Virginia Cancels Trophy Season

[belairfishing]

Since this has been a topic of conversation lately, I saw this on StripersOnline

https://www.chesapeakebaymagazine.co...ates-to-follow

Do we think Maryland will follow suit?

[buzz]

Wow. I’m surprised to see VA take the lead on this.


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[CHOC]

Let's go, Maryland! I know I may be in the minority on this, but I think it needs to be all C & R for a few years. If not that, then have a slot keeper range like 20-28". Nothing smaller or bigger.

[RavensDfense]

Not to be a buzzkill on this because I do support this move and would love to see MD follow suit, but the VA spring trophy season is not a hard fished season like it is in MD. Bay stripers are an afterthought to black and red drum. IMO this is more for publicity than actual change. Their bigger striper fishery is November and December when the eeling fleet catches harvest more mature, 40+ inch fish. I'd be surprised if they cancel that. If VA really wanted to make an impact, they could also tighten up menhaden limits for Omega or ban the harvest of menhaden completely. But money talks, so I doubt either of the later happen. Nonetheless, any catalyst for change is welcome.

[belairfishing]

I have been reading a lot about this over the last 24 hours, particularly on StripersOnline. There is a lot of information out there from ASMFC, and generally well informed, conservation minded fishermen. All of my reading prompted me to ask these two questions:

1. Would you support the cancellation of the trophy season
2. Would you support the tightening of the slot limit, starting at 21" or 22", and removing the 1 fish over 28", as some have suggested those 28" fish are first time spawners.

Steve
Bel Air, MD

[Slobber Bob]

Not to be a buzzkill on this because I do support this move and would love to see MD follow suit, but the VA spring trophy season is not a hard fished season like it is in MD. Bay stripers are an afterthought to black and red drum. IMO this is more for publicity than actual change.

I tend to agree with you on this. It's a closure of 15 days. It's not going to effect much. The only people I think that will be effected are recreational anglers in the surf. VA spring trophy season typically aligns with when the big stripers have exited the bay and are heading up the coast. But by the time the closure ends and the fishery open back up May 16th, they should still catch the tail end of the migration north.

The real kicker is that this DOES NOT effect commercial fisherman. They can still catch away. They've been running gill nets off Assateague and Wallops for a couple weeks now already for striper and black drum. And you can guarantee that they will continue to have nets set through the closure as recreational anglers fish the same beach and are prohibited from keeping a striper caught. What sense does that make?

[J.A. Veil]

I tend to agree with others who said that this measure looks and sounds good for PR purposes, but is unlikely to make a big difference. Nevertheless, every bit helps. It is very easy for me to support blocking catch and keep seasons -- I rarely bring home a striped bass and do not like the taste of stripers as well as I do other species.

In recent weeks more and more is being said about how recreational fisherman are responsible for a significant mortality of striper populations. Each one of us can work hard to minimize catch and release impacts for stripers as well as other species. Here are a few thoughts:

1) Be judicious on how many fish you take home with you.
2) Be as careful as possible when handling and unhooking fish.
3) You don’t need to photograph or measure every fish you catch. After having caught stripers for a while you should be able to make a reasonable estimate of the fish's length. Limit your photos to fish that are new species, larger than ones you have caught previously, or have some unusual feature about them (e.g., a wound or interesting stripe pattern).
4) Get fish back into the water as quickly as possible. Caught fish are already tired and may be short of breath. Leaving them flopping around for a minute or more is not good for the fish.

[Slobber Bob]

It's a closure of 15 days.

Coastal season that is.

[rob-kayak]

@ John...
great words of wisdom as always...
Taking pictures fish is complicated for me... so that's why ya'll don't see many of them...
The guys with GoPros or other setups that can quickly do it.. that's cool.
after a very successful Spring...
Later in the summer, a work related situation... while I was fishing... really ruined my day.
And... I felt so horrible.. the keeper fish... from then on have been let go...
Why make the fish have as horrible a day as I had.

@ Slobber Bob and RavenesDfense
thanks for posting on what is going on down the shore.
And your knowledge of the situation...

If VA really wanted to make an impact, they could also tighten up menhaden limits for Omega or ban the harvest of menhaden completely. But money talks ...

Well I posted a rant... pointing to Kevin Kayak's podcast last year on this very situation.. That podcast is already many years old... but yet the situation is the same...
Menhaden... "no big deal" from the Atlantic Fisheries...

While not as knowledgeable as many of you... I do try to read and learn.. thanks for the post @belairfishing..
it has brought more insights to the table.

It brought me to thinking... when I was younger in restaurants...
A very popular fish was Orange Roughy...
But I see it no where these days....
"The Australian orange roughy fishery was not discovered until the 1970s, but by 2008, the biomass was estimated to be down to 10% of the unfished level. It was the first commercially sought fish to appear on Australia's endangered species list because of overfishing. "

This week... Safeway Grocery is advertising Rockfish on Sale....
and obviously it's not coming from the Chesapeake...

So the culling is from the Atlantic migratory fisheries...

It appears.. from the Menhaden.. to the Atlantic culling of the Rockfish...
there is nothing we can do... we Recreational fisherman are blamed..

So... just like other endangered species... or "non" political correct things...
ie: fur coats.... killing baby seals... get where I am going...

Attack... politically... or morally what ever you want to call it...
Ban the sale of Rockfish at this time of year...
The sale or Rockfish during the migratory spawning season.

We seem to be unmatched... at the Commercial side of regulation...

Maybe it's time to take to the grassroots level... inform the public...
Have the politicians be challenged that voters are aware of the situation....
And that the sale of the species should be regulated at this time of year.

The public is not informed as we are... Call out Safeway... and others...
That the sale of Rockfish from the Altantic fisheries...
is just as damaging as the Orange Roughy.

And since last Spring.. I have not culled or bought Rockfish.

Whatever it takes.. [tongue in cheek]....
"Scientists have revealed... Rockfish are the only sentient fish.....
Commercial fisheries are clubbing to death Rockfish......"

Since it appears it is all politics... fight fire with fire...

[Slobber Bob]

This week... Safeway Grocery is advertising Rockfish on Sale....
and obviously it's not coming from the Chesapeake...

So the culling is from the Atlantic migratory fisheries...

It appears.. from the Menhaden.. to the Atlantic culling of the Rockfish...
there is nothing we can do... we Recreational fisherman are blamed..

So... just like other endangered species... or "non" political correct things...
ie: fur coats.... killing baby seals... get where I am going...

Attack... politically... or morally what ever you want to call it...
Ban the sale of Rockfish at this time of year...
The sale or Rockfish during the migratory spawning season.

We seem to be unmatched... at the Commercial side of regulation...

Maybe it's time to take to the grassroots level... inform the public...
Have the politicians be challenged that voters are aware of the situation....
And that the sale of the species should be regulated at this time of year.

The public is not informed as we are... Call out Safeway... and others...
That the sale of Rockfish from the Altantic fisheries...
is just as damaging as the Orange Roughy.

And since last Spring.. I have not culled or bought Rockfish.

Whatever it takes.. [tongue in cheek]....
"Scientists have revealed... Rockfish are the only sentient fish.....
Commercial fisheries are clubbing to death Rockfish......"

Since it appears it is all politics... fight fire with fire...

Agreed. If you want to stop the commercial gill netting of striped bass you have to quit supporting it by buying it. In our house, we never buy fish from the market. I'll go catch it if I want it. When I'm at a restaurant I always avoid ordering striped bass off the menu or I make sure I ask what fish is in the fish soup, fish tacos, or whatever if it's not listed on the menu to avoid inadvertently ordering it. I've tried to encourage others in my extended family to do the same.

If nobody buys it then there is no reason to net it.

Fish offered for sale that are resourced in a sustainable method are of course a different story and I'll gladly support those commercial markets.

[Slobber Bob]

In recent weeks more and more is being said about how recreational fisherman are responsible for a significant mortality of striper populations. Each one of us can work hard to minimize catch and release impacts for stripers as well as other species. Here are a few thoughts:

I could be wrong, but I believe for-hire charters are lumped in with recreational anglers when they are considering group mortality rates? I think that skews the data greatly.

[nhunter344]

I tend to agree with you on this. It's a closure of 15 days. It's not going to effect much. The only people I think that will be effected are recreational anglers in the surf. VA spring trophy season typically aligns with when the big stripers have exited the bay and are heading up the coast. But by the time the closure ends and the fishery open back up May 16th, they should still catch the tail end of the migration north.

The real kicker is that this DOES NOT effect commercial fisherman. They can still catch away. They've been running gill nets off Assateague and Wallops for a couple weeks now already for striper and black drum. And you can guarantee that they will continue to have nets set through the closure as recreational anglers fish the same beach and are prohibited from keeping a striper caught. What sense does that make?

I'm probably wrong, but I could've sworn I read somewhere that this affects the commercial guys as well. Maybe I misremembered that the commercial guys may be affected depending on the outcome of the ASMFC meetings coming up. I think I remember that they are even considering reducing the mesh size for gill nets in order to reduce the catch of larger fish.

I wont get into the rec vs commercial fishing argument about who is more responsible. We are all responsible. Unfortunately, until the rec side of the equation starts lining the campaign coffers of our state representatives like the commercial outifts do, we are always going to get the raw end of the deal.

My main point of frustration is how short sighted people are. It just rubs me the wrong way that my son and future generations wont have the opportunity to enjoy the limited things we have now simply because some yahoo needs to have his picture taken next to a bloody egg laden fish hanging from a scale or some board member at Omega needs to add another 0 to their bank account.

Apologies for the rant. I haven't had my morning caffeine yet.

[Yak Fish]

We the recreational anglers are to blame. The commercial guys really don't take that much. It's easy to look at one boat full of fish and say, look at the travesty, but they are well controlled and documented. The Recs take about 4-5X what the comms take. A lot of people don't know this.

We have to stop taking the breeders, but we also have to stop taking the juveniles. MD is by far the worst offender. We crush every year class before it even gets out of the bay. You can look at the yoy index and the harvest here in MD.

Near term we'll see a 1 fish limit. That'll reduce harvest by about 30% For all the guys that want a slot, that's a great short term plan but actually allows more harvest coastwide. Remember, there are different limits for each state. For some locations a slot will actually open the harvest. So short term it's bad, long term it's good. I think they should also bump up the min size here in the bay and cut off fishing when the water temps hit 80 F in low salinity waters (north of the bay bridge).

Those actions will have real impacts. I've read the studies, paged through the statistics, gone to a couple meetings and have seen the formulas. it's really not rocket science if you want a robust fishery. You just have to turn the knobs that make sense and be responsible. It's a shame the fishery was rebuilt not long ago, and here we are again. It's really more political than anything.

The reason why the VA action is important is because it puts the spotlight on MD. MD has favored the watermen over conservation and the suspicion is that won't change and MD won't enact any real change. Trophy season is the tip of the iceberg.

[ronaultmtd]

I remember the bluefish and grey trout booms of the 70’s and 80’s...millions and millions of 15-20 pound bluefish were caught and mostly wasted...I personally caught hundreds..same for 12-15# trout...we were selling grey trout for $.20 per pound as a way to pay for our gas to go fishing...no conservation...just exploit the resource...I am ashamed of what I did back then...no excuse to fill the boat to the gunnels...we call it the “good old days” but it was shameful...wasteful...

[Mark]

We the recreational anglers are to blame. The commercial guys really don't take that much. It's easy to look at one boat full of fish and say, look at the travesty, but they are well controlled and documented. The Recs take about 4-5X what the comms take. A lot of people don't know this.

We have to stop taking the breeders, but we also have to stop taking the juveniles. MD is by far the worst offender. We crush every year class before it even gets out of the bay. You can look at the yoy index and the harvest here in MD.

Near term we'll see a 1 fish limit. That'll reduce harvest by about 30% For all the guys that want a slot, that's a great short term plan but actually allows more harvest coastwide. Remember, there are different limits for each state. For some locations a slot will actually open the harvest. So short term it's bad, long term it's good. I think they should also bump up the min size here in the bay and cut off fishing when the water temps hit 80 F in low salinity waters (north of the bay bridge).

Those actions will have real impacts. I've read the studies, paged through the statistics, gone to a couple meetings and have seen the formulas. it's really not rocket science if you want a robust fishery. You just have to turn the knobs that make sense and be responsible. It's a shame the fishery was rebuilt not long ago, and here we are again. It's really more political than anything.

The reason why the VA action is important is because it puts the spotlight on MD. MD has favored the watermen over conservation and the suspicion is that won't change and MD won't enact any real change. Trophy season is the tip of the iceberg.

Well said. Indeed most do not know that recreational anglers catch far more stripers than commercial anglers. And that’s not just in MD. It’s in every coastal state.

The money “problem” is this: Again it’s not from commercials. Recreational anglers inject far more money into state coffers than commercial fisheries by a significant multiplier. Knowing this, regulators have tried to please us by liberally allowing us to catch more than they should have in recent years.

We’d like to shift the blame to others but we need to look at ourselves. Since the last striper moratorium we (striper anglers) have grown in number and become vastly more efficient in catching thanks to breakthroughs in tackle, electronic technology and forums like this one where we share info so efficiently.

We are loving stripers beyond their ability to reproduce for us. Regulation changes are coming. I have no doubt that we will dutifully follow them.