Article by Larry Jock
Last of NYC subway cars sunk on Delaware’s artificial reefs
It’s the end of the line for the deployment of New York City subway cars on Delaware’s artificial reefs—at least the end of it until the next line of subway cars are shunted into retirement. The last 24 older model cars made available as reefing material recently went down onto the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef, bringing the total number of subway cars sunk on the state’s artificial reefs to 1,329 since the first deployment in 2001.
The retired cars came to Delaware waters as always from New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Between 2001, when reefing of the subway cars began, and 2003, 619 stainless steel cars were sunk. A second stage of deployment on Delaware’s reef sites, from 2008 to the present, saw another 710 cars sent to the ocean floor as reefing material. The subway cars make ideal reefing material, because their windows and other cavities provide the perfect sanctuary for reef fish. Within a few weeks, blue mussels, sponges, barnacles and soft corals attach to the structure, and in about a year, the reef will be fully productive, resembling natural habitat.
The cars in the last deployment, like all those previously dropped onto Delaware artificial reefs, were 60-footers, while New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority now runs 75-foot subway cars on its rails.
The deployment on the Del-Jersey-Land brought to almost 350 the number of subway cars along a stretch of man-enhanced marine habitat that is the state's newest artificial reef.
Delaware's largest artificial reef, the Redbird Reef, has nearly three times that many subway cars placed throughout the more than 1.3 square nautical miles of ocean bottom comprising it 16 nautical miles off the Indian River Inlet. The Redbird Reef's name is in fact a derivation of New York City's "Red Bird" subway cars that make up much of the reef.
ASMFC expands black sea bass season
It’s official. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board has modified the 2010 season length for the black sea bass recreational fishery. The season will now run from May 22 to October 11, 2010 and from November 1 to December 31, 2010.
The season represents an extension from what was originally planned. When the original season was developed, the Board only had 2009 harvest estimates for January through June. Harvest estimates for July through December 2009 were projected using previous years' data to calculate a total harvest estimate. Based on these preliminary projections, the original season was developed with the intent of reducing recreational harvest by 44% from 2009 levels.
Final 2009 harvest estimates were made available at the end of April. The estimate indicates that harvest is less than previously projected and only a 21.4% reduction is required for the 2010 recreational season. The newly approved season is anticipated to achieve a 26% reduction and allows for a reasonable conservation buffer to account for uncertainty in the harvest estimates and the effectiveness of regulations. The season was further expanded into November and December to allow for increased access by party/charter boats and private boat/shore-based anglers that did not have a late fall/early winter season last year.
Increased Commercial Striper Quota Proposed
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has approved Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass for public comment. The Draft Addendum proposes two changes to the striped bass management program: (1) an increase in the coastal commercial quota, and (2) revising the definition of recruitment failure based on Technical Committee advice.
The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota is intended to improve equality between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the implementation of state-specific quotas for coastal commercial harvest (and not for recreational harvest) has prevented the commercial and recreational fisheries from responding equally to changes in striped bass population size. Since 2004, coastal commercial harvest has decreased by 3.6 percent, while recreational harvest has increased by 13.7 percent. Under the option, the Board would select a percent increase to be applied to the coastal commercial allocations assigned in Amendment 6.
The Management Board voted to include a second issue in the Draft Addendum based on information presented at the meeting. As part of its review of the juvenile abundance indices, the Striped Bass Technical Committee recommended to the Management Board a revision to how striped bass recruitment failure is defined. Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program and are used to determine periods of recruitment failure which can trigger management action under Amendment 6. Adopting the proposed recommendation would result in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Use of either the Amendment 6 definition or the Technical Committee recommendation for recruitment failure does not result in any necessary changes to the current management program.
It is anticipated that the majority of states will be conducting public hearings on the Draft Addendum. For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or [email protected].