Be a part of it. Striped Bass.
On behalf of the NYCRF here is a letter written for all of you that you can print out, sign, add your name address and phone number and then send to the NYS DEC in order to do your part in protecting Striped Bass. We need to defeat this issue long before it becomes a reality.
Joe Martens
Acting Commissioner
New York State DEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-1011
Dear Mr. Martens,
I am writing this letter to express my opposition to recent proposals that would allow a directed trawl fishery for striped bass, and also to express our concern about a declining striped bass fishery.
It is important we face several realities about the east coast population of striped bass. First, the size of the population is declining and second, recent recruitment has been poor to bad overall. It seems to us that these two signals should give us pause, lest we put the population in jeopardy of another steep decline similar to that of the 1980s. In short, this should be a time when managers take a step back, increase size limits, and reduce bag limits across the board. A flexible management approach is, after all, a fundamental fisheries management strategy in both fresh and saltwater venues.
Furthermore, the harvesting of striped bass for money, regardless of the particulars: commercial, recreational commercial (ex. charter boats), guide services, etc; should not become an excuse to allow harvest increases or excesses in a misguided sense of protecting jobs. Many studies have repeatedly shown that the greatest value of striped bass to the economy isn’t found in direct and easily documented expenditures such as bookings alone or commercial landings; rather it is nurtured within the day-to-day activities of striped bass anglers. More than any other inshore species, anglers consider the pursuit of striped bass to be a special, even sacred sport: a sport that requires a large fish population in order to generate and maintain a high level of enthusiasm, and get the troops out fishing frequently. When anglers fish often, they spend money on tackle, line, lures, clothing, accessories, hotels, motels, gasoline and diesel, local eateries, books, videos, etc.
Also, the recently implemented saltwater license has had a subtle psychological effect on how anglers view their angling experiences. To be blunt, they expect more. They expect a change from the “old way,” where bureaucrats kow-tow to the demands of commercial fishermen and others who make a living from our fisheries resources. Sooner or later we all need to recognize the reality that if a species declines, fewer anglers hire guides, get on party boats, or rent charter boats regardless of how many fish they can theoretically kill. No one wants a day on the water where very little happens. Angling is a sport about fun, and secondarily about killing. Licensed anglers expect that managers will realize the importance of a robust and conserved population of striped bass. Furthermore, we must remember this reality: if the species anglers pursue aren’t nurtured and protected, there will be little reason to purchase a license or go fishing. At that point, not only will a rich tradition of pursuing striped bass in the coastal ocean suffer as it did in the 1980s, but all those who are part of an economy pursuant to angling for striped bass will suffer as well.
This is a time when we need conservation and protection of striped bass and not a liberalization of rules that allows for more killing. Anglers have become increasingly concerned in recent years about a reduced quality of striped bass fishing as well as the declining size of the population. These serious concerns emerge from an evaluation of their catches and their logs, and have stimulated a great deal of vibrant discussion not only among independent anglers and their organizations, but also in magazines, newspapers, and online: this is not a figment of our collective imaginations, it is real. We need to reverse the decline, not enhance it.
Yours Truly;
