Article by Marty Gary
Hottest Action in Maryland
From our offices in Annapolis, DNR staff get exposed to a great deal of breaking news from all across the state, including feedback on some of the best fishing. The news which pours in daily includes trout fishing on the Savage River, trophy muskies on the middle Potomac and striper action on the Chesapeake Bay. But hands down, Ocean City is off to a blazing start for the summer season, making it the place to be if you are an avid fishermen. While low salinities in the Chesapeake have confounded some fishermen and high flows from storm events have made mountain streams and river fishing a challenge, inshore and offshore, Ocean City continues to dazzle. Offshore, yellowfin tuna numbers are excellent along with solid action for bluefin. Shark fishing is at peak in terms of diversity, with threshers, makos, blues, sandbars and hammerheads all turning up at popular locations like the Fingers, Hambone, Hot Dog and the Sausages.
Sharks Take Center Stage
The 31st Annual Ocean City Shark Tournament starts this weekend at the Ocean City Fishing Center. Captain Mark Sampson is the master of ceremonies, and does a great job interacting with the dockside audience. In addition to being one of the most knowledgeable shark fishermen in North America (some would argue the most knowledgeable), Mark has been an innovator of techniques throughout his career and has championed conservation ethics to minimize the mortality of sharks through promotion of catch & release, use of non-offset circle hooks and proper boatside handling. Mark sits on the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Highly Migratory Species Advisory Board, and his contributions affect national policy of the conservation of sharks. So be sure to stop down to the OC Fishing Center to see the weigh ins, and meet Mark. We are indeed lucky to have him as part of our community of knowledgeable and talented captains.
Cod Continue
A couple of weeks back, I mentioned the account of cod catches off the Maryland coast from a half century ago in a Maryland Fisheries publication. Offshore party boats are still catching them. Now, another visionary captain in the Ocean City community has stepped forward to help biologists and managers with Federal and State agencies to get a better handle on what appears to be an unusual event. Captain Monty Hawkins on the “Morning Star” has been tagging cod and working cooperatively with scientists from Massachusetts and NOAA to document this late occurrence of Atlantic cod off the Delmarva coast. Monty often donates his time and his own money to tag, film and document information on a variety of species from black sea bass and tautog to tilefish and now Atlantic cod. His passion for habitat enhancement and preservation is unparalleled in the mid-Atlantic region. Over the past two weeks, cod tagged and released from the “Morning Star” have been recaptured, some moving to artificial reefs off Cape May and Atlantic City. Cod have been documented off the Maryland coast in the past, but typically during the winter months. Is their presence in early June an anomaly, or is it a function of cold inshore water temperatures, food availability or habitat? Or some combination of these? With the help of Monty Hawkins and others that want to advance our understanding of fish behavioral ecology, we may know more soon. In the meantime, as long as our fishermen are catching cod off the Maryland coast, please be reminded there is a minimum size of 22” and a creel limit of 10 cod per person, per day, for private boats. Party boats have a 22” minimum size and no creel limit.
A Footnote on Spotted Sea Trout
Last week we answered a question regarding the status of sea trout. On Friday, June 24th there will be a public meeting held by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) at the Tawes State Office Building in Annapolis, MD at 6:00 pm to address recommended changes to the interstate fisheries management plans (FMPs) for spot, Spanish mackerel and spotted sea trout. For spotted sea trout, the FMP recommends a 12” minimum size limit with comparable mesh size regulations in directed commercial fisheries. This size limit corresponds to the length at which data indicated 50% of spotted sea trout females reach sexual maturity. The development of the Omnibus Amendment does not necessarily mean that additional management measures will be put in place to regulate the harvest of Spanish mackerel, spot, and spotted sea trout; however, the ASMFC Management Board will consider a suite of measures that could be implemented through adaptive management should it become necessary.
What a Difference a Year Makes
Maryland’s regulations for summer flounder last year, with a minimum size of 19- inches, resulted in a common theme of catches of undersize fish and frustrated anglers. Management measures allowed for a 1-inch reduction in minimum size for 2011. This year’s regulations allow for anglers to keep up to 3 flounder per person per day at a minimum size of 18 inches. So far, we’ve heard of many more keeper fish, and several exemplary catches. This morning I had the pleasure of speaking to Ms. Barbara Skelley of Manchester, MD. Barbara was fishing near Harbour Island last week when she landed a 24” flounder weighing in at 5 pounds, 3 ounces. Her fish was checked in at Ake Marine, one of over 90 award centers located across the State of Maryland. Barbara’s fish qualified her to be eligible for the thousands of dollars in prizes that will be given away to qualifying anglers in DNR’s 7th Annual Maryland Fishing Challenge. The contest runs through Labor Day, and the qualifying finalists like Barbara will gather at Sandy Point State Park on Saturday, September 10th to see if they will win one of the grand prizes. For more information on the species and the minimum sizes and locations of the award centers, please visit the Maryland DNR website at: http://dnr.maryland.gov/fisheries/challenge/index.asp
Questions From Coastal Fishermen Readers?
I welcome any questions you may have on fisheries management, sportfishing 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.
