Article by Larry Jock
New Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass Regulations Effective May 16
The opening of regular striped bass season May 16 coincides with new conservation-minded regulations pertaining to the use of bait, gear and hooks.
The Maryland General Assembly Joint Committee Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review Committee recently approved Maryland Department of Natural Resources regulations, which will be effective through Oct. 12, 2018.
Beginning May 16, 2018, in Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries:
•Anglers must use non-offset circle hooks when live-lining or chumming;
•Anglers must use circle hooks or “J” hooks when using fish, crabs or worms as bait, or when using processed baits.
•The minimum size for striped bass is 19 inches.
“The new rockfish regulations seek to address the shared concerns of anglers, charters and conservationists who have reported high mortality rates of sublegal rockfish,” Fishing and Boating Service Director David Blazer said.
While the emergency regulations are in effect, the department is also moving forward with regulations aimed at making them permanent through the reminder of the 2018 and 2019 fishing seasons. Public comment is being accepted through May 29, 2018, with a public hearing scheduled for 6 p.m. May 17 at the Annapolis Friends Meeting House.
Staff have begun a proactive education and public relations campaign to ensure that anglers, bait-and-tackle shops, charter boat captains and the Maryland Natural Resources Police understand the new striped bass minimum size and gear requirements.
After the regulations sunset in 2019, the department will use new stock assessment data to determine if the new conservation actions were preventing mortality as designed and intended.
MAFMC releases black sea bass fact sheet
Summary
The black sea bass stock from Maine through Cape Hatteras, North Carolina is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. Abundance has increased and is currently very high, particularly off southern New England. As a result, recreational catches have been relatively high, even under restrictive regulations.
Fishery managers are required to set catch and landings limits to prevent overfishing. Current stock assessment information and catch estimates indicate that catch can’t increase beyond recent levels without an increased risk of overfishing.
Stock Status
The most recent stock status information comes from the 2016 stock assessment. Spawning stock biomass (i.e. the abundance of mature females and males) was estimated to be 48.9 million pounds in 2015, which is 2.3 times the target spawning stock biomass level. A recent increase in spawning stock biomass was driven by the 2011 “year class” (fish that spawned in 2011), which was nearly three times the 1989-2015 average.
Recreational Management
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cooperatively develop fishery regulations for black sea bass. Annual recreational harvest limits (RHLs) are set based on projections of abundance in future years and are intended to prevent overfishing. Recreational bag limits, fishing seasons, and minimum fish sizes are used to help ensure that recreational harvest does not exceed the RHL each year. Despite best efforts to set appropriate management measures, recreational harvest exceeded the RHL for much of the last decade.
The 2016 stock assessment allowed for a substantial increase in the 2017 and 2018 RHLs, compared to 2016, and brought the RHLs more in line with recent harvest levels. However, the 2018 RHL (3.66 million pounds) is about 15% lower than the 2017 RHL. Biomass projections based on the best available science indicated that spawning stock biomass would decline from 2017 to 2018 due to the declining influence of the large 2011 year class - over time many of those fish died of natural causes or were harvested by fishermen. Given this projected decline in abundance, catch and harvest limits must also decrease to prevent overfishing.
Managers use the prior year’s harvest to determine whether regulations should be changed. Recreational fishermen harvested 4.16 million pounds of black sea bass in 2017 – about 14% above the 2018 RHL of 3.66 million pounds. As a result, any increase in harvest in 2018 compared to 2017 would cause the 2018 RHL to be exceeded and would increase the risk of overfishing. Recreational bag limits, fishing seasons, and minimum fish sizes in state and federal waters were modified to allow coastwide recreational harvest to achieve, but not exceed, the 2018 RHL.
Next Steps
The Council and Commission are working on several ways to improve fishing opportunities for recreational fishermen while continuing to ensure that overfishing does not occur.
•Stock Assessment Update: An update to the stock assessment is planned for early 2019. This new information will be used to set catch and landings limits for 2019-2021.
•February Fishery: The Council and Commission provided states the opportunity to open their recreational black sea bass fisheries in February 2018 and will consider for 2019.
•Eliminating the Fall Closure: Starting in 2018, there will be no recreational black sea bass fall closure in federal waters for the first time since 2008.
•Alternative Management Strategies: The Council and Commission are considering the use of conservation equivalency for black sea bass, the potential use of slot limits and recreational transit provisions in Block Island Sound.
•New Analysis Approaches: The Council and Commission’s Monitoring and Technical Committees continue to improve the way recreational harvest and fishery performance are analyzed and evaluated when developing management measures.
Number of overfished stocks in the U.S. reaches all time low according to NOAA Status of Stocks
The number of domestic fish stocks listed as overfished has reached an all-time low, with three species of West Coast rockfish rebuilt to sustainable levels, according to the 2017 Status of U.S. Fisheries report to Congress.
The Status of Stocks report provides an annual update on the status of U.S. marine fisheries.
The number of stocks on the overfishing list also remained near all-time lows, an encouraging indicator that the U.S. fishery management system is achieving its long-term sustainability goals.
“Ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks provides two key benefits for the American people,” said Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “First, it strengthens the value of U.S. fisheries’ contribution to the economy, which in 2015 exceeded $208 billion dollars. Second, it supports the communities and marine ecosystems that depend on healthy fisheries.”
Three West Coast stocks were rebuilt to target levels in 2017, bringing the total number of rebuilt U.S. marine fish stocks to 44 since 2000:
Bocaccio
Darkblotched rockfish
Pacific ocean perch
The overfishing list at the end of 2017 included 30 stocks, and the overfished list included 35 stocks. Overall, 91 percent of U.S marine fish stocks are not subject to overfishing and 87 percent are not overfished. A stock is on the overfishing list when the harvest rate — a direct result of fishing activities — is too high. A stock is on the overfished list when the population size of a stock is too low, whether because of fishing or other causes, such as environmental changes.
Six stocks were removed from the overfishing list:
Sailfish — Western Atlantic
Blue king crab — Pribilof Islands
Puerto Rico Wrasses Complex
Coho salmon — Puget Sound: Hood Canal
Winter flounder — Georges Bank
Witch flounder — Northwestern Atlantic Coast (due to significant scientific uncertainty, the status of this stock cannot be determined following a 2017 assessment)
Six stocks came off the overfished list:
Yelloweye rockfish — Pacific Coast
Winter flounder — Georges Bank
Gray triggerfish — Gulf of Mexico
Red snapper — Gulf of Mexico
Pacific ocean perch — Pacific Coast
Bluefin tuna – Western Atlantic (due to significant scientific uncertainty, the status of this stock cannot be determined following a 2017 assessment)
“Rebuilding stocks to fully utilize our fisheries is one way NOAA can reduce our nation’s seafood deficit,” said Oliver. “We look forward to exploring innovative approaches to fisheries management and working with our partners to ensure America’s fisheries remain the world’s most sustainable.”