Throughout the season the staff for the Long Island/Metro Fisherman Magazine team corresponds with tackle shops, charter/party boats, boat dealers, and private anglers via email, phone, text, and face-to-face conversations. No matter what side of the industry you belong in or what your preferred angling method is, whether it be surf, boat, or kayak, the general consensus is that even with the on again off again nature of the quality of the fishing and finding fish, the state of the fisheries isn’t necessary the problem. Most can find fish. It’s the regulations. Finding keepers is extremely difficult and for that reason the status of the fishery is thought of as being mostly negative. This comes in the form of regulations at the top of the list, followed by tough fishing and, finally, the state of our economy as a whole, trickling down into the fishing industry.
It’s not just the stripers that are a hot topic this season with their tight 28 to 31-inch slot limit, making it tough for a charter or party boat to send customers home with fillets. The Long Island fishing industry is being crippled on all species fronts. Fluke, for example, was another one that saw more stringent regulations for ’24. While changes were made this season, such as bag and size limit increases that resulted in 19 inches for the first half of the season and 19-1/2 for the second. Up to this point for many the experience has been short after short after short.. This is a bread-and-butter species in our area. It fuels tackle shop sales all summer long and fills party and charter boats. We all know how expensive it is to own and operate a boat and how fishing participation affects boat sales.
The buck does not stop there, either. Sea bass regulations are brutal as well. We have been fishing on 16-1/2 inches for the past couple of seasons, and that’s with our season starting during the last week of June – after the reefs are picked pretty clean by commercial fishermen who have an open season before recs. Commercial fishing is also fishing on an 11-inch size limit.
Yeah, this all sounds pretty bad but maybe we can go to the dock and at least catch some snappers to get the kids involved for the future. Oh wait, we can only keep three of those as well.
We all respect the fisheries and, of course, know the importance of fisheries management, however, the Long Island recreational angling public just wants to take something home for the dinner table once in a while. For most, that’s not possible because we have to adhere to unreasonable size requirements; it’s just downright disheartening. How long before we start to see businesses falter? Fisheries managers must start to consider the importance of fishing to the livelihood of those vested in it as well as its contribution to the sanity of those living in what is perhaps the largest metropolises in the world – Long Island. Fishing is a positive lifestyle activity that helps society to decompress, and in a fast-paced, overpopulated place like Long Island that, if fishing is suppressed, it may result in very adverse effects.
As I mentioned before, we talk to individuals from both sides of the industry, and they have been voicing their thoughts on the matter as well. When speaking with John Mantione, former president of the New York Fishing Tackle Trade Association, he said, “It’s so unfortunate that a Long Island tradition that is part of our heritage is being dismantled by regulations that don’t take into consideration the health of this important industry. So many people, with so many agendas, have forced many of the businesses who are doing nothing more than catering to the desires of the public to fish to have an uncertain future.”
In speaking with Captain Mark Ryckman from the Montauk Star, he voiced his opinion by saying, “The for-hire industry is mandated by NYS to pay an annual fee so we can be allowed to take passengers fishing so they can harvest the natural bounty that surrounds them. Meanwhile, they overregulate us with ridiculous bag limits unjustifiably. Additionally, we supply them with the data of our production rates so they can continue to choke us and run for hire out of business.”
Obviously, we’re facing some tougher times here in the industry. I’m hoping to open the eyes of some people by putting this out there. Despite the challenges of finding keepers, especially in the doldrums of summer, the fall run puts that behind us with the fishing opportunities of the year starting right now! The waters will clear of most non-fishing boaters, and all of the species mentioned above will have their best showing with numbers, along with size as they prepare for their fall migration in the coming weeks and continuing into December, providing us with some of the best fishing of the year. This year the fluke season was expanded to October 15th. Starting September 1st the Sea Bass bag limit goes from 3 to 6 fish. The Porgy bag limit increases from 30 to 40 fish in September. Cod season opens in September. And our beloved tog will join the party in October giving us even more reason to get out there and have some fun! Fall fishing on Long Island is what we wait for and it all start in September. Don’t miss out!
Please continue to fish and shop at your local tackle shop. Now is the time to jump aboard a charter or party boat. This industry has been around for more than 100 years and has been a big part of many people’s lives.
Reach out and connect with your state and local officials and share your concerns about the current state of our Long Island Fishery – especially during the winter months coming up – this will be the time of the year where you can make a difference in regulations that made the summer fishing season tough for some of us.
