Maine anglers concerned over striper proposal

Sport anglers applaud decision on striped bass
A dearth of fish in Maine factors into vote not to expand catch farther south.

By JOHN RICHARDSON, Staff Writer November 5, 2009
A decline in the number of striped bass swimming up the Maine coast in recent summers helped persuade regional fisheries managers this week to reject a proposed expansion of the commercial catch to the south.

Sport fishermen and state officials in Maine had criticized the proposal because of signs that the striped bass population, and the state's valuable recreational fishery, may be in trouble.
Despite scientists' assurances that the bass population is healthy, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted 8-6 on Monday in Newport, R.I., against opening the door to bigger catches in Chesapeake Bay and elsewhere.

If the proposal had passed, states with commercial fisheries would have been allowed to carry over unused quotas from one year to the next.

"I'm glad that it was voted down," said Brad Burns of Falmouth, president of Stripers Forever, a group that wants to eliminate commercial fishing for the bass. "When you can see the stock is not being replenished, we should be saying, 'Let's cut back.'"
Scientists presented a report in Newport this week saying the East Coast striped bass resource remains in good condition. While down somewhat from its peak in 2003, the population is still much larger than it was 20 years ago, when overfishing led to a crash, according to the new stock assessment.

The scientists are monitoring some areas of concern, including fewer young fish, said Tina Berger, spokeswoman for the commission. "But overall, it's still very healthy," she said.
Maine's saltwater anglers tell a different story.

The state's catch was about 49,000 stripers in 2008, a 31 percent drop from the year before. Stripers, especially younger fish, were hard to catch again this past summer, anglers said.
"If you talk to any of the guides up here, they'll tell you we've had very few small striped bass up here and it's worse every year," Burns said.

Maine doesn't allow commercial fishing for stripers, but the popular game fish attracts anglers who spend $25 million to $30 million each summer on everything from bait to fishing guides, according to the state.

Maine was one of eight states that voted against the proposed rule change this week.

By far, most stripers are caught and killed by recreational anglers, who aren't limited by the annual quotas. In 2008, recreational anglers landed 27 million pounds of striped bass, while commercial fishermen landed 7.2 million pounds. The numbers do not include fish caught and thrown back.

Many of the fish caught by commercial fishermen come out of Chesapeake Bay, which is the primary spawning and nursery area for the fish that migrate to Maine each summer. The Chesapeake also is the site of a mysterious bacterial infection that is killing an unknown number of striped bass.

The disease is believed to be linked to a decline in young bass in Chesapeake Bay, and the decline in striper catches in Maine.
Terry Stockwell, who represents the Maine Department of Marine Resources on the commission, said he and the commissioners from seven other states felt it was a bad time to expand the commercial catch, even incrementally.

"Something fundamental has changed across the full range of the resource," Stockwell said Wednesday in an e-mail from the ongoing meeting in Newport.

Staff Writer John Richardson can be contacted at 791-6324 or at:
jrichardson@pressherald.com
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