It truly is a never ending saga when it comes to striped bass and giving them the protection they need to maintain a healthy and vibrant fishery. There are those who paint a picture of total gloom and doom while others call the current state of the fishery the best they have seen in years. There is evidence out there to prove both groups wrong, and also some bits of evidence that could help support the outcry coming from both groups.
It’s pretty clear that the striped bass fishery is not as healthy as it may appear to some, and not as good as it may appear to others. Those opinions are based largely on where you do most of your striped bass fishing. If you participated in the hot fishing that took place in Montauk’s rips this summer, or cast from the shoulder of the Cape Cod Canal it is easy to see how the fishery might be perceived as being healthy. We have also seen several good year classes from the Chesapeake and the Hudson contribute many small fish to the fishery the past couple of seasons which provides hope for the future.
However, each of these examples is just a microcosm of a much larger picture that has its share of areas experiencing poor fishing, rampant abuse by both commercial and recreational fishermen, and a lack of willingness by government agencies to do what needs to be done to protect the fishery from these abuses. It’s nice to see DEC Police enforcing striped bass regulations and wrong is wrong, but all too often, the cases involve catching individuals with small numbers of shorts or those over the limit with a couple of fish they have caught from shore. Most are ignoring the law to bring home fish to eat. Budget restraints undoubtedly enter into the equation, but if that’s the case, Albany needs to step up and give DEC officers the tools they need to address the real issues.
What about the guys in their high end center consoles who seem to fish without impunity and keep large numbers of big bass when the run is on, some of which get back-doored to restaurants and fish markets. And how about the East End haul seiners who are using gill nets instead of their traditional haul seine nets to circumvent the haul seining ban on striped bass to truck thousands of pounds of striped bass off the beach? This has been going on for years now and one gets the impression that the state has taken a “hands off” position on this issue. And if not, why hasn’t the loophole been closed in all this time?
Gillnetting on the East End is totally out of control the last couple of years. It is an unmanaged fishery as netters continue to expand the number of nets they set and leave unattended, set them as close to the beach as surf conditions allow (virtually on the beach when the surf is calm), and along with the haul seiners harvest far more fish than can be legally tagged.
As I noted in a previous article on this issue, the bottom line is that striped bass deserve protection that errs on the side of conserving these valuable sport fish. While gamefish status (no commercial sale) might be the ultimate solution, the chance of seeing that happen anytime soon is probably a pipedream. Limiting commercial harvest to rod and reel only would be major step in the right direction. At least it is a selective harvest method, is no threat to endangered species or mammals like those being killed by these nets, and the fishery would be much easier to manage. I’m amazed environmental groups, or the federal government for that matter, are not all over the netting issue when protected species like great white pups and other sharks (sandbars and browns), seals, dolphin and sea birds are killed by these harvesting methods.
Behind a lot of the problem is a tagging system that is wrought with abuse and in desperate need of overhaul. The criteria for qualifying for tags must be revisited. Those who are not actively engaged in fishing should not be getting tags that they pass on to other fishermen for a cut of the pie. They are also breaking the law by not being present when the fish being tagged are being caught.
Those of you who make such a fuss about a recreational angler killing a large striped bass, even when it might be the one fish he or she keeps all season, need to refocus your energy on the real issues, issues that will have a lasting effect on the health of our striped bass fishery. Call, email, write and visit your state senator and assemblyman. They all have local offices in their district. Contact the governor’s office and ask him to get involved. Tell them you want the abuses occurring with the tag system, haul seining and gill netting stopped. Even better, tell them why it is important to make striped bass a rod and reel only commercial fishery.
