Striped Bass Fishing Beyond the 3 Mile Limit

[shoreboy6]

I've never fished outside of the Bay so excuse my ignorance. IS the 3 mile line marked?

[ko]

No. But it is identified on most GPS plotters/map machines and on paper charts.

[goose70]

One proposal where we, as recreational anglers of different stripes (no pun intended) can probably forge broad agreement might be to replace the EEZ exclusion with a lower creel limit. This would satisfy those who want to fish beyond three miles and those who believe that the striper population is in serious decline and needs strict protection. I don’t know exactly what the creel would be, but looking at other success stories (e..g- red drum), one fish per angler/per day within a slot limit would probably make the most sense, with the option to purchase a very limited number of gill tags for a few additional “trophy” fish.

None of us were born last night, so we realize that some of those who poach now in the EEZ will continue to poach under any regulatory scheme. However, the above proposal provides for easier, more efficient enforcement. Instead of chasing boats all over vast areas of ocean and then being faced with the difficult task of proving where fish were caught, law enforcement could position themselves at popular ports and other choke points. There, they could conduct random vessel inspections to determine whether a particular vessel is carrying fish beyond the creel limit, trophies that lack gill tags, etc. This is what happens in Maryland during its “trophy season.”

I’m curious about what you folks think of this proposal. If it is popular among us, then maybe, through our respective organizations (or even via TF and Lateral Line), we could unite and successfully push this through. If successful, we would address some of the concerns of the northern states and thereby put more pressure on them to address their own striper fisheries problems. It would also give us a cleaner slate on which to confront Omega.

[Old Hat]

One proposal where we, as recreational anglers of different stripes (no pun intended) can probably forge broad agreement might be to replace the EEZ exclusion with a lower creel limit. This would satisfy those who want to fish beyond three miles and those who believe that the striper population is in serious decline and needs strict protection. I don’t know exactly what the creel would be, but looking at other success stories (e..g- red drum), one fish per angler/per day within a slot limit would probably make the most sense, with the option to purchase a very limited number of gill tags for a few additional “trophy” fish.

None of us were born last night, so we realize that some of those who poach now in the EEZ will continue to poach under any regulatory scheme. However, the above proposal provides for easier, more efficient enforcement. Instead of chasing boats all over vast areas of ocean and then being faced with the difficult task of proving where fish were caught, law enforcement could position themselves at popular ports and other choke points. There, they could conduct random vessel inspections to determine whether a particular vessel is carrying fish beyond the creel limit, trophies that lack gill tags, etc. This is what happens in Maryland during its “trophy season.”

I’m curious about what you folks think of this proposal. If it is popular among us, then maybe, through our respective organizations (or even via TF and Lateral Line), we could unite and successfully push this through. If successful, we would address some of the concerns of the northern states and thereby put more pressure on them to address their own striper fisheries problems. It would also give us a cleaner slate on which to confront Omega.

Jeff, I am all for your proposal. I agree this would make enforcement a whole lot easier and in the end accomplish the goal of having a smaller take on the population. The problem is that commercial guys will want to fish the EEZ if that is opened up to rec's. Didn't president bush make stripers & red drum game fish in federal waters?? The red drum is a great model for striper management.

[South Paw]

Fishermen are born honest, but they get over it.

[shooter]

As the air and water continues to cool around the Chesapeake Bay, many anglers are beginning to gear up for striper season. The tournaments and contests that take place during the early winter are in sharp contrast to the fishing moratoriums that were in place in 1984.




In the time since, the rockfish stock has expanded, especially in the over 18" category. This rebound, however, has created a false sense of security about their future.
A five-year study by the Chesapeake Bay Ecological Foundation has measured increased malnutrition and disease in rockfish and has determined the cause to be ecological depletion (insufficient prey for predators) of forage species, mainly bay anchovy and ages 0-1 menhaden. Since 2004, the CBEF, with assistance from East Carolina University, examined more than 7,000 striped bass for the study.
The Chesapeake Bay is regarded as a near perfect place for striped bass to reproduce and grow (it is the principal spawning and nursery area). Yet, within the last few years, the Chesapeake Bay striped bass have shown signs of stress -- length-at-age and weight-at-length have decreased, natural mortality rates have risen and a significant rise in the percentage that have mycobacterial infections. The CBEF report states that this deterioration coincides with the severe declines in forage species populations.
This is for Goose70

The CBEF study also found an interesting shift in rockfish migratory behaviors. Stripers over 28," mainly females that have historically come down from the New England coast to winter in the bay, are now staying until the spring spawning. This migratory shift in feeding patterns suggests that these stripers are hanging around longer due to the ecological depletion of their normal winter-feeding grounds.
The result is that the normally migrating stock is now competing with resident rockfish for sub-adult menhaden (studies of resident striped bass greater than 16" show that menhaden make up over 75 percent of their diet).
The competition for a depleted stock of menhaden extends beyond the striper fishery. The Omega Protein menhaden purse seine reduction fishery (largest on the Atlantic coast) competes with striped bass and many other predators for declining numbers of ages 1-plus menhaden

[Pugg]

All I say is if you have pics post or go away.

[Kevin Smith]

No bait, no fish, no fishermen

[Gotta Gaff 'Em]

#1 Billfisher, theres an evil cartel in rudee??? Why have I not run into them??
#2 Im cool with a lower limit, doesnt bother me.
#3 Accusing recs of taking the biggest fish is ok but the commercial guys do it too. If you watch the commercial guys unload there isnt a single small fish in the barrels. And we all know there is now ay that you get a constant catch rate of 25+lb fish, there will eb small guys mixed in.
#4 Brandon thanks for the cap on the posts.
#5 There was also a proposal to extend the 3mile line to 12 miles. I think its on the Rudee Fishing center site somewhere, or its on here. So if everybody is that unhappy wiht the 3 mi line then vote to extend it. Persoanlly i think there are other debates that need our attention with this much fire. To name a pair, bluefin quotas on selling them overseas and eastern fleets coming into the atlantic, and keep billfish off the menu.

Guys if we had this much intensity for some other fishing issues then wed be set for life. Shoot if we were this active about cleaning up the bay and the oysters, hey we might have a decent oyster industry again, which would add jobs etc.
Cmon guys were all intelligent people here we jsut need to realize where to put the intensity

[home cookin']

Jeff I like your proposal or something like it. Laws work best when they are self-enforcing, that is, most people will obey them. On the other hand, people will generally disobey laws for which they see no reason, or which seem ineffective or unduly restrictive. Here, many fishermen can't see the "real" difference between a fish 2.5 miles from the beach and one 3.5 miles out--and rationalize that it's just one fish. So your program lets them catch 'that one fish' legally. The benefit, then, is that if someone can catch a limited number legally, he'll stop at the limit, but someone who is fishing illegally in the first place, will disregard limits as well.

I don't know enough to comment on the details--size, numbers, seasons, etc. but your approach makes good sense. However, difficult as it may be, someone would have to compare the number of fish caught illegally to the number that would be caught legally under your plan--the fishery may be better off if the poaching take is lower.

I do not htink it is valid to approach the problem by saying, "since there will always be law breakers, no point in changing the law." The point I am trying to make is that we will have fewer law breakers with better reasoned laws. Ending Prohibition didn't end all moonshining and smuggling, but it reduced it drastically.