What's happening to striped bass, part II

Don Villani of East Greenwich, RI caught this striped bass north off Conimicut Point, Warwick on No Fluke Charters last spring. Fish like this were in lower numbers this year signally a striper decline for many in Narragansett Bay and along coastal RI shores.

Striped bass are a valued species, both for sport fishing and food. Striped bass are as highly managed today as they were in the past. They were the subject of our first conservation laws… in 1639 Massachusetts forbade the use of the fish for fertilizer, in the 1660’s they were the focus of our first environmental impact statement and passage of the Natural Environmental Policy Act.

According to a Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association (RISAA) study, recreational fishing has a $160,000,000 annual economic impact on Rhode Island. There are more recreational striped bass fishing trips in Rhode Island than any other species (my personal observation). So striped bass play an important role in Rhode Island’s recreational fishery and economy.

Last week this column reported on striper decline. Anglers, fishing captains (particularly those fishing Narragansett Bay and coastal Rhode Island shores), said the striped bass fishery is on a terrible decline. Many say their catch is down by 30 to 40%, yet scientists, fishery managers and some captains say the fishery may be down but by no means is it crashing. Other captains say they caught more fish than ever before off Block Island and have seen large numbers in Federal waters where they cannot fish for them legally. And, offshore lobsterman say striped bass have been more abundant in traps than ever before (they are considered a nuisance because they eat valuable lobster bait in traps).

Last week and this week, I asked striped bass experts, “Are striped bass in decline?” and what do you think about the recent NPR story on striped bass. Here’s what they had to say.

New information sheds light on striper decline

Christopher Joyce did an NPR story on striper decline highlighting the work of Bob Wood, biologist for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Wood’s research focuses not so much on the fish but on the weather. He believes the weather pattern in the North Atlantic called the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) is responsible for the wide swings in striper populations.

Wood explains, “… if you warm the entire North Atlantic basin, you’re changing the weather because the air and circulation patterns above the ocean are affected.” Ed Martino, a fisheries scientist at NOAA, said, “You are talking about a difference in temperature and precipitation, and therefore river flow or salinity, ultimately all affecting the base of the food chain… It’s the way that the climate affects the microscopic plankton.” Plankton are the tiny plants and animals in water, and that’s what spring striped bass eat.

Reporter Joyce relates that when it’s in a warm phase, springtime along the East Coast tends to be wet and cool with more rain, more water and more food. In the years following that phase striper numbers tend to go up. Then the AMO flips, drier springs bring less rain, less food and after a lag, it looks like striper numbers start to decline. Records for the past 100 years of fishing show this trend.

Striped bass have not been as plentiful for the past four years. Wood said, “and it just so happens this is also the time when the AMO seems to be in a switching phase”. This switch is bad for stripers so the decline now and the one in the 1980’s could be attributed to these down cycles.

I think this study is a breakthrough for fishery managers in the way they look at what is impacting data. They should consider what role (if any) AMO or weather patterns play in the growth or decline of fish populations. Also it begs the question as to how they should evaluate and implement the learnings of such research and data in the future.

Dr. Chris Anderson is chairman of the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management’s (DEM) Marine Fisheries Advisory Panel on striped bass. Dr. Anderson said, “More shifts like this (in bass populations) can be expected with climate change. So it would be to our advantage (as managers) to work on ways to handle such changes.” This is new information in the equation. So in the future if we want to use climate change to help manage, the question will be how should the base line stock level change due to climate?”

Captain Rick Bellavance, president of the Rhode Island Party and Charter Boat Association (RIPCBA), said, “I am certain climate change is having an effect on all the creatures that live in our oceans... I think it a little too premature to insinuate that a stock is in decline due to climate change; maybe the stock has just moved or behaves differently. Or maybe a decline is occurring. I will agree that we need more studies and time to determine what affects are truly occurring…”

Mark Gibson, of DEM’s Marine Fisheries Department, is the author or a “Striped Bass Commercial Quota Increase Issue Paper” published in November, 2010. The paper, which can be found at www.dem.ri.gov, relates that science shows, “Recent recruitment of young fish (striped bass) has declined but the stock remains well above it’s rebuilding target.” In regard to the NPR story Gibson said, “The AMO is a fashionable new idea. I looked at it and found that the correlation with young fish production is marginal and that changes in spawner biomass explain more of the dynamics than does the AMO. “

Captain Rich Hittinger, vice present of the RISAA said, “I definitely see a decline over the last few years, so I think it (striper decline) is real. The science always takes so long to finish that once the stock status is finalized and published we are looking at data that is three years old… Basically, I think the cause (of striper decline) is still unknown…”

The question of whether or not striped bass are in decline will be covered in future columns.

West Bay Anglers to hold Striped Bass Seminars

The West Bay Anglers will hold a series of striped bass seminars by Charley Sores Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 6:30 p.m. at the Sherman Elementary School, Warwick, RI. Topics to include fishing with a variety of live baits (part one of the seminar) as well as how to locate and catch stripers between boulders (part two). Reserve tickets ($10) at 401.463.7532.

Striper University

Shallow Water Striper University is March 25, 26, and 27 at the Sheraton Airport Motor Inn, Warwick, RI. This weekend long event features some of the best local professionals who make their living catching big striped bass. Registration for this event is $89. for the entire weekend. There will also be charter trips give-a-ways, raffles, prizes, and more. Contact Debbie Wood at Wood Boat & Motor, 401-739-4040 or visit www.shallowwaterstripers.com .

State Senate Task Force on Fisheries

The State Senate Task Force on Fisheries chaired by Senator Susan Sosnowski met last week to hear presentations on the marketing of Rhode Island fish. Over seven individuals from DEM, the RI Department of Economic Development as well as fish industry experts with knowledge on how to bring fresh fish to market made presentations. More on this in the future.

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.