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First Aid for anglers: Gary Johnson (with appreciation plaque), a 26
year veteran with the Coventry Fire Department, presented “First Aid for Fishermen”
at a Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association meeting last week.
Black sea bass stock status and regulations in question
The stock status and 2013 quota for
black sea bass, a species often targeted by local anglers, is in question. The quota may be reduced as much as 39% to
46%. It is likely that regulations for
both commercial and recreational fishing will change imposing new and more severe
catch restrictions for 2013. These
restrictions may include limiting the number of fish that can be taken, the
length of the fishing season and/or the minimum length of fish allowed to be
taken.
In 2012 the RI recreational black
sea bass season ran from June 15 to December 31 with a minimum size of 13” and
a catch limit of fifteen fish.
Anglers say we have plenty of black
sea bass. In fact, more and larger black
sea bass have been caught in the past couple of years. And, some science seems to support this. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries
Commission (ASMFC) sets coastwide quotas for the species. The ASMFC stock peer review set the
rebuilding goal at 27.6 million pounds of spawning stock biomass and the
current spawning stock size is at or above the biomass goal. However, limited information on black sea
bass was integrated into a mathematical model called a statistical catch at length
model (SCALE). Despite the applied
modeling approach, black sea bass is still considered a “data poor” stock said
Jamie McNamee, marine biologist in Marine Fisheries for the RI Department of Environmental
Management’s (DEM) Fish & Wildlife Division.
Last week at an advisory panel
meeting for the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council (RIMFC) McNamee said,
“There are still gaps in critical life history information for black sea bass
and the current sampling gear may not be optimal to assess the population.” Presenting on black sea bass recreational
performance McNamee said, “The crux of the problem is and remained an
exceptionally small quota for what appears to be a healthy stock, which was in
place in 2012.”
Recreational black sea bass landings
and targets were analyzed on a coastwide basis until 2011. Landings were in check until 2009, when the
harvest target was exceeded by 104%. In
2010 we experienced a 70% overage with led to the ASMFC allowing states to
manage targets and landings.
In 2012 harvest targets are
projected to be exceeded by well over 100% (data still being analyzed). So, this year the ASMFC is working on Addendum
XXIII which will come forward to establish harvest targets for 2013 which are
expected to translate into more restrictive recreational (and commercial)
fishing regulations.
The good news is that the ASMFC realizes that the health of the stock and
target catch limits are not in sync.
At
a special Science and Statics (SCS) committee meeting on January 23rd,
the constant catch reference period was raised, increasing harvest targets for
both commercial and recreational fisheries and likely avoiding a complete
fishery shut down for 2014. Some other
good news is that black sea bass in about to have an ASMFC “operational assessment”
in 2013. This assessment is expected to enhance analysis which is expected to put
harvest targets more in line with the health of the fishery that everyone seems
to be experiencing. But for 2013, more
rigid regulations are coming.
Black sea bass facts
Black sea bass (BSB) is a delicate, sweet-tasting
saltwater fish. The firm, white flesh of this species is a favorite of many. They have the ability to adjust their color to
blend in with the bottom in colors ranging from grey, brown and black to a deep
indigo hue. They spend most of their
time around the bottom and can be found near rocky areas, jetties, rips and,
like a lot of bottom fish, they like structure. BSB are hermaphroditic fish…
they begin life as female then turn male.
They put up a good feisty fight but do not grow to be huge fish in the
Northeast. The largest black sea bass
caught was 9 pounds, 8 ounces and about 19.7” long. Ideal
water temperature for black sea bass is 59 to 64 degrees.
Other RIMFC news
Scup advisory panel (AP) met last week. Stock is considered rebuilt and is not considered
overfished and is not currently experiencing overfishing. The AP recommended a
reduced minimum size from 10.5 to 10” and a possession limit of 25 (form 20)
with a season from May 1 to December 31.
For party and charter boats the AP recommended a minimum size of 11”, a
limit of 20 fish with a special 45 fish season running September 1 to October
31.
Summer flounder
(fluke) is not overfished and the stock is
considered rebuilt. Current recruitment is slightly below average (and has been
in each subsequent stock assessment update). Target recreational landings for
RI in 2012 were 157,855 fish; projected landings for 2012 are 103,669
fish. This is approximately a 36.6%
underage. The AP recommended a minimum
size of 18” (rather than the current 18.5”), a catch limit of eight fish and a May
1 to December 31 season.
Tautog stock is considered overfished with the regional stock
assessment looking like overfishing is not occurring in 2012. A benchmark assessment is scheduled for
2013. DEM proposed no changes for commercial
and recreational tautog for 2013. There
was an AP proposal to start the season March 1.
Minimum size still 16” with a catch limit of three fish from April 15 to
May 31 and August 1 to October 19 (season closed during spawning from June 1 to
July 31). Catch limit increases to six
from October 20 to December 31 with a vessel limit of ten fish in all open periods
(which does not apply to party and charter boats).
RIMFC meetings
The next RIMFC
meeting to discuss AP and public hearing recommendations is scheduled for March
4, 2013. In the meantime there is an Atlantic
Menhaden advisory panel meeting scheduled for February 11 and a public hearing
scheduled for Tuesday, February 19 to consider management plan recommendations
on striped bass, spiny dogfish, sharks and lobster management plans. The hearing will take plans at 6:00 p.m. in
the URI Bay Campus Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, RI. Check AP and public hearing details at www.dem.ri.gov.
Saltwater Sportsman National Seminar big success
The Salt Water Sportsman National Seminar Series held Saturday was a huge
success with approximately 700 people in attendance. George Poveromo, host of
George Poveromo’s World of Saltwater Fishing on the NBC Sports Network, and
editor-at-large for Salt Water Sportsman ran an informative and entertaining seminar.
He was assisted by Tom Richardson, noted New England angler and a prominent
fishing writer and editor. Eleven
captains and fishing experts were on and off the stage addressing how to catch
species such as striped bass, fluke, tuna, black sea bass, tautog and more. I had the honor of being on stage with the
pros as a local captain and couldn’t have been happier talking about fishing with
anglers for the entire day.
Where’s the bite
Ice fishing. Tom
Mooney of Johnston said he was taking advantage of the good ice fishing weather
last week. He landed some nice perch and pickerel in the 3 to 4 lbs range fishing
at Indian Lake in South County. Bill Gill
on the RISAA blog this week reported that two ice fishing tournaments have been
rescheduled for February 9, 2013. They
are the Between the Cracks Tournament
at Crystal Lake/Sucker Pond in Maplesville, RI (call 401.651.5680 for
information) and the Valley Angler Jig
and Pig tournament at Candlewood Lake in New Fairfield, CT (call
303.792.8324 for information.
Cod fishing. Andy Dangelo has been captaining the Seven
B’s party boat this winter. Andy said, “The
cod bite has been excellent but with high winds and seas we haven’t been able
to get out much.” Visit www.sevenbs.com or call 401.789.9250 to check
sailing schedules. Visit www.francesfleet.com for the sailing
schedule of Frances Fleet boats.
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