At the 2016 Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Winter Meetings in Virginia, a 23% reduction in recreational black sea bass harvest was approved. Despite a 20% increase in quota from 2015, the magnitude of recreational harvest last year dictated that states in the northeast (MA-NJ) adopt measures that reduce harvest in order to stay within the 2016 target recreational harvest as set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council. Possible approaches to achieving this mandate included adjustments to the minimum length, daily creel limit and length of open season.
The Board also approved the continuation of ad hoc regional management measures for the northern (Massachusetts – New Jersey) and southern regions (Delaware – North Carolina). This approach has been used since 2011 and offers some advantages over coast-wide regulations, which can disproportionately impact states within the management unit. States in the northern region, which are responsible for approximately 97% of the total recreational harvest, will reduce their harvest by 23% to achieve the 2016 recreational harvest limit. Based on the recommendations of the Technical Committee, the Board approved management proposals and methodologies submitted by the northern states.
States throughout this region were tasked with establishing new 2016 regulations prior to the anticipated season openings. Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts have all held public hearings and comment periods, and Connecticut is the first to enact their new regulations for 2016 as follows:
Open season running from May 1 through December 31 with a 5-fish limit per angler and a 15-inch minimum.
NEIGHBORING STATE REGULATIONS
This option was widely popular at both the public hearing which was held on February 17 as well as through the comment cards which were filled out at the Northeast Fishing & Hunting Show in Hartford the weekend prior to the hearing. Anglers and for-hire captains alike agreed that increasing the minimum size to 15 inches—as opposed to the 14-inch minimum of 2015—was an acceptable trade-off in order to achieve a much longer open season. The thought here was that 1) the increase in size would not dramatically hinder anglers’ ability to catch a “keeper” as most anglers and captains found themselves enacting similar “boat size limits” last year and 2) allow for more time throughout the year in which anglers could legally target black sea bass due to a much longer season. There was very little opposition to such changes and the hope was that surrounding states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York—as we all fish the same general waters—would follow suit and enact this most beneficial set of regulations for the recreational anglers at large. Unfortunately at this time similar bag limits, seasons and size limits look to be all but out of the question for those states.
Hopefully the surrounding states will follow suit in 2017, but until then we’ll keep you updated as soon as they enact their new regulations.
