Latest press release from ASMFC. Sounds good at this point. Note 2006 figures on total harvest. Commercial Harvest: 1.05 Million Bass, Rec Harvest: 2.77 million bass, Rec Discard Mortality: 2.07 million bass. Recreational Discard Mortality was 1 million more bass than total Commercial Harvest. Rec Discard mortality was also almost the same as Rec Harvest.

DZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, FEBRUARY 5, 2008 PRESS CONTACT, TINA BERGER 202/289-6400


Striped Bass Stock Assessment Indicates Healthy Stock
Female Spawning Stock Biomass Remains High


Scientific advice presented to the Commission's Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board indicates that striped bass management under Amendment 6 to the Interstate Plan continues to be a success. The benchmark stock assessment, recently endorsed by an independent panel of fishery scientists, concluded that striped bass are not overfished and overfishing in not occurring. The assessment estimates that the resource remains at a high level with spawning stock biomass (SSB) at 55 million pounds, well above the SSB target and threshold levels of 38.6 and 30.9 million pounds, respectively. Estimates of juvenile abundance showed several years of strong recruitment, with the 2003 cohort being the strongest in the time series. The statistical catch at age (SCA) model used by the Striped Bass Technical Committee estimated the 2006 fishing mortality rate on age 8-11 fish to be F=0.31, which is below the Amendment 6 fishing mortality threshold of 0.41. Retrospective analysis of the SCA model, as well as tag-based estimates of fishing mortality presented in the assessment, indicate that the 2006 fishing mortality is also below the Amendment 6 target of 0.30.


Total striped bass harvest (commercial and recreational) in 2006 was estimated at 3.82 million fish, a 46 percent increase from 2002 (prior to the implementation of Amendment 6). Commercial harvest (1.05 million fish) was dominated by Maryland's commercial fisheries, which made up 62 percent of the total commercial landings by number in 2006. Commercial discards in 2006 were estimated at 216,753 fish. Recreational harvest (2.77 million fish) and discard losses (2.07 million fish) accounted for 79 percent of total fishery removals in 2006. Maryland recreational fisheries harvested 24 percent of total recreational landings in number, followed by Virginia (22 percent), New Jersey (18 percent), Massachusetts (12 percent), and New York (11 percent).

The Peer Review Panel endorsed the use of the SCA model for producing SSB and fishing mortality estimates that can be judged against the current biological reference points. The new model is a significant departure from the virtual population analysis that has been used to assess striped bass stock status since 1997. It is an aged-based model that projects the population numbers-at-age forward through time, rather than backwards, given model estimates of recruitment and age-specific total mortality. Additional tag-based results from the catch-equation method support the SCA model’s results that striped bass are not overfished.

Based on advice of the Technical Committee, the Board maintained the states' management programs at status quo. The Technical Committee will continue to monitor the status of the stock and refine stock assessment methodology as necessary. The next stock assessment update will be conducted in 2009.

Copies of the stock assessment will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org under Breaking News) by mid-February. For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fisheries Management Plan Coordinator, at (202)289-6400 or <nmeserve@asmfc.org>.


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PR08-03


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Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 I Street. NW, Sixth Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Phone: (202)289-6400
FAX: (202)289-6051
Email: tberger@asmfc.org
www.asmfc.org

ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations of all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.

rec mortality discard seems very high...how can this figure be accuratley determined..

I just don't believe that the discard mortality is anywhere near that high. I doubt any of those that compute these numbers have caught and released a bass ever.
There is no discard mortality from commercial fishing? What about all those bass they shovel overboard that are belly up outside the eez?
This entire process is total:bs:and I don't believe any of it.

DZ...what exactly is the "good news"? WHat this tells me is that we should not release fish because they are just going to die anyway so we may as well keep them. Sorry, I don't buy that. IMO most fish release live to fight another day and tagging proves this.

DZ...what exactly is the "good news"? WHat this tells me is that we should not release fish because they are just going to die anyway so we may as well keep them. Sorry, I don't buy that. IMO most fish release live to fight another day and tagging proves this.

Jim,
The good news is the title of the press release:
"Striped Bass Stock Assessment Indicates Healthy Stock
Female Spawning Stock Biomass Remains High"

Rec Discard Mortality is a big issue right now. I know the numbers seem staggering but the numbers are the best that they have available. I think the scientists use a figure of 8 %. There is an amendment to the Striped bass Plan that addresses Rec Discards. I'll try and find and post it.

DZ

I've attached Addendum 1 to Amendment 6. This will give you a good breakdown on Discard Mortality for Striped Bass. Like I said this is a big issue right now and in the future and scientists are asking states for input on better numbers and ways to decrease discard mortality.

DZ

The percent harvested is small compared to the percent hooked/caught. If 1 in 11 bass caught are kept, you have 10 released for every 1 caught. If the release mortality is (to keep the math easy) 10%, 1 outta the 11 die from release and 1 outta 11 are killed for the table or wall. I don't know what the numbers really are, I made them up for the purpose of discussion. Catch and release is a huge part of the fishery. There are tons of factors that contribute to release mortality and there alot of guys out there gut hooking, throwing fish on the rocks and hanging 25lbers by the jaw on boga type devices. I wouldn't be suprised at all if the release mortality is 5-10% and thats a bunch of dead fish. If everyone here calculated their own catch and release mortality at 3% that would be a pretty good # of dead fish.

There is a lot of info in that report, I'll dive into it over the weekend when I have some more time. Thanks for posting it!

all my catch and release are made standing in surf,barbless hooks,mostly schoolies.fish not picked totally out of water,all lip grabbed by me.during course of year maybe 3 bleeders out of all fish released.a bleeding fish is a dead fish.recs release mortality rate seems high to me.

Rec fishing mortality will always be a best guess type of thing. There was a very interesting study I ran across on the internet a couple years ago, where they actually had a bunch of guys catching bass tagging them and holding them in a large pen for several days, in an effort to get an idea of delayed mortality and the relationship between gut hooked fish and release mortality. They tracked alot of details and variables, the part of the study that surprised me was the fish dieing hours to days after being released. The idea that just because it swam away in a healthy angry and vigorous manner didn't necesarrily mean it was going to live. I feel I do a pretty good job treating a bass nice and letting it swim away (when I don't keep it) but after seeing this study I ended up feeling any gut hooked fish's odds weren't quite as good as I had thought they were previously.

Anyways, does this study ring a bell with anyone here? I just went looking for it briefly and didn't find it, but it really is one of the most interesting examples of data collection on this topic that I have seen.

Squidhound,
Here are a few links to some studies. They may be what your looking for.


http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/finalreport2003.pdf

http://www.dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/fishingreport/crsb.html

http://www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/recreational/articles/crmortalityresearch.html


DZ

DZ - Thanks, I'm pretty sure it's the middle one that I was thinking of.

There's alot of very interesting data in there.

For example
-The deep hooking mortality rate for striped bass caught with conventional bait hooks in this study was 53.1%.

-The deep hooking mortality rate with non-offset circle hooks was 23.5%.

- Overall, 9.1% of the striped bass caught on conventional hooks died whereas only 0.8% of the fish caught on circle hooks died.

It's also interesting to see the data on temperature effecting survival.

I like the implications that made between the lines that comercials are pros and the recs are hacks that can not unhook a fish. I have seen more comercial hacks than any other group. Has anyone seen the YOY report?

I like the implications that made between the lines that commercials are pros and the recs are hacks that can not unhook a fish. I have seen more commercial hacks than any other group. Has anyone seen the YOY report?

Maybe commercials are hacks too, but I've seen many a schoolie kicked down the beach by people who didn't want fishy hands!

I agree with Sandman, discard is high and unaccounted for, but the bottom line is our hands aren't clean, both in the number we keep and release. I remember bits of those studies mentioned above from a few years back, and I HATE circle hooks, but more and more think it's time to give them a shot.

the maryland study was good- just wished they used plugs. the .8 on mouth hooked fish sounded a bit more realistic. sounds like they may forgotten about the c&r guys that mostly use plugs/lures not bait- i bet that # might have been even lower.

How many little stripers will have their jaws ripped up by jigs this April when they first arrive? "I got 50 fish today! woo hoo!":happy:

....and another thing,say the comm. limit is X pounds of stripers ...if they had to keep ALL stripers until the X limit is reached instead of shoveling dead "shorts" overboard and fishing until X was reached with a certain length fish ,a lot more stripers would live to breed later.

How many little stripers will have their jaws ripped up by jigs this April when they first arrive? "I got 50 fish today! woo hoo!":happy:

....and another thing,say the comm. limit is X pounds of stripers ...if they had to keep ALL stripers until the X limit is reached instead of shoveling dead "shorts" overboard and fishing until X was reached with a certain length fish ,a lot more stripers would live to breed later.


PJJ,

I agree with you on all counts. Frankly I get little thrill catching tiny bass and nothing turns my stomach more then to see a baby gut hooked. (that could be a 50 someday!) There is next to no chance of getting that out of a tiny fish and have it live....and then most guys to go back and try and catch another is downright sad.:fishin:... Catch a few and move on.


Re comm limit. I have mentioned this VERY THING to several influential people and the response from the comm types is always the same... Oh no we don't want to do that...you see then the comm draggers would make a point then to catch the total limit as a by-catch and put the rod and reelers out of business. " Then my response was...so be it! let the rod and reelers work it out with the draggers, your using an indiscriminate fishing method to kill edible fish."... No we don't want comm fishermen fighting amongst themselves for a quota. Then my point was then...what about throwing DEAD FISH (or nearly dead) back only to die?..."then his response was..."This is not that big a problem yet", it is the recs that do all the damage. We only take our quota.,,,,Big sigh...OK, you only take your quota, so what does it matter WHO takes it? If we can save lots dead fish by selling by-catch and eliminating the entire R&R comm fishery I say lets do it!
These guys are dug in like a tic and will not budge. IMO the only way to achieve protection for the fish is thru game fish status and taking the $ off the fishes head. There is no other way. They must be forced into submission. I say this and I HAVE A COMM LIC!!! The fishery regulation at the state level is CURRUPTED by comm influence right up to the top. There is an apathy among recs which makes it easy to run rough-shot on the regs without much rec influence. They will do what is good for them, you will take what we give you. This is their approach.

Thanks for posting that report. We should all feel good about how we treat our sportfish...it's continuing to make a long term difference. I'm so encouraged that I may keep one for the dinner table this year.:)

Just to play devil's advocate here, do you think there is any limit to how big the striped bass polulation can get? Do you think a much bigger population of striped bass might have an adverse affect of other stocks? If the fish are doing fine with things as is, why change it?

Just to play devil's advocate here, do you think there is any limit to how big the striped bass polulation can get? Do you think a much bigger population of striped bass might have an adverse affect of other stocks? If the fish are doing fine with things as is, why change it?

I can tell you there IS a inverse relationship between the number of SB and the number of lobsters....ask any lobster men and/or look in a SB's belly.

I can tell you there IS a inverse relationship between the number of SB and the number of lobsters....ask any lobster men and/or look in a SB's belly.


Let em eat cake...

high discrard rate accounts for the fact that they really dont know how many fish are taken by anyone. No one asked me how many fish I took last year..I could go into it more but i dont want bottles and tomatoes thrown at me :hihi:

In the last ten years I believe that there has been only one fish I released that I know didn't make it, about 24"s. I'd like to know upon what facts thier actuaries come up with those end results. Unless it is all commercial bycatch infomation they are basing those figures on, did I miss that?