is illegal fishing in federal waters off Virginia and North Carolina and illegal inshore gillnets. In recent years the ASMFC has brought a great deal of pressure to increase law enforcement. A recent crackdown on illegal fishing in the Chesapeake Bay region saw 19 individuals and 3 corporations fined a combined 1.6 million dollars for illegal harvest of over 1 million pounds of fish. The benchmark assessment in 2013 will consider the effects of poaching among all the other new data.

Commercial fisheries are currently removing huge amounts of sea herring, menhaden (bunker or pogies), and mackerel, from the ocean. Many anglers are concerned that a lack of forage could have a negative effect on the health of striped bass, making them more susceptible to diseases like mycobacteriosis and also causing changes in their behavior or migration patterns. I personally think that the current state of forage fish on the East Coast is a major problem and I have dedicated a huge chunk of my life to being involved in that battle.

What Actions Should Be Taken?

There are even more opinions when it comes to how management should respond to the changing, but still unclear, state of striped bass stocks. Ideas on what to do about striped bass range from a simple mortality reduction all the way to taking management control away from ASMFC and passing gamefish laws in individual state legislatures. Slot limits, spawning area moratoriums, gear restrictions (requiring circle hooks), minimum size increases and decreases, steeper penalties for poachers, and increasing catch and release are just some of the many ideas being debated over computer keyboards and tackle shop counters.

What is important is that we keep searching for answers and talking about the solution. Something is obviously going on with striped bass stocks, and we still don’t have a handle on exactly what that is. The sky is not falling, but the striper population is anything but healthy.

It’s time for precautionary management of a clearly at-risk population. It’s time to unite the recreational fishing community and focus on one achievable goal. I suggest building momentum and forcing an across the board mortality reduction at ASMFC. Dialing back the last harvest increase and going back to a coastwide limit of one fish at 28 inches is a realistic and achievable goal.

If the commercial fleet fights that proposal, then maybe it is time to have a debate about gamefish status, and the value of striped bass as a recreational target. I think that might just create room for a good old American compromise.

Time to Participate

Speaking of American ideals, if I have learned one thing in all my years of sitting in the meetings that very few attend, it is that democracy and specifically fisheries management actually works. Maybe it’s not as efficient and as easily understood as I would like, but the National Environmental Policy Act that governs rule making, the Magnuson Stevens Act that governs federal waters fishing and the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act that gives ASMFC their authority are for the most part successful in making sure the public has a chance to be involved in the process of managing ouone direction, fisheries managers respond. When we show up, they do sincerely listen. When we complain in private or gripe on internet message boards while letting the responsibility of giving testimony at a public hearing fall to others, we lose. That is how democracy works.

Back to the seemingly dark days ahead, while we wait for the 2011 super year class to arrive; once again I will invoke the schoolie boom years. Big fish were far less common in most areas during those years and the fishing community adjusted. We used lighter tackle and smaller lures, and fly-fishing for striped bass grew incredibly popular. If we manage the fishery well over the next few years, we will be able to fish through the lean years that are surely coming.

If you have time and are concerned about mycobacteriosis, please contact Capt. Jim White in Rhode Island, he has been active on the myco issue for at least a decade. If gamefish is your preferred option, get active with Stripers Forever and help that group make a serious effort at taking the debate to ASMFC where it belongs. If you are not sure about one issue over another but want to stay informed, join one of the numerous local fishing clubs. Be a part of the solution. Take advantage of your right to be heard in the process. It is how this country really works. There is a feeling that occurs after you participate in democracy and see your opinion become the next regulation. It’s like a bright sunny day. So get involved.

Patrick Paquette is a three term past president and for ten years has served as the government affairs officer of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association. Patrick is a recreational fishing community advocate and works on issues from Maine to North Carolina.

OTW Staff

The On The Water staff is made up of experienced anglers from across the Northeast who fish local waters year-round. The team brings firsthand, on-the-water experience and regional knowledge to coverage of Northeast fisheries, techniques, seasonal patterns, regulations, and conservation.