January 3, 2020 — Fishing rods were rigged and ready to go on the back of the Top Dog as Capt. Neil Lessard peered out into a thick covering of fog.
He had been excited about having an afternoon fishing trip in the Chesapeake Bay, where he hoped to put customers onto the fighting end of some big striped bass.
But the trip had to be canceled because of the weather. Normally that wouldn’t be a problem. He’d have another charter the next day. But the way this season has gone for area captains, every last trip could be the difference between food on the table or going broke.
New striped bass regulations adopted by Virginia this fall aren’t just hurting charter captains. Marinas, bait and tackle shops, gas stations, and restaurants all are reporting lower than usual sales. Two of the three hotels around Cape Charles shut down weeks ago because of a lack of customers.
Federal fisheries managers earlier this year issued statements saying the population of striped bass along the East Coast and in the Chesapeake Bay had been declining for several years because of overfishing, and that drastic measures needed to be taken to prevent a total crash of the stock.