[WoodyCT]

Drafted this and will be sending it to the NC and VA marine fisheries departments, not to mention anyone else I can think of.
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An Open Letter to the North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries, 2/4/10

The regal striped bass has already once been saved from the brink of total stock collapse, but sadly it appears that North Carolina has already forgotten that page of U.S. fisheries history.

The rampant poaching of over-wintering striped bass from the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) off the Mid-Atlantic MUST be addressed IMMEDIATELY to stop the wonton destruction of the coast-wide spawning stock biomass.

None of these poached fish are accounted for in mortality statistics, thus the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commissions assessment of the health and future viability of the striped bass spawning stock biomass is a complete farce.

North Carolina does not own these fish, but it is responsible for its citizens who fish for them. ENFORCE THE LAW!


Rest assured that I will not be spending my vacation dollars in North Carolina.

Jonathan Woodman

PS Below are a sampling of posts recently made on Striped-Bass.com. NONE PAINT A PRETTY PICTURE OF YOUR STATE OR ITS NEIGHBORS!


Nowhere on the Striper coast is there such total disregard of the EEZ as in Virginia / North Carolina. I don’t think people have any idea the damage being done by the poaching down south. The Charter Boats down there break the law every single day and brag about it. It is a shame. The entire biomass is concentrated down there in different schools, guys are running well beyond three miles, most 2 trips a day. If you guys just see the fish that are caught illegally and come in every day...
Report from VA Beach last sat:


[ edited by John R - one can easily believe that list is people actually poaching where we have no proof if it is or not - I'll add some comments later in this thread]

These were poached in one day... This is just from a handful of boats at the VA fishing center. A small percentage that even report their catch...
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I did hear that the Coast Guard nabbed 20 plus boats in one day this past week... Boys were at it the very next day. Heard they were max fines too.... Again- that’s second hand info, wish they would post it somewhere online. Charter Captains brag about it down there. Fished a tourney 2 weeks ago and the fish moved over the line the second day, only 8 fish were caught. Should of saw the Charter Guys loads that came in that were poached....

Rumor has it that a group of charter captains have a pool (rumor has it that each guy puts in a $100), and when the CG goes after one of them in the EEZ, the others high tail it out of there while the CG does there thing to the nabbed boat....then the boat that got busted takes the pool money to pay the fine. I believe they replenish the pool on a weekly basis......like I said, that's what the local rumor grapevine reported by guys who have fished in tournaments down there....

We were celebrating our catches while eating lunch, heading back to the dock with our limit before 12:00. Suddenly we found ourselves in a situation in which the mate and captain were telling us that we were way out past the 3 mile limit. They were thinking about dumping the catch because their spotters notified them that the marine police were on the way out. Moments later a marine police unit was on top of our boat. It was about to prepare to board us when one of the boats next to us began tossing their fish overboard. The cops left our boat and went directly to that boat and boarded it. Our captain steamed away and when we where about two miles away, we watched in disbelief as the mate gutted out our fish and tossed them over board.

At least 5 other boats from the Virginia Beach fishing center did the same thing. The ones that brought in fish were out there fishing where we were but they got in before the marine police arrived. We were sickened by the entire experience. The Virginia Beach Fishing Center is a fraud. A bunch of cheats. The captain told us it is just what they do, no big deal to them. Up to the point of the senseless waste of fish, we were having a great time.

People have to understand that the charter boats down there will sail every day even if they know the fish are well past 3 miles. Its not like the rest of the Northeast where you can still catch fish inshore of 3 miles at any given time, maybe not the big bodies of fish. Water temp and bait dictate where those fish go, they have stayed offshore for the majority of the winter. Why do you think they are trying to get the EEZ open to 12 miles down there???

There is no control over this down there... What DO YOU SUGGEST BE DONE???? Maybe the fishing brings too much business to the Virginia Beach Economy Down there in the winter time..... There are debates on this topic on other boards. The best thing to do is equip boats with GPS Systems, at who’s cost, and why exclude anyone up and down the coast rec, charter, or commercial? I know it has been mentioned up on the Cape about 2 years ago. Maybe Severe Zero Tolerance Fines.... People are not stupid, Think its pretty common knowledge that the fish have not been inside 3 miles down there in two weeks... Lots and Lots of Poached Fish, Guess we will see less up north this year!