The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NFMS) announced in the October 17, 2008, Federal Register that the requirements set by Executive Order 13449 which established striped bass and red drum as gamefish have been fulfilled. NMFS determined that the current rules banning the sale of striped bass and red drum caught in federal waters in the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico achieve the intent of Executive Order 13449, signed by President George W. Bush on October 20, 2007.

“This ruling ensures that striped bass and red drum will survive and grow for generations of anglers to enjoy,” ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman said. “We are very pleased that NMFS has completed this ruling ensuring that federal waters will be closed to commercial fishing for these important gamefish.”

Executive Order 13449 established gamefish status for striped bass and red drum in federal waters. Gamefish status means that the two species are provided regulations and management measures to promote their well-being as a fish sought for recreational fishing and not for sale if caught in federal waters.

This announcement insures the recreational, economic and environmental benefits of two of the most popular gamefish in the United States. The order protects the fisheries in federal waters from commercial harvest, which include three miles to 200 miles offshore. The Order does not cover state waters, which go from the coastline to three miles offshore. Many states have conferred gamefish status for these species and the executive order encourages those that have not conferred gamefish status to do so. The announcement on October 17, 2008 signifies that the regulatory requirements of the executive order were fulfilled.

Matt Smart was fishing on a party boat out of Raritan Bay, Atlantic Highlands NJ with Capt. Ron Santee.  They drifted over the clam beds in about 15 to 25 feet of water behind the commercial clamming boats. The recent temperature drops and NE wind seemed to have brought in some of the bass from Long Island.  They found several large schools of bass consisting mostly of 28-32 inch bass with a few 38+ inch mixed in with each pod.  The fish in the picture was about 38 inches and 20 lbs.  The largest fish of the day was a 25 lb. bass.

Way to go Matt! Thanks for sending in the picture, we look forward to seeing more of you in Lateral Line gear with big stripers this season!

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved initiation of an addendum to explore additional options to control harvest in Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine).  Five specific measures will be considered for inclusion in the final draft: (1) monthly or bimonthly quotas with payback and carry over; (2) determination of landing and fishing days; (3) no fishing prior to June 1; (4) timely reporting of state-registered landings; and (5) restricted harvest of juvenile fish.

Currently, effort in Area 1A is controlled through a days at sea restriction. However, a 25 percent decrease in the Area 1A total allowable catch and a federal mid-water trawl ban from June 1 to September 30 have significantly changed the fishery since Amendment 2 implementation, limiting the overall effectiveness of the days at sea restriction to control harvest and effort.  The new addendum will seek to identify additional management tools to better control effort in the fishery.

The Section will seek input from its Technical Committee, Advisory Panel, and the Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee on the five measures and provide guidance to the Plan Development Team at the next Section meeting, scheduled for February 2009. For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at cvonderweidt@asmfc.org  or (202) 289-6400.

I received a call from fishing buddy Wild Bill yesterday saying he was reading an article in Smithsonian Magazine that was talking about how the size and numbers of fish have decreased over the years. The Senior Editor, Laura, of the Smithsonian printed pictures of typical catches from a Key West boat named Gulf Stream in 1957 and again in 1958 , 1983 and 2007. The boat has been updated to the Gulf Stream III and runs from the same slip. The contrast in the catches is striking. A link is not year on their site. If you have access to the Smithsonian, look at pages 56 to 58 in the September issue for a pictorial of how the fishing has changed. The catch in 1957 compared to 2007 is beyond startling. Laura fished a day on the Gulf Stream III and ends the editorial with: ” It was poignant to see so much excitement over catching [little] fish. The people on the boat don’t have any sense that it has changed so much.”

Wild Bill’s call sparked some interest so I went to the Smithsonian website to look around. I came across an article titled “Our Imperiled Oceans: Victory at Sea“which talks about a large reserve that was created in the Phoenix Islands in the Pacific, “Phoenix Islands, a remote, largely unpopulated archipelago 1,000 miles east of Tarawa. The 158,000-square-mile Phoenix Islands Protected Area, covering about 12 percent of Kiribati’s watery domain, holds some of the world’s most pristine coral reefs as well as a great abundance and diversity of tropical marine life. And it’s the first reserve to place such a large area of open ocean off-limits to commercial fishing. The reserve is one of the planet’s ecological bright spots, the boldest, most dramatic effort to save the oceans’ coral reefs, the richest habitat in the seas.”

While the reserve part of the article is interesting, what is even more interesting is a discussion relating a syndrome called “the shifting baseline syndrome”

It was only in the 1990s that marine scientists became aware of what Daniel Pauly, a fisheries biologist at the University of British Columbia, calls the shifting baseline syndrome—the problem of establishing historic populations of marine life in a given species or community. Just what is a healthy number of, say, red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico? “Each generation [of scientists] accepts as a base line the stock size and species composition that occurred at the beginning of [that generation's] career,”says Pauly. The result is that, over time, the expectation of the natural number of fish in the sea gets smaller and smaller—until the population is so small that even a modest environmental perturbation, or a tad more fishing, causes it to unexpectedly collapse as the cod population collapsed off Newfoundland and Labrador in the early 1990s. Sound familiar?

• Think that happened with blue crabs in the Chesapeake?….sure did.
• Think that happened with sea trout in the Chesapeake and along the east coast?…..sure did
• Think that happened with sturgeon in the Chesapeake?……sure did, wiped them out
• Think that happened with [u]oysters in the Chesaepake?….sure did, in fact our fisheries managers are so wacko that while they say we are at 1% of historic levels, they still allow for a commerical fishery that is clearly NOT sustainable…total joke (still waiting for CBF to come to their senses and make a statement like they did 10 years ago)
• Think that is what happened with Atlantic [U]blue fin tuna[/U].?..sure did, they will be gone soon, the NC fishery is about all gone already
• Think that is what happened with[U] tile fish [/U]in Florida, and almost happened in Virgina?…sure did
• Think that is what happened with [U]cod[/U] in the Northeast? ….sure did
• Think that is what is happening/happened with [U]menhaden [/U]along the east coast and now in the Chesapeake Bay?….bet it is…well in fact we know it happened, used to be 100 factories along the coast doing menhaden catching and processing, now we have one(1). Why is that? It’s because there are no more freaking menhaden to support the factories.
• Think that is what is happening again with [U]striped bass[/U]? (you would have thought we learned our lesson the first time)……I bet it is!

And I could go on, but I think everyone gets the point. If we do not get our head out of our rears sooner then later fishing for our next generation is going to put mildly, stink if not non-existent for many species. Will among the list of species not around in 50 years be striped bass? Is striped bass management a victim of shifting baseline syndrome? What do you think? Leave your comments, I’d be interested in hearing them

Brandon

The Billfish Foundation is asking for your help in pressing our fight against recent action by Mexico’s fisheries agency to allow for a bycatch of sailfish, dorado, marlin and other sport fishing species in the shark longline fishery (Nom-029). Senator Luis Coppola of Los Cabos is championing our cause in the Mexican Senate. He wants to hear from billfish conservationists around the world showing their support to repeal the bycatch allowances.

Please visit one of the Sea Watch hosted websites below and choose an email letter to send Senator Coppola. The letters are very simple to modify and can be personalized as you please. This will only take a minute of your time, but will make a world of difference to the fish and sportfishing! Thank you for taking a moment to participate in this important task.
Photo courtesy of Thomas Adrien.

Mail Campaign Bycatch Letter

Starting this Sunday, October 19 at 8pm ET/PT, National Geographic Channel will be airing four new episodes of HOOKED, which will feature exciting stories of anglers who have caught record-breaking sizes of fish in the waters off of the coasts of New Zealand to California. Each episode features 3 to 4 locations around the world, with first-person accounts from fishermen and women, as well as insightful commentary from conservationists weighing in on the environmental impact.

HOOKED: FISH GONE WILD
Sunday, October 19, at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT
Using only a rod and a reel, New Zealand fishing celebrity Matt Watson snares the largest predatory fish on the planet, the great white shark.  Working with the department of conservation, he’ll hook a great white, pull it to the boat and clip a tissue sample from its fin.  The DNA will help scientists map the migrations, growth rates and genetic families of these apex predators.  Then, head to Germany to get up close with Europe’s largest freshwater fish, the wels catfish.  These aggressive bottom-feeders will devour just about anything, including animals above water!  We’ll witness one man wrestle a 7-foot-long wels catfish with his bare hands.  Next up, we’ll visit fishing mecca Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.  Here, a fishing adventurer catches record-sized marlin from his kayak.  Big game kayak fishing is extremely dangerous.  Even the most skilled sportsman can lose a limb, his boat or his life.

HOOKED: MAN VS. FISH
Sunday, October 19, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT
Back in New Zealand, Matt Watson performs emergency surgery on a 5-foot-long, 150-pound dogtooth tuna.  Injured during Matt’s struggle to bring it to the surface, the titanic tuna’s swim bladder filled with air, preventing the team from safely releasing the fish back into the water.  In the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Key West, we’ll witness two sportsmen battle a massive lemon shark, bring it to shore to register their catch and then release the fish back into the wild.  How do they do it?  A unique onboard holding pen, specially designed to keep the shark in water while they race it to shore.  Next, we’re off to Thailand, where it takes three grown men to net a massive armor-plated arapaima.  Next, in the Gulf of Mexico, a teenager takes on a titanic tarpon.  Finally, in Brazil, follow pro fisherman Jair Rigotti as he chases a lifelong obsession — hooking the “mother fish” of the Amazon, a giant piraiba.

HOOKED: GONE MONSTER FISHING
Monday, October 20, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT

We’ll head to Kennebunkport, Maine, for a fishing expedition with the former commander-in-chief, George H.W. Bush.  Known for its massive size and armored jaws, the tarpon is certainly difficult to hook, but this former president doesn’t back down from a challenge — watch his impressive battle with a bathtub-sized tarpon, using only a fly reel!  Then, take a personal tour of the 41st president’s fishing shed, packed with his favorite fishing rods and lures.

In Southern California, experience the heart-racing showdown between Marylin Stephens and a record-breaking mako shark.  See the angler’s worst fear come true when the hooked shark charges the boat and the hunter becomes the hunted!  Next, in San Carlos Bay, Florida, home video shows angler Nelson Diaz make the catch of his career, hooking a goliath grouper that measures a jaw-dropping 7 feet long, 6 feet around, and weights an estimated 500 pounds.  Finally, off the coast of Virginia, watch fishermen struggle with a stingray the size of an office cubicle and see the grueling tug-of-war between an angler and a bluefin tuna.  The mega catch stretches an astounding 9 feet long and measures more than 6 feet around — it takes several men to hoist the giant tuna.

MONSTER FISH OF THE MEKONG
Tuesday, October 21, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT

Join National Geographic Explorer Zeb Hogan on a quest to save some of the biggest freshwater fish in the world.  We’ll track the elusive and legendary freshwater stingray in northern Cambodia.  These giant stingrays grow to mammoth proportions — and Zeb Hogan gets up close and personal with one of them.  Then, Hogan is off to Thailand to study the giant Mekong catfish, which can grow to be as large as a grizzly bear!  Today, the giant Mekong catfish are in danger of extinction due to overfishing and rapid development along the great rivers of Asia.  Using underwater tracking devices to locate their spawning grounds, Hogan attempts to unravel the mystery of where these titans of the deep breed.  Then, witness a rare capture of a giant Mekong catfish and watch Hogan persuade local fisherman to release the endangered creature back into the wild

ABOUT HOOKED
The Hooked specials are produced for the National Geographic Channel by Michael Hoff Productions.  For Michael Hoff Productions, series producers are Michael Hoff and Ashley Adams. For the National Geographic Channel, executive producer is Chris Valentini, senior vice president of special programming is Michael Cascio, and executive vice president of content is Steve Burns.  Monster Fish of the Mekong is produced by IFA Films for National Geographic Channels International. For IFA Films, executive producer is Joe Phua. For National Geographic Channel producer is Ali Felix.

To check if National Geographic Channel is available in your area, please visit here (right hand column towards the bottom of the page) and search by your zip code.

First yesterday the report of a low young of the year index for Maryland Striped Bass and now an email I received from Stripers Forever about three miles of dead striped bass off Cape Cod. There were unfortunately no pictures which just gives the commerical fishing fraction reason to suggest it was a false report. If you witness anything like this you should document it with pictures, even if you take the pictures with a camera phone. A picture says a million words more then just a letter. Having said that we commend this angler for reporting the incident and taking the time to write a letter to the New England Fishery Council.

—-

From Stripers Forever: Recently we received a copy of a letter from an eyewitness referring to discarded bycatch of striped bass in an area east of outer Cape Cod.  You can read the letter by clicking on this link.  This bycatch, whether by mid-water herring trawlers or groundfish draggers, is well known to be an annual occurrence during the peak of the fall migration.  This kind of waste, combined with the bloated take of the legal and black market commercial striped bass fisheries, certainly contribute to the numerous reports we’ve received this season about poor striper fishing from many areas along the Atlantic coast.

These dead fish should certainly be counted towards commercial striped bass quotas, but they are not.  In fact, we think that they are uncounted not only for quotas but also when calculating the overall fishing mortalities that fishery managers use in setting harvest levels.  The bottom line is that this is just another important reason that there should be no commercial striped bass fishery.

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.