Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire A smart move for the MA striped bass fishery, for a change

http://www.onthewater.com/states-weighing-striped-bass-regulation-options-2015/

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States Weighing Striped Bass Regulation Options for 2015

by OTW Staff | January 14, 2015 | Featured, Regulations, Saltwater, Stripers & Blues, Stripers & Blues.


*Updated March 5, 2015

Last fall, at a meeting in Mystic, Connecticut, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Striped Bass Management Board voted to implement new coastwide recreational striped bass regulations of 1 fish per day at a minimum size 28 inches, which scientists estimated would achieve a 31% reduction in the harvest.

However, they also gave states the option to form their own “equivalent” regulations, as long as they achieve at least a 25% reduction.

Every state is approaching this option differently, with some state managers accepting the 1-fish bag limit and other states attempting to come up with 2-fish solutions.

Here is the breakdown by state. We’ll update this information as it changes.



Maine: Two options are being considered.

Option A: One fish 28″ or larger.

Option B: One fish slot, 24″ to 26″

New Hampshire: The daily limit for striped bass has been reduced to 1 fish per day, 28″ or larger.

Massachusetts: Massachusetts rejected the idea of special limits for the “for-hire” fleet and adopted a daily limit for striped bass of 1 fish, 28″ or larger.

Rhode Island: Rhode Island is considering two options.

Option A: One fish, 28″ or larger.

Option B: Introduce special rule for “for-hire” captains allowing 2 fish 32″ or larger.

Connecticut: Connecticut is considering two options.

Option A: One fish, 28″ or larger.

Option B: Introduce special rule for “for-hire” captains allowing 2 fish 32″ or larger.

New York: On January 13, NY’s Marine Resources Advisory Council voted to recommend a 2-fish bag limit for the entire recreational sector. These regulations have not been finalized.

Proposed Option: 1 fish 28″-34″ AND 1 fish over 36″

New Jersey: The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council approved a two-fish limit that is waiting on legislative approval.

NJ 2015 Striper Regs (pending): 1 fish 28″ – 43″ AND 1 fish 43″ or above

Alternate Option: 1 fish 29″ – 36″ AND 1 fish 36″ and above

Delaware: Delaware’s Division of Fish & Wildlife will schedule a public hearing on the recreational options in “early 2015.” The hearing record will be open for 30 days at that time and Delaware’s 2015 recreational regulation will be set after thorough consideration of public input.

Maryland: Maryland officials held a public comment period in December on a proposal to reduce the individual daily creel limit from 2 to 1 fish and maintain the current season and 28-inch minimum size limit. An official announcement has not yet been made.

Virginia: The daily creel limit for striped bass has been reduced to one fish per day, minimum size 28 inches.

North Carolina: The daily creel limit for striped bass has been reduced to one fish per day, minimum size 28 inches.

we just need to catch tuna

I still need gear for anything beefy in the pelagic dep't, and they ain't exactly cheap. Been an expensive winter and am holding my nose with the checks I've recently written for boat maintenance, the slip, electrical upgrades, electronics/hardware with more to come before splashing the Grady.

Got my eyes casually peeled for a pair of 130s or 80 W at minimum, but will need to add a lot more before I set out to do anything other than dragging or casting for smalls...

I'd love to see you two on an episode of Wicked Tuna

What was the regs/limit last year Leighton? They being depleted?

i have 4 50's i'll send two up and work on an avet 80, can get a canyon 130 for 1000.

Exactly! If we'd just get it over with and completely collapse the fishery, we wouldn't have to worry about it.

Hey bud. Wicked Tuna is about on par with virtually all the 'reality' TV. That is to say, about 4% reality and the rest total booshyt, made up drama.

The OP is about recreational striped bass regs, and if that's what you're asking about, the answer is yes. Like many imbeciles making decisions with management of natural resources, MA shot callers got on the bandwagon of taking a largely replenished species and rather than keep that going with common sense limits based on sound science, made a good thing head backwards. From a single 36"+ fish daily limit, they went with 2 at 28"+ a day. The new regs allow for one at 28"+. A step back in the right direction, IMHO.

You're jumping to erroneous conclusions, not to mention acting like an idiot. Do you know STX or anything about him? The man's a sportsman and as conservation minded as anyone I know. You're way the fugg off base and out of line.

We'll get it figured out, cat. Appreciate your ambition and kindness. Not for nothing, but 50s just ain't gonna cut the mustard, muchacho. Seriously. I know it can be done, and has been many times, but that does not a smart choice make in this case.

yeah cause sport fishing is really the problem in the fishery anyways

In the Chesapeake Bay the numbers of 40 inch + fish has been reduced greatly the last 5 years. There needs to be a maximum size to protect the future breeding stocks.

Doc

Not just that, but the prey base needs some attention. You don't get good stripers without good food stocks, and the menhaden have been taking it on the chin (to be kind) for many years now. Get the menhaden stocks back up, and the stripers can and will follow.

Hell, the menhaden fishery, the largest per ton fishery in the Atlantic, had exactly zero regulations until two years ago and even those regs are specious.

Stripers need another moratorium or gamefish status. I fished through the first moratorium and went years without seeing bass. We are headed in that direction. Big fish are few and far between lately, but it's the lack of schoolies that is truly concerning. Black market sales are rampant. Classic fisheries mismanagement based upon greed alone. Don't get me started!

Menhaden are actually doing ok for us, we see plenty the last few years. As for herring and squid.....that's another story. Squid runs are pathetic and even with a moratorium on river herring and alewives we see fewer each year. Again, stock mismanagement.

If Idaho would let me, I'd be happy to grow you fellows a couple of hundred thousand 30" fish per year....... That'd be a lot of fun.

But, NOOOOO, striped bass are evil out here, and we aren't even allowed to play with them.

Odd, isn't it? You take a fish from the ocean where it evolved, and put it into freshwater - and it immediately over-populates itself. At Lake Powell here in Utah, they introduced stripers. For a few years they were rigidly protected. But now, they're so abundant that we have a no-release policy: you MUST kill every one you catch.

It isn't uncommon for a party of four guys to catch 300 or so over a weekend, all five-pounders or better like this one:



The reason for all this, obviously, is that in the ocean, the striped bass isn't the top predator. Lots of much bigger things eat stripers. In freshwater, stripers are king of the hill - and eat everything else.

Take a look at the entire fishery, and menhaden are being hit and hard.

Agreed on herring (they spawn upstream and can't get there; ain't too hard to figure that part out) and on stock mismanagement.

Rocky, 300 in a weekend?

Wayyyyyyy too much fun,

I'm on my way......

10-4 on the bulllshit, thanks for the answer. Got a bit of experience with do gooder dumb asses making up regs out here. Condor hunting zones ya know, they all over us in the National Forest.

ETA, hope you get a weekend off of shoveling that white crap. Headed to Famoso for the March Meets, will have funny car and TF pics up later tonight.

Have a great weekend.

Hope they're on the front of the curve with the new regs. Seems to often a resource has to get completely hammered before anyone actually makes a change.