Be a part of it. Striped Bass.

[Tom Farrell]

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;

[DarkSkies]

[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.

Anyone who fishes a lot should be at least somewhat aware of the above 2 key points, Tom. Unfortunately, there are a large % of anglers on internet sites who just can't seem to agree that this is happening. That's a shame.

"Fiddling while Rome burns", to use an old cliche.
That was a very well-worded letter, covering all the bases.

I will be sending mine out Monday.
The format Tom presented here makes it very easy to C&P and mail out. Research has shown that when they get thousands of "snail mail" responses, this can be more effective than e-mails, internet petitions, and phone calls.

Please join me in C&P this important letter, and sending it out, folks.
The things mentioned here are the realities of today, and are verifiable with a little research.
Thanks, and thanks for your efforts, Tom and all those at NYCRF.

You do the work that others don't have time for.

People need to think about this before they criticize small philosophical differences. Supporting organizations like yours who represent fishermen interests is one of the most effective ways of letting your voice be heard.

[captnemo]

I don't fish that much in NY, but I'll be glad to send a letter out. Thanks for posting.

[rockhopper]

I'll send a letter. Thank you for everything. It is about time these people in office listen to us the fishermen. We know what is going on out there. Those guys who sit behind the desk only know from reports, we know from actually seeing it.

[Tom Farrell]

Thank you for your support once again Rich.

Although we are becoming much more well known these days politicians still say that recreational fisherman are silent. Keep the letters flowing and in their faces and they will not be able to say that anymore. Not only will they not be able to say that, they will have no choice but to listen to us.

keep it up and thank you all for your support.

[albiealert]

Thank you for your support once again Rich.

Although we are becoming much more well known these days politicians still say that recreational fisherman are silent..

I'll send the letter too. I fish the Sound. This stuff will eventually affect us all. I think politicians are most responsive to whoever contributes the most money to their campaigh, Sad fact of life, but it's a reality.

[Tom Farrell]

Keep up the good work folks. So far we have several hundred verified letters that have gone out. Can you imagine how many letters it would be if each and every member of each organization involved sent out a letter? Plus all of the people that are not members of an organization? Together we can defeat this before it happens. Thank you for all of your support.

[blitzhunter]

I sent one out today too, hope it is not too late. thanks for all Tom.

[strikezone31]

I am sending it this afternoon, thank you.

[Tom Farrell]

Sounds like we have been saying all along.

"The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board has initiated development of Draft Addendum III with the goals of reducing striped bass fishing mortality (F) up to 40% and further protecting spawning stock when it is concentrated and vulnerable. The addendum was initiated in order to allow managers to promptly respond to the results of the stock assessment update in the fall if necessary. Provisions of the addendum, if passed, could be implemented prior to the start of the 2012 fishing year.

The Board’s action responds to recent trends in the fishery and resource, including a 66% decline in estimated recreational catch from 2006 to 2009; a 25% decline in estimated striped bass abundance from 2004 to 2008; and lowered recruitment in recent years. Additionally, states in the northern extent of the fishery have expressed concern over decreased availability of striped bass as a result of the diminished water quality in the Chesapeake Bay during the summer months that may also contribute to increased prevalence of mycobacteriosis in striped bass.

Draft Addendum III will propose a range of fishing management measures including, but not limited to, adjustments to commercial and recreational minimum size (for jurisdictions outside Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), reductions in annual coastal commercial allocation, reductions in recreational bag limits, revisions to the target F rate (for Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River), and reductions on fishing for striped bass in known spawning areas during the spawning season by at least 50% (for jurisdictions bordering the Hudson River, Delaware River, Chesapeake Bay and Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River).

The commercial and recreational fishery is currently managed through Amendment 6 to the Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan. The Amendment, passed in 2003, allocates the coastal commercial quota and set a two fish bag limit and a 28 inch size minimum for the recreational fishery, with the exception of the Chesapeake Bay fisheries, Albemarle Sound/Roanoke River fisheries, and states with approved alternative regulations.

The Draft Addendum will be developed for preliminary review by the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board in August. For more information, please contact Kate Taylor, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at ktaylor@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740. "

By the way so you all know. I have been permanently banned from teh spot burning website that has an enormous amount of commercial interest. Apparently the truth hurts them.

[rockhopper]

By the way so you all know. I have been permanently banned from teh spot burning website that has an enormous amount of commercial interest. Apparently the truth hurts them.

The only spot burning website I know of in this area is noreast.com. They banned you? Wow that sucks, what a bunch of turd smugglers they are!
What did they ban you for?

[Tom Farrell]

They are heavily commercially influenced over there and a few of their mod's are the guiltiest of the bunch. One of them admitted to delete many of my posts regarding fisheries management on there if he THOUGHT the information may not be factual. When I called him on it he went back and edited his posts and deleted the majority of mine that made reference to it. He later lied about it by denying all of it. Oh well if they want to be a bunch of commercial wannabee's so be it.

[DarkSkies]

That's sad to hear they did that Tom. Shameful that they would restrict free speech like that.

I jumped in on that thread about comm fishing in NC as I happeded upon it by chance. I saw there were about 10 regular participants. It seemed like it was 9 guys who favor all aspects of comm fishing, VS your perspective. At times it seemed like they were all attacking you at once. Even the mod seemed guilty of this. It just seems to me that a mod on a site that size should have been trying harder to act professionally.

Granted, there were dramatically opposing points of view in that thread. However, winning an argument by insulting and attacking people is not the most mature way to go about things. And that's what I saw in that thread, so I jumped in. My words seemed to fall on deaf ears, though, as their minds seem to be already made up in favor of all forms of commercial fishing.

It was interesting to me that on that site, there are quite a few members of clubs that say they are all about conservation. Yet no one but me felt compelled to jump in and speak up against the one-sided bashing that was going on by the comm interests. Who knows?...like me, maybe some people were just not aware of that thread.

It's sadder still that the owner allows that type of negativity all in the name of bringing views and ad dollars.

I will always try my best to support reasonable recreational fishing and conservation viewpoints.

I think sometimes you have to be the bigger person and not take the bait, Tom. When you have unrstrained bashing and negativity like that, some people will see it for what it is, in the long run. There are many more avenues to get information out other than that site, Tom. Let me know if I can be of further assistance.

[albiealert]

I cant comment on the details about that particular topic, but I can't stand that web site. You have too many guys on there posting pics of 16" bass. Hey it's fine we know you caught a fish and are happy for you. But do you really have to lay out every 16" fish you catch on the sand and the rocks for a photo op? One 16" fish looks the same as the next, and each time they do that I wonder how many die because they are leaving them out of the water too long.

[stormchaser]

I was reading some of the Block Island cod reports on another site the other day.

One report interested me, because there were some seasoned members on there talking honestly about the bite.

They were talking about some boats crushing them, and others catching only a few shorts. Some of the boats who use a lot of fresh clams for chum were mentioned.

Others, who were noted as being a bit stingy with their clams, were also mentioned. I believe some of those were paid advertisers of the site. I don't think that's a bad thing, just guys being honest about their experiences. The thread generated a lot of interest. Generally, each report is separate on that site, so if you get 10 replies, that's a good response.

This thread was reading had a lot of interest and commentary. All of it seemed respectful. I didn't see one post that seemed mean or slanderous of a captain or a boat.It was over 2 pages long.

I tuned in this morning, to check the latest, and the whole thread was gone. They didn't just moderate a few posts, they deleted the whole freaking thread. No arguments, fights, or untrue accusations which soometimes require moderation.

So I'm left with the conclusion that the moderators felt this thread was not complimentary to some of the paid advertisers, and simply wiped the whole thread out of existence. ....

I just wanted to make a note of that. If whole reports can be removed based on the whim of moderators, what does that say about the integrity of the site? Is it report driven, or advertiser and revenue driven?? And I understand the need to pay the bills on a site...but should that need come before the integrity of honest reports?

[/IMG]

I guess they're thankful many guys don't pay close attention to all the reports, or have as good a memory as I do.

Bunch of storm-troopers on that site, Tom and Dark, what can you do?

I copied this from another thread here, dark, the NJ BF reports. In it you said they deleted a complete thread because of the honesty of a few guys about the cod bite at Block. You could only have been talking about one site, and that's noreast. That's why I hardly ever post on there any more. I just go there for the reports, and that's it. Even the reports, when you have to question which ones are edited and which ones are arbitrarily deleted, it starts to take away from the legitimacy. But I guess they just don't care over there. Don't sweat it Tom, half of those moderators couldn't catch a fish if it wasn't right in front of them.

[7deadlyplugs]

They are heavily commercially influenced over there and a few of their mod's are the guiltiest of the bunch.

All about the corporate dollar, Tom, whoever is paying them more they have to cater to. Another reason why I don't post on that site anymore.