We’re about a month in on the new coastwide striped bass regulations (one fish, 28 to 31 inches) and beginning to see clear dividing lines between the “keep” and “keep nots” within our community. That is, one side wishes to be able to target and sustainably harvest a striped bass for the table, the other hoping to see striped bass transition to a pure “catch and release” fishery.
While the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cited protection of the 2015 year class of striped bass as the rationale for dropping the upper end of the slot range to 31 inches, looking through social media accounts and jotting down notes from recent meetings I’m left thinking there’s more to this than just conserving the larger body of 32-inch and over stripers. When the New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council (Council) met on June 20th to vote the new regulations into place there were some audience members who embraced the decision, others who questioned the commission’s logic and lack of public input.
On the one side, Capt. Brian Williams who runs a light tackle guide service out of Ocean City said “stripers are more valuable as a catch and release sport fishery, they contribute more to the economy that way than they do as a consumption fishery, so I think we need to start looking at this as a sportfishery, not a consumption fishery.”
On the other side of the line was former The Fisherman editor now deckhand (and captain) Chris Lido of the party boat Gambler out of Point Pleasant who said, “in America right now there’s a big push for farm to table. Everyone wants clean, organic produce, the same with the ocean.” Capt. Lido went on to say “there’s a big push now for something called sea to table, in fact the DEP offers a lot of programs out at Sedge Island which is taking what they’ve harvested and cooking it right there.”
“I’m afraid for the future of our fisheries,” added Council member Dr. Eleanor Bochenek while discussing how tighter restrictions will lead to “losing the inclusivity and diversity” of the fishery. Honestly, in a nation running on the mantra of diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI, Dr. Bochenek has a valid point; as a readily available New Jersey gamefish (i.e., no commercial harvest or sale) accessible by boat, beach, bulkhead or sod bank, regulating striped bass into a total catch and release fishery would in fact deny a rather large and diverse segment of our community access to organically sourced, hand-caught protein.
Then there’s the American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA is a group to which Capt. Williams belongs) which said of New Jersey’s June 20th vote “We have won a small battle but not the war.” So, is there a “war” on sustainable striped bass harvest? Sure seems that way. In fact, another new organization popped up recently under the domain fish4dinner.com which stands in clear contradiction to the ASGA messaging, with a stated mission to “help regulators understand the cultural, social and economic importance of the recreational food fishery.”
Fish4Dinner.com claims how fishery management has been driven by a “small, elite, well off, segment of the recreational fishing community who have pushed for management practices that demand abundance at the expense of harvest.” Started by a group of coastal for-hire captains unhappy with both ASGA and the striper situation, the new group states “The fish we catch recreationally are as important on the dinner table as they are in the water.”
If that’s a sentiment you support, the Montauk Boatmen and Captains Association has started an online petition at www.change.org/p/striped-bass-fish-to-dish (find that petition by Googling Striped Bass Emergency: Get Your Fish to Your Dish).
So, what do you think? Email me at [email protected], I’d love to share your thoughts in a future edition of The Fisherman.
