BREAKING NEWS

[bobber]

stay tuned for what comes out of the ASMFC meetings that start today in Fairfax VA. I think the striped bass board meets tomorrow- we can all follow along on a webinar- (go to the ASMFC site to register and get your log-in)

anyone wanna bet what the outcoems are??

my guess- they stall for another 3-6months until fishing season is over and they can pull some shenanigans when most people are in hibernation

[bobber]

check that- the board is meeting RIGHT NOW to discuss management options.

the BS is unbelievable- stay tuned to see what transpires

[tlapinski]

Just logged on.

[ThrowingTimber]

On here as well.

[Redsoxticket]

https://www3.gotomeeting.com/register/867248318
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

[ThrowingTimber]

Thank god for Basic Patrick!

[bobber]

OK- as you would expect- there was an abundance of people trying to get their own agenda's met and posturing from the more vocal members of the Committee. (Why can't the more reasonable folks who can see both sides of an issue ever be theo ones that "get loud" at a meeting like this??) Fote (from NJ) was the most obvious- trying to get an automatic expiration to whatever cuts are ever imposed after three years (a "sunset proposal") without regard to whether or not the fishery is recovered at that time......

anyway- they did manage to agree to get this various options out for public comment in hte next few weeks/months and then a vote should come down at the Fall meetings in MYSTIC CONNECTICUT.

(I think an SB.COM contingent should plan to be there to make sure they get the point- first round is on me )

[niko]

what "rules" are you/s-b looking for? gamefish status, 1@ how many inches, slot limit?, position on comm harvest

[bobber]

I believe the consensus on here is for a more conservative catch limit. something on the order of 25-30% reduction in mortality spread acroos the user-groups. (I had a post on here earlier this summer that was to that effect- which was supported by John and others....)

I don't think its fair, (nor is it any way politically FEASIBLE) to go for gamefish status. theres too many users in the equation to try and mandate everyone to give up harvesting bass...just for our own selfish interests. and, the fishery is certainly able to withstand some harvest.

I'm not a "commercial fishing is evil" kinda guy

[ThrowingTimber]

Personally I'm hesitant about anything that takes food off peoples plates. Period.

I'm just wanting to see them take any action sooner than later. They know there's a decline and they've basically put it on the backburner for 2-3 years and some dude today wanted to pass a motion to not do anything until 2018 or so then asked for another 2-3 years and see where we're at then type of thing.

I dont like the feet dragging, if the actual "real science" not lets probability forward.... says there's a problem take measures now to alleviate it not in 2018. (further in decline causing more issues) Thats just a leave it for someone else to fix mentality.

I'm all for a better managed species/stock/biomass that works ok for everyone.

[Clammer]

25 - 30% stock reduction .is that across the board .

that would be almost doable with the commercials in RI & mass ........each bass has to be tagged individually & recorded .

black market //another unknown

25 -30 % of the rec.s ??????????????? WTF knows what that is & HTF would it be controlled or even estimated .

last year it was suppose to happen in 2015 . they will push this til it TOOOOOOOOOO late for 2015 .


I,d love to have just 1% on the monies put in peoples pockets & lobbyist fees .

we think its tough up here ...........TRY NJ, Maryland & the Carolina,s that another whole world .........................its like moonshining in the year 2014 ><><>

[bobber]

the rec side is always more difficult- to try to know how many guys are fishing, and how many fish those guys are taking home. the only feasible way is to make rule changes that would have the statistcial effect of reducing the mortality by using the accepted figures in the current stock assessment.

is it perfect- no way.
is it the best we've got- unfortunately yes

[niko]

the culling of the largest fish out of the gene pool needs to be addressed. I've seen it, it's ugly and it's going to bite us in the ass. I personally have no problem with taking a 25% hit on the comm quota - it will be offset by a higher price per pound, so its a wash in that regard. a sustainable, harvestable stock has to be the goal and the changes have to be coastwide.i'll eat my piece of crap pie, for the greater good, but everyone else better be having some too

[bobber]

^^ yes

what he said

[wdmso]

I think a slot limit is a good Idea. like 1 fish 28 in to 35 in rec and 32- 40in for com guys Less fish on the market keep prices from taking a nose dive supply and demand it a win win

[Raven]

right off the top

the penalties for harvesting or possession of undersized fish

has to GET SERIOUS in addition to what ever else is proposed.

[numbskull]

Laughable.

The cardinal rule guiding striped bass management is that the only good fish is a dead fish.

Under current management targets all large fish should be killed as soon as species sustainability is ensured.

Species sustainability is ensured by the large 2011 year class, therefore the ASMFC is working hard to find ways around the cuts (which they now consider unnecessary) mandated by the current management plan.

Once that is accomplished then they can next work on changing management mandates to allow harvesting of smaller fish which will be in the 24-26" class by the time the larger fish are gone.

If the 2011 YOY class did not exist things would be different, but because they do exist the current ASMFC discussions have nothing to do with improving a fishery they know will be sustained. Rather they have everything to do with avoiding an inconvenient pre-existing mandate that will force restrictions on short term economic gains of their primary "customers", the commercial and charter industries......... and short term ego gains by the "look what I killed" recreational community.

Pretending or hoping anything different is going on is sadly naive.

Improving (or even preserving) the quality of the non-charter recreational fishery is not a priority or goal of the ASMFC.

[tlapinski]

I still feel that the simplest measure would be a straight-up cut in half for everyone. Recs go from 2 fish to 1, commercial quota cut in half across the board, and so on. The for-hire group must also be addressed and the taking of a limit of fish for every person on the boat (mates, captain, cook, ballwasher, etc.) needs to stop. This is how the law is written in NY, but from what I am told it is not enforced with the reason being that "it is allowed in all the surrounding states so why do we have to follow this rule?"

[Sundowner]

This is how the law is written in NY, but from what I am told it is not enforced with the reason being that "it is allowed in all the surrounding states so why do we have to follow this rule?"

Enforcement is the problem.

From the bucket brigade to the trawlers.

[DZ]

We here in the Northeast are still light years behind our fellow citizens from the deep south who realized long ago they had to protect there favorite fish by taking the price off their head (redfish/snook). I always thought we were more progressive but not when it comes to fishery management - maybe its our liberal nature. This is very puzzeling to me but not surprising since the recreational fishery here has always included many R&R commercials masquerading under the recreational umbrella - we see it with charter boats and by allowing Comms into rec tournaments, etc. To me you are one... or the other. This has always been a gray line but should be solid black IMO. To be fare I have many friends who comm fish and they are great people - i just don't agree in what they do and feel they are exploiting the resource.
Some day northeast recreational fishermen will seek the political will to have a fish to call their own like our southern brethren have. If that happens and the striped bass population still tanks then it will be our own fault. Until then we'll be resigned to banging our heads against fishery management.

[JLH]

Originally Posted by tlapinski

I still feel that the simplest measure would be a straight-up cut in half for everyone. Recs go from 2 fish to 1, commercial quota cut in half across the board, and so on. The for-hire group must also be addressed and the taking of a limit of fish for every person on the boat (mates, captain, cook, ballwasher, etc.) needs to stop. This is how the law is written in NY, but from what I am told it is not enforced with the reason being that "it is allowed in all the surrounding states so why do we have to follow this rule?"

An equal cut across the board would be ideal but to cut the recreational take in half we would need to see something like 1@36 and a closed season. A 50% cut on the commercial quota is easy because it's measured but going from a 2 fish limit down to 1 would result in a much smaller % decrease on the rec side because not everyone always catches or chooses to keep two legal sized fish.

[JohnnySaxatilis]

Originally Posted by Sundowner

This is how the law is written in NY, but from what I am told it is not enforced with the reason being that "it is allowed in all the surrounding states so why do we have to follow this rule?"

Enforcement is the problem.

From the bucket brigade to the trawlers.

Its a crap shoot to enforce because every state has it's own interpretation and laws that contradict each other, which in turn creates loopholes that savvy people will exploit. It should be one governing body and set of laws for every state

[Mike P]

All you had to do was be around the Canal last week to realize that a regulated commercial fishery is the least of our problems right now.

There's a quarter mile stretch that has joined the list of the legendary Canal spots like Murderer's Row or Portagee Hole. Henceforth, it will be known as "Clusterf*** Corner".

[BasicPatrick]

The good news from yesterdays meeting of the S-B management board is that the posturing and attempt to force yet another delay by VA, somewhat NJ and other states failed.

The Addendum was voted out to Public Hearings and that was the only real goal for the day.

The Addendum contains the across the board 30% mortality reduction that the science says is the right number. There are many options on how to achieve this but if we all turn out to the hearings this fall the badly needed reductions will happen.

[Got Stripers]

I personally have no issues with a one fish limit, unless you are feeding your family and your neighbors too; who needs two fish for diner? Even with vacuum sealing striped bass just don't save like a black sea bass or even a tog.

I've taken a couple home on occasion, but it's usually because I know I've got a crowd coming. I focus on black sea bass and tog now for eaters, even after a few months in the freezer, they are good if vacuum sealed. In the 4 outings I've had this year, I've only caught stripers on two of those. I always try for stripers early am for the fun, but seems I'm switching over to bottom fishing earlier and earlier with so few fish to bend a rod.

Golf and retirement are going to be a better fit, than striper fishing, at least my golf game is more consistent.

[baldwin]

I like Toby's idea. Nice and simple, no loopholes or interpretation blunders.

[piemma]

Originally Posted by DZ

We here in the Northeast are still light years behind our fellow citizens from the deep south who realized long ago they had to protect there favorite fish by taking the price off their head (redfish/snook). I always thought we were more progressive but not when it comes to fishery management - maybe its our liberal nature. This is very puzzeling to me but not surprising since the recreational fishery here has always included many R&R commercials masquerading under the recreational umbrella - we see it with charter boats and by allowing Comms into rec tournaments, etc. To me you are one... or the other. This has always been a gray line but should be solid black IMO. To be fare I have many friends who comm fish and they are great people - i just don't agree in what they do and feel they are exploiting the resource.
Some day northeast recreational fishermen will seek the political will to have a fish to call their own like our southern brethren have. If that happens and the striped bass population still tanks then it will be our own fault. Until then we'll be resigned to banging our heads against fishery management.

I wrote an article for The Fisherman calling for game fish status. Snook and tarpon were almost whipped out until this happened in the South. Now it's a world class fishery.

[stripermaineiac]

1 fish a day is a good one. Raise size limit in tourneys an derbys. States that allow more than 1 fish per day cut the number in half. Comms cut the take in half. Stop bickerin about what 1/2 means. rec take or comms. Millions of recs a hand full of comms,by catch allowance it all adds up. By catch should be cut in half. Enforcement needs to be amped up too. Look at the ditch on a blitz day. Multiple trips home or to the truck to hide more than allowed. The whole thing stinks.Advocate one thing here do something diffent on the beach. I keep 1 from time to time. i hate wastein a killed fish so sushi taste good on the rocks. I make plugs , rods,flies,jigs an other gear. All for fishin for fish I love to fish for. I fish derbeys an tourneys because it's what I do an enjoy.I've released more fish than most ever see. but I still love how they taste so I'll still keep eatin them. The part that bugs me the most is that we all know what we need to do yet so many just plain don't wanna do anything. We up here in Maine can keep 1 fish a day period. Slot or over 40 in it don't matter. Maybe some of the nay sayers need to take a min an think about it.

[bobber]

the biggest difference about snook (or whatever) in Florida is that the state is allowed to make their own rules on how that species is regulated. stripers are managed by ASMFC- a group that sets limits for ALL states to conform to. so any conservation-minded area or group doesn't have the ability to set a more conservative limit in their state

[DZ]

Originally Posted by stripermaineiac

1 fish a day is a good one. Raise size limit in tourneys an derbys. States that allow more than 1 fish per day cut the number in half. Comms cut the take in half. Stop bickerin about what 1/2 means. rec take or comms. Millions of recs a hand full of comms,by catch allowance it all adds up. By catch should be cut in half. Enforcement needs to be amped up too. Look at the ditch on a blitz day. Multiple trips home or to the truck to hide more than allowed. The whole thing stinks.Advocate one thing here do something diffent on the beach. I keep 1 from time to time. i hate wastein a killed fish so sushi taste good on the rocks. I make plugs , rods,flies,jigs an other gear. All for fishin for fish I love to fish for. I fish derbeys an tourneys because it's what I do an enjoy.I've released more fish than most ever see. but I still love how they taste so I'll still keep eatin them. The part that bugs me the most is that we all know what we need to do yet so many just plain don't wanna do anything. We up here in Maine can keep 1 fish a day period. Slot or over 40 in it don't matter. Maybe some of the nay sayers need to take a min an think about it.

Maineiac - how's your season up there?
DZ