Atlantic river herring populations (alewives and blueback herring) have fallen by more than 95% over the last two decades, prompting the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list them as “species of concern.” Since river herring spend most of their lives at sea, bycatch in industrial trawl fisheries for Atlantic herring, mackerel and other small pelagic fish is suspected to be a significant source of mortality, but adequate data collection, monitoring, and reporting programs to control bycatch have yet to be implemented. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) reports, “Preliminary analyses indicate that, in some years, the total bycatch of river herring species by the Atlantic herring fleet alone could be equal to the total landings from the entire in-river directed fishery on the East Coast.”

In response to the river herring decline, the ASMFC released Draft Amendment 2 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Shad and River Herring for public comment. Hearings are being held throughout the Atlantic states until mid-December, and written comments will be accepted through January 1, 2009.

At-sea bycatch must be minimized if we are to restore river herring runs. Please see NCMC’s web site for full story and instructions on how to comment.

Remember if we do not have a sufficient about of forage fish like herring to feed the bigger fish like Striped Bass, Bluefin Tuna, Bluefish, and the list goes on then the bigger fish can not live.

Large concentrations of bass in some areas doesn’t necessarily equate to a healthy stock

Man, there were some crazy striped bass blitzes in Montauk this year.  The kind that make you just drop your rod and say “Holy *@$%!”.  Truly extraordinary stuff.  Understandably, such blitzes might make one believe that striped bass are extremely abundant.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  In other regions, particularly the Northeast, there are widespread complaints about the lack of quality stripers.  In Maine, guides are going out of business because of the very real lack of what was once a thriving fishery.
As guides like Capt. Dave Pecci and Capt. Doug Jowett point out, it’s not due to the lack of forage as there seems to be abundant bait concentrations in the areas that they fish.  Indeed I fear that Maine’s position at the northernmost part of the striped bass migration makes it a bellwether state.

In light of such Montauk blitzes, I ask you to consider the below passage taken from a University of New Hampshire Department of Natural Resources document titled   A Guide to Fisheries Stock Assessment.  This is the document used to educate members of the fisheries management councils on how fisheries stock assessments are conducted:

“Fishermen will actively seek out areas with greater fish concentrations. As a result, their catch-per-unit effort could remain stable in the face of a declining stock. Consider a stock that contracts its range as the population shrinks, or increases its range as the population grows. Despite the changing range, catch-per-unit effort may remain relatively constant if the fishermen focus their effort on the center of the range, where fish density remains relatively stable.”

With this in mind, I would think managers would be practicing extreme caution when managing striped bass, particularly in light of its immense recreational value.  Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.   Delaware and Pennsylvania want open two-month fishing seasons targeting mature male
striped bass.  Maryland has proposed to extend non-quota management for its trophy fishery in 2009 and until stock assessment indicates that corrective action is necessary, and Virginia wants to extend its season.   All of these measure will increase fishing mortality on striped bass.  In my opinion they are reckless, and they show no respect for the views of those hardworking Maine guides that are being forced out of business.  Undoubtedly, there seems to be a trend toward killing more bass rather than a move in the other direction.

That’s understandable given the recent stock assessment and the states’ understanding that their anglers want to kill more bass.  But I think there’s a large majority of folks that would rather proceed down a precautionary road.  Once which insures that we have plenty of big fish around in the future.  It’s up to these anglers to let their state reps know their wishes.  It seems as if the kill-more-fish-now folks are the only ones being listened to at this point, and that has to stop.

Captain John McMurray

 Blitzes, blitzes and more blitzes.  From Jersey to Montauk, the bass run is on in full force.  Bay anchovies seem to be the driving factor off the Jersey and Long Island Coasts, while the inshore scene seems to be dominated by peanut bunker.  In the New York Metro area, the back bays finally lit up as large schools of bass and bluefish discovered the immense peanut bunker populations that have been in Jamaica Bay since Sept.  The fishing gets better every day.  Same sort of scenario farther east.  And, while Montauk is indeed petering out, there is still some exceptional fishing to be had on the right days.  In Rhode Island, Connecticut and Mass, the fall has been somewhat disappointing, but there is still time for a rally.  The clock is ticking though.

New Jersey Saltwater Fishing Reports
From southern New Jersey Capt. Bryan DiLeo from Iowa Fortune Guide Service checks in with this report:
“This past week and a half, simply put, was on fire throughout the SJ back country with plenty of willing Bass. See it…Catch it!  We once again saw it all this past week, everything from waking Bass, to tailing Bass, rolling Bass, and tail slapping Bass so tight to the edges sipping bait that it would require pin point accuracy (and a lot of patience) when casting in order to catch them. As I said months ago, whatever Striper action we have leading up to and through the July 4th week will remain with us throughout the rest of the summer, and as it has been in the past, this trend leads to an explosive fall. I expected the same for this season, as this past week has shown. Mostly all of the Bass this week were taken on top water presentations filling the needs of my fly and light tackle clients alike. The Bass were certainly not shy on showing themselves, tracking well and willing to cooperate on a consistent basis. With a plethora of bait now available throughout the entire back country the Bass jumped in weight and in size since my last report. Most of the Bass this week ranged in size from 22″ - 31″ with some definite bigger lurkers in the 34″+ class that we saw on a daily basis as they made attempts at either inhaling our top water offerings or coming up boatside with other hooked bass, but unfortunately managed to allude us throughout the entire week. Nonetheless the excitement generated by seeing one of these hogs exploding on the surface in pursuit of your lure or fly is a sight that will most certainly be played over and over in your mind for days. Bluefish are also still on the prowl in the shallows and could often be seen sipping the surface in the early morning but the Bass action always supersedes all other species and therefore we did not take the opportunity to target them. The high sun bite is here to stay for the rest of the fall, so no more sleep depriving, around the clock, over caffeinated work schedules. It is time to sleep in a bit, Striped Bass fishing at its finest. Photos and daily reports can be found on my web site.”

New York Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. David Azar from One More Cast  Charters checks in with this Lower New York Harbor report:
“Before all this wind we’ve been having fishing in the Jamaica Bay and Rockaway areas was shaping up real well.  Large blues and lots of stripers were busting the surface at various locales.  The best areas seem to change from day to day, but we have been consistently able to find the fish and put together some excellent catches.  All indicators are looking good for a strong fall run.”

Bob Giordano checks in with this North Shore Report:
‘”Hey John, a couple of small schoolies this past Friday in Huntington Harbor on clousers off the points. Word of good bite out in the sound but all these northerlies have kept me at bay. No pun intended. Hope to get out there soon as the backwater’s getting close to done. Once the Bufflehead ducks come in it’s official.”

From out East, Capt. David Blinken from North Flats Guiding checks in with this Montauk report:
“As the moon waxed so did the fish and we experienced the most explosive bass blitz since I have been fishing, but alas the waning moon took it all away as the word implies. It was one of the most amazing displays of natures mysteries. Over the past month the fishing had built up to a crescendo like a Beethoven symphony only to end as abruptly and silently as it began. The beginning of the week started like the previous one with thousands of fish in every direction. The water was so clear it was like fishing in an aquarium. One could actually see the fish following a fly up from the bottom attacking it. The albies were sparse as they were the previous week but it did not matter the bass more than made up for it eating flies at will. From Columbus Day weekend till Tuesday was spectacular with massive bait balls of anchovies stretched over areas as large as a soccer pitch. Then came Wednesday and the fish were nowhere to be found, no one got skunked but very few fish were caught. On Thursday my anglers Joel and Rich saw firsthand what happened the day before when we made a foray to the Montauk point early. When I saw what was going on we made a 180 degree turn and we made for Gardner’s Island where we experienced a bluefish blitz that rivaled what the bass had been doing at the point earlier in the week. We put shock tippets on and had at them until about 3 P.M. Then we headed back to the point just in time for the usual late afternoon blitz (we were spoiled from the previous month) which lasted about two glorious hours.  We are now experiencing the first significant  weather event of the fall with northeast winds in excess of 20 mph, hopefully when things resume on Monday the fishing will pick up. Interestingly; when I spoke to people in other places up and down the east coast over the past month the fishing was rather poor especially in the bass department which gives more credence to my season long theory that there are fewer bass around. Yes, there were large blitzes in Montauk but it was very localized in about a 5 square mile area. Even the back bays in my area were without bass which is\ unusual for this time of year. We Must be vigilant and demand stricter regulations and devise a liscencing system that counts sport anglers to gauge the impact we have on our fishery. Until next week keep releasing and tight lines. The fishing has rebounded nicely with bass and fewer blues. The water temps have dropped into the mid to lower 50’s which will hopefully bring in larger bait. There are still anchovies around in large numbers from Gardner’s Island to Montauk point. As usual this time of year we have weather dictating when we can go out which ends up being 3 to 4 days a week. It seems like the bass will be sticking around for a while, so if you can avoid looking at the stock market and the presidential race fishing is the way to go! (There is nothing like a little escapism) Tight lines. Note; if you have a chance look at the spring stock assessment and report it does not bode well for our favorite fish the bass.”

Capt. Robin Calitri from Longislandflyfishing.com checks in with this Montauk Report:
“There were fish and breakers on North Bar at Montauk on Tuesday Oct. 21.  My son Todd Calitri and I were enjoying Bass everywhere when I noticed a small boat in close.  Next thing, a giant roller came in and the boat that I was watching completely disappeared.  I thought for sure that the two anglers were in the drink to I began to get as close a possible thinking that I would have to pluck some wet fly fishers out of the water.  We then heard an outboard screaming and the boat flew over the next breaker.  Todd and I could see six feet of air between the propeller and the water.  The two anglers were launched straight up and were still 4 feet above the boat when it hit.  They both landed safely but shaken.  This was an excellent fisherman who fishes the waters off Montauk almost every day.  Two morals to this story are, remain vigilant every second and there are plenty of fish to catch.Dr. Jeff Brody of  RI joined Todd and me for a Montauk first.  Jeff wanted to go ‘catching’ not fishing and we did.  Jim Del Grosso joined us. The reports from Wednesday were dismal.   Thursday October 16 was an epic day.  We had Albies first and then BASS, BASS, BASS with a few Blues off the Point.  We had to wait out some morning wind on Friday, but Brian Warden, Chris Morton, Scot Calitri, Todd Calitri and I had another BASSASOROUS tide with fish to 30 inches, one after another on flies. It blew Saturday and Sunday but Monday evening was calm.  Scot Calitri fished with his blue Scout off Montauk with Todd, Chris and Brian while Jim Del Grosso and I went to Bostwick Rip off Gardiner’s Island.  There were plenty of fish, mostly monster Blues. On Tuesday we got an early two boat move.  Todd Calitri and I fished the Yellow Scout and Chris Morton, Brian Warden and Scot Calitri fished the Blue Scout.  We quit at 1PM.  The wind was up and we each caught about as many Bass as we wanted so we quit and left them biting.  Thanks to Saltydoc for this fine picture of the Blue Scout. Len Zimmerman plies the waters of the East and Hudson.  He is a fine skier and looks like a heck of a fisherman.  Nice going Len for the 40 pound, pier caught Bass.
\If you haven’t gotten a shot that this Montauk blitz fishing, there is still time.  On the local front, the Bass and Blues are set up on the rips at Eaton’s Neck for the fly and jig fisherman.”

Also checking in from out East is Capt. Ken Rafferty:
“This is that time of the year when you never know what the weather will do. But when you can get out, it’s worth it!
SEPT 29th…Full-day…Dr. Mark Rubin and his father Dr. Bob Rubin…Fly and Spin.
Montauk is going nuts with fish, blitzes everywhere, north and south side. Trying to keep track was hard on this day but we do know Mark had three slams on the fly (Stripers, Albies and Blues) and many, many additional Stripers and Blues. Bob landed Blues and Stripers and lost two Albies.
OCT 1st…Late-day…2:30pm till 6:30pm Mark and Bob Rubin.
We couldn’t count how many blitzes there were on the north side from the light house down to Shagwong pt. There were so many fish you didn’t have to look for a blitz, all you had to do was cast and you would hook-up with fish that were on there way to join a blitz. This day both anglers had lots of Grand slams.
OCT 2nd…Northwest winds of 25 mph…No fishing.
OCT 3rd…Weather was still bad…No fishing.
OCT 4th…Morning…John DeMeritt…Spin Tackle.
The weather calmed  down and we headed out to find more Stripers, Blues and Albies. John had at least six slams.
OCT 5th…Windy…No fishing.
OCT 6th…Windy…No fishing.
Oct 7th…Late afternoon…Sean Patrick…Fly-fishing.
Once again we ran into blitzes as soon as we were east of Shagwong pt. and they continued all the way out to the light house. Sean had four grand slams that we know of and then we lost count of what type and how many fish were landed. At one point he had a good sized Striper on and after about ten minutesit broke his rod and the line was cut down in the rocks.
OCT 8th…Late-day…Brad Pullman and his friend Jeff…Fly-fishing.
We headed out at noon and rounded the point to the southside where we found Albies busting on the surface down by the old Andy Warhole estate, where they both landed a few. A little later we fished near the shore in among the boulders picking up Stripers in water that was so clear you could see the bottom, 15 feet below and watch the fish going by chasing bait. Both anglers had three slams and to many Stripers to count.
OCT 9th…Late-day again with Brad and Jeff.
We tried to repeat the previous days fishing but couldn’t find Albies anywhere and so it was Stripers and Bluefish on the northside. At one point there were so many Stripers around the boat you would once in a while hear them slapping against the hull while swallowing mouthfuls of bay Anchovies.
OCT 10th…No fishing.
OCT 11th…Late-day…Dr. Mark Melrose…Spin Tackle.
We had intended to fish in the early morning but it was little to windy so we waited until noon to head out and it payed off. At first Mark had trouble hooking up although there were lots of fish around us in large schools. I kept changing lures, colors, types and sizes but the first hour was a bust.
Finally Mark hooked up and landed a Bluefish that was mixed in with a thousand Stripers…but at least we had one on the boat. After that almost every cast produced a Striper or a Blue right until it was almost dark. Once again no Albies anywhere.
OCT 12th…Late-day…My son Ken and three of his friends, Jon York, John Landi and John Barton were on board….lots of Johns, we might as well have been in Reno, Nevada…..lololol.                                                                                                   We were on the water by 2:00pm. Put on 32 miles by 6:30pm. We were surrounded by 25 other boats and only seen one fish landed on Tom McPartland’s boat by his son James on the Fly-rod. Where did all those fish go that were here for days and days?
OCT 13th…Full-day…Michael Salzhauer, aboard his boat…Fly-fishing.
As we left the from Three Mile Harbor at 10:00am I told Michael about the previous days fishing and how bad it was that four anglers in four hours hadn’t caught a fish…..Michael looked worried…lol.  Our goal was Montauk but we headed first to Bostwick Pt. on the west side of Gardiner’s Island in hopes of finding some Albies but had no luck. From there we went to Eastern Plains Pt. where we found lots of Bluefish busting the surface but no Albies so we set a course straight for Montauk.
We passed Shagwong and all the way to the light house we didn’t see a fish or a bird until we came around the point. There must have been 25 to 30 boats along the shoreline with fishing busting everywhere, Michael hooked up on his first cast…a nice Striper. The fishing remained hot all day long, Striper, Striper, Striper then a Blue…..just like that a three for one ratio but no Albies. We hated to stop for lunch but there were so many fish it didn’t matter. Michael stated it was one of the best day of fishing he has ever had and figured he landed well over 25 Stripers and at least a dozen Bluefish, I think his count was light. We fished until 5:00pm and headed back to East Hampton.
OCT 14th…Late-day…Lou and Tom Fedi, brothers…Fly-fishing.
Both Lou and Tom are Fresh water Fly-fisherman, this would be there first time fishing saltwater. At 2:00pm we were on the water and it was a repeat of the previous day, Stripers everywhere and once in a while a Bluefish to keep you making Flies….lolol. Neither angler could believe there eyes when a blitz occurred, they would stop casting and just stare in amazement.  Tom said the sound was like a giant waterfall…..almost deafening. Both anglers were exhausted as we headed in at 6:00pm…..once again no Albies.
OCT 15th…Late-day…Michael Davis, his son Johnny and their friend Will…Spin Tackle. We headed out with the last of the outgoing tide and a light east wind so it made the ripe at Shagwong and the point not very easy to stand up in. But that wasn’t the bad part of the day…we couldn’t find any Stripers never mind Albies.
We had about 20 small blitzes along the north side but all were Bluefish. Everyone on board hooked up and landed Bluefish a few times but this is not what you expect from Montauk this time of the season.
OCT 16th…Early morning…Richard Bettis…Spin Tackle.
This was Richards first time fishing out here on the east coast in salt water. I headed out at 7:00am and we found nice schools of Stripers along the north side in near Oyster Pond. Rich landed about five or six before he hooked up with a 8 lb. Bluefish, he said he thought he had a shark on as it peeled out his 10 lb. test. We finished up by 11:30am with rich landing 21 Stripers and 14 Bluefish. The largest Striper we landed so far this month was 38 inches long and weighed 22 lbs. I am finding the average size of these Stripers is about 27 inches long but when there here they are in big schools. I assume the larger Striped Bass will wait until the water temp drops some…it is still 62 to 64 degrees.”

Bob Wilkanowski checks in with this Montauk Report:
“Hey John.  You know the story already…this has been a stellar year for bass at Montauk. I had two outstanding trips over the last two weeks. One on October 10 with David Blinken and Terry Brykcynski and the other yesterday with Dino Torino and Patrick Long. Both produced countless bass in the 20-27” range with an occasional cow if you were able to pick one out of the crowd (see attached). Yesterday was a late trip since the we decided to wait for the wind to lie down and we wound up having a fantastic afternoon as the tide began to ebb around 4:30. We went in at sunset while the bass were still up in great numbers. These were not the boils we’ve seen in early October, but more like a steady simmer; “mother nature at her finest” as Dino would say. It was interesting for me to observe that the end of the outgoing at the start of our trip and the beginning of the outgoing later on was when the bass were up and feeding most voraciously, while most of the action in between (incoming tide) was 6-10 pound bluefish.  We spent most of the day in the rip off the point and near the radar tower on the north side. I did not see any large bait, only bay anchovies and tons of it.”

Connecticut and Rhode Island Saltwater Fishing Reports
Capt. Sandy Noyes from Rumrunner Charters checks in with this final report from eastern Connecticut:
“We are all done for this season. We fished three days last week for rapidly dwindling numbers of stripers. We managed to find fish each day but with the winds and cold it is time. For whatever reason, we had a scarcity of bait this Fall and it showed with the amount of fish coming through. My thanks to all the people that fished with us this year and I hope to see you all next year.”

Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Reports
Things are quite north of Rhode Island, with the exception of some mammoth schools of bluefin.   Most folks have packed it in for the season already though. 

Capt. John McMurray

Lateral Line Ambassador Cory Routh has been working hard over the last year to produce his first book titled “Kayak Fishing” that will be released in August.

Readers will get a quick, clear understanding of the essential information needed to get started in the growing sport of kayak fishing. Cory Routh covers everything needed to know for safe, fun and successful kayak fishing, including:

• Choosing the right kayak for fishing
• Selecting PFDs and paddles
• Kayak safety and self-rescues
• Basic and advanced kayak rigging
• Transporting your kayak
• Choosing the right fishing gear
• Stealth and presentation
• Fighting and landing fish
• Freshwater fishing
• Saltwater fishing
• Fly-fishing techniques
• Kayak fishing instructors and guide listing

PODCAST
Listen to a Podcast with Cory from the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival where I talk to him about his new book, his guide service and kayak fishing in and around his home waters of Virginia Beach.

 

 Kayak Fishing by Cory Routh [8:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

I had known that there were over ten different unique populations of striped bass around the United States and even that striped bass along the eastern Atlantic coast migrated all the way down to Florida. However, I never knew we actaully had a striped bass population along the gulf coast. I was reading the newest edition of Eddies today and sure enough not only are there striped bass along the gulf coast, there is a huge restoration effort happening. Pretty cool, read more below.

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The genetically unique Gulf Coaststrain of striped bass was once common to rivers pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1960’s, its population had declined significantly due to poor water quality and loss of habitat from a wave of dam construction. The last known population of native striped bass survived in low numbers in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Twenty-five years ago, these states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed a powerful partnership to restore Gulf striped bass in the ACF. Some remarkable achievements have been made. We know more about its life history and its genetic integrity is safeguarded. The partners evaluate each year the stocking success and food availability; a young-of-year index estimates year-class strength; creel surveys evaluate recreational fishing; and telemetry studies have revealed the waters that provide essential temperatures the fish need. And now many of those coolwater habitats have been protected or rehabilitated. Recreational fishing in these places is carefully managed. Through the partnership, Radium Springs on the Flint River was purchased for habitat protection. Dead Lake Dam on the Chipola River was removed, and the operations at other dams have improved. Biologists have evaluated fish passage problems throughout the basin. Seven state and six federal hatcheries cooperatively stock more than one million Gulf striped bass a year. New recreational fisheries have been created, and anglers have set exciting new records. This work has been a catalyst for striped bass restoration throughout the Gulf region. Today, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi are helping this remarkable 25-yearold partnership ensure the success of this unique and important fish across much of its historic range.

Virginia NEW STRIPED BASS RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2008

The new striped bass regulations have been set. They are for the 2008 fall striped bass season inside Chesapeake Bay’s Virginia waters.

The CHESAPEAKE BAY regulations will remain the way they have been until December 21, 2008.
From now until December 21,2008 you are allowed to keep two (2) striped bass per person with a minimum length of 18 inches. No fish may be kept between 28 and 34 inches long. One (1) of your two fish may be 34 inches or longer.

That changes on December 21, 2008. From December 21, 2008 until the bay season ends December 31, 2008 you can only keep one fish per person. It can be on either side of the no-take slot limit.

The Atlantic Ocean Fishery Regulations are UNCHANGED. The regulations are two (2)  striped bass per person with a minimum of 28 inches.

Thank goodness.  The Chesapeake Bay’s biggest problem is clean water. I have been a strong advocate of reduced harvest limits for all user groups as result of declining fish populations. The biggest culprit for these declining fish populations over time, beyond over fishing, is the lack of clean water. Congrats to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation for taking a hard stance and taking action

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from Will Baker, Chesapeake Bay Foundation President

Dear Brandon,

For the better part of the last day and a half, I have been talking with reporters. And, just this morning, we formally announced our “notice of intent” to sue the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to force the federal agency to keep its promises to reduce pollution and clean up the Bay. Such a notice is required 60 days before actual litigation is filed.

We are taking this extreme step because not once, not twice, but three times, the EPA has signed agreements to reduce pollution in the Bay. The latest, the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement signed by the states and feds in June of 2000, would have cut nitrogen and phosphorus pollution enough to remove the Bay and tributary rivers from the federal Impaired Waters List. Eight years later, EPA admits they will miss this goal, and they are discussing moving the deadline back another twelve years!

We’ve had it with these delays. So we are going to federal court. We are targeting EPA as the lead federal agency responsible for upholding the Clean Water Act. And, we are not going it alone. Watermen, recreational anglers, and former elected officials have joined in this action.

Here is a link www.cbf.org/c2k to a lot more information about this action. We are going to need your support. Please sign the petition, send the EPA Administrator an e-mail, and sign up for our rally on November 20th in Washington, DC.

Thank you,

I read the below article in the Jersey Coast Anglers Association October Newsletter and thought it was interesting. Are yellow fin now going to disappear? Will pictures like the one here be a thing of the past?  Does our Atlantic Tuna Management need a total overhaul? You decide.

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Highly Migratory Species Report   by John T. Koegler
Missing Yellowfin Tuna

After a good early season, which lasted until Early August, the Yellowfin tuna totally vanished. There were many explanations offered but that did not make up for this key offshore species. The slack was taken up by the strong showing of bluefin tuna along the 30 fathom line.

This fishery lasted over 4 weeks with a few weekends the area resembled a Wal-Mart parking lot. Then for no good reason dirty green water moved into the prime fishing area and the bluefin moved inshore to the 20 fathom line.

The white marlin fishing has been very good. The Mid-Atlantic $500,000 tournament recorded 388 white marlin caught with almost all being released alive. The big surprise was the tiny number of tuna registered in the tournament. Only 13 were weighed in for the lowest total in the last 20 years for this tournament.

In September NMFS changed their rules for bluefin tuna and now permitted General Category boats to land up to 3 giant bluefin tuna per day. The reason is for the fourth year in a row the huge New England giant bluefin tuna fishery has vanished. A few giants were landed early in the season but the main body of fish failed to show.

Many New England fishermen had believed lack of key forage species like herring had encouraged the giants to keep going and end up in Canadian waters where they had another good giant season. But commercial herring landings were reduced! So far it does not appear to have worked despite a major change in herring catch rules.

Small bluefin tuna showed up in good quantity in their old fishing grounds like the Mudhole and Chicken Canyons along the 20 fathom line. A few skippers were delighted but the absurd NMFS limit of 1 school tuna and 1 large school per boat trip reduced the number of boats willing to spend the huge fuel dollars to fish to a tiny number. At the same time on the other side of the Atlantic, the ICCAT bluefin tuna management farce continues. The EU closed the giant Fishery 2 weeks early because they estimated the full giant bluefin quota had been caught and sold. Nations like France and Spain ignored the rules and part of their fleet continued to fish for bluefin.

There is no internal force within any European country to enforce ICCAT rules. So again after 32 years, the US and Canada are the only countries with regulations. In the US the toughest regulations apply to the huge recreational fleet while the commercial fleet is given most of the US quota. Meanwhile, our ICCAT representatives reduced our 2008 quota by hundreds of tons of bluefin once again with the absurd expectation that the European countries would impose the tougher ICCAT regulations and lower their quotas as proposed by their scientific arm.

No one should be surprised that the Europeans refused to impose the 2008 lower quota. Naturally, the US imposes their reduction for about the 10th time while the Europeans refused to accept their lower ICCAT quota for the 10th time. Why the US delegation to ICCAT expects quota acceptance by the Europeans after 32 years of a total refusal are an unreasonable expectation!

An unusual bluefin spawning success in 1995 and 1997 increased the number of US bluefin tuna population greatly. Now these 2 year classes are sexually mature. Now the number of school fish is exploding! Will US recreational fishermen ever be permitted to catch a few bluefin their conservation permitted to expand? This will happen the same as the Feds lower our taxes.

One good item in the offshore area is the ban on longline fishing in the Florida strait which has permitted the Mahi-mahi population to sharply increase in numbers. Offshore anglers are enjoying their best Mahi fishing in the last 20 years. It will likely be short lived since NMFS in an absurd ruling has created a new version of longline fishing named buoy fishing. In buoy fishing the longline is attached to a buoy with a specified number of hooks and then tied to the boat fishing. This is not supposed to be longline fishing but the reduction in the number of small swordfish and other pelagic fish is evident. So much for expecting NMFS regulations to ever benefit anglers for long.

It is expected that the hurricane glances that have brushed the east coast will churn up the ocean enough that yellowfin tuna will return to end the season on a positive note. As everyone has noticed yellowfin fishing reduces slightly each year. It is a mere shadow of what anglers caught 20 year ago. Naturally, the problem is the huge number of purse seine boats fishing off the coast of Africa on the spawning yellowfin and bigeye tuna each year. Eight years ago their countries agreed in writing that they would reduce their landings. Naturally, after 8 years their landings keep increasing and the US ICCAT group does nothing, not even complain when it is evident that they are not reducing their landings and saving the US east coast fishery. Can anglers ever expect NMFS to get ICCAT to work? Clearly, ICCAT is a worthless organization.

After thirty-two years of expecting the European countries to follow their agreed to ICCAT rules seems absurd. Why do the US ICCAT reps expect the 33rd year to be different?

Go offshore fishing now! There are fish to be caught before the stripers arrive and the weather turns cold despite global warming.

This article is located here in JCAA’s Oct 2008 Newsletter.