Kudos to Jim White

[Nebe]

Lets see... its been 3 or 4 years now that i have been saying this.... Im sad that I was right..


This is the letter that I sent to Mr. Beal of the ASMFC. The meeting is coming on March 23rd so time is of the essence. You can use the cut and paste letter that was sent out or you can refer to my letter is you so choose. We need to get as many e mails sent as possible in the next five or six days.
the striped bass need our help. Thanks.
Captain Jim White
F/V White Ghost-2
Dear Mr. Beal:
My name is Captain Jim White. I own and operate the F/V White Ghost-2 in Rhode Island. I have been fishing for striped bass for more than 50-years and I lived the last crash of this fishery. It is my professional opinion that we are once again heading towards another crash in the very near future. I have extremely accurate records dating back to the 19960's. My log book shows that from 2006, which is the same date that MRFSS cites, I landed 2,600 fish that season. In 2010, that number has dropped to 487. The 70-percent decline in the numbers of recreational caught fish, is exactly the same as mine.
The worst part is that the decline has taken place with the smaller fish. Fish less than 23-inches in length. They are almost non-existent in our waters now and have decline drastically over the last five years. We once had a robust winter fishery here in Rhode Island. That fishery is now gone.
This past year that decline has also taken place in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and likely elsewhere.
I assure you that this is not the ranting of some lunatic recreational angler. I consider myself a commercial fishermen by all accounts. I've seen and looked at this problem from both sides. It's ridiculous to blame one group over the other at this point. If the striped bass population crashes again, everyone will loose, both groups. And, I've lived this once already, and the warning signs are the same as they were in the late 70's and early 80's.
I know that there are lots of theory's out there as to why we aren't seeing any small striped bass. One being touted is the movement of striped bass to offshore waters. Having fished for tuna fish the last seven or eight years, I agree that a large portion of the stock has moved or migrated offshore. However, these are still LARGER SIZED FISH. Not school size fish. Inshore, there aren't any small bass what so ever to speak of. Once those bigger fish are gone, that's the end of this fishery.
There are also three other factors this time that we didn't have to deal with the last time the stock crashed. Today, there is no closed season on fishing for striped bass, not even in their wintering grounds off the Carolina's. It's become a 24-7>>365 days per year fishery with no escape. No species on earth could withstand that kind of pressure. Not ONE!!!!
Mycobacteriosis is also taking its toll on these fish. With 70-percent of the stock infected it doesn't bode well for their survival. Add to all that a lack of baitfish up and down the coast and you have a recipe for disaster.
I urge you in the strongest, possible, terms to support a reduction in the numbers of fish being taken immediately. The lost of this fish will result in the entire spotfishing industry being wiped out. I've worked in a bait shop for over 15-years and I can tell you with certainty that without the striped bass, those businesses will go under. Striped bass fishing is where the money is for bait and tackle shops.
One last thing, when MRFSS Data is cited for other species like fluke, scup, sea bass, tautog, etc. the data is used almost immediately to reduce mortality on the species involved. I don't understand why, when the MRFSS Data shows a seventy percent decline in catch effort for striped bass that no one pays any attention to it.
I would be happy to present to the Commission any and all data that I have in my possession and to give my professional opinion on what is happening, especially in Rhode Island. I also hold a BS Degree in Marine Science as well as having researched, written and published many articles on the subject.
I also lead the group here in RI in 1982, to get then Congresswomen Claudine Schneider (R) to write and submit House Bill 4884 that was presented to the 98th Congress. That bill lead to the higher size limits and the eventual moratororium on striped bass, as well as the late Senator John Chaffee (R) lobbying for research money to study the striped bass issue.
Thank you for your time and trouble in regard to this matter. I hope to hear from you in the near future about what the Commission will do at their up coming meeting this month.
Sincerely,
Captain Jim White
F/V White Ghost-2
43 York Drive,
Coventry, RI 02816