Article by Marty Gary
The Endless Summer Bite
It started before Memorial Day, it hasn’t stopped yet, and it shows no sign of quitting. Offshore, the yellowfin tuna bite continues to be white hot at the Canyons, with the Baltimore the very hottest location of late. Bluefin tuna continue to turn up in outstanding numbers on lumps from the 20 to 30 fathom line inside to the Jackspot. “Morningstar” Captain Monty Hawkins has even gotten in on the action, putting out spreads of cedar plugs resulting in multiple hookups of bluefin. DNR Fisheries biologist Steve Schneider was on board for one of the “bluefin blitzes”. He professes it was an experience he’ll never forget! The nearshore wrecks are producing nice catches of black sea bass and a few tautog. The Atlantic cod appear to be moving gradually north, but what a memory the last few weeks have been. Inshore, stripers have been on the south jetty and caught near the Rt. 50 Bridge at night. Flounder catches continue to be solid. Speaking of flounder, DNR launches a brand new survey on July 1st. Read on for details.
Maryland DNR Summer Flounder Catch Rate Survey
Maryland DNR is teaming up with volunteers from the Maryland Saltwater Sportfishermen’s Association and back bay sport fishermen to conduct a first ever of it’s kind survey to put to the test concerns we have heard from local fishermen regarding the harvest estimates for summer flounder from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). If you are an avid summer flounder fishermen, and you have followed the year-to-year process to develop regulations for flounder, you may know that the minimum size, daily creel limit and season length we put in place are in part a function of the estimated catch from the NMFS Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) as it relates to Maryland’s annual quota for flounder. In simplest terms, the survey combines a telephone survey (which will now use the database from the National Saltwater Angler Registry) to address fishing effort (time spent fishing) coupled with a second component, a dockside angler survey, which seeks to estimate angler catch rates. The two components are used in tandem by NMFS to develop estimates of harvest. The harvest estimates for a given year can significantly impact the next year’s fishing season guidelines, particularly if they indicate the quota was exceeded. For Maryland’s flounder fishermen, this has often meant highly variable seasons from one year to the next. In some years where the quota was exceeded, the minimum size has been raised, or the season was shortened or the daily creel limit was reduced. In some years a combination of these three occurred.
Performance of the stock plays a role too, but fishermen have focused their ire on the survey estimates.
Ocean City recreational summer flounder fishing enthusiasts have voiced concerns that the estimates are not entirely accurate, because the dockside surveys are conducted at public fishing launches only, and that boats launching from private property or marinas have not been included. As I have pointed out in past columns, complaints without solutions seldom lead to productive outcomes, but solution minded thinkers exist in every group. Enter MSSA Atlantic Coast Chapter member Frank Watkins. Frank suggested to DNR staff, and ultimately, DNR Fisheries Statistician, Dr. Linda Barker, an idea to test whether the sampling affects the outcome of the estimates. Based upon the creative collaboration of Frank and Dr. Barker, DNR proposes to test the assertion by developing separate “private access” and “public access” catch rates for summer flounder and comparing our information against the federal survey estimate.
So, a unique survey has been developed that will run during the months of July and August of this summer, during a time period that coincides with “wave 4” of the federal survey. The survey, known officially as the “Summer Flounder Catch Rate Survey” will confine sampling to “Flounder Alley” in Isle of Wight Bay and Sinepuxent Bay.
MSSA volunteers will distribute simple, easy to fill out survey cards to anglers on the water during their fishing trips, capitalizing on the rapport between fellow anglers. Here is an example of the survey card that will be handed out to other boat fishermen on the water by the MSSA volunteers.
Participating anglers simply need to fill out their card upon completion of their trip, and drop it the closest mailbox when they return to shore. Postage is prepaid. DNR Fisheries personnel will provide the survey design, collect and analyze the data sent in by the anglers upon completion of their trips. Ultimately, DNR will share the results with the NMFS staff that are working on the redesign of the federal recreational fishing survey (MRIP).
So if you are fishing on the water and a fellow fisherman approaches you with a card in hand, please consider taking a moment to listen to them, fill out the survey card at the end of your trip, and drop it in the mailbox. If having a role in a historic, never conducted survey isn’t enough motivation, we’ll be pulling one lucky name from the list of submitted catch rate cards each month (July and August) to win a special prize. The survey begins this Friday, July 1st!
Radford Update
Last week we updated you on the status of the USS Radford, a 573 foot long Spruent Class Navy Destroyer which Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and the US Navy are collaborating on. The ship is being prepped just outside the Philadelphia Navy Yard. Jeff Tinsman from the State of Delaware (DNREC) is the lead for the project, working with American Marine’s Tim Mullane. Jeff’s update for this week is a real teaser. He is optimistic final testing of the vessel will soon be completed by the US Coast Guard and the EPA, clearing the way for potential mid-July deployment. If this holds true, look for next week’s update to possibly have the definitive breaking news. We could be just two short weeks away from the largest ship ever sunk for an artificial reef on the Atlantic Coast, and the newest go-to fishing spot off the Delmarva.
Questions From Coastal Fishermen Readers?
I welcome any questions you may have on fisheries management, sport fishing licenses, or any other fisheries related questions. Please email your questions to:
[email protected]
Until Next Week…….Good Fishing!
Marty Gary is Assistant Director/Fisheries Ecologist at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Fisheries Service.