Large striped bass like this one
caught by Mike Swain were not as prevalent last year. Striped bass are on the decline according to
a new survey by Stripers Forever.
Striper
fishing down on all counts
Striped bass fishing is down. Striper fishermen, fishing guides and charter
captains will tell you that for the past three to four years the amount of fish
caught each year has been less and less.
And, the fish have been getting smaller.
The
results of Striper Forever’s 2018 annual
survey on striped bass fishing was released February 9, 2019 and it was no
surprise when it showed most anglers responding to the survey said their
striped bass fishing was down. Out of
the 450 survey responders, 72 percent said the number of striped bass they
catch per hour has declined from 2017 to 2018, while 71 percent said the size
of the striped bass they caught was ‘smaller’ or ‘much smaller’ than previous
years.
These survey results support angler claims of fish volume and sizes
declining for the past couple of years. This was also the case when in 2018 the
Massachusetts commercial striped bass fishery was unable to catch its full
quota of large striped bass even after the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries
added open days to the season in an effort to help meet the quota.
Capt. Rick Bellavance, president of
the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association, said, “Striper fishing
in 2018 was hit or miss. Often times we
would miss the bite out at the southwest ledge area of Block Island by a few
minutes. The fish were also notably
smaller this year, just as the scientists have been predicting.”
A major striped bass stock
reassessment of the wild Atlantic striped bass population has prompted the
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) that manages striped bass,
to admit that the spawning stock of large fish has shrunk sufficiently to
require a warning that the stock is being overfished, and that overfishing is
occurring.
Stripers Forever blames the ASMFC management plan that focuses too much of the
fishing effort on large, older fish that are vital to the breeding
population. Over the last 10 years a reduced striped bass breeding
population has resulted in highly variable production, including two good year
classes, two average and six below average, including a record low spawn in
2016. The average striped bass year class
sizes in Chesapeake Bay during the decade of the 1990s were roughly twice as
large as those that have occurred in the last 15 years.
In their February 9 press release, Stripers Forever said, “We believe that
a slot limit that allows a harvest only within a restrictive upper and lower
size range along with a complete end to all commercial fishing for wild striped
bass is the best management solution for the fishery… (And) 79 percent of Stripers Forever members support the
sale of a game fish stamp with the proceeds to be used for buying out the
remaining commercial fishing activities.”
A complete recap of all the survey
information is available at this LINK on the Stripers Forever
website. For
more additional information e-mail stripers@stripersforever.org.
New
York State approves bill to ban Atlantic menhaden seining
Last week the New York State Legislature
overwhelmingly passed a bill that would ban the harvesting of Atlantic
menhaden, also called pogies or bunker, using purse seine nets up to three
miles from shore. The bill restricts
large-scale industrial boats from encircling schools of menhaden with nets that
haul tons of fish for the production of fish oil and protein meal.
Atlantic menhaden have been cited by
many as an important forage fish for striped bass, bluefish, tuna as well as
osprey and other fish and birds. They
are harvested locally by fishermen who cast nests in Narragansett, Mt. Hope and
Buzzard’s Bay to catch the fish for use as bait.
However, the law New York passed does
allow for large scale fishing at the State’s discretion to avoid fish kills due
to depleted oxygen levels in estuaries.
Fishermen
still at odds with Vineyard Wind
At deadline fishermen in Rhode Island
are still at odds with Vineyard Wind, developer of the 84 turbine wind farm 14
miles off Massachusetts. The wind farm area is often fished by Rhode Island fishermen
who initially had concerns about the spacing of the turbines. Fishermen wanted
to make sure enough room was left between them for fishing and safe navigation.
They are now planned for approximately one mile apart.
Additionally, Vineyard Wind announced
in December, 2018 its support for fishery transit lanes that are sited directly
through the middle of the lease area.
The aim is to accommodate fishermen based in Rhode Island, Massachusetts
and Long Island area who need to transit the length of the wind areas to reach
fishing grounds south and east of Cape Cod.
Vineyard Wind has pledged to continue to work with fishermen to determine
how best to utilize this flexibility, taking into account both fishing within
the turbine area and transiting though the area.
Commercial squid fishermen from Rhode
Island are concerned about the wind farm changing the migration pattern of squid
on rich fishing grounds in and around the wind farm. Recreational fishermen are
also concerned about the impact the wind farm could have particularly during
construction redirecting fish and bait/forage (like squid) and their migration
patterns.
In a research protocol recommendation
to Vineyard Wind, Bay State Wind and Deepwater Wind/Orsted the Rhode Island
Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) requested that a research protocol be
developed for all wind farms that includes fish and habitat research before,
during and after construction of wind farms that utilizes in part rod and reel
surveys as well as research targeting impacts on pelagic species such as mahi,
tuna and sharks. The recommendation related that RISAA supports renewable
energy efforts like wind farms, however, they want to make sure that as utility
scale wind farms are build i.e. the eighty-four turbine Vineyard Wind farm vs
the five turbine piolet project off Block Island, that there are no adverse
effects on habitat or fish.
At press time the Rhode Island Fishermen’s
Advisory Board (FAB) weighing in on Vineyard Wind plans were negotiating with the
developer. FAB member Capt. Rick Bellavance,
president of the Rhode Island Party & Charter Boat Association said, “I am concerned
about the Vineyard Wind project setting the table for projects to come. Right now Vineyard Wind has no intention to
do rod & reel studies, or study pelagic fish we target. We are concerned that once they start driving
piles that fishing will stop, just like it did at Block Island when Deepwater
Wind was constructing the Block Island Wind Farm project. We are also concerned about a change in squid
migration patterns.”
Squid serve as a great food source for
a variety of species including summer flounder, scup, black sea bass, striped
bass, blue fish and a host of others.
Capt. Bellavance said, “These pylons are over 30 feet in diameter compared
to the smaller pylons used at Block Island.
Wind farm pile driving will continue for ten years. What this will do to fish migration patterns
is not known. Will it drive them away
for good?”
Vineyard Wind and the Fishermen’s
Advisory Board hope to reach a mitigation agreement soon.
