Striper plan puts burden on sport anglers
The ship has not quite left the dock, but the lines are off the cleats, the engine is idling, and the course logged into GPS chart plotter.
Mangled metaphor aside, approval for the Department of Natural Resources spring striper season took another step forward after the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s technical committee signed off on the plan.
The DNR will submit its final 2020 spring package to the full ASMFC on February 5. The agency’s plan calls for a May 1 start with a minimum size of 35 inches, one rockfish daily per person.
What began as a complicated problem to reduce the rockfish harvest seems to have become a full-blown mess. Over the past six months, I’ve heard from and talked with scores of anglers, guides and charter captains as well as small business owners.
Many recreational anglers feel their voices have fallen on deaf ears at the DNR, that the agency’s hierarchy seems tonedeaf to creating a plan for a truly sustainable striper fishery that’s fair to everyone.
Instead, they’re playing favorites, the result being sport anglers bear almost all the burden while others remain untouched. The frustration is palpable.
For the past six months, the DNR fisheries leadership has been making the case that sky-rocketing dead discards — rockfish that do not survive release — is one of the main culprits why this iconic fin fish has declined in the Chesapeake.
That is certainly true when water temps are high, and July is a particularly nasty month. Yet, it seems they’re also pushing the narrative, at least tacitly, that all catchand-release is bad by lumping in cold water, low salinity catch-and-release.
If banning catch-and-release during closed seasons would actually save rockfish, we’d be all-in. It won’t, and the DNR knows that because their own science proves it.
“Close the Susquehanna Flats” season is symptomatic of this mindset. I reached out to many high-profile fishing guides earlier in the week, a relatively small group who feel they’ve been ignored by a DNR that — as one put it — is “plodding on with what they want.”
“Closing the Flats will have minimal impact (on reducing overall rockfish mortality),” said Captain Richie Gaines, a longtime light tackle guide and former chairman of the state’s Sport Fish Advisory Commission.
Gaines, who was one of the participants in the 1999 DNR Flats, continued: “Governor Hogan, whom I support whole-heartedly, has been pushing for accountability in Maryland. This should also extend to our natural resources. A fair and well-planned program has all (stakeholders) giving some.”
Captain Pete Dalhberg guides about 200 days a year on the Chesapeake Bay, about a quarter of them are cold water catch-andrelease trips. When he saw “bad things coming” he went to Florida to learn that fishery.
“I’m adapting and overcoming the craziness Maryland is about to throw on us and the rockfish. It’s not right what they doing,” Dalhberg said.
Adds Captain Greg Shute: “I’m very disappointed that DNR is looking to ignore their own science and close access to lowimpact fishing. It will have a negative impact on my ability to run trips.”
People have short memories, especially when fishing is good. Former state Senate Gerald Winegrad was on the front lines of fishery conservation in the 1980s when the striper stock crashed.
“Maryland used to be the leader on fishery issues but no more. To do what is proposed is a band-aid on a gaping stab wound on the rockfish,” Winegrad wrote to DNR Secretary Jeannie Haddaway-Riccio. “Virginia and other ASMFC states are watching and awaiting Maryland’s actions just like back in 1984-1985.”
I also share his concern over the worrisome young-of-the-year index for rockfish
— 2019 was a paltry 3.37, the third lowest in 11 years, and for five of the last eight years it has been below the 66-year average of 11.6.
Soon stricter regulations will be the new normal, and we’ll have to recalibrate what striper fishing means to us. Virginia fishermen already are doing that, given that state has implemented tighter catch and size restrictions.
The easy path is to gripe and recede into a state of apathy. Dogged determination is how we get leaders to address long-term issues with real solutions rather than short-term fixes. Here are some additional thoughts:
■ To protect breeders, cap maximum rockfish bay-wide at 35 inches and limit that to special season.
■ DNR needs to hire a fisheries director as soon as possible. That position has been vacant since spring 2019. Why it remains open is a puzzlement.
■ Avoid splitting the recreational sector, e.g. two rockfish for charter boats and one rockfish for private anglers. This could lead us down the path toward Sector Separation and inflame tensions unnecessarily.
■ Continue mandatory use of circle hooks.
■ Explore electronic reporting for all users. Better data collection is paramount. DNR has the money and staff expertise to do this rather quickly, stakeholders want it and user-friendly software exists.
■ (Side note: The federal Marine Recreational Informational Program was designed as a coast-wide sampling program, not to track harvest to close a season. Depending upon who you ask MRIP has been either a slow-rolling train wreck, with overblown estimates in several fisheries, or at least in need of serious retooling. The latter is the more prudent course).
■ Investigate impact of dead discards in the commercial sector, especially pound nets in upper Bay during height of summer.
■ Ramp up enforcement of anglers targeting stripers illegally in rivers such as the Elk and Bohemia, which are off limits during the spawning season.
Outdoors Calendar
Through Jan. 31: Duck season, third split. Six duck bag limit, no more than 2 mallards (only 1 hen), 3 wood ducks, 2 canvasbacks, 1 pintail, among other restrictions. Read DNR rules completely.
Through Feb. 28: Maryland Pickerel Championship, hosted by CCA MD. A catch-photo-release event. Register at ianglertournament.com/2019-20-ccamaryland-pickerel-championship.
Jan. 11: Annual “Saltwater Fishing Expo,” hosted by the Frederick Saltwater Anglers. Runs 8 a.m-4 p.m. at Frederick County Fairgrounds, 797 E. Patrick St., Building #9, Frederick. Details at wefishsalt.com.
Jan. 13: Pasadena Sportfishing Group. Captain “Walleye” Pete Dahlberg of Four Season’s Guide Service will be guest speaker. Earleigh Heights VFC, 161 Ritchie Hwy (Route 2), Severna Park. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Jan 15: Annapolis Anglers Club meeting (7 p.m.). Guest speaker is Captain “Walleye” Pete Dahlberg, who will discuss potential regulations changes for striped bass among other topics. American Legion Post #7, 1905 Crownsville Road, Annapolis.
Through Jan. 31: AP Canada Goose, second split, one bird per day.
Jan. 26: Baltimore Boat Show, held at Baltimore Convention Center. Full schedule of events and to purchase tickets www.baltimoreboatshow.com.
Jan. 26: Kent Island Fishermen’s 10th Annual Fishing Flea Market, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Kent Island American Legion Post #278, 800 Romancoke Rd., Stevensville (1.5 miles south on Rt. 8 off of Rt. 50) Admission $4; free if 16 years old and younger.
Jan. 28: Angler Movie Nights at the Boatyard Bar & Grill, hosted by the Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Happy Hour until 7 p.m. Film begins at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1-9: Great American Outdoor Show, Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA. Details at greatamericanoutdoorshow.org.
Feb. 8: Tri-State Marine Indoor Fishing Show. Runs from 7 am to 2pm. Free Admission. Table rental is $60 per table. Call Dawn Yoder to reserve table (410) 8672398.
Feb. 15-16: Pasadena Sportfishing Group’s “Fishing Expo” (8 a.m.-2 p.m. both days). $5 each day. Youth 12 years old & under free. Earleigh Heights VFC, 161 Ritchie Hwy., (Route 2), Severna Park.
Feb. 25: Angler Movie Nights at the Boatyard Bar & Grill, hosted by the Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Happy Hour until 7 p.m. Film begins at 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 29: Annapolis Anglers Club “Saltwater Expo.” 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Elks Lodge, 2517 Solomons Island Road, Edgewater. Details at saltwaterfishingexpo.com.
March 7: Tri-State Marine Fishing Seminar (9 a.m.-4 p.m.). Captain Charlie Sisson talks on trolling as well as live lining. Cost $30 per person, includes coffee, continental breakfast and lunch. Call Dawn Yoder (410) 867-2398 to register.
March 18: Annapolis Anglers Club meeting. American Legion Post #7, 1905 Crownsville Road, Annapolis.
March 31: Angler Movie Nights at the Boatyard Bar & Grill, hosted by the Coastal Conservation Association Maryland, sponsored by Chesapeake Bay Magazine. Happy Hour until 7 p.m. Film begins at 7:30 p.m.