Striped Bass Board Meeting - March 23rd - Results - Updated!!
 

I sent an email on Monday regarding today's meeting and as referenced in this thread: http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...jim-white.html

I received a couple email responses today that I want to share with you. I do not yet have further details but I'm sure they will come soon and we can discuss if we were successful or not. At least this may be promising.

First reply from Paul Diodati (OK, actually from Nichole but for Paul):

Second, Pat Augustine (Coram, NY, Commissioner, Gov. Appoint).

I receive the same email from paul slash nicola yesterday. It will be interesting to see what the context of the addendum is.
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Exactly - need to see the details ;)

(and figured it was a blast email ;) )

At the least they are not proposing an increase.
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It strikes me as very unexpected that Diodati would be at the forefront of a conservation step.

Hopefully I have the man figured wrong, but his past votes are not encouraging that conservation is his intended purpose....more likely it is just a means to some other end.

We'll see.

I want to "hope" as well. My impression is that as of late he has been leaning more to conservation versus exploiting to the benefit of striper commercial fishing interests. Time, and the detailed plan of the meeting earlier this week, will tell.

I agree John, I know in the past he has been portrayed in an unfavorable light as far as conservation is concerned. I honestly think having seen two addendums get shot down in the past two years that would have increased and/or rolled over quota, mainly due to public opposition may have played into his thinking. Much of the time the managers only here from the commercials and as long as things are kosher recreational anglers are not going to speak up. So the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
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It is very interesting that Diodati would be on the conservation side just two years ago when stripers forever was pushing their bill in Mass at the fishery council meeting he pushed for an increase in commercial harvest. Things are definitely changing...

I hope not but he may have other plans
Reduce the recs. and increase the comms.

Got this off the wire from Chuck Cassela:

Discuss

This is great

to bad they can't do this for the forage fish to

Draft Addendum III will propose a range of fishing management measures
including, but not limited to, adjustments to commercial and recreational
minimum size (for jurisdictions outside Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle
Sound/Roanoke River), reductions in annual coastal commercial allocation,
reductions in recreational bag limits, revisions to the target F rate (for
Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), and reductions on
fishing for striped bass in known spawning areas during the spawning season
by at least 50% (for jurisdictions bordering the Hudson River, Delaware
River, Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River).







sounds like one at 36" to me.

Well for the first time in several years Menhaden will have management actions on the harvest. So it appears that yesterday may wind up by being a win win for striped Bass. The work begins now on both fronts. When the management meetings come up this summer it is important to be vocal about the draft addendum during the public comment period. I am looking forward to BasicPatricks take on these items. Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

How do we go from debating a 50% increase in commercial take, to discussing efforts towards a major decrease in mortality in less than 6 months?

While I support the way things are going *for now*, this whole series of events demonstrates how utterly incompetent our fisheries managers are.

I agree - some "earth shattering" data must have been released. Especially since Augustine was such an adament proponent of the commercial increase in November. For him to now support a decrease in mortality is unreal. Be interesting to read the minutes from this last meeting. Maybe BasicPatrick can elaborate what happened.

DZ

I know the NYCRF was making a major push for his head though a letter writing campaign. Maybe there was some pressure from Albany for him to begin considering the anglers his position truly represents. In MA there is a large commercial community in NY there are far fewer commercial fishermen to represent. Purely speculation but I wonder if that may have had an affect on his thought process.
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The board is just getting ready in case there is some bad news coming out of the stock assessment due this coming fall.

This is truly great news

Not true. The ASMFC has been managing menhaden for years now.

And look at the great accomplishments they've done.:fury:

What he said!

My bad you are correct there has been menhaden management for years however the first time in several yearsthey have decided to rein in the harvest of menhaden there will be a public comment. On an addendum being drafted now. So while there has been a management board there has been no management action for several years. I should have worded it correctly

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Still not correct. The management board reduced the VA harvest limits several years ago to the current cap.

Items edited to reflect the truth as researched through google etc. How do these crazy rumors get spread. My bad :smash: