GONE
FISHIN'
March
31, 2005
There is no new Gone Fishin' column this week.
New regs intended to lengthen
commercial bass season
March
17, 2005
By
Nelson Sigelman
During the height
of the 2004 summer season, the striped bass, a fish synonymous with
the waters of the Cape and islands, disappeared from market shelves
and restaurant menus. Although the fish were still available to
be caught, fishermen had filled the state's commercial quota in
less than five weeks, and the closely monitored fishery was shut
down.
On March 29,
the state Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) will hold a public
hearing on several proposed regulatory changes intended to lengthen
the state's commercial season. They include a decrease in the commercial
daily catch limit from 30 to 20 fish per vessel; a reduction from
four to three fishing days per week, and permission for dealers
to sell striped bass caught out-of-state April through November.
Profile
The commercial striped
bass fishery
o
In 2004, the state issued 4,421 commercial bass permits.
o A commercial rod and reel license with a striped bass permit
costs $65 for a resident, $160 for a nonresident.
o The state sold a total of 207 licenses to fishermen with
Vineyard addresses, distributed by town as follows: Aquinnah,
32; Chilmark, 35; Edgartown, 57; Oak Bluffs, 31; Tisbury,
108; West Tisbury, 29.
o The number of striped bass reportedly caught in Cape and
islands waters accounted for 38 percent of the commercial
quota.
o Fishermen reported catching the following quantities of
market fish per area: Nantucket Sound, 4,176 fish (73,735
pounds); Vineyard Sound, 8,527 fish (179,445 pounds); waters
south of the islands to three nautical miles, 9,119 (179,500
pounds).
o The average weight of each fish sold was 19.66 pounds.
o The top 20 commercial striper fishermen (which included
an undisclosed number of Vineyarders) sold 152,447 lbs of
striped bass in 2004 or 13 percent of the total pounds sold.
o Of the 4,421 commercial permits issued with a striped bass
endorsement, 362 had a charter boat endorsement, 14 had a
head boat endorsement, and six had a guide boat endorsement.
o The highest price paid for striped bass was $2.50 per pound;
and the lowest, $1 per pound. The weighted average price was
$1.65 per pound.
All information was provided by the Division of Marine Fisheries
and is based on based on data from catch reports submitted
by commercial fishermen and dealers who bought striped bass
last year.
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A proposal certain
to generate considerable discussion would bar charter fishermen
who also hold a commercial permit from taking fish when carrying
recreational fishermen for hire. Current regulations allow sport
fishermen to take two fish per day over 28-inches in length.
Dan McKiernan, DMF biologist, said the proposals are designed to
slow down the catch on an aggregate weekly basis so there will be
more days and weeks of fishing and make more product available.
Mr. McKiernan said selecting the three days out of the week is a
touchy issue. Weekend fishermen are certain to resist any effort
to drop Sundays. He said historically striped bass fishing has been
a part-time fishery
Mr. McKiernan said the fishery has beneficiaries beyond the fishermen
and includes the wholesale and retail dealer and the restaurant
that sell the fish and the consumer who eats the fish in a restaurant
or at home.
Once a victim of overfishing, the striped bass is considered a fishing
success story. Strict controls imposed along the Eastern seaboard
range of this powerful migratory fish over more than a decade, including
a moratorium on commercial fishing, have led to a population rebound.
As a result, in 1990 the state once again allowed hook and line
fishermen to catch and sell striped bass. But the abundance of a
fish that can often exceed 30-pounds and the growing popularity
of recreational fishing changed the nature of commercial bass fishing.
The hardcore fraternity of serious commercial bass fishermen expanded
to include recreational fishermen who bought commercial permits
in order to earn some extra money. Increasingly, the opening of
the commercial striped bass season was marked by a glut of fish,
a drop in the market price, and a quota that was quickly filled.
Over the past several years DMF has tinkered with the commercial
regulations in an effort to extend the commercial season for the
benefit of consumers and maintain a strong wholesale price for the
benefit of fishermen. The agency has had little success.
In 1990, the state's 1,498 commercial striper fishermen were given
a quota to fill of 160,000 pounds.
Last year the commercial striped bass season opened on Sunday, July
11, signaling the start of intense fishing effort by many of the
state's 4,421 permit holders. The season ended on Aug. 10 when DMF
estimated that the 2004 commercial quota of 1,141,517 fish would
be reached.
Which hat
For many Island visitors, a fishing trip with a Vineyard charter
captain to catch a big striped bass, a trip that can cost more than
$300, is often the highlight of a vacation. During the commercial
bass season, every fish over the 34-inch commercial minimum caught
by a client can also mean an extra payday for captains who hold
a commercial permit.
Captain Scott McDowell of Menemsha, one of the Island's experienced
charter captains, supports the DMF charter fishing proposal.
“I am totally against commercial fishing for striped bass as
a charter boat,” said Captain McDowell. “I think it should
be one or the other. You are either a charter boat or you are a
commercial fisherman. You wear one hat or the other.”
Mr. McDowell said doing both at the same time is not fair to recreational
clients, who may simply only want to have a good time, and it is
not fair to the serious commercial fishermen.
Too many fishermen have entered the commercial fishery, he said.
Mr. McDowell said one option would be to limit permits to authentic
commercial fishermen.
“You go out to the northeast corner of Nomans [Island] where
we are dragging wire and there'll be 40 boats “commercial fishing”
and maybe one or two of them will look like a commercial boat,”
he said.
Captain McDowell and the rest of the Vineyard charter fleet depend
on helping their clients to catch the striped bass that migrate
into Vineyard waters in early spring and remain through the fall.
It is a business where one or two good fish can make a trip, and
no fish may mean disappointed fishermen who do not come back for
another charter.
“As much as I don't want to see more regulation,” said
captain McDowell, “They should put more regulation on the fishery,
because my livelihood is the survival of the striped bass.”
However, Scott Terry of West Tisbury, an artist and one of the Vineyard's
most successful commercial striped bass fishermen, has no confidence
in the DMF proposals.
“None of this is going to make any difference in terms of the
length of the season or the price of the fish, which are my only
two concerns,” said Mr. Terry, “because the vast majority
of people who fish are not bringing in 30 fish per day.”
Mr. Terry said there are simply too many people fishing, and dropping
the daily limit from 30 to 20 fish will have no effect. Although
few catch near their limit now, the cumulative effect is still a
glut of fish and a short season.
The fact that charter fishermen also commercially fish is not as
bothersome, he said, as the number of out-of-state fishermen allowed
to fish commercially for striped bass. He said the way the rules
are designed he cannot purchase a license to fish in Rhode Island
waters.
The proposal to go from four to three days could have an effect,
he said, if Sunday commercial fishing is eliminated. “I think
that it should be Wednesday through Friday because it does not make
any sense at all for the weekend to come and everybody has three-day
old fish,” said Mr. Terry. “It doesn't make any sense.”
Mr. Terry said few people can make a living anymore strictly as
a commercial fisherman. “The way it is you have got to only
do it because you like it and you can make a little money,”
he said.
The public hearing is scheduled for 7 pm on Tuesday, March 29, at
the Plymouth Community Intermediate School. Written comments may
be e-mailed to Melanie.griffin@state.ma.us
or sent to DMF, 251 Causeway Street, Suite 400, Boston, MA 02114.
Past
Favorites:
Fisherman
artist captures spirit of Derby grand slam, October 14, 2004
This
fishing Derby is not a man's world, October 7, 2004
59th
Bass and Bluefish Derby heads into home stretch, September 30, 2004
For
angler Olga Hirshhorn, a dream comes true,
September 23, 2004
59th
Derby off to quick, sometimes nutty start, September 16, 2004
Catch
some luck in the 59th annual bass and bluefish Derby, September
9, 2004
Tuna
madness big and small takes over the Island, September 2, 2004
Dr. Play
keeps his life's priorities in order, August 26, 2004
Derby welcomes three new members
to hall of fame, August 19, 2004
Commercial
fisherman finds literary success and fans, August 12, 2004
Fishermen
urged to play it safe on the water, August 5, 2004
First impressions
are lasting in the art of gyotaku, July 29, 2004
Big rods,
big fish, shark tournament draws a crowd, July 22, 2004
Mike
Amaral wears the crown of the fluke king, July 15, 2004
It's no
fluke, the tournament's this weekend, July 8, 2004
Chronicle
of Island fishing adventures, now a classic, is republished, July
1, 2004
Charter
captains weather costs and deliver fishing fun, June 24, 2004
Finding the
fish is the easy part, June 17, 2004
Game fly fishermen persevere in
weekend tourney, June 10, 2004
One fishing
photo is worth 1,000 words, June 3, 2004
Fishing
begins to heat up for the holiday weekend, May 27, 2004
Beginning
where this angler left off, May 20, 2004
Familiarity
breeds success in Kids' Trout Derby, May 13, 2004
Thieves
Steal Poles, Not Derby Spirit, October 16, 2003
Word
Always Gets Around in the 58th Derby, October 9, 2003
Kids
Day Derby Provides a Successful Fishing Bouillabaisse, October 2,
2003
Derby
Fishing Is a Challenge, but There Are Theories,
September 25, 2003
Changes in 58th Derby,
September 18, 2003
Good Derby Fishermen Know How to Prepare, September 11, 2003
King Livens Up the Vineyard Fishing
Stage, September 4, 2003
Fishless Angler Sets Off to See the Sights, August 28, 2003
Island Fishermen
Lured Offshore by Promise of Tuna,
August 21,2003
Island Bass Fishermen Survive,
August 14, 2003
When the Fish Aren’t Biting, Might As Well Do Chores, August
7, 2003
For Anglers,
It's Now Bonito Time,
July 31, 2003
Newest Derby
Inductees Are Hall of Famers in Any League, July 24, 2003
Fishermen
Do Not Get to Say Peep about Norton Point Beach Fee Hike, July 17,2003
Mon
Dieu, Winning Fish was Quite a Fluke, July 10, 2003
Prey
and Predator Confused On Buggy Night of Fishing, July 3, 2003
Pond Openings Hold Fish and Risk for Anglers, June 26, 2003
For an Angling Father,
Something Fishy's Always Welcome,
June 12, 2003
Despite
Pain of It, Anglers Carry On,
June 5, 2003
Fishing, Fishing
Supplies & Boat Charters Business Listing
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