Where have all the striped bass gone

The more I ask “Where have all the striped bass gone?, the more I realize the question should be “What is happening to the striped bass?” In the past year, a lot has happened to striped bass. They have been in the news more times than I can count. Many noted anglers and fishing captains say the fish are on the decline, yet there is evidence from some scientists, captains and anglers that bass may just not be where they normally are but are feeding in areas where anglers do not fish.

In this and subsequent columns this month, I will recap what I have heard and read and what some experts have to say about striped bass. But first, a little history and a few facts about striped bass.

Striped bass are migratory. In the spring and summer they leave their spawning grounds in the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware River and Hudson River areas and migrate north to Rhode Island and some as far north as the Canada. In the fall they migrate back and winter in the mouth of the Hudson River and the New Jersey coast in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays. Striped bass served as a food source for the Pilgrims and to help fertilize crops. In 1614 Captain John Smith wrote that the striped bass was “a most sweet and wholesome fish as ever I did eat…”

Striped bass tolerate both salt and fresh water. They live in the ocean but spawn up rivers. In the spring striped bass prefer a temperature range of 55 to 68 degrees. Females grow larger than males. Most bass over fifteen pounds are female and can produce a million eggs for each ten pounds of weight. So rather than keeping the big fish, anglers are urged to release them to help preserve the fishery.

A fish 30” can weigh 11 to 16 pounds and be 8 to 14 years old. A 40” fish can weigh 24 to 35 pounds and be 13 to 25 years old.

Striped bass in the news

This summer fishing writer Tim Coleman wrote in an editorial titled “New England’s coming striped bass collapse” that he and area shore anglers believed striped bass fishing has been substantially down for the past three to five years. Steve McKenna a noted shore angler from Cranston, RI said his bass landings were down 40% (Steve like many avid anglers practice catch and release), Richard Kalinoski of Little Compton, RI, said his landings were down over 60%. So anglers who normally land five hundred fish a year, were now landing two hundred fish a year. In addition to those fishing from coastal Rhode Island shores, anglers fishing Narragansett Bay from shore and in boats were down substantially too.

Yet, this summer I received hundreds of reports and photos from anglers and captains landing many good fish at and around Block Island. In fact, some claim the fish may not be in Narragansett Bay or off coastal shores but they are offshore in waters not normally fished. Captain Rick Bellavance of Priority Too Charters and president of the RI Party & Charter Boat Association said,” I personally do not believe the striped bass stock is in decline. My landings have been rising for the past several years and I witness tremendous numbers of striped bass in the EEZ, where they cannot be fished legally. Areas offshore which rarely held striped bass are now highly populated with the fish. Stellwagon, East Grounds, The Mud Hole, and the offshore wrecks all hold super large fish regularly and nobody can catch them. I believe the bulk of the stock has shifted from the inshore grounds to the offshore grounds. But, the fish trap guys report and catch ridiculous numbers of small fish close to shore as well.”

While the controversy over striper decline continues, the species continues to make the news in ways that can shed light on the issue.

· Scientific evidence supports that bass are in decline (but not critically so). This past fall we received mixed news from Chesapeake Bay in Maryland where striped bass spawn. The annual “Young-of-the-Year” index for striped bass announced by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was at 5.6 for 2010, in 2009 the index was 7.87, in 2008 it fell to 3.2, and in 2007 it was 13.30. The index average is 11.6. Although the 2010 index was low, the DNR said, “While this is the third consecutive year of below average striped bass production, the population is above the management action trigger…”

· Small bass killed as commercial fisherman up-grade their catch impacts the amount of available young. Last month news and video footage (on YouTube) became available of North Carolina commercial trawlers tossing thousands of dead striped bass overboard as they “high-grade” for the largest bass while staying within their legal 50 fish limit. In an article for the Examiner newspaper, Captain Kelly, a top striper fishing guide on the Outer Banks said, “…It’s an atrocity … It’s gone on before but I think this was the first time it was in front of such a large crowd”. Last week we heard that the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries will replace the current 50-fish a day commercial trip limit with a 2,000 pound a day limit. This will encourage commercial trawlers to keep all fish, up to a 2,000 limit rather than culling their catch looking for 50 large fish.

Captain Rich Hittinger, vice president of the RI Saltwater Anglers Association and RI Marine Fisheries Council member said, “…I also hear about significant commercial by catch of stripers and this could be a major contributing factor (to decline) along with poaching.”

· Poaching of all types impacts the species. Poaching by anyone, recreational or commercial fishermen, has a negative impact on a fishery.This fall the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) charged Albert Reeves of Rehoboth, MA with poaching striped bass. DEM said they had information that Reeves was illegally taking over limits of striped bass in Rhode Island and selling them in Massachusetts and that he had the extra fish in a hidden compartment on his boat. The officers stopped him while driving on Route 1 in Rhode Island after fishing. Officers found a secret compartment that opened hydraulically with eleven (11) illegal fish (in addition to the two legal fish he had in his possession).

Poaching in the Chesapeake kills fish that would normally find their way north to Rhode Island and beyond. Last week the Maryland DNR shut down the February striped bass gill net season after confiscating more than ten tons of illegally caught striped bass in two days. The illegal fish (over 20,000 pounds of our striped bass) came from four illegally anchored gill nets in the Chesapeake Bay. Authorities are concerned about the extent of the poaching and shut things down to investigate. These young bass are the very fish that migrate north to Rhode Island and New England, poaching such as this in the Chesapeake can have a huge impact on our fishery.

This series on striped bass will continue next week.