Depletion of the Rockfish in the Chesapeake... LISTEN UP DNR.. I know you're HERE !!!

[rob-kayak]

Depletion of the Rockfish in the Chesapeake... LISTEN UP DNR.. I know you are HERE !!!

This is from Kevin Kayak's Podcast / Video Logs on YouTube.
more information below on Kevin Whitley below.

With some reservation... only as a "disclaimer"...
because I have not "fact checked" all the information in the following podcast..
But I "feel" there is "strong" truth to the facts presented.


From Kayak Kevin's Podcast and Video Logs (YouTube)
Lee Wiiliams, Hake Hiles, and Kayak Kevin (Kevin Whitley)
Circa 2/24/2016
Audio Link: http://www.kayakkevin.com/images/podcast_80_part_3.mp3
you can save the file to your computer if you... Right Click on the link and "Save As" in your browser.
the information starts at 2minutes in...
YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqFECVWBxfs

This discussion actually starts with Episode 80 Part #1
And is about Cobia Fishing... and Stripers.. intermixed with a lot of jocularity.

All of Kevin Whitley (Kayak Kevin) Podcasts and links to YouTubes are here...
http://www.kayakkevin.com/podcast.html

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[thomaswsu]

I agree. MD needs to get rid of the trophy season. And all of the striper coast needs to change regs for breeders and the species. Striped bass is in serious trouble.

[rob-kayak]

I don't think abolishing "Trophy Season" is the gist of the podcasts.
But I respect your opinion.

[NattyBoh74]

Can someone give us cliff notes on this?

[zaaabay]

Great info Rob... and meeting you down south this year...
You're welcome anytime you can get away with the crew here...

One of the big problems is coordination across States... The NOAA Fisheries should be more involved with this situation.

The efforts in helping preserve species is well noted..
From October 31st 2018....
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/featu...me-infographic

Use the link above for more info...

[Mark]

Given the multitude of factors that impact the population of the stripers here in the Chesapeake Bay and beyond, regulators have an enormous task to remedy what many sense is a declining striper population based on (for me and I believe others) lower recreational catch totals in recent years. That declining population has indeed been substantiated by a 400-page academic study sponsored by NOAA that is presently being reviewed by fisheries scientists. The study considers many factors including the behaviors of the fish themselves, like their migratory patterns that are just now being more clearly understood, their food choices and their ideal spawning needs.

Poaching is certainly a factor, and it’s an emotionally charged one because of its wanton waste and blatant illegality. But where does it rank in its impact on the numbers of fish swimming in the waters we fish? I don’t know the answer to that question but intuitively, I’d say it ranks behind environmental factors that are perhaps the hardest to correct simply because of the density of human population along the shorelines of the Bay. Add to that a record year for rainfall and the increased runoff of pollutants into our tidal waters caused by what: climate change or simply an anomalous year of record rainfall. Again, who knows for sure? Many things impact striper populations. Some are obvious, some are not and some are still not thoroughly understood.

The good news is that academics, politicians, and anglers worked to restore striper populations in the 1980s. There’s reason to hope that we can all work together to do it again.

[Slobber Bob]

Poaching is certainly a factor, and it’s an emotionally charged one because of its wanton waste and blatant illegality. But where does it rank in its impact on the numbers of fish swimming in the waters we fish? I don’t know the answer to that question but intuitively, I’d say it ranks behind environmental factors...

I imagine poaching is very small in the grand scheme of things. Compared to the legal recreational and commercial harvest, it probably doesn't even register. The mentality of anglers having to harvest the biggest fish possible needs to change.

[Slobber Bob]

The good news is that academics, politicians, and anglers worked to restore striper populations in the 1980s. There’s reason to hope that we can all work together to do it again.

Yeah, and it's shameful that the same people are letting in crash again. If we didn't learn from the past this time around, what makes anybody hopefully it won't just be the same story all over again another 30 years down the road?

[rob-kayak]

The Poaching issue is an interesting topic.
In my opinion... very important.
Two things about that... well Three.
One...the enforcement... sends a message.. no matter how much it costs.

Two... I equate the "Numbers" as "not significant" to illegal drugs in our country.
.... the numbers caught... are not indicative to the activity.

Three... the corruption... which reaches from the poacher to the end "user/buyer"....
.... and those involved in the process from authorities to the end user.
Just like illegal drugs. The corruption.

Last Spring a couple of fellows were caught with close to 400 fish HAND netting/poaching on the Choptank.
What were they going to do with the fish... couldn't say... but that would have been a lot of fish Taco's.

[nhunter344]

The Poaching issue is an interesting topic.
In my opinion... very important.
Two things about that... well Three.
One...the enforcement... sends a message.. no matter how much it costs.

Two... I equate the "Numbers" as "not significant" to illegal drugs in our country.
.... the numbers caught... are not indicative to the activity.

Three... the corruption... which reaches from the poacher to the end "user/buyer"....
.... and those involved in the process from authorities to the end user.
Just like illegal drugs. The corruption.

Last Spring a couple of fellows were caught with close to 400 fish HAND netting/poaching on the Choptank.
What were they going to do with the fish... couldn't say... but that would have been a lot of fish Taco's.

Funny you should compare it to illegal drugs. I was arguing with myself a couple weeks ago about this.

My initial thoughts are that even if poachers are caught, the penalties are so weak, it doesn't really act as a deterrent. I wish that as our resources dwindle, penalties are enforced to the fullest extent. That would discourage people knowing that their car could be taken, etc. Then again, in the illegal drug comparison, in our war on drugs, we maximized penalties and started three strikes laws. Those laws didn't have the intended effect and only served to fill up our prisons. Nevertheless, I think mandatory forfeiture of equipment (rods, boats, etc) would be a start, if for no other reason than to get them off the water for a while before they go buy new equipment.

The depletion of resources is a complex issue. My general thought is that this is no longer a conservation effort, its become completely political, which is sad. Say the answer is as simple as shutting down commercial menhaden harvesting. They may make some superficial changes and say they are doing something by cutting the quota from 20 tons to 19.9 tons, but its only lip service. No politician is going to have the backbone nowadays to shut down Omega and however many people they employ.

I hope that I'm wrong, but the stripers will be gone, the crab will be gone, the oysters gone long before anyone steps up and makes the changes to re-establish the bay ecosystem. My apologies for the incoherent ramblings. Haven't gotten my morning caffeine yet.