yup, and don't forget the serious toxic metals discharged into the watersheds/rivers during the industrial revolution.. perhaps right up 'till the 1960's ...ie electro-plating methods. (zinc etc)

Put as politely as I know how, you simply don't know what you are talking about.

The "quota" in terms of any fully recovered stock, which includes striped bass, is targeted at being the Maximum Sustainable yield, also known as MSY. That is the diametric opposite as the bare minimum to avoid crashing the stock. The Bmsy is the amount of fish that would allow the same quota, year after year and maintain the same biomass.

They do take recruitment into account in estimating the population and thus the MSY (or quota). Any factor that they do not take into account in setting this years quota will automatically be taken into account in next year's stock assessment as the stock goes up or down and that will be factored into the the next years quota. If everything was 100% accurate and there was no natural variations they could just set the quota this year and not have to change it as infinitum. It is because of the inherent inaccuracy of the stock assessment (population) and the natural year-to-year variations that they go through the quota setting exercise every year.

MSY
 

Thanks for being polite Mike. I appreciate it.

My concern is that they set the quota, based on MSY as you clarified, but they have no way to quantify losses of spawning stock biomass to 1) disease outbreaks- as is happening now, 2) poaching as the fish are not recorded as mortality, 3) black market commericals- not reported as mortality, 4) recreational catch not reported/recorded, 5) sea herring bycatch not reported as mortality, 6) high grading by unscrupulous recs/comms etc. etc. etc...

With so much unaccounted for mortality how can they possibly determine an amount of biomass, ie quota, that can be removed and still maintain MSY?

I hope you, or someone else, can shed some light on this.

The base of the VPA (Virtual population Analysis) is sampling. This is true for any species not just bass. Take a look at the sotck assessment for weakfish (sequetog) and you'll see that the biomass is estimate at an alltime low. Look a little further and you'll see that they don't know what is killing all the fish, they just know that something is. The similar model for bass would take all mortality into account. To put it simply this years estimated biomass is the sum of last year's biomass minus all mortality plus all recruitment. They don't need to know what the source of the mortality is to estimate the biomass. Once the estimate the total mortality then they can subtract the known mortality factors and then try to estimate what is causing the unknown sources of mortality. But that has nothing to do with setting the quotas. If they set the quota too high this year it will automagically be compensated in the next year.

The weakfish stock is listed as depleted to an all time low. While ASMFC is saying over fishing isn't the problem, it is the only thing they have immediate control over. So how does ASMFC address this.

"Upon receiving this stock information in 2009, the Weakfish Management Board approved new measures for implementation in 2010. Addendum IV to Amendment 4 requires states to implement a one fish recreational creel limit, 100 pound commercial trip limit, 100 pound commercial bycatch limit during closed seasons, and 100 undersized fish per trip allowance for the finfish trawl fishery."

Here is a fishery at an all time low and ASMFC is still not willing to stop fishing for them. This is why I have little faith in ASMFC stepping in to address any striper issues until they're in real deep trouble.

The commercial limits are simply designed to allow fisherman to land fish that they are catching anyway, makes no sense to throw them back over the side, dead. That wouldn't help the fish recover anyway. The one fish per person recreational limits will effectively stop most people from fishing for them, but still allow the Accidentally caught fish to be kept. Again, probably a good portion of those fish would die anyway. We have to face facts, fishing mortality is, at least until we adopt real ecosystem management, the only aspect of mortality that we can control. IMHO the proposed weakfish limits are as close to zero as we can get without banning all fishing.

Fishermen caught with nearly 3,000 pounds of illegal bass
 

Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration personnel combined efforts Tuesday to stop illegal striped bass fishing off Oregon Inlet and found one vessel with illegally caught fish that had more than 2,900 pounds of fish aboard.

The economic pressures being felt nationwide and the meteorological conditions driving the striped bass population farther off shore into warmer waters have set the stage for a situation that may entice fishermen to break the law, according to a news release from the Fifth Coast Guard District.

In an effort to ensure the longevity of the striped bass population and maintain a level playing field for all fishermen, federal authorities are taking action.

On Tuesday, in response to multiple reports of commercial and recreational striped bass fishing within the Exclusive Economic Zone, the Coast Guard and NOAA conducted a joint effort to curtail this illegal activity.

Fishing for striped bass is permitted within state waters, but catching or possessing striped bass outside three nautical miles from shore is a violation of federal regulations. In an effort to catch fishermen participating in this illegal activity, the Coast Guard mounted a patrol within known fishing grounds off Oregon Inlet, using Station Oregon Inlet’s small boats with the assistance of additional boarding team personnel from Station Hatteras Inlet, the release said.

One of the boarding teams sighted the fishing vessel Lady Samaira as it was heading back into port. It was within the Exclusive Economic Zone when the team boarded the vessel to ensure compliance with both fishery and vessel safety regulations.

Their investigation revealed more than 150 striped bass aboard the vessel. The boarding team documented their findings and relayed all pertinent information to NOAA, the regulatory agency for such violations, for further guidance. As a result of the boarding team’s findings, NOAA asked the Coast Guard to direct the Lady Samaira to port where NOAA agents met the vessel.

When the vessel moored in North Carolina there were less fish aboard, approximately 100 striped bass. The fish, weighing in at almost 3,000 pounds, were abandoned by the vessel’s captain to the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.

Typically, if less than 10 illegal fish are discovered, in addition to having to abandon their catch the master is levied a $100 fine per fish and the matter is closed. In this case, the NOAA OLE investigation continues, and the final action to be taken against the master or vessel has yet to be determined.

This case, while significant, is just one example of illegal striped bass fishing activity recently interdicted by federal, state, and local authorities, the Coast Guard said.


Maybe the ASMFC request had some effect?

Greed and fishing go hand in hand.
Nature of the beast.

New head of NE EPA: But from his career – almost 20 years of it as executive director of Save the Bay – it is apparent the axiom also applies to Spalding. He is the first Rhode Islander to direct the regional EPA office.....

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