I hope this is not the start of something bad. A lot of us have been saying that the striped bass population was not as healthy as some has said. All it takes is a poor young of the year like this and things start to go downhill fast.

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service recently finalized the 2008 striped bass (rockfish) juvenile index, a measure of striped bass spawning success in Chesapeake Bay. The 2008 index is 3.2, below the long-term average of 11.7. During the survey DNR biologists collected 422 young-of-year (YOY) striped bass.

“Healthy striped bass populations are known for such highly variable spawning success,” said Eric Durell, DNR Fisheries Biologist. “This is just the third time in the past decade that striped bass reproduction in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay has been below average.”

Two of the most successful spawning years ever documented (2001 and 2003) also occurred during this period. Typically, several years of average reproduction are interspersed with occasional large and small year-classes.

Poor reproduction was also observed for other spring-spawning species such as white perch and American shad, leading biologists to suspect that large-scale environmental factors may be responsible. Heavy rains in early May resulted in decreased water temperatures on major striped bass spawning grounds.

“This spring water temperatures fell below levels known to be lethally cold to striped bass eggs and larvae,” explained Durell. “Survival of these sensitive life stages is a major determinant of spawning success.”

DNR biologists have monitored the reproductive success of striped bass and other species in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay annually since 1954. Twenty-two sites were surveyed in the four major spawning systems: Choptank, Potomac, and Nanticoke Rivers, and the Upper Chesapeake Bay. Biologists visit each site monthly from July through September, collecting fish samples with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine. The index is calculated as the average catch of YOY fish per sample.

For more information visit this link.

Just the other day we spotted the Lateral Line Crisfield Fishing Shirt in New Zealand with a picture from McCain with a wild fish. Today we spotted our Crisfield Summer/Tropical Fishing Shirt in KayakFishingMagazine.net‘s October Issue in their New Gear Round Up section.  Al and crew run a really great site and bi-annual magazine covering all you want to know about kayak fishing. Each month they put out a new edition on their website with updated kayak fishing artilces, tips and pictures from kayak angers around the country. Thanks for picking up out Crisfield fishing shirt guys!

A national registry of salt water angers has been mandated. Anglers can either register with the federal government, which will be free in 2009 and 2010, but cost $15-25 per year beginning in 2011; or Virginia can collect the data needed by the feds through state licensing and/or registration programs and “exempt” Virginia anglers from direct federal registration and the associated federal fee.

The new federal rule specifically excludes blanket boat licenses unless the State provides for individual registration. It also prohibits exemptions for blanket licenses on public piers and exemptions for fishing from private lands, which we have here in Virginia.

These requirements leave Virginia three basic options:

Option 1
Do nothing at the state level and let their anglers comply with the federal rule by registering directly with the feds.

Option 2
Modify the existing state saltwater fishing licensing program to meet the federal registration standards. This basically means licensing every angler from age 16 to 59 and somehow reporting name and contact information for those over 59 within 2 years of starting the registration program.

Option 2A
This option is much the same as option 2 with an adjustment to the individual license price that makes the change “revenue neutral” or at least less expensive. The “weekend pass” could be combined with this option to make cost for infrequent guests even lower.

Option 3

This option would create a hybrid system using individual licenses, boat licenses, and a free or low cost individual registration system at the state level (Fishing Informatioon Program—FIP; simlar to the hunting HIP now reqired for all hunters in VA) . For Virginia, this would mean we could leave the existing licensing system unchanged and require licensed anglers and guests fishing on private boats to register and carry their annual registration number with them when they fish. Registration can be accomplished with a simple telephone call.

The private boat license program has been popular with anglers because of the convenience of “automatically” licensing guests and because law enforcement does not have to board to check individual licenses. Individual anglers will have to be licensed and registered, and the presence of a boat license will not satisfy registration any anglers aboard. All Anglers aboard will have to register (once annually) before fishing by making a telephone call and receiving a number and law enforcement officers will have to check individuals for a boat license and proof of individual angler registration.

There are some significant opportunities for Creating a central angler registry that will be electronic and therefore legible, portable, and accessible and will finally provide Virginia with the data needed to lobby effectively for angler issues.

The Federal telphone registry will finally provide fisheries managers with tools necessary to assure more rational and accurate assessments of angler effort and catch. This will hopefully create a better sense of fair treatment in the angling community.

Send your comments by letter, fax, or email to:

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
2600 Washington Ave, 3rd Floor
Newport News, Virginia 23607
Attn: Jack Travelstead

Fax number 757-247-8101
E-mail to: jack.travelstead@mrc.virginia.gov
Please include your name, address and phone number on emails.
If using email, please copy comments@ccavirginia.org so CCA VA can monitor the results.