[bebopper]

Two bills are being presented in Maryland House if Delegates.
HB1117 is to prohibit fishing under the Kent Narrows Bridge by the boat ramp.
HB843 is to allow haul seines in Anne Arundel County Waters.
CCA is opposing these bills. I agree with them
We pay for licenses that the money is to be used to provide fishing access and facilities. The Narows is one of those facilities. A major complaint by many fishermen is lack of from shore fishing areas in a state that has so much water. Why would they be closing an area. I realize from what I read that poaching is a big problem there. But if this is the reason for closing the area it is not fair to the honest guys that use the facility.

I don’t get the haul seine deal at all. I think haul seines are what Omega uses. A video I watched on haul seines shows them netting an entire school of fish. I don’t think there are enough spot and white perch in AA county to support this kind of fishery and rock for that matter. This leaves alewives which we all agree are already being raped . Just picture birds working a school of blues, rock and Spanish sand a boat surrounds the school with a net and scoops up the entire school. Wow.

 

[Family Guy]

Don’t know understand? Follow the $$. Who is getting paid?
It always about the $$

 

[rock 'n load]

I'm OK with 1117. Folks clamber around like billy goats on the abutments. They are not exactly fishing from shore. The way the current rips if somebody goes in it might not end well. Fishing line crossing the channel is not good either. I'd like to see some restrictions at the SPSP jetty for similar reasons.

The haul seines on the other hand is a head scratcher from a conservation/fishery management standpoint.

 

[bebopper]

I'm OK with 1117. Folks clamber around like billy goats on the abutments. They are not exactly fishing from shore. The way the current rips if somebody goes in it might not end well. Fishing line crossing the channel is not good either. I'd like to see some restrictions at the SPSP jetty for similar reasons.

The haul seines on the other hand is a head scratcher from a conservation/fishery management standpoint.

There have been some drownings and the problem of poaching. Policing the area is also a problem for the county.

 

[SteveL]

Thank you for posting this information!

 

[Market Price]

Less recreational more commercial, WIN/WIN in my book.

 

[buckshotgumbo]

There have been some drownings and the problem of poaching. Policing the area is also a problem for the county.

I've become quite tired of the govt being used as a tool to thwart stupidity. Darwinism is being replaced by the nanny state and we're becoming a soft, dumb animal as a result.

And dnr has been shutting down public access for shore bound anglers all over the state. The Bill Burton Pier got closed from sundown to sunup (literally months after every light was replaced with LED) and spots on back roads that we used to bank fish from have been closed off.
Meh.. who cares? I've got a boat and as long as it keeps all those people with Latin names off muh fish...

 

[rock 'n load]

I've become quite tired of the govt being used as a tool to thwart stupidity. Darwinism is being replaced by the nanny state and we're becoming a soft, dumb animal as a result.

And dnr has been shutting down public access for shore bound anglers all over the state. The Bill Burton Pier got closed from sundown to sunup (literally months after every light was replaced with LED) and spots on back roads that we used to bank fish from have been closed off.
Meh.. who cares? I've got a boat and as long as it keeps all those people with Latin names off muh fish...

Are there reasons that the gubmint has shut down/limited access or did they impose these measures just because they wanted to "keep all those people with Latin names off muh fish...". Leave the pier open and people will ***** about the trash and poaching. Close it and they will ***** that it is closed.

That said, I vehemently agree that Darwinism should reign supreme, but it doesn't.

 

[buckshotgumbo]

Information about the actual reasons is hard to come by, but I think we can be pretty confident that the cost of enforcement was a primary consideration.

I'm in close proximity to the Burton Pier with great regularity, and trash & enforcement should not be a problem.
I was slipped at the marina across the road from the Pier and late one summer weekend evening when the bridge had a bunch of people on it, a buddy and I decided to walk it.
We walked down each side and talked to every single person/ group of people on that bridge, just out of curiosity. Where'd you come from, what are you fishing for, how you doin' type of stuff. We started walking about 9 and it was after 11 when we left.
Everyone was friendly and happy to show their catch. There was no trash, and no undersized fish.
I certainly see plenty of trash at the boat ramps.

In my mind there's little doubt that the thought process in the Tawes Building was, "Easier and more cost effective just to close any place in question."
My issue with that is 2 fold;
First is public access. I remember a big fuss on here about the "Right to Recreate". Public access to the resources should be important to everyone, but to use a term that gets thrown around here a fair amount, it all comes down to who's ox is getting gored. Hence my earlier (sarcastic) comment about muh fish.
And secondly, is enforcement. It kinda falls under the "de-fund the police". I think they get plenty of money, but I also believe much gets misspent (Enforcement cruising in Everglades).
That said, at one point I was also not opposed to an enforcement fee to bolster the NRP. My mindset was that I'd rather pay a little more to keep access than see our shorelines locked down because the DNR can't get a handle on rec poaching.
I'm more cynical now, and realize additional funds going in does NOT equal tangible results coming out.
I just think its BS that these spots that we fished from for decades are now off limits.

 

[pkeating]

I have never heard of anyone drowning at the Narrows.

I talked to a DNR guy as he was checking me at the Narrows last June. (I was returning in my boat at about 8:30 at night after a catch and release trip.) He told me they had written over 300 tickets just at the Narrows already that calendar year. I was shocked!

Nevertheless, I say keep it open. And any other shore access. People need a place to fish!

Pat

 

[Tom Powers]

I know more than I care to about haul seines

They are a rope mesh nets that are about 10 feet tall and in Virginia 1500 yards (yes almost a mile) that they drag through shallow-ish water, generally less than 10 feet deep. In theory they work by encirclement. The laws in Virginia used to say one and and only one end had to remain fixed in place until the net was closed. The it got changed in 1993 when state code was re-numbered with, in theory no changes, there was a change. They added the words and the end can be changed. Due to the way code was written into a definition they figured out that it was not enforceable. They took it out of state code and moved it to VRMC regulations with the handshake agreement between VMRC staff and CCA folks that they would keep the one end remained fixed part. Well they did not keep their promise and the law now says that they can drag the net through the water for up to one mile, which they do between two dead rise sized boats.

Once the net is closed they build a pocket and start closing the circle down. This drowns all of the fish due to lack of oxygen (e.g. bykill of immature fish). Like boxes and boxes of "scrap fish" for bait and the bottom covered with things like 6" flounder and 3" croaker.

They then scoop all of the fish out with dip nets. In Virginia EDIT HISTORICALLY (RIGHT NOW CROAKER HARVESTS ARE AT A 20 YEAR HISTORIC LOW,) they harvest about 2 or 3 million pounds of croaker in haul seines each year. They also blow through the EDIT SPECKLED TROUT commercial quota of 51,000 pounds in 4 to 6 weeks on a regular basis. They do this by setting the net with both ends fixed (remember the old law was one end and only one end fixed) for 24 hours in migration paths with one end on the beach then close then net collect the fish then stretch the net out again.

When they haul an area it is basically a waste of time to recreationally fish there for three or four days. And guess what they haul the same area every four or five days.

Menhaden boats use purse seines which are a completely different setup.

 

[SteveL]

Tom Powers,

Your well-informed perspective is always welcome!

 

[Tom Powers]

Note a few edits in the my previous post. I forgot the species with the quota which is speckled trout.

 

[crabby and son]

The narrows will remain open to public fishing...... Gary

 

[pkeating]

The narrows will remain open to public fishing...... Gary

Thanks for the update. Any word on netting the Severn?

Pat