|
Historically speaking, there have been three major crashes of striped-bass stocks in the last hundred years.
The first occurred just around the turn of the century in the late 1890's and precipitated the closing of the famous striped-bass bass clubs like the West Island Club, Cuttyhunk and Graves Point Club among others. Many of you are familiar with the historic photo of the Graves Point Fishing Club that depicts a shore-based catch of ten bass with an average weight of 49.5 lbs. in a single tide in 1881. The astounding abundance would predictably come to a halt in later years - I have read through club records from that period and the inevitable decline from boom to bust is bemoaned in the logs by the keepers of the clubs in view of their amazing catch records of years past using tackle that we would now call primitive.
Those clubs that subsequently closed due to the lack of striped bass were either sold or fell into disrepair as the wealthy sportsmen of the day found other pursuits. Interestingly enough, it was shortly after this crash that Charles Church landed his world record bass, made all the more amazing at the time given the scarcity of bass of any size. I have an old photo of my great-grandfather, who was a photographer at that point in time in Newport, holding up an emaciated striped bass aboard his boat Abeoma during that period and the look of disdain and disappointment on his face is unmistakable. It speaks volumes to me.
The stocks appeared to have rebounded after the First War. If you look at my avatar, it’s from a postcard produced from a photo taken at T. Suffern Taylor's bass stand at Brenton Point (and hence the name "Taylor's Point" for that particular area) and the date was 1921. That resurgence in striped bass stocks appears to have lasted through the early '30's and then crashed again, only to come back post-WWII, when the troops came back home and turned to salt-water fishing as a past-time.
The third precipitous crash was, as we all know and some experienced, was in the '80's, when bass were scarce and monster bluefish were in abundance.
I remember fishing with my late father-in-law aboard Jay O'Brien's White Water and we boated 800 pounds of middle and upper teens blues in an hour and a half, most of which went to market. We ran through a full tote of pogies in no time flat and then started using the few butterfish in the bottom of the tote and finally ran out of boat room for any more blues. My FIL took high hook with a 19 1/2 lb. gorilla that day which was a thrill for an old die-hard muskie man like him from the mid-west. His photo from that day still hangs in my tackle room.
That same year Capt. Jay caught a 52 lb. bass, again, all the more impressive given the scarcity of bass of that size and it hangs mounted today - or so I'm told - in KJ's Pub, the former Starboard Tack, that Jay owned. The photo I took of Jay hoisting his trophy bass that day at dockside was the image used for the bronze plaque on the centerpiece at the Mariner's Memorial on the Ocean Drive - and from that high point you can see Graves Point, Taylor's Point, Price's Neck and the Pt Judith and Beavertail Lights – all those legendary spots where bassmen long ago plied their trade and caught fish that are still admired today. Those men are gone now and their catches fade into time. The only thing we have left now are ghosts of men and stripers past.
As some of you know, I’ve been working on an illustrated lecture off and on for the last several years on the historic striped bass clubs of Rhode Island and the surrounding islands. I can say that I truly fell down a rabbit hole on this one and the subject was both broader and deeper than I could have ever possibly imagined.
Every story must have a point – I know, and you’d probably like to know what mine is here if you’ve labored through this – and the point is that ultimately, the rise and fall of the great striped bass clubs is a cautionary tale. All the research I’ve done so far brings us back to what many of us feel is going on now conservation and it’s immediate importance. I’ve felt something wrong myself, as you all have, and it concerns me. I really believe history is repeating itself.
There’s no one thing to point a finger at and you have all touched on the important ones.
Overfishing – on the rec side, I’m afraid, is one. We’ve met the enemy and it is us.
Inaccurate stock assessment is another. Hopefully the soon to be enacted saltwater license will help to gather better catch records from the recreational side and adjust the regs accordingly.
Uncontrolled harvest of forage species is another. Google Omega Protein and see what you come up with regarding the reduction fishery for menhaden. It’s pretty shocking.
And last, but hardly least, is water quality and the degradation of important estuarine systems that will make it impossible for another rebound in time for some of us to enjoy the next rebound and perhaps prevent our children – and grandchildren – from ever enjoying what we thought was a limitless resource.
There are too many people here voicing the same opinion on the state of striped bass stocks.
So what exactly is it that we have to do? What would you all recommend beyond what we’ve already said? We have a pretty strong community here at S-B, what can we do to help?
If anyone has any ideas on a concrete course of action, feel free to make a suggestion.
That, as Forrest Gump said, is all I have to say about that.
|