Lateral Line has been sponsoring Dan Blanton’s message board and is happy to announce the 2008 Dan Blanton Bulletin Board Striperfest & BBQ which amoung many prizes angles can win some Lateral Line gear (Crisfield Fishing Shirt, Miles Technical T-Shirt and Lateral Line Hat)  to help raise some money for the Bay/Delta Conservation Committee of the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

Mark your calendars for Saturday, November 1, 2008. This event has turned into quite a tradition. It was founded to acknowledge Dan Blanton for all he has shared to fly-fishing and to thank him for establishing this terrifically well-run bulletin board that continues to provide highly valuable fly-fishing information. As usual, the event will be held on the top deck of the Sugar Barge on Bethel Island. The event, including the mouth-watering buffet including ribs, chicken, tri tip and all the rest will get started at 4pm. The cost will be $30.00 per person.

As in the past, the charity for the event will be the Bay/Delta Conservation Committee of the Northern California Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

If you plan on attending, please attach your full name here along with your fishing partner. Also, please indicate if you have room in your boat for a guest or if you are looking to share a ride. Should you have any questions, please feel free to email me at matt@aguerhavelock.com.
All are welcome!

Current regulations appear to adequately protect existing areas of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV) against aquaculture incursions in the Bay area. But what about areas that have historically supported SAV, but are currently devoid of the critical grasses? That is the question that a VMRC public meeting on September 18 will explore. What should be done to protect those areas which have supported SAV in the past?  The meeting is at 1:30pm in the Commission’s 4th floor conference room, at 2600 Washington, Ave., Newport News.

Submerged aquatic vegetation is an important natural resource which provides a variety of ecological functions, including stabilizing sediments, physically baffling wave energy, reducing water column turbidity, recycling water column nutrients, and providing high levels of primary and secondary production. SAV is considered to be of extremely high habitat value to commercially and recreationally important species of fish and shellfish, and is considered to be the primary nursery habitat for young blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay.  This vegetation normally grows in waters less than 8 feet deep, and consists of species such as eel grass, watermilfoil, widgeon grass, redhead grass, and wild celery.

At the direction of the Virginia General Assembly, the Marine Resources Commission developed a regulation that streamlined the issuance of permits for on-the-bottom aquaculture structures which are used to cultivate oysters and clams.  CCA VA representatives met with Delegate Whitman while the legislature was considering the bill. Also they met with Commissioner Bowman and representatives of the Seafood Council prior to passage of the regulation in order to insure that adequate public notice of aquaculture permits was part of the process. CCA VA does support a moderate amount of this activity in the bay, and regularly sends out alerts regarding specific applications to insure that our members are given the opportunity to comment on them.

Existing regulations state that aquaculture cages cannot be set on existing SAV beds.  Unfortunately, there are a number of areas which historically supported beds of SAV that no longer do so.  In addition to the impact of degraded water quality, there was a die-off about three years ago due to an unusually hot August.  Now modified regulations are proposed to protect these areas from encroachment by aquaculture operations, and to fully define these areas based on Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) ongoing SAV mapping programs.  It is hoped these regulations will aid recovery of the SAV beds that will occur in parallel with water quality improvements and future SAV restoration efforts.

CCA VA Fisheries Management Committee representatives plan to attend and participate in the September 18 informational meeting. Other CCA members are encouraged to attend, and to become involved with the process.  The Commission plans a public hearing October 28th to consider the new regulations. The results of the September 18 information meeting and the October 28 hearing will be carried in future CCA VA Infonets. If necessary, an action alert will be broadcast prior to the Commission hearing.