We’ve been talking about this a lot lately, but if you missed it, the ASMFC and the MAFMC have been holding meetings up and down the East Coast collecting public input to inform their decision regarding sector separation for four species; black sea bass, scup (porgy), fluke and bluefish. What that means is that fisheries managers might opt to take the recreational quota for these species and cut it again, meaning that the ‘for hire’ segment of the recreational fishery and the ‘individual’ segment of recreational anglers, like you and me, would get a separate piece of that quota. In addition, the two sectors of the recreational fishery would fish under different regulations and probably under different seasons as well. There are many moving parts within the ‘sector separation’ proposal but the two that stand out the most are that the recreational fishing data collected by NOAA is incomplete and inaccurate, while licensed captains that can take their fares offshore to fish for these species are tasked with keeping Electronic Vessel Trip Reports (EVTR), which log the numbers on anglers versus the number of fish caught, these reports are only used to gauge effort, in spite of their vastly superior data. Knowing all this, and knowing how difficult it has been to catch keepers and limits of sea bass, fluke and bluefish over the past several years, it might seem like a better idea for NOAA to solve their data problem first, but that’s not the path we’re on… we’re riding along while they try to do it all at once, on the fly.
Leaving aside scup which have been pretty steadily abundant – sea bass, bluefish and fluke have already seen changes to their regulations that have made finding keepers and limits of these species increasingly difficult. Slicing out a smaller piece of the quota for each of these important segments of the recreational fishery, and using this incomplete data to do it, makes no sense and no recreational angler should support it. This will result in shorter seasons, smaller bag limits and larger minimum sizes.
The second half of what we’re all being asked to chew and swallow in one massive, gut-choking bite are the problems plaguing recreational data collection. Currently, they rely on MRIP (the Marine Recreational Information Program). This data is collected through random surveys at boat ramps, marinas, known shore fishing locations and other places where fishermen can be accessed for questioning. I’ve been approached a couple times, by college-age workers, carrying a clipboard and trying to be as cheerful as possible. They ask how your fishing trip went, how many fish you caught, what species, how many you kept and how many anglers were fishing. All this data is fed into the MRIP system and used to create an average that will inform future fishing regulations. It’s easy to see why this might not produce accurate results, only surveying a tiny fraction of those participating in the sport each year, but their hands are kind of tied there. The issue isn’t that the data is incomplete and inaccurate, the issue is that it’s being trusted to direct important decisions and treated as though it were gospel. And, as a result, recreational catch reports may be something that becomes part of the recreational fisherman’s everyday life.
All of the meetings have passed, leaving only one option for having your voice heard, and that is submitting a public comment through the MAFMC website or via US mail or email, and these must be received by March 20th, 2025.
Here at The Fisherman we feel that it is of the utmost importance that the opinions of recreational fishermen play a part in making the decisions that will govern their fishing. We would encourage you to read through the scoping document to learn as much as you can about what Sector Separation might mean for you. It might also be good think, long and hard, about what recreational trip reports might mean for the future of fishing regulations instead of how the minor inconvenience of filling them out might cramp your style. If we want better and more sensible regulations, we need to provide better data and that data has to be accurate, honest and timely.
You can submit your letter digitally at the following link: https://mafmc.knack.org/public-comments#rec-sector-separation-data-collection
You can email your comment to Kiley Dancy at kdancy@mafmc.org make sure your subject line reads: Recreational Sector Separation & Data Collection
Or you can submit your letter through the US Mail by addressing it to
Dr. Christopher Moore
Executive Director, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
800 North State St. – Suite 201
Dover, DE
19901
