Use caution when handling striped bass

Angler Joe Fournier with a large black seabass he caught under the Newport Bridge.

William and Dylan Press of Boston, MA caught 33 and 30pound bass using eels on the Southwest Ledge early Saturday morning whenfishing with Captain Sheriff’s Fishing Charters.

Use caution when handling striped bass

The Division of Marine Fisheries of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently announced it has received reports of skin lesions on striped bass. The general condition reported has been red spotting visible along the sides of the fish. Lesions such as these can be indicative of the presence of the disease Mycobacteriosis, which is common in southern waters, especially Chesapeake Bay. The information available at this time indicates a slightly elevated occurrence of skin lesions on striped bass in Massachusetts, likely of viral or bacterial origin, but not clearly associated with the disease organism Mycobacterium, said the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries in a statement last week.

The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries staff has been collecting information from anglers on the prevalence and geographic distribution of the skin lesions. At present the prevalence appears to be low (<5%) coast wide but higher in fish from southern Massachusetts, primarily Buzzards Bay and the Cape Cod Canal. Internal and external examination of afflicted fish has not indicated that these lesions are associated with Mycobacteriosis. The examination of several dozen randomly collected striped bass showed no signs of abnormalities in their spleens, the hallmark indicator of the disease.

Lesions on the skin of striped bass are a relatively common occurrence and have many causative agents. The elevated prevalence seen in some areas this year may be the result of anomalously high spring and summer water temperatures seen in Massachusetts and more southerly waters. Fish with mild skin lesions are safe to handle and consume.

Last week Rhode Island DEM's Marine Fisheries Division requested that Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) members who may see striped bass with skin lesions to report it to them.

"We have seen a few," said Mark Gibson, Deputy Chief, Division of Fish and Wildlife. "We encourage RISAA members to report observations to us so we can cooperate with Massachusetts on the investigation."

"We have a member who is going though painful treatment now," said RISAA president Steve Medeiros. "It’s believed he obtained the infection though a cut on his hand and then absorbed the bacteria from either a striped bass or the salt water."

Malnutrition accelerates mycobacteriosis

In past No Fluke columns on mycobacteriosis (visit www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com, search mycobacteriosis), it was reported that striped bass were starving as they wintered in the Chesapeake Bay because of a reduced supply of Atlantic Menhaden (their primary food) due to commercial over fishing. Lack of food has been substantiated by tag-recapture data studies from spring spawning grounds in Maryland and Virginia. Fish captured in autumn are the same size as fish that are starved in a lab for two months. The study found malnutrition makes the population vulnerable to mycobacteriosis. The disease causes loss of scales, skin ulcers, severe weight loss and lesions in striped bass.

Fish handling guidelines

· Wear heavy gloves to avoid puncture wounds from fish spines

• If cuts, scrapes or other open or inflamed areas of your skin are present, cover hands and wrists with an impermeable barrier like a rubber or vinyl glove
• Wash hands thoroughly with an antibacterial soap after handling fish
• Wash off all cutting boards, surfaces, knives and other utensils used to process raw fish with warm soapy water
• Discard fish with large open lesions or darkened patches in the fillets
• Persons who exhibit signs of infection on their hands after handling fish should contact their physician immediately

Galilee Fishing Tournament & Seafood Festival

The Galilee Fishing Tournament & Seafood Festival with the theme of “Fishing for a cause” will be held September 7 – 9, 2012 at the Port of Galilee in Narragansett, RI. The tournament is planned as a family friendly event with a low entry fee and lots of prices in 35 different categories. A variety of species are included in the tournament… striped bass, summer flounder (fluke) and blue fish for the adult division with these species plus scup, black sea bass and tautog for the junior division. Fishing can take place anywhere but all weigh-ins must be done in Galilee. Prizes for both adult and junior divisions will be high value fishing prizes such as charters, show tickets, quality fishing tackle and much more. The Tournament is sponsored by the RI Department of Environmental Management, Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and the Narragansett Parks & Recreation Department. All proceeds from the Tournament and Festival will be donated to Hasbro Children’s Hospital, the Johnnycake Center Food Bank and the Narragansett Parks & Recreation financial aid program. For more information about the fishing tournament and festival visit www.galileetourney.com .

Where’s the bite

Striped bass fishing on Block Island is still hot. William and Dylan Press of Boston, MA caught 33 and 30 pound bass using eels on the Southwest Ledge early Saturday morning when fishing with Captain Sheriff’s Fishing Charters. Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor Marina, South Kingstown said, “The Southwest Ledge has a good bass bite with eels at night. Tube and worm is working during the day. And, the North Rip is consistently producing fish, but they are smaller.” John Wunner of Archie’s Bait & Tackle, East Providence said, “The bass bight has slowed in the Providence River, however, anglers are catching school bass in the 20 to 22” inch range.” Captain Billy Silvia of Can’t Imagine Charters, Bristol, RI caught bass this week at Brenton Reef (can #2) and Sandy Point, Prudence Island said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence.

Fluke fishing was mixed this week as anglers had a difficult time with wind and tide being in line. When drifts were good anglers caught fish. John Wunner of John’s Bait & Tackle, North Kingstown said, “You could almost draw a line as to where customers are catching fluke… from out if front of southern coastal beaches, to Beavertail, Brenton Reef, to in front of the Sakonnet River. But, activity in the upper and lower Bay is slow.” Reports of a good number of fluke, but mostly shorts, being caught off Warwick Neck light.

Squeteague are still being caught in the Bay. John Wunner of Archie’s Bait said one of his customers caught a squeteague when fishing off Hanes Park, East Providence. John Littlefield said one of his customers’ caught a 4 pound squeteague in the upper Bay near Ohio Ledge.

Bluefish continue to be thick around Block Island with small blue fish in the 1.5 pound range being caught in the Providence River said John Wunner. Skipjacks are starting to appear in coves and harbors said Wunner.

Scup fishing remains strong with fish in the 16” to 18” being caught all over the Bay… Colt State Park, Ohio Ledge even up the Barrington Rive said John Littlefield.

Black sea bass fishing if good with fish in the 6 and 7 pound range as anglers catch them when they are fluke fishing.

Offshore. The charter boat Lady K had three school blue fin school tuna to 30 pounds this weekend when fishing the Mud Hole said Elisa Martin of Snug Harbor Marina.

Striped bass decline still in question

Captain Jim White (left) presented on “Striped bass decline” at last week’s Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association monthly meeting. Steve Medeiros, president of the Association, pictured with Captain White.

Striped bass decline still in question

Last week Captain Jim White, a noted author and charter captain (www.whiteghostcharters.com), said, “Researches have said as much as 75% of the striped bass (in the Chesapeake Bay) are infected by mycobacteriosis and they are dying from the disease. “ Captain White presented this and other information about striper decline at the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association monthly seminar meeting held last week at the West Valley Inn, West Warwick, RI.
Captain White continued to say that the striped bass stock has been on the decline since 2003 and related that scientist believe it will continue to do so for the next four or five years. Mycobacteriosis was cited as one of the causes of decline. He said, “Additional reasons for decline include poaching, a drastic reduction in food supply (fewer Atlantic Menhaden to eat due to overfishing of this species) and possibly over fishing by commercial and recreation anglers.” White said, “Because of these and other reasons the species is on the decline so what I am saying is that fish managers and regulators need to take action to prevent the species from crashing.”
Captain White said that at their December meeting the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which regulates fishing regionally, decided not to reduce striped bass commercial and recreational quotas. “This was a mistake.”, said Captain White. “They had Addendum III on the table but declined to do anything.” Addendum III suggested a reduction in the commercial and recreational striped bass harvest for 2012.
Positive striped bass news
At their meeting ASMFC members deciding not to change striped bass harvest amounts pointed to results from a 2011 survey conducted by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) that suggested the production of a strong class of young-of-year striped bass in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay. The 2011 year class represents the group of fish hatched this spring. The news was positive and seemed to have influenced fish managers at the meeting. This class of striped bass is expected to grow to fishable size in three to four years, the bass migrate north in the spring to as far as Maine and then migrate back to the Chesapeake Bay area in the fall. The 2011 study recorded more than 27 fish per seine haul, significantly higher than the historic average of 7.5 fish per seine haul. This is a significant increase from recent years, during which catches of young fish were average. Follow link for study release: http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/striped_bass_survey_results.php.
Malnutrition accelerates mycobacteriosis
In a past 2009 No Fluke column on mycobacteriosis (visit www.noflukefishing.blogspot.com, search mycobacteriosis), it was reported that striped bass were starving as they wintered in the Chesapeake Bay because of a reduced supply of Atlantic menhaden (their primary food) due to commercial over fishing. Lack of food has been substantiated by tag-recapture data studies from spring spawning grounds in Maryland and Virginia. Fish captured in autumn are the same size as fish that are starved in a lab for two months. Malnutrition makes the population vulnerable to mycobacteriosis. The disease causes loss of scales, skin ulcers, severe weight loss and lesions in striped bass. Officials estimate that sixty to seventy-five percent of the striped bass in Chesapeake Bay are infected. This study was conducted in 2008; preliminary reports on a new study indicate that the effect of mycobacteriosis on striped bass may not be this bad. Watch for the release of this study in the future
Where’s the bite
Mackerel, squid and porpoise off Newport. Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “Customers caught large numbers of both mackerel and squid at the Goat Island causeway bridge in Newport this week. The mackerel were so thick that porpoises were crashing them in and around Newport.”
Cod fishing was slow this week, however anglers going out for cod continue to catch large numbers of black sea bass and large scup. The Seven B’s (www.sevenbs.com) and Francis Fleet boats (www.francisfleet.com ) are fishing for cod and black sea bass. Larry Norin fished the Francis Fleet Saturday and reports the following on the RISAA blog, “ (Me and) 25 others were out on the Frances Fleet. The weather was awesome, 50+ degrees and calm seas with a light wind out of the SW. Oh and an hour or so of pouring rain from noon to 1:00 p.m. was awesome partially because my rod was constantly bent over. We had a two hour ride out south and mostly east of Block Island. We drifted almost all day except for the last hour. The drift speed was very slow, under .5 knots and we were fishing in about 100 feet of water. Most people used clams all day and a few jigged with not much luck. None stop action all day the only disappointment was that the cod never showed up (two keepers on the whole boat). I caught and released about six cod that were 18-20 inches. I caught my limit of black sea bass (four fish in the 20 inch range) and limited out on porgies some were 17 inches and 2+ lbs. I also caught some ocean perch, red hake, and two huge Christmas eels. I didn't see any pollock or other species except one blue fish and a few dogfish here and there. On the ride home we stopped to watch a whale do its thing and splash a few times right next to the boat.”