Saving Seafood

Striped bass fishers in New Jersey eyeing new regulations with caution

November 12, 2019 — George Bucci has been fishing the waters off New Jersey’s coast for about 30 years, and says the striped bass population has taken a sharp dive in recent years.

He remembers boom times after a moratorium on the fish ended in the late 1990s.

“I would go in the ocean in ’98 and just see miles and miles of striped bass,” Bucci said.

But overfishing has brought it back to critical levels.

“I almost strictly target striped bass,” said Bucci, 52, of Northfield. “In the last five years, I’ve seen the decline in the population. I wouldn’t call it a steady decline, I would call it a sharp decline. … The biomass has shrunk to the point where the juice isn’t worth the squeeze almost.”

The dwindling population led the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board in October to amend the rules for commercial and recreational fishers alike.

The commission, in amending the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic striped bass, is aiming for an 18% reduction in commercial removal of the popular fish from 2017 levels, according to a release from the organization.

Read the full story at The Press of Atlantic City

Striped bass decline spurs new look at mycobacteria

November 6, 2019 — When Wolfgang Vogelbein peered at striped bass sores through a microscope 22 years ago, he knew he was looking at something very different than what was grabbing headlines at the time.

Pfiesteria piscicida — the so-called “cell from hell” — was being blamed for fish kills in Maryland and making people sick.

But what Vogelbein saw through his lens wasn’t the result of a harmful algae toxin. It was a nasty bacterial infection, creating ugly sores on the outside of fish and lesions on the inside.

The infections were caused by mycobacteria, a type of bacteria that are widespread in the environment, but not typically associated with problems in wild fish. Suddenly, though, it was turning up in large numbers of the Chesapeake Bay’s most prized finfish.

“I thought I would be spending the rest of my career working on myco,” recalled Vogelbein, a fish pathologist at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

East Coast fishery managers order 18% cut in striped bass harvest

November 4, 2019 — Acting to stem serious declines in the striped bass population, East Coast fishery managers have ordered an 18% harvest reduction for the coming year. How that will be done in the Chesapeake Bay remains to be seen.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s striped bass management board on Wednesday agreed to the reduction after an extended debate over how to respond to a scientific assessment earlier this year that found the commercially and recreationally valuable species has been overfished for some time.

The board ordered an 18% cut in commercial harvest quotas in all East Coast states. It also called for comparable recreational catch restrictions. In coastal waters, anglers would be limited to just one fish per day between 28 and 35 inches in length, while in the Bay it would be just one fish per day at least 18 inches long. Anglers are allowed to keep two fish a day now in Maryland; Virginia has already reduced its limit from two to one.

Because the assessment found that many fish were dying after being caught and released, the board also ordered states to require that recreational anglers use circle hooks, which are less likely to injure the fish, beginning in 2021.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Board Approves Addendum VI

October 31, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum VI to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum reduces all state commercial quotas by 18%, and implements a 1 fish bag limit and a 28”-35” recreational slot limit for ocean fisheries and a 1 fish bag limit and an 18” minimum size limit for Chesapeake Bay recreational fisheries. States may submit alternative regulations through conservation equivalency to achieve an 18% reduction in total removals relative to 2017 levels.

Addendum VI was initiated in response to the 2018 Benchmark Stock Assessment, which indicates the resource is overfished and experiencing overfishing. The Addendum’s measures are designed to reduce harvest, end overfishing, and bring fishing mortality to the target level in 2020.

Since catch and release practices contribute significantly to overall fishing mortality, the Addendum requires the mandatory use of circle hooks when fishing with bait to reduce release mortality in recreational striped bass fisheries. Outreach and education will be a necessary element to garner support and compliance with this important conservation measure.

States are required to submit implementation plans by November 30, 2019 for review by the Technical Committee and approval by the Board in February 2020. States must implement mandatory circle hook requirements by January 1, 2021. All other provisions of Addendum VI must be implemented by April 1, 2020. Additionally, in February 2020, the Board will consider a postponed motion to initiate an Amendment to rebuild spawning stock biomass to the target level and address other issues with the management program.

Addendum VI will be available on the Commission’s website (www.asmfc.org) on the Atlantic Striped Bass webpage in early November. For more information, please contact Max Appelman, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Rep. Pallone Calls for Fair Treatment of New Jersey Fishing Community

October 30, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ):

Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) called on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) to pursue a conservation policy that achieves agreed upon Striped Bass stock management goals while treating states like New Jersey in a fair and consistent manner. In a letter, Pallone urged fair treatment of all states as the ASFMC considers implementing new removal limits to protect Striped Bass fishing stock on Thursday.

“We all agree that conservation of New Jersey’s Striped Bass is paramount to our state’s marine environment, but we must also ensure that New Jersey’s fishing industry is treated fairly,” Congressman Pallone said. “I strongly encourage the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to implement the agreed upon conservation goals in a way that does not unfairly harm New Jersey and our thriving coastal communities.”

A copy of the letter is available here.

A beloved New Jersey fish is in big trouble. What’s next for striper fishing?

October 28, 2019 — Paul Haertel has been reeling in striped bass — stripers, as they’re better known — along the Jersey Shore since he was a teen.

The 64-year-old angler from Barnegat lives for a good trophy fish; he’s even mounted two of his largest catches on his wall: one a 50-pounder he caught off Barnegat Inlet in 2003, the other he nabbed in 2011 during a thunderstorm, while chasing bunker fish off the Shore.

“I don’t want a replica of somebody else’s fish hanging on my wall — I want my fish” Haertel said.

Haertel’s sense of striper pride echoes throughout the state: when the bass migrate north in the spring and when they head south in the fall, pictures of monster fish are shared by proud anglers across social media. Stripers are a key component of in New Jersey’s multi-billion dollar fishing industry, too, as charter boats up and down the Shore make their living bringing striper-seekers out into open saltwater.

But trouble now looms amid the churning waves.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an agency formed by 15 states that manages the fishing of multiple species swimming along the East Coast, announced in May that striped bass are being overfished.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Overfishing of Atlantic Striped Bass Prompts Action

October 7, 2019 — A new assessment has revealed that striped bass off the Atlantic Coast are being depleted faster than they can replenish, and have been since 2013.

In response, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in August issued a collection of possible management options for recreational and commercial fishing, with the goal of reducing the rate of Atlantic striped bass killed by fishing to 18 percent less than the 2017 rate by 2020.

This isn’t the first time striped bass have stared the Grim Reaper in his piscine eyes. Back in the 1980s, the population of striped bass that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission manages — which ply the coastal waters between North Carolina and Maine in search of menhaden, a type of herring — declined so drastically that the commission called a complete moratorium on striped bass fishing.

It worked. By 1995, the population had climbed to record levels. That year 540,000 fish were caught commercially, a sharp increase from the 272,000 caught in 1983. A New York Times article from June of that year jubilantly announced the fish’s “comeback.” With the population restored, restrictions were lifted, and the fish’s numbers remained relatively stable.

Read the full story at ecoRI

VIRGINIA: Decision to continue striped bass tournament is “huge.” The fish won’t be.

September 27, 2019 — Despite regulations that will take big fish out of the equation, the founder of the Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout has decided to press on.

The 17th annual event will take place Dec. 5-7. Teams can depart from any Virginia port, but weigh-ins are held at King’s Creek Marina in Cape Charles on the lower Eastern Shore.

This week the Virginia Marine Resources Commission lowered the recreational take of striper from two fish to one. And instead of allowing trophy-sized fish to be caught, rockfish will now have to measure between 20 and 36 inches length.

That means all the top catches will be nearly the same size. The tournament will have to rely on scales that measure to one-hundreth of a pound to judge the winning fish.

Mike Standing, who started the shootout in Virginia Beach but moved it to Cape Charles a few years ago, said continuing his event is about more than competitive fishing.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot

August/September Issue of ASMFC Fisheries Focus Now Available

September 23, 2019 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

August/September 2019 issue of ASMFC Fisheries Focus is now available here

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

ASMFC 78th Annual Meeting Preliminary Agenda
page 1

Upcoming Meetings

page 2

From the Executive Director’s Desk
ACCSP: Transitions in Leadership
page 3

Species Profile
Summer Flounder
page 4

Fishery Management Actions
Atlantic Cobia
Atlantic Menhaden
page 8

Proposed Management Actions
Atlantic Striped Bass
Spiny Dogfish
page 9

Science Highlight
Where Have All the Weakfish Gone?
page 10

SAFIS eTRIPS/mobile Migrates to Version 2
page 11

In Memoriam
Joseph Desfosse
page 14

Past issues of Fisheries Focus can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/search/%20/%20/Fishery-Focus

NEW YORK: Changes on the horizon to reduce striped bass fishing mortality

September 20, 2019 — The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has issued proposed changes to Amendment 6 of the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic striped bass.

The proposed changes — formally flagged as Addendum VI — were the subject of  comments at a public hearing Sept. 12 in New Paltz, at the Region 3 Headquarters of the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

While the abundance of striped bass is declining along the entire Atlantic Coast, according to ASMFC studies, most of the people attending the hearing were honed in on what the changes would mean to the Hudson River’s striped bass fishery.

Read the full story at the Poughkeepsie Journal