Herring ban lifted in 2012 ?

[striprman]

I saw this in the Brockton Enterprize this morning

Middleboro herring run thriving after five-year limit on fishing - Brockton, MA - The Enterprise

[tattoobob]

One can only hope
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[Back Beach]

My customized laundry basket awaits....

[Mr. Sandman]

The problem is NOT with the recs or Indians taking a few for bait, the problem IS with the mid water trawlers who take all kinds of forage fish. Several species of herring, macs, etc. To say that the moratorium improved this is silly.

The by-catch in a single day of river herring by these guys exceeds what we recs take all season.

This is, yet again, an issue that fishery experts refuse to tackle.

One of the NB fishermen told me that one of the trawlers were asked what % of their catch is river herring? He said, not much, probably 1-3%. They put an observer on board...it was 30%.
Now this is dock talk so take it for what it is worth but it would not surprise me.


If they want to really improve the bait situation including herring:
a) Stop these mid water trawlers
b) Put some real money into the runs and rebuild them to their heyday. Ie. The run at edgartown great pond was (in the 1800's) was a mega run and made some people quite wealthy, its been dried up for many decades. There were several like this throughout the state. A few years ago, I heard they got 200K to do the excavation but last I heard all the money was used up to obtain the permits. again:
c) Until we see record limits again: no sale as bait or food. and make strict limits on recs with stiff penalties if violated.

I looked at our little run the other day and they were in there but so were 6 cormorants having a field day. We still protect cormorants..but that is for another rant

[Mike P]

Don't get your hopes too high---after a promising early start, the Canal run has been deader than Elvis for the last 10-14 days

There was nothing in Wareham when I looked on Wednesday, either.

[FishermanTim]

Gee, that's just in time for the "end of the world"!
Maybe they can eliminate the size restrictions and catch limit for bass, fluke and tog while they're at it as well.

[PaulS]

Personally, I hope they all stay closed. I rather throw Pencils and rubber shads to imitate herring than not have the bass there b/c there's no bait.

[FishermanTim]

Originally Posted by PaulS

Personally, I hope they all stay closed. I rather throw Pencils and rubber shads to imitate herring than not have the bass there b/c there's no bait.

2X this sentiment.

I figure that if the herring are left alone, then the bass will follow them and feed, getting heavier and stronger throughout the season.
This will force us to become better anglers, and learn how to use the tackle we all acquire during our lives.

Or, we could just resort to plundering the bait that is sustaining (partially) the fish we seek.

I could only dream of a season where the bass have been feeding on an abundant supply of herring and bunker that hadn't been decimated by the fishing fleets, and hearing more and more reports , CONFIRMED reports, of people catching 50+ lbers.

Unfortunately, that will NEVER happen, and we are left to try and catch what nature now provides.

Remember when catching a 1000 lb. tuna was not uncommon in our area? I do recall a couple of rare occaisions when they were brought to the docks in Marshfield back in the early 90's.

Nowadays, catching a 1000 lb. tuna is impossible. If they do exist, it's only in the minds of those that remember what they were like.

The herring ban has helped somewhat, but a menhaden ban would also be beneficial.

[Mr. Sandman]

Tim,

Your right, the bass will follow the bait. Herring live in the ocean. Then, the bass end up like this!

Videos Posted by HonestByCatch.com: Suspected Striped Bass ByCatch East of Chatham [HQ] | Facebook

BTW, these fish were not part of any comm quota. Unaccounted for and dead.


This is the problem with herring, its not the guy at the run looking for a dozen baits. period.

[pmbrac]

Since the ban, I have taken more bigger fish than I've ever taken before,, most like because I now spend more time fishing now instead of chasing herring through the woods all night.. I really don't miss it all that much..

[Clammer]

I kinda agree with PS & TM ;

I personally hope they never open it again. let the population get stronger & stronger ...............creating more food for the bass /& their scent will pull the bass within fishing area,s / yet by not being able to use herring / it will dramatically reduce the slaughter of large at a earlier date / large will still be caught but on plugs or eels & the slaugher will hold off until>if & when the pogies arrive ;;

JMI MIKE

[angler229]

Here is another problem with opening it. While some runs are strong and doing well there a good number that are just starting to rebound, so what happens if you do open it. You can't just open a couple runs because the pressure on them will be immense and if you open all the runs the ones that are just starting to recover will be wiped back out and then we'll be starting from scratch again. So I say leave them close let the numbers continue to grow and keep restoring the fish ladders.

[FishermanTim]

I agree whole-heartedly. The waterways that herring would use should be restored to as pristine a condition as possible.
If the river has a dam that is not needed, then remove it.

Gee, I wonder how many rivers flodded their banks because of old dams downstream that were never removed when they no longer served their purpose?
I'd guess ALL OF THEM, since the state hates to spend money to do anything for the taxpayers, unless they can get something back in return.

[Nebe]

keep it closed.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by PaulS

Personally, I hope they all stay closed. I rather throw Pencils and rubber shads to imitate herring than not have the bass there b/c there's no bait.

Thank you ... throw a plug ... leave the herring for the bass ,,, no herring, no bass ,,. it will only get better and better .. Don't be so eager to stomp on them .. Everyone is doing fine without lobbing herring ..

[WadingWill]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Thank you ... throw a plug ... leave the herring for the bass ,,, no herring, no bass ,,. it will only get better and better .. Don't be so eager to stomp on them .. Everyone is doing fine without lobbing herring ..

I agree with you guys. This will only be my 5th season surfcasting, I've never used a herring and see no need to now. Considering how fragile Herring stocks can be, they'd be better leaving them alone.

[JohnnyD]

That's a wonderful idea. The stocks have actually rebounded, so let's hurry and decimate them again.

If they do open it back up, it will epitomize all that is wrong with the fishing regulation agencies.

[Fish_Eye]

There are still healthy, robust runs in Maine. I'll be visiting one next week to interview the owner/manager of a rebuilt run that is very sustainable. I'm working with Basic Patrick on a documentary that addresses the problem with mid water trawlers. I'll report back after the trip.

[pmbrac]

Originally Posted by Back Beach

My customized laundry basket awaits....

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...anal-blitz.jpg


Awesome pic!!

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by pmbrac

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...anal-blitz.jpg


Awesome pic!!

I really hope the herring bounce back to the point we can do that again. That pic is from the late 80's just for reference. Fishing rubber is great and all, but if you never fished the canal with live herring you don't know what you missed...it was a lot of fun.

Simply keeping the runs closed permanently doesn't solve anything. Like any other wildlife, herring are cyclical and the population numbers vary due to natural causes in addition to human intervention/misuse/abuse.

[piemma]

The herring ban has helped somewhat, but a menhaden ban would also be beneficial.[/QUOTE]

RI has a new set of laws on the books, as of this year, for bunker in the Bay. I don't fully understand them but the jist of what I got from reading was that there can be no commercial havest of bunker until there is 2 million pounds in the Bay. When that number is hit, the commercial boats (read Arc Bait) can take a total of no more than 500, 000 pounds. Then it closes. In theory this means that there will be a constant sustained population of 1.5 million pounds of bunker in Narragansett Bay.
Now, I am not gullible enough to believe that the DEM guys can police the numbers so this will be an inaccurate science. How do they know when 2 million pounds are in residence? They will know when 500,000 pounds are taken as long as they keep a DEM guy on the commercial boats. I hope this works because last year was just stupid. You had these guys in a boat from Glouster MA (the Ugly Duck) s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g up every menhaden they could find, running offshore and unloading and then running back up to the Hurricane Barrier in Prov and doing it again and again. They finally got caught and, I heard, they are banned from fishing RI waters forever.

Now I have nothing against the commercial guys. Don't take this as a knock on them. The problem last year was that they netted EVERYTHING swimming in the upper Bay and by June you couldn't buy a bunker for $50. They were just all netted or vacumned up. There needs to be equality so all of the fishermen (recs and comms) get to use the resource.

[MAC]

Originally Posted by Tagger

Thank you ... throw a plug ... leave the herring for the bass ,,, no herring, no bass ,,. it will only get better and better .. Don't be so eager to stomp on them .. Everyone is doing fine without lobbing herring ..

It was fun though..... even if it was a lot of work.

[Adam_777]

Originally Posted by piemma

The herring ban has helped somewhat, but a menhaden ban would also be beneficial.

RI has a new set of laws on the books, as of this year, for bunker in the Bay. I don't fully understand them but the jist of what I got from reading was that there can be no commercial havest of bunker until there is 2 million pounds in the Bay. When that number is hit, the commercial boats (read Arc Bait) can take a total of no more than 500, 000 pounds. Then it closes. In theory this means that there will be a constant sustained population of 1.5 million pounds of bunker in Narragansett Bay.
Now, I am not gullible enough to believe that the DEM guys can police the numbers so this will be an inaccurate science. How do they know when 2 million pounds are in residence? They will know when 500,000 pounds are taken as long as they keep a DEM guy on the commercial boats. I hope this works because last year was just stupid. You had these guys in a boat from Glouster MA (the Ugly Duck) s#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&g up every menhaden they could find, running offshore and unloading and then running back up to the Hurricane Barrier in Prov and doing it again and again. They finally got caught and, I heard, they are banned from fishing RI waters forever.

Now I have nothing against the commercial guys. Don't take this as a knock on them. The problem last year was that they netted EVERYTHING swimming in the upper Bay and by June you couldn't buy a bunker for $50. They were just all netted or vacumned up. There needs to be equality so all of the fishermen (recs and comms) get to use the resource.

They blamed the weather wasn't allowing the spotters to fly and get a good count.They never closed it until it was too late.That and the guys fishing for them with the wrong nets and others exploiting the laws made it a bad year for bunker.There was a few shops paying guys from out of state for secret shipments that were paid for before they even arrived and at crazy prices.I'd like to see them keep the pogie boats out of the bay for good.They offer nothing good to the state,the health of the bay or any fishery.I'd rather get my own bait.


Herring should stay closed until they are healthy in every run and so thick you could walk on them.Even at that point we should wait a few more years and just observe the patterns and use the highest point as a baseline for numbers.

[Slipknot]

I live on the same street as the run in Middleboro and i hope the ban stays for years to come so all the other runs can recover fully.
I remember 2001, you could walk across the river on top of the fish most days.

pmbrac, ya it was addicting and I think many like yourself don't really miss it, sounds like you were a lot like bassmaster
Atleast we have memories of it, but new younger fishermen should get the chance to experience those times someday, I don't think we're close to that yet though.

One run that should always remain closed is the canal run. Even if the ban is lifted, that run should stay closed or it will be the first wiped out again.

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by MAC

It was fun though..... even if it was a lot of work.

I did it ... Took the day off from work to get my herring permit every year .. I see it as glorified shiner fishing .. Between spawning , dropping back and then the fry dropping out the herring do enough to get us bass .. When the run is dead so is the bass fishing .. Can't believe we're even talking about this, with the slightest improvement .. Plus live lining is cheating ... No bonus points ..

[Clammer]

Tagger ....you need all the bonus points

[robc22]

It would be nice to harvest river herring for lobster bait again......

[BasicPatrick]

80 per cent collaps is not rebuilt with a 1-15 per cent comeback


he who want s the runs open right now forever gives up the right to bitch about skinny bass and a lack of bait

[JohnR]

Our local run count is abysmal this year - beyond awful.

We had the Scouts cleaning an area around it yesterday.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by JohnR

Our local run count is abysmal this year - beyond awful.

We had the Scouts cleaning an area around it yesterday.

Well Buckey Brook never had a really huge run. I read that the guys net lifted 500 herring in a day up at Omega Pong. I wonder how Gilbert Stuart is?