MAKING WAVES - Fall 2019

M A K I N G

Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Fall 2019

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The Official Publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

See special Section Starting on page 28

Tred Barta Passes * Stripers Get Satellite Tags NOAA Report to Congress: Passing or Failing Grade?

Cape Cod Seals & Sharks * Breaking News & Much More FALL 2019

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Making Waves Fall 2019

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M A K I N G

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Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Fall 2019

The Official Publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

By Gary Caputi If you're a regular reader of the RFA's digital magazine, welcome back to Making Waves. If this is your first go and fish and fisheries are of interest, you're going to like what you see in this issue.

It's jam-packed with solid information, important fisheries news and interesting commentary.

Check out Jim Donofrio's Executive Director Report for a look back at the school bluefin fishery before it was decimated and why it was important to protect even a modest recreational harvest during its most dire days.

The Striped Bass Special Section covers the current state of the stocks, proposed measures to reduce overfishing and RFA's take on what should, but probably won't be done by managers.

There's also interesting information on reducing release mortality and a feature courtesy of The Fisherman on the first stripers to ever receive satellite tags.

The debate rages on over what appears to be an out-of-control seal population that is impacting fishing and tourism, while attracting white sharks by the droves. We have a fluff piece by NOAA that you might find amusing, if not informative.

Finally, there's a commentary by John DePersenaire on the EIS process for sand mining and how it seems the Army Corp and BOEM can't find fault with the process and how it reflects on their entire permitting process for other projects like wind farms.

So come on aboard, and tell your fishing buddies to subscribe, it's free!

INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Publisher’s Desk

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Exec. Director's Report: Bluefin Tuna and the brotherhood of captains.

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RFA Commentary on Army Corp & BOEM

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Tred Barta & A Life Well Lived

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Breaking: State Red Snapper Management

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Breaking: New Atlantic Cobia Regs Released

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Striped Bass Management Update

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RFA on Striped Bass "Bump in the Road"

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Reducing Summer Release Mortality

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NOAA Report: Status of US Fisheries

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CLF Gives NOAA Failing Grade on Report

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Cape Cod Seals & Sharks

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News & Views

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About the Cover

A leopard can't change it's spots and a striper can't change it's distinctive scale pattern. The photo seemed fitting since stripers are once again front and center on the management stage.

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Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Fall 2019

Executive Director’s Report

By Jim Donofrio

Chicks, Slicks and the Sweet Smell of Watermelon

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nyone who has any productive time fishing offshore for bluefin tuna under their belt will recognize the simplicity of this commentary's title. During the period referenced, I was a deckhand and then a young charter boat skipper sailing from ports in Northern New Jersey.

quently trolled them on high bottom areas barely six miles off the beach. Giant bluefin were thick in the Mudhole where only a handful of the most savvy and salty captains would pursue them, mostly in late September and well into October.

There was less government intrusion into recreational fishing in those days, but things changed and changed rapidly. With the advent of stricter fisheries regulations, some good and some not so much, came a growing regulatory bureaucracy that has made self-propagation and selfpreservation job one. A veritable swamp of fishery bureaucrats came into being along with a new breed of NGOs that would come to be known as showroom environmentalists. Their credo, “Do as I say, not as I do.”

It was spectacular fishing until the West Coast purse seiners came through the Panama Canal in the mid ‘60’s and headed up the East Coast to the MidAtlantic where they virtually destroyed the school tuna fishery in a matter of a few short years. Soon after, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, NMFS predecessor, put initial conservation measures in place, although the damage had already been done, and over a very long stretch of time the Western Atlantic stock of bluefin started to recover. Today, we are enjoying an even stronger comeback as school and medium size fish are once again becoming more commonplace, but while the stocks were fighting their way back there was opposition to allowing a recreational fishery to take place even under the most Draconian seasons, size and bag limits.

Many environmental and sportfishing groups promoted a total ban on all fishing for school bluefin. They advocated hard to shut down recreational fishing altogether, even though recreational fishing had no hand in the decimation of the stocks, but a few of us took a different tact.

West Coast tuna purse seiners destroyed the bluefin tuna population off California in the ‘50s and ‘60s. During that time recreational fishing boats from Virginia to Massachusetts were enjoying some of the finest fishing for Atlantic bluefin we had ever experienced. School tuna were seen chasing bait as close as the bell buoys outside Shark River and Manasquan Inlets, and we fre-

The RFA and the United Boatmen felt it was important to maintain a semblance of the historic recreational fishery, even if it was restricted to a one fish bag limit on school fish. The naysayers rattled on claiming that, “No one will fish for a one fish bag limit,” but in the end we were proven right! Recreational fishermen in private boats and even six-pack charters were on the water

Back then, GPS and chartplotters were unheard of and Loran C was in its infancy. Many of us, and by us I mean the brotherhood of professional charter captains in which I found myself, and those legendary captains who came before us, used dead reckoning for navigation. Yet we managed to get to offshore wrecks, snags and other bottom structure to catch fish for our anglers and then return them safely to the dock.

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fishing for school bluefin again, which all along we considered to be the big game fish for inshore fishermen. As Raymond Bogan once said, “It’s the highly migratory fish for the common man,” and he should know. As a member of the renowned, multigenerational Bogan party boat family, a captain in his own right, and a lawyer with decades of experience in fisheries management and international fishing treaty law, his opinions are valued by many and proven right even when initially challenged by others.

Making Waves Fall 2019

tain’s licenses, or “ticket” as it was called back then, we were honored to join the ranks of the legendary professional captains before us. Those who navigated the waters using what today is lost knowledge, and who called themselves charter or party boat captains. Personally speaking, I have no idea what a “guide” is supposed to denote, but my colleagues and I who fished back then, and many who still fish today for a living, are proud to be members of that special brotherhood of captains. A guild of real men who view anyone who makes a living on the water as a Some of the most vocal opponents to keeping brother, and when a Mayday goes out, it’s all the recreational school bluefin fishery open then, hands on deck to help regardless of whether are members of a newly formed “guides associa- you’re a sport or a commercial. tion” with strong environmental industry ties.

Their hypocrisy is stunning in its scope as today Hopefully, one day I’ll get out of this office to look they pursue bluefin tuna for profit aboard their for the slicks, chicks and the sweet smell of watermelon again, but until then I will continue to fight boats with their parties. for what is right and fair for recreational fisherWhen I and most of my generation got our cap- men.

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Making Waves Fall 2019

Commentary

by John DePersenaire, RFA Managing Director

Army Corp of Engineers and Bureau of Energy Management Take Aim at Recreational Fishing Grounds

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n an August 19 notice, the Army Corp of Engineers (ACOE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced that they have prepared and released a Finding of No Significant Impact for the dredging of sand from offshore shoals to be used for future beach replenishment projects in Ocean City, MD.

presence of baitfish will hold higher tropic level species such as summer flounder, bonito and bluefin tuna, which is why these areas were traditionally productive fishing grounds for recreational anglers. This recent announcement by ACOE and BOEM sets the stage for continued lost of recreational fishing grounds.

The announcement identified four areas that will be considered acceptable to remove sand from.

For the upcoming project anticipated to start in 2022, the ACOE anticipates dredging 1,070,000 cubic yards of sand primarily from Weaver Shoal.

The announcement follows on similar action off of the coast of New Jersey where recreational fishermen were horrified to learn that the ACOE and BOEM found it acceptable to remove sand from the Harvey Cedars lump, Manasquan Ridge and other inshore sand lumps/ridges for ongoing beach replenishment and dune restoration projects within the state. These naturally occurring bathometric features have traditionally been prime fishing grounds for recreational fishermen.

The relief of the sand lumps and ridges disrupt ocean current just enough to create an oceanographic feature that would hold bait fish. The

RFA understands and acknowledges the importance of maintaining beaches in our coastal towns through beach replenishment. However, the RFA does not support taking the sand from important recreational fishing grounds and urges ACOE to identify borrowing areas that hold suitable material but are not traditionally utilized by anglers. RFA will be submitting comments underscoring the importance of the proposed sand borrowing areas and suggest they look for underutilized areas for future beach replenishment projects.

This theme of federal agencies disregarding the concerns of the recreational fishing industry is becoming increasingly troubling and, unfortunately, all too common. In August 2019, BOEM released a "study" on the effects of electro mag-

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netic fields produced by electrical transmission and inter-array cables associated with offshore wind farms on important fin fish species. The study included a literature review of current works in print on the topic. Through this review, BOEM dismissed concerns raised by the recreational fishing industry on this topic and paved the way for the construction of thousands of wind turbines off of the Atlantic Coast. RFA took issue with the study and pointed out that it failed to address the key issue of migration deviation whereas an array of wind turbines could potentially cut off or disrupt the seasonal inshore/ offshore migrations of important species such as summer flounder. John King, professor at the University of Rhode Island, who authored a study looking into this issue was interviewed by Todd McLeish for an article that ran in ecoRI (Researchers Looking to the Impact Electric Cables from Offshore Turbines Could Have on Sharks, Lobsters, 2019). In that article, King is cited as being “worried that the results of his studies

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are being downplayed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which funded the research, because of political pressure.” King is quoted as saying,

“They hired a consulting company to produce a public document about our studies, and they minimized EMF as a concern and misinterpreted our study. We didn’t say that we saw something that needed to be addressed immediately, but we also didn’t say that what we saw is OK and not to worry about it.”

The development of offshore wind along the Atlantic Coast raises a tremendous numberof issues and concerns for the recreational fishing industry.

Little or no data is available to fully vet these concerns yet the projects are moving forward at breakneck speed. It’s unfortunate that we now have to question the impartiality of our federal agencies that are charged with looking out for the best interest of the American public and our nation’s resources.

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Making Waves Fall 2019

A LIFE WELL LIVED Tred Barta Dead at 67 March 28, 1952 - August 11, 2019

by Gary Caputi his beloved Labrador retriever Pepper and the people he met as he fished his way across God’s Country.

He was returning to the lower 48, ostensibly to find a rural town where he might finish out his days, according to some of his last posts but, somewhere along a winding Canadian back road, his truck and trailer left the highway, and his amazing life ended in the crash.

I’m sure he would be pleased that Pepper survived unscathed and has since been adopted by one of his many admirers.

Tred on Tred, in his own words. “I was born in Bronxville, New York, which is part of Westchester County and as a young boy, my dad hunted and fished. Like so many, there’s really no miracle story here. The family owned a very small cabin in Rangeley, Maine, where we went in the summer. And I was basically born to hunt and fish. I always loved it, I loved the solitude of the woods and I loved doing it with my dad. And like so many of us, the process just started. And that led from the BB gun to the recurve, to the longbow, to the red Barta died on August 11, 2019 in an accident while driving his truck and compound, and back to the long bow. So, it’s no miracle story. We moved to eastern Long trailer back from a months-long solo trip to Alaska. As a wheelchair-bound paraple- Island later in my life, which was right on the ocean, and some of the best fishing in the gic he called this trip his “get off the couch” world. So, I really was immersed in the outadventure, and for someone in his physical condition, it was as audacious an undertaking doors." as it was a revelation to behold for those who Tred came to prominence as a flamboyant offrode along with him through the prism of his shore fishing captain and angler who stalked Facebook page. His only companions were the edge of the Continental Shelf for pelagic

T

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never let his disability define who he was. He would continue to lead life on his own terms.

He was also a long-serving member of the RFA Board of Directors and a supporter of the efforts this organization undertook to represent the rights of recreational fishermen. God bless and keep you close Tred Barta.

gamefish from his adopted home on Long Island. His specialty was catching bigeye tuna and there were few skippers who could keep up with him. Those exploits led to a long-term gig writing a column for Sportfishing Magazine, always a no-holds-barred opinion piece that rankled as many people's feathers as it

did generate admiration. It led to the publishing of his first book aptly titled, “The Best and Worst of Tred Barta” and then a television show by the same title. He was also an avid hunter whose proficiency with firearms and bow and arrow were second to none.

Tred was a conservationist and was heavily involved in charity work well before his neardeath experience when he suffered a spinal stroke while deer hunting and fell from a tree stand. The stroke left him paralyzed from just below his arms and, while relegated to a wheelchair for the rest of his life, he would

“Tred never held anything back, you always knew how he felt on any given subject,” said his old friend Nick Cicero, also a member of the RFA Board of Directors “That’s certainly an attribute sorely missing in today's milk toast world. If there is an afterlife, I hope he's at the helm of that beautiful old Ridgeway that he spent so many days aboard trolling the edge of the canyons.”

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Making Waves Fall 2019

STRIPER SAT TAGS DEPLOYED! LIBERTY, FREEDOM & HOPE

by Jim Hutchinson Landmark Northeast Striped Bass Study by Gray FishTag Research, Navionics & The Fisherman kicked off.

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o one goes fishing simply in hopes of not failing; in fishing, as in life, optimism is what leads to achievement.

Every time we leave the dock or step onto the beach with rods rigged and ready to deploy, we envision the new “personal bests” that will follow.

On tournament days, that hopefulness is often coupled with extreme anxiety, knowing that only the biggest fish will count, and anything short of total success is complete failure.

Not everyone gets a trophy. Yet in tournament terms, when you come up short one weekend, there’s almost always another contest down the road in another week or two. But when you’ve invested $50,000 in gear, technology, travel ex-

penses and planning just to find a trophy striper or two - anxiety and optimism play a twisted game with the psyche. Get knocked on your butt here, and it’s pretty hard to climb back up into the fight.

DO OR DIE On the morning of May 21, a trophy-hunting team comprised of staff from the nonprofit GrayFishTag Research (GFR), Navionics and The Fisherman stepped aboard Rocket Charters in lower Manhattan with literally tens of thousands of dollars worth of tagging and electronic gear in hope of successfully deploying a pair of satellite tags in two post-spawn Hudson River striped bass. This first official deployment of the Northeast Striped

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Bass Study was planned months in advance, taking into account a host of critical elements including May’s full moon, optimum tides, the timing of the upper Hudson spawn, available flights and various work schedules. There could be no next weekend or rain check on this trip; it was do or die trying, a fact not lost on the team or the crew.

eye of Lady Liberty. While smaller GFR tags are provided free to participating charter captains and mates to tag and release fish for tracking by staff scientists and researchers, the pop-up satellite archival tags (PSATs) also carried aboard the Rocket were unique to this unprecedented task of tracking spawning class stripers in their every move over a six-month period. After slipping anAfter nosing around a couple of his favorite East other handful of spaghetti tags into 20- to 26River locations and picking up a small striper that inch stripers, registering critical information like was sent swimming away with a green GFR spa- size and location on a green GFR tracking slip, the ghetti tag on the port side of its dorsal, Capt. Paul team’s anxiety began to build far greater than Risi steamed the Rocket west across one of the tournament style tension. world’s busiest shipping channels, setting the Sponsored this year by the electronic mapping hook just east of Ellis Island under the watchful

Gray FishTag’s Bill Dobbelaer and Leah Baumwell, with Navionics Paul Michele, and one of the many tagged stripers returned to the lower Hudson during the first annual Northeast Striped Bass Study with The Fisherman Magazine. Photo

by Michael Caruso

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professionals at Navionics - who stepped up to front the expense of a pair of Wildlife Computer MiniPAT devices - the large-scale movements and behavior of these fish will be collected during deployment and archived in onboard memory which will collect water temperature, pressure, and light data while attached to the fish. Once the tags pop off at a pre-programmed date (in this case on October 21), they’ll ideally float to the surface and relay summaries of the stored data via Argos Satellites back to the folks at Gray.

PSATs have previously been used on a limited basis in striped bass research, typically to track a week or two of post-release behavior to assist in gathering mortality estimates. But six months of tracking with the latest, greatest technology on the market today carries a hefty price tag – roughly $5,000 for each tag.

Making Waves Fall 2019

LADY LIBERTY For several hours, six sets of eyes gazed at the five conventional outfits spread across the stern in individually numbered rod holders, with bunker chunks and circle hooks deployed with 8 to 10 ounces of weight holding the offerings down near the bottom some 35 feet below the surface.

“Number five,” a voice bellowed from the cockpit, as the rod tip bent and line began to slip free from the reel, a good fish finally taking the bait.

Paul Michele, National Sales Manager at Navionics Americas grabbed the rod and capably handled a 34-incher into the net. An obvious female (post-spawn) she was placed on a wet towel, head covered with another cold, wet rag to keep her calm and healthy, as scientist Leah Baumwell, the Director at Gray FishTag, carefully inserted the tag.

Be on the lookout for this pop-up satellite archival tag placed into a 30-pound post-spawn striper during the study, it could earn you a reward. Photo by Michael Caruso

“This is a medium, Domeier, nylon anchor and we’re actually going to stick the fish about 5 centimeters from the dorsal midline, at an angle, into the muscle or pterygiophores, so that we don’t actually hit any vital organs,” Baumwell described before setting the tag. Named after noted researcher, Dr. Michael L. Domeier, the nylon anchor is attached to 10 centimeters of stainless steel cable for holding the

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PSAT in place. “We chose this particular length because we feel that it provides a small amount of drag on the fish so it won’t actually pull out,” said Baumwell, describing how a small charge set for October 21 will ultimately dislodge the tag at the end of the six-month period of study.

hoped to deploy the second PSAT. With 20-knot winds gusting from the NW and the Hudson River emptying itself along in the outgoing tide, Capt. Wags nudged the fenders of his New Jersey charter boat alongside Capt. Risi’s New York craft while Rooney guided the team’s gunnel-overgunnel transfer for what would amount to 2-1/2 And thus, Liberty was released. Each GFR tagged more hours of prime tide. Hope may spring eterfish is named by angler and crew; charter skipnal, but preparedness is surely the ultimate act of pers have named them after their wives and optimism. daughters, sometimes sports personalities or musicians. Tracking one’s fish at the GFR website Fresh pieces of bunker were affixed to hooks, as (www.grayfishtagresearch.org) is therefore made Wags and Rooney feverishly worked the cockpit, more personal; and unlike other tagging operarigging heads to circle hooks and deploying tions the data that Baumwell and other GFR rechunks to the river bottom in hopes of attracting searchers track is made available to the public. the recipient of our second PSAT. The class of After burning through a dozen different names 2015 showed first, as 20- to 26-inch stripers found on smaller fish, our first larger lady was appropri- their way into the landing net, the names of ately named Liberty before being released into wives, daughters and even the long missing New York Harbor en route to six months of tracking.

LATE INNING RELIEF As the sun continued to fall, nearly touching the statue’s crown in the distance, captains Frank Wagenhoffer and Dave Rooney brought their Fin Chasers’ 36-foot Contender along off the Rocket’s starboard stern. Capt.

Risi had another night charter startThe typical green streamer tags are ideal for smaller inshore ing soon, and our team would need a species like 18-inch and over striped bass and are available double-shift if we’d through GrayFishTagresearch.org. Photo by Michael Caruso

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Teamsters’ boss were laughingly entered onto catch cards as more of the slender, green streamer tags were inserted into the smaller fish. As the 15th striper was tagged and released, Baumwell sat at the ready in the cockpit bench, a $5,000 PSAT cradled in her palm as she and the rest of the team hoped for that one fish.

“The key to what we’re doing is open access, we want to share all the information from all these products with the public,” said Bill Dobbelaer, President of Gray Fishtag Research. Dobbelaer said similar satellite tags have been deployed in other parts of the world on roosterfish, marlin, swordfish, marlin and even barracuda with great success, and he’s optimistic that the Northeast Striped Bass Study can help provide more data for scientists and researchers working with striped bass studies. “We’re hopeful that all this data that we’re collecting can be used someday to make really good decisions on managing all these fish species that we love,” he added.

Sitting, watching, and hoping; it’s just like any other trip. “We’re just waiting for that big striper to come along, put this satellite tag in, and be able to check it out on The Fisherman’s website and see a Navionics app exactly where that fish has gone through its travels,” Michele described on camera while manning the line of baited outfits. “We’re really hoping to learn a lot, and do a lot of good for this research for this fishery.”

Making Waves Fall 2019

fish, the broad tail and slab side of a 30-pounder was brought astern and deftly managed into the net by Rooney.

While 40’s and 50’s were a strong possibility, the 42-inch striper was perfectly suited for the second and final satellite tag. She was out of the water no more than 2 minutes, and after one quick snapshot with the scientist, angler and net man, the lady striper aptly named Freedom slapped her tail and vanished into the murky waters of the Hudson.

During the winter months as our team discussed the plan via conference call, various names for the two PSAT stripers were tossed around. Hoping to score a good fish in her shadow, Liberty was an obvious choice. Given that the first of what we hope to be many future tagging efforts focused on the New York stock, Hudson quickly became our second favorite. But once that 42incher disappeared below the surface, after high fives were exchanged in the cockpit, lines reeled in and the anchor hauled aboard, the team looked back at the Statue of Liberty and ahead towards our final disembarkment point at North Cove Marina at the base of the Freedom Tower, and a new name was born.

And thus we toasted our stripers, Liberty and Freedom, and this milestone project. It was a mission that took six months of planning and literally “spanned” two interstate charter operations over What had been most soft takes and taps from fin- six hours of fishing to literally set into motion. icky fish in the turbid waters of the Hudson was And so begins another six months of anxious opsuddenly replaced by a solid hit on one of the timism; much like waiting for that tournament spinning outfits. Michele again grabbed the rod fish to swallow the bait. and began to fight what he’d hoped was a good Pick up the November edition of The Fisherstriper in the heavy current. Earlier a 24-incher man Magazine (www.thefisherman.com) for had fought like a monster in the ripping tide, an update on the striped bass tagging effort; making it hard to gauge whether or not this it’s available monthly in tackle shops and marinas throughout coastal New England, Long would be a tag-worthy striper. After 5 or 6 Island and the New Jersey Shore. minutes of give and take between angler and

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Making Waves Fall 2019

Time to Land State-based Red Snapper Management for the Future

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he National Marine Fisheries Service is currently accepting comments on the proposed final rule for Amendments 50A-F to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, these amendments would provide for permanent state management of the private recreational red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. The Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation recently submitted comments in strong support of their approval.

Prior to the temporary implementation of exempted fishing permits (EFP’s) that allowed the states to manage their own private recreational quota, the federal red snapper season was initially set as short as three days in 2017. However, beginning in 2018, the states entered into an agreement with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries to try two years of an experimental season under EFP’s whereby the individual states could set their own season lengths and dates, so long as they stayed at or under their individual state’s allocation of the Gulf-wide quota.

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During this year’s Gulf red snapper season, some states closed early because good weather in the initial weeks of the season allowed anglers to get offshore more and catch their quota quickly. States that had bad weather early on were able to extend their seasons and ensure their anglers had an equal opportunity to access red snapper. The key to state management has been the development of individual state harvest data collection programs that are more real time and accurate than the federal Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP).

This new system of management has proven very successful for Gulf red snapper anglers. However, the EFP’s expire this year. Fortunately, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council approved Amendments 50A-F that will permanently extend state management of the Gulf red snapper fishery. Comments on the final approval of the proposed rule for state-based management are due October 7.

Red snapper are one of the most popular recreationally caught gamefish in the Gulf of Mexico. The move to state management of this species has helped to generate better landings data and extend the season for anglers.

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Making Waves Fall 2019

NEW COBIA REGS RELEASED FOR ATLANTIC COASTAL STATES

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he Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approved Amendment 1 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Migratory Group Cobia (Atlantic cobia).

Amendment 1 establishes management measures that transition the FMP from complementary management with the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councils to sole management by the Commission. Amendment 1 to the FMP was initiated in anticipation of the Councils’ Regulatory Amendment 31 to the Coastal Migratory Pelagics (CMP) FMP, which was approved earlier this year and removed Atlantic cobia from the Councils’ oversight.

ing (if necessary) commercial harvest to the Commission.

Amendment 1 changes several portions of the Commission’s FMP that were previously dependent on the CMP FMP and institutes a long-term strategy for managing in the absence of a federal plan. Several of these changes establish processes for the Commission to carry out management responsibilities previously performed by the South Atlantic Council, including the setting of harvest quotas and sector allocations, defining stock status criteria and recommending management measures to be implemented by NOAA Fisheries in federal waters. Additionally, Amendment 1 transitions responsibilities of monitoring and clos-

Amendment 1 establishes a harvest specification process, which allows the Board to specify a limited set of management measures for up to 3 years. One of the measures that may be set through this process is a coastwide harvest quota.

However, until the first specification process occurs, after completion of the ongoing stock in 2020, the current coastwide quota (670,000 pounds) remains in effect.

Moving forward, the Commission will recommend to NOAA Fisheries that fishing in federal waters be regulated according to the state of landing. If a vessel has licenses for multiple states with open seasons, they must follow the most restrictive license’s regulations. If a vessel has licenses for multiple states, only one of which has an open season, they may fish under the regulations of the open state. Regulations resulting from this recommendation would only apply in federal waters. Fishermen would still be required to follow state possession or landing limits in state waters.

The Amendment also changes the units used to measure and evaluate the recreational fishery from pounds numbers of fish. To accommodate

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Current cobia allocations affect Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, but size and bag limits also affect states further north as cobia are caught as far north as New Jersey during warm summer months. this change, the recreational harvest quota in pounds (620,000) is converted to numbers (22,142 fish) and allocated among the states, resulting in the following state recreational harvest targets:

· Virginia: 8,724 fish · North Carolina: 8,436 fish · South Carolina: 2,679 fish · Georgia: 2,081 fish · 1% De Minimis Set Aside: 222 fish States still may set their own seasons and vessel limits to achieve their respective targets.

Finally, Amendment 1 establishes a de minimis status for the commercial sector that exempts states with small commercial harvests from inseason monitoring requirements. States are required to implement measures of Amendment 1

by July 1, 2020. Amendment 1 will be available on the Commission’s website by the end of August.

For more information, please contact Dr. Michael Schmidtke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mschmidtke@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

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Making Waves Fall 2019

STRIPED BASS UPDATE The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum VI for Public Comment.

Addendum VI will revise coastwide commercial and recreational regulations to address Report and commentary by Toby Lapinski Reprinted courtesy of

On Thursday, August 8, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (Board) of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) met as part of the Annual Summer Meeting in Arlington, VA. On the agenda for the Board was to consider Draft Addendum VI for Public Comment; and to consider postponed motions from April 2019 to initiate an Amendment to the Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery Management Plan to address the needed consideration for change on the issues of fishery goals and objectives, empirical/biological/spatial reference points, management triggers, rebuilding biomass, and area-specific management.

The latter motion—initiating the Amendment to the Atlantic Striped Bass Fishery Management—was postponed once again to the Spring Meeting in May 2020 to allow time for the former motion to be addressed. This action was somewhat expected in that you don’t want to put the cart ahead of the horse, so to speak.

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Regarding the former motion, the Board approved Addendum VI for Public Comment. Addendum VI will revise coastwide commercial and recreational regulations to address overfishing. This action is in response to the Atlantic Striped Bass Benchmark Stock Assessment which found that the resource is overfished and that overfishing is occurring.

As reported in the March 2019 issue of The Fisherman Magazine, “Overfishing is simply when the amount of fish being removed from the biomass is more than the number of new fish being recruited into the biomass. The second issue, the Stock Assessment Report Stated, is that the spawning stock biomass (SSB) is overfished. A stock that is overfished is when the biomass has fallen below the stock threshold. What is threshold? It is the minimum number of fish that the SSB cannot fall below without managers having to take action to rebuild the SSB back to the target level. Threshold and target are the two biological reference points (BRP) which any fishery management plan (FMP) uses to determine the health of a stock.”

Included in the approved Addendum are three options, each with a set of sub-options. They are: • Option 1: status quo which would result in no change in management and allow fisheries to continue to operate under Addendum IV; •

Option 2: implement equal (18%) reductions for both the commercial and recreational fisheries;

Option 3: implement proportional reductions to the commercial fishery (1.8%) and recreational fishery (20%) based on annual harvest figures.

Options 2 and 3 include a slate of specific management sub-options for consideration (see below), and an additional set of sub-options will be available for the public comment period which include a slot limit consisting of a harvest range with a minimum length of 30 inches and an as-to-to-bedetermined maximum length. This maximum length is going to be determined by the Technical Committee and will be available prior to the public hearings. Please note that these options are for the ocean, only, and fisheries inside the Chesapeake Bay have a different set of options which can be found at ASMFC.org and will be included in the public comment.

MANAGEMENT OPTION #2

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MANAGEMENT OPTION #3

Further, as part of Addendum VI, the subject of mandatory circle hooks use when using bait for striped bass was discussed, and three unique management options for their implementation are being considered. They are: • Option A: Status Quo which simply recommends that states promote the use of circle hooks to reduce discard mortality; •

Option B: mandatory implementation of the use of circle hooks;

Option C: mandatory promotion of the use of circle hooks by developing public education and outreach campaigns on their benefits. This last option would also require updates from each state on the public education and outreach efforts in annual state compliance reports.

CIRCLE HOOK OPTIONS

Public Hearings on Addendum VI will be held in each state from Maine to North Carolina over the next several weeks. Stay tuned to www.TheFisherman.com for official announcement of the meeting dates, times and places as soon as they are available.

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Poster Child for Successful Fishery Management Encounters Bump In Road

by John DePersenaire, RFA Fisheries Specialist

Management Problem versus Conservation Problem

D

uring their summer meeting in August, partners expected to have measures in place for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Com- the start of the 2020 fishing season. mission (ASMFC) approved Addendum VI to Amendment 6 to the Interstate FisheryDe-Bait-Able ManThe won Atlantic declared bigStriped with aBass first stock placewas finish and a reagement Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. This ac- forbuilt 1995 following an aggressive rebuilding check overin$110,000! tion was taken in response to the findings of the plan that drastically reduced landings in order to 2018 benchmark stock assessment for striped protect a few strong year classes. The thought bass which found the stock to be overfished and was that if extreme protection was afforded to overfishing occurring. Such designations trigger these strong cohorts of fish, that in 5 to 6 years that the Striped Bass board must take action to they would recruit into the fishery and bolster the reduce fishing mortality below the fishing mortali- spawning stock biomass. Since that rebuilding ty threshold of 0.24. Based on the current estimilestone achieved in 1995, the striped bass mates of fishing mortality, the ASMFC finds that stock has continued to grow, peaking in 2003total removals of striped bass needs to be re2004, demonstrate strong recruitment and exduced by 18% relative to 2017 removals. The AS- panding its range. A decline in female spawning MFC is expected to take action on Addendum VI stock biomass was observed beginning in 2009 at its annual meeting later this fall which state following several years of below average recruit-

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ment. The current estimate of spawning stock The figure illustrates the strong 2015 and 2016 biomass is 151 million pounds which is below the year classes which will begin to enter the fishery threshold of 202 million pounds. in 2019 and 2020 and help elevate spawning stock biomass during those years. Other imIt is important to note that the current state of portant items to note is that the in the entire hisstriped bass is far from dire and it is helpful to un- tory of striped bass management, the stock size derstand the historic context of this fishery. Look- has never exceed the spawning stock biomass ing at the figure below that is included in the target which is slightly over 250 million pounds.

2018 benchmark assessment; it is apparent that This fact makes one question if the rebuilding tarthe striped bass stock remains in far better condi- gets and other biological reference points for tion that it was in the 1980’s when rebuilding striped bass are appropriate. While the current was first initiated for the fishery. The decline in status of striped bass does warrant some manspawning stock biomass in the present is primari- agement adjustments, drastic measures are not ly the result of below average recruitment which needed at this time nor is a formal rebuilding can be seen in the period of 2005 through 2010. plan needed for this stock. Modest adjustments It is interesting to note that these low recruitment to fishing mortality and efforts to minimize recreevents occurred during a period of time when ational discard mortality now may not result in spawning stock biomass was in a state of historic sufficient improvements to spawning stock biohigh abundance. With striped bass, recruitment mass in the near future if other management is largely driven by weather, environmental and problems, primarily dead discards, are not adwater quality conditions not fishing mortality. dressed.

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Addendum VI’s objective is to reduce total removals (harvest and discard mortality) of striped bass by 18%. The addendum includes two options to achieve this goal. One option would apply an 18% reduction equally among commercial and recreational sector while the other option would apply a 1.8% reduction to the commercial sector and a 20% reduction to the recreational sector.

Under each option there are a suite of suboptions specific to the commercial and recreational fisheries and the Chesapeake Bay and coastal migratory fisheries. Those options maintain a 1 fish bag limit in the ocean fishery and increase the minimum size limit (32”) to a series of slot limit options (28”-34”, 32”-40” and 30”-to be determined). The Chesapeake Bay fishery has a series of options with variable bag limits and size (minimum size and slot) limits. States may also submit measures not included in Addendum VI but achieve the required 18% total removal reduction given that they are reviewed and approved by the ASMFC Technical Committee and Striped Bass Management Board. Addendum VI also includes options to mandate or encourage the use of circle hooks in order to reduce recreational release mortality which according to the 2018 assessment, accounts for 49% of total removals in 2018. Managers currently assume that 9% of all caught and released by recreational fishermen die. Many of the measures included in Addendum VI are expected to increase dead discards in the recreational sector.

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The RFA believes it is important to address the following points as this process moves forward. As stated above, environmental factors play a critical role in the success and strength each year class.

Striped bass return to freshwater water each spring to spawn and the Chesapeake Bay is the largest producer area which contributes the most to the coastal migratory stock. Water quality issues have been an ongoing issue in the Chesapeake and given the span and complexity of its water shed, it is extremely unlikely that significant water quality improvement will be made in the near future. The Chesapeake Bay is also far more variable of a spawning area due to weather’s greater influence on the Bay compared to other spawning areas such as Hudson River and some other northeast coastal tributaries that prove to have successful spawning occurring. For this reason, the long-term outlook for the Chesapeake Bay serving as a prime spawning area is bleak.

RFA suggests that greater focus should be placed on spawning systems like the Hudson River, which currently is the second largest production area for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Hudson tends to show more stability in terms of year class strength, has had better water quality and seems to be less influenced by weather variability.

The ASMFC, in conjunction with state and federal partners, needs to make resources available to identify and monitor new emerging or reinvigorated spawning areas for striped bass. RFA also recommends a joint Canadian/American study to get a clearer picture on the changes in striped bass coastal distribution and whether their increase population is comprised of American coastal stocks. Greater emphasis on reducing fishing pressure and release mortality on prespawn striped bass heading into the Hudson River and other spawning river capillary should be considered. This type of protection would need to be a joint effort between states that have shared waters leading up to the spawning grounds on the Hudson and other productive tributaries.

Options in Addendum VI seem to only reduce landings but increase dead discard mortality and this will surely be a point of contention as the Addendum progresses towards final approval.

In the coming weeks, ASMFC will be holding public hearings on Addendum VI to gauge the interests of the commercial and recreational fishermen with regards to preferred options designed to achieve the 18% total removal reduction relative to 2017. Fishermen should keep in mind that the performance of the 2018 ocean striped bass fishery operating under the current regulations achieved a 18% reduction relative to 2017. Thus, status quo is viable option for this fishery. AdStates with commercial striped bass fisheries dendum VI as well as the public hearing schedule should consider implementing limited entry and can be viewed here. participation criteria to prevent to the wanton distribution of commercial fishing permits. If the

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states’ commercial striped bass quota cannot be achieved without luring recreational fishermen to contribute to the commercial landings then a reallocation discussion should be initiated. Bag limits for captains and mates on for-hire vessels should be eliminated. Furthermore, circle hooks, as defined by the ASMFC 2009 technical document, should be mandatory when using bait for striped bass. The practice of snag and drop and yo-yoing with j-hooks or multi barb hooks (treble hooks) while fishing with baits needs to stop.

With nearly 50% of the mortality on striped bass coming from released fish in the recreational sector, all efforts to reduce discard mortality should be pursued. Mandatory use of circle hooks in bait fishing would be a significant step to that goal.

The issue of release mortality cannot be taken lightly and it is critical to understand where it

comes from. According to NOAA Fisheries, the total number of striped bass released alive by recreational fishermen amounted to 41,716,648 fish in 2017. Broke down by mode (see Figure 2.), 67% of those fish are attributed to anglers fishing on private boats, 29% to anglers fishing from shore or piers, and just 2% attributed to party and charter boats. Of the 41 million striped bass released by recreational anglers, 3.42 million of those fish are assumed to have died following release which exceeds the number harvested at 2.93 million pounds. Based on these numbers, its clear that any management option that aims to reduce total mortality on striped bass must address release mortality. It is the opinion of the RFA that any management option that simply moves mortality from harvest to discard mortality is a waste of a natural resource and unnecessarily excluded traditional uses of the striped bass fishery.

Figure 2 FINAL

2017

STRIPED BASS

SHORE

12,729,745

12.8

FINAL

2017

STRIPED BASS

PARTY BOAT

22,002

29.7

FINAL

2017

STRIPED BASS

CHARTER BOAT

862,794

13.3

FINAL

2017

STRIPED BASS

PRIVATE/RENTAL BOAT

28,102,107

8.9

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large differences between water and air temperatures as well as the amount of time the fish is

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WE'RE IN HOT WATER! Precautions for Responsible Summer Fishing Courtesy Bay Journal Weekly News

T

he dog days of summer are here—but we’re thinking about fish! Summertime is a great time of year to relax on the water with friends to enjoy fishing for some of the Bay’s iconic species, like striped bass (rockfish). However, there are some times that fishing for striped bass are better than others.

waters.

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office field team is tracking conditions throughout the water column at a site near the NOAA CBIBS Gooses Reef buoy this summer. Data in the graph below are from a location southeast of the Gooses Reef buoy in the navigation channel to the Choptank Summer’s warm water and air temperatures can River, south of the Sharps Island Light and west of fuel algae blooms and lead to conditions that sig- the Little Choptank River with 105 feet of water nificantly stress fish—such as low dissolved oxydepth. Using a “CTD cast,” which observes congen levels in the water. Dissolved oxygen levels in ductivity, temperature, and pressure (depth) as it the surface waters around the Bay are edging is lowered, the team gets data on conditions from lower, observed ranging from just over 5 to althe water’s surface to the Bay’s bottom at that most 9 mg/L at NOAA Chesapeake Bay Interpre- location. CBIBS monitor these parameters at tive Buoy System (CBIBS) stations. about 0.5 meter below the Bay’s surface (and intermittently at the bottom at the Gooses Reef loStriped bass require at least 5 mg/L of dissolved cation). oxygen; if “DO” drops below that level, adult rockfish will try to swim to areas that have suffiDissolved oxygen, salinity, and temperature cient DO. This often means squeezing more fish throughout the entire depth of the water column into the waters near the surface that may have at a point near the NOAA CBIBS Gooses Reef higher DO. As fish density in that area increases, buoy. Data were acquired on three dates in so too can disease transmission among fish. Juve- 2019. nile striped bass reduce their activity and food The graphs show how dramatically conditions consumption when faced with low DO, so they can change from surface to bottom waters, and don’t grow as quickly as they would in healthy

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sa-

how they can differ from month to month. In the dissolved oxygen graph, two notable DO levels are noted: 5 mg/L (striped bass require at least this amount of DO) and 2 mg/L (water below this level is considered “hypoxic”—and cannot support most aquatic organisms). The graph shows that a significant amount of the water column is incapable of supporting fish, crabs, and other Bay life due to a lack of DO.

Interestingly, at the end of May 2019, DO dropped to 5 mg/L at roughly 5 meters (roughly 16.5 feet) of water depth—but at about 10 meters (33.75 feet) in mid-July. This runs counter to what one might expect—that summer conditions would result in lower DO readings. But this location started out the summer with unusually low

linity (second column graph) resulting from high rainfall last year and early this year. Having low salinity water near the surface made it difficult for the water to mix up and down the water column.

As 2019 has progressed, things have gotten a bit drier around the Chesapeake, leading to salinity levels approaching normal. That enables mixing of the water, and means more oxygen flowing into the Bay at lower levels from the ocean. So while there is still a high hypoxic volume, it has improved slightly since May. An added challenge—the waters near the surface, which likely have higher DO, are often warmer than waters further down in the water column, which have less DO. So while they swim further up in the water to find DO, fish may en-

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cording to the latest stock assessment, 9% of live releases of striped bass result in mortality— likely higher in the heat of summer. This is of particular concern right now as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recently declared that striped bass are overfished.

In the mid-Chesapeake Bay, water temperatures are approaching 90 degrees F, so the fish are already significantly stressed.

Add in being yanked from the water and handled by humans, and it’s a big challenge for fish.

A dead striped bass on a beach in Annapolis, Maryland. Fish die So what’s an angler to do? To for many reasons, including inability to find appropriate water heighten awareness of the chalcolumn habitat where they can survive. lenges fish face—and to give fishermen more information on how to fish recounter water warmer than they can handle, cre- sponsibly—the Maryland Department of Natural ating a habitat “squeeze” where appropriate wa- Resources recently launched a Striped Bass Fishter is hard to find, as striped bass avoid water ing Advisory Forecast. Color-coded forecasts above 84 degrees F. (green, yellow, red like a stoplight) indicate foreWater temperatures near the surface, here obcast conditions and guide anglers on whether it served at the CBIBS Annapolis buoy, often hit is appropriate to target striped bass. This new inclose to 90 degrees in the peak of summer. formation does not change any regulations; it is simply more information that anglers can use to Many anglers practice catch-and-release fishing reduce dead discards. It’s a great resource for anfor rockfish as well as other species, intended to glers who want to ensure a healthy future for provide a challenge but then return the fish to the water. However, if not done properly and un- some of our favorite fish. der the right conditions, fish that are caught and then released may still die. Mortality from catchand-release fishing is a significant concern for the health of the Bay’s striped bass population. Ac-

Striped bass are an iconic species in the Chesapeake—taking care to know conditions around and in the Bay and tracking forecasts and advice from experts can help our treasured rockfish.

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NOAA 2018 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries This annual report highlights the work toward the goal of maximizing fishing opportunities while ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities.

T

he NOAA Fisheries is pleased to present the 2018 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries under the science-based framework established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The 2018 report highlights work toward the goal of maximizing fishing opportunities while ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities. Due to the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the eight regional fishery management councils, and other partners, one previously overfished stock was rebuilt and the number of stocks on the overfishing list remains near all-time lows. The total number of stocks listed as overfished increased, due to a number of factors including those outside the control of domestic fisheries management. In addition, in 2018 new information became available for several stocks, which resulted in first-time stock status determinations. Only one of these stocks is subject to overfishing as well as overfished. Continuous monitoring and improvement of our knowledge about the status of stocks is key to ongoing sustainable fisheries management under the MSA. The main concepts related to “overfishing” and “overfished” covered in this report are: •

Maximum sustainable yield (MSY): The largest

long-term average catch that can be taken from a stock under prevailing environmental and fishery conditions.

• Overfishing: A stock having a harvest rate higher than the rate that produces its MSY. • Overfished: A stock having a population size that is too low and that jeopardizes the stock’s ability to produce its MSY.

Rebuilt: A stock that was previously overfished and that has increased in abundance to the target population size that supports its MSY. What’s the difference?

As a harvest rate, overfishing is a direct result of fishing activities. Allowed to continue unchecked, overfishing is associated with many negative outcomes, including a depleted population. Current management practices—such as annual catch limits and accountability measures—reduce the likelihood of this happening.

As a population size, overfished can be the result of many factors, including overfishing, as well as habitat degradation, pollution, climate change, and disease. While overfishing is sometimes the main cause of an overfished stock, these other factors can also play a role and may affect the stock’s ability to rebuild.

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At the end of 2018, the overfishing list included 28 stocks and the overfished list included 43 stocks. Gulf of Maine smooth skate was rebuilt in 2018, and the total number of stocks rebuilt since 2000 has increased to 45. NOAA Fisheries tracks 479 stocks or stock complexes in 46 fishery management plans. Each year, assessments of various fish stocks and stock complexes are conducted to determine their status. These assessments include stocks of both known status and previously unknown status. Based on assessments conducted by the end of 2018, seven stocks were removed from the overfishing list and five were added, one of whose status was previously unknown. The additions are the result of stock assessments or data showing catch was too high. Eight stocks were added to the overfished list, one of whose status was previously unknown. These results indicate population sizes were too low. Many of the stocks added to the overfishing and overfished list Sustainable fisheries management is an adaptive have been impacted by environmental factors or process that relies on sound science, innovative international harvest that the United States has management approaches, effective enforcement, limited ability to control. As required by the MSA meaningful partnerships, and robust public partic- management framework, the councils are develipation. Sustainable fisheries play an important oping management measures to end overfishing role in the nation’s economy. Combined, U.S. and rebuild all stocks added to the overfishing commercial and recreational saltwater fishing and overfished lists. Specific changes to the status generated more than $212 billion in sales and of stocks in 2018 include: supported 1.7 million jobs in 2016. By ending overfishing and rebuilding stocks, we are strengthening the value of U.S. fisheries to the Ending Overfishing under Effective Laws economy, our communities, and marine ecosystems and providing sustainable seafood for the Under the MSA, the United States has become an nation. international leader in fisheries management. NOBenefits of Sustainable Fisheries Management

The Year in Review

AA Fisheries is committed to continuing our successful efforts to prevent overfishing and rebuild overfished stocks. The MSA has been reauthorized twice since its enactment—once in 1996 and again in 2006. In 2018, it was amended by the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act, which focused on improvements to recreational fishing data and management of mixed-use fisheries. NOAA Fisheries is working to implement this new law.

The 2006 MSA reauthorization included a requirement to use annual catch limits (ACLs) to end and prevent overfishing. In 2018, ACLs were not exceeded for 93 percent of all stocks or complexes, a 2 percent increase over 2017. Councils are im-

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plementing management measures to address any ACL overages that did occur. Monitoring catch levels and keeping them in check on an annual basis—as occurs with ACLs—helps reduce the chance of overfishing and ensures long-term biological and economic sustainability.

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Some of the overfished stocks are also impacted by international harvest that the United States has limited ability to control. For example, the United States accounts for only 1 percent of the total international landings of Atlantic bigeye tuna. Additionally, salmon stocks are impacted by inland fisheries; federally managed ocean harvest Challenges in Fisheries Management of the three overfished coho salmon stocks acThe eight stocks added to the 2018 overfished list counts for less than 25 percent of the total fishing illustrate numerous challenges inherent in fisher- mortality. NOAA Fisheries continues to work in ies management. Environmental change, habitat the international fishery management arena, and degradation, and international fishing contribut- with state and tribal co-managers, to end overed to the status of the eight new overfished fishing and rebuild stocks important to the United stocks. For example, relatively warm water condi- States. tions may be impacting the growth and reproFisheries management occurs in a shared ocean duction of the cold-water Saint Matthew Island blue king crab. This stock has never been subject environment amid increasingly changing ocean conditions such as temperature and acidity. We to overfishing and directed fishing for this crab continue to adapt our science and management has been prohibited since 2016. Warm ocean processes to respond to these changes and work conditions, including the warm “Blob” in the northeast Pacific Ocean, reduced the number of domestically and internationally to alter the trajectory of stocks on the overfishing and overspawning coho salmon returning to their natal rivers, and both Chinook and coho salmon have fished lists. been impacted by habitat degradation caused by Improving Stocks, Rebuilding Fisheries drought and lack of sufficient water for spawnWhen a stock is determined to be overfished, a ing. During the past 5 years, several of the fisher- council must develop a rebuilding plan. A typical ies for these salmon stocks have been declared rebuilding plan allows fishing to continue at a refishery disasters under the MSA by the Secretary duced level so the stock can rebuild to its target of Commerce due to factors beyond the control level and produce its maximum sustainable yield of fishery managers.

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(MSY). This approach keeps fishermen and water- stock abundance to a target level that supports MSY. When a rebuilding stock increases above fronts working while stocks rebuild.

Thirty-eight stocks or stock complexes are current- the overfished threshold, the stock is removed from the overfished list but remains under its rely in rebuilding plans. NOAA Fisheries monitors building plan until it is fully rebuilt. Currently, rebuilding stocks and, through the council process, adjusts management measures to increase eight stocks are no longer overfished but continue to be managed under rebuilding plans.

Percentage of Stocks on Overfishing and Overfished Lists 2009 - 2018

The Science Behind Stock Status Fishery management plans must specify objective and measurable criteria (reference points) to determine when a stock is overfished or subject to overfishing. A scientific analysis of the abundance and composition of a fish stock, as well as the degree of fishing intensity, is called a stock assessment. Stock assessments are subject to regional peer review as part of the process to ensure that management decisions are based on the best scientific information available, as mandated by the MSA. In fiscal year 2018, NOAA Fisheries conducted 198 stock assessments.

The councils and the agency use information

from stock assessments to develop and recommend ACLs and other conservation and management measures. While catch limits are set annually, assessments are often done less frequently. To determine whether catch limits have successfully ended or prevented overfishing, NOAA Fisheries may use the fishing intensity metrics and reference points derived in a stock assessment or a comparison of catch to the overfishing limit (OFL). If the catch-to- OFL comparison is used, an overfishing determination is made annually. If a stock assessment is used, due to timing of the next stock assessment, several years may pass before we are able to determine if catch limits successfully ended overfishing.

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NMFS Receives Failing Grades on 2018 Status Report

by Peter Shelley Conservation Law Foundation

I

n New England, Atlantic cod has been overfished and subject to overfishing for decades.

Image via NOAA. When I went to school a long time ago, we had to get our parent’s signature on the report card and return it to the teacher. Some terms, I wanted to forge the signature rather than face the music at home. Other times, I tried to focus my parent’s review on the great grade I got in shop class in hopes of distracting them from my math grade.

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is lucky that no one has to sign its stock status report cards because they have been repeatedly flunking in two areas: the fish stocks managed exclusively by the New England Fishery Management Council and the highly migratory species managed by NMFS itself.

It’s time for NMFS to stop hiding its bad grades.

Progress, but not really Every year, NMFS submits a report to Congress

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on the status of U.S. fisheries, highlighting the agency’s progress towards achieving the goals of the Magnuson-Stevens Act that were established over 40 years ago—produce optimum yield while preventing overfishing. The Magnuson-Stevens Act, and specifically the conservation- and science-based management measures contained in it, has helped the U.S. lead the world in sustainable fisheries management. And so, NMFS’s 2018 Status of the Stocks Report has a lot of good news for most of the country and the coastal economies that depend on healthy, sustainablyharvested seafood.

are still subject to overfishing. And Mr. Oliver also fails to mention that many of these species, like Atlantic cod, have been in this overfished/ overfishing status for decades.

Chris Oliver, the head of NMFS and a consistently successful leader during his time running the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, reported with justifiable pride that 91% of managed U.S. fish stocks are not subject to overfishing and 82% are not overfished. Science-based and effectively managed fisheries, he reported, generated more than $212 billion in sales and some 1.7 million jobs in recent years. Additionally, under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NMFS has rebuilt 45 stocks to healthy levels since 2000, one of which was even a New England Councilmanaged stock—the Gulf of Maine smooth skate—rebuilt in nine years as a result of “strict management.”

Something is clearly wrong in our region.

The next closest council to New England’s record 15 overfished stocks and 7 stocks subject to overfishing is the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council with 5 overfished stocks and 6 stocks subject to overfishing. New England’s neighboring council, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, has no overfished stocks and only one stock subject to overfishing.

NMFS must be accountable for both success and failure These persistent management failings are not simply bad reflections on the reputations of NMFS and U.S. fisheries. The impacts of NMFS’s actions, or lack thereof, extend well beyond the consequences to the fish populations. There are substantial opportunity costs associated with these failures: losses in revenues and coastal fishing jobs are the price the U.S. pays for poor management.

The agency can’t be very proud of this persistent black stain on its otherwise positive performance.

But management won’t improve, nor will affected stocks rebuild, until NMFS starts to hold itself as accountable for its poor performances as it does for its successes. The remedy is not difficult and can be found in Mr. Oliver’s own remarks: strict management. Strick management has been found over and over to lead directly to stock rebuilding, stock health, increased revenues, and increased jobs.

What Mr. Oliver fails to mention, even once, in his review of NMFS’s report card is the fact that NMFS continues to fail in two areas: the New England Council-managed stocks and the NMFSmanaged stocks (note that NMFS has ultimate authority over the New England Councilmanaged stocks). The stocks managed by these two entities comprise 56% of the Nation’s remaining 43 overfished stocks and 50% of the 28 stocks still subject to overfishing. Of the overfished It isn’t too much to ask for progress and success stocks that are still subject to overfishing, New with all the nation’s fisheries; they are, after all, a England Council- and NMFS-managed stocks public resource. And it should not be too much comprise 82% of the total. for NMFS to deliver progress and success to all More than a decade ago, Congress ordered the nation’s fisheries. Mr. Oliver, you are capable, NMFS to develop rebuilding plans for overfished surprise us: we’ll gladly even settle for a “C” next stocks that immediately stop overfishing. Five of time around.

New England’s stocks that are in rebuilding plans

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Cape Cod Seals and Sharks: Shared Traits and Top 10 Facts Courtesy National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration Editor's Note: With the growing stocks of both seals and great white sharks crowding the beaches and nearshore ocean waters off Massachusetts we thought you might find some if these revelations from NOAA amusing, if not mildly informative.

Gray and harbor seals hauled out on the beach at Jeremy Point in Wellfleet, Massachusetts in 2007. Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries

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Seals and Sharks: A Few Things in Common Both seals and sharks have inhabited waters around Cape Cod and the Islands for centuries, long before humans.

• Both have been increasing in numbers since the passage of federal regulations after populations were severely depleted by hunting and fishing.

• Seals and sharks each play a role in maintaining a healthy oceanic ecosystem.

• Population numbers for both seals and sharks in Cape waters are unknown due to their seasonal migrations and foraging behaviors.

• Both have diverse diets and eat what is readily available.

Seals and sharks each consume different prey based upon their age, size and location.

•

Seals There are two similar species of seals that inhabit the Cape and Islands – gray and harbor seals. Adult gray seals can weigh between 550 and 850 pounds and are on the Cape year-round. Adult harbor seals weighing between 100 and 300 pounds are seasonal residents on the Cape between September and May.

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Harbor seals on Resolution Island in Maine during a 2012 harbor seal survey off New England. A mother and pup are visible in the lower right corner. Seals in Maine are often found in remote rocky areas and are not as visible to the public, while on Cape Cod they are on sand bars and other areas closer to people.

Gray seals: There are an estimated 425,000 gray seals (2016 study) that move up and down the Atlantic coast between the U.S. and Canada, where their abundance is increasing at a rate of 4-5% per year. During the breeding season, December through February, there are an estimated 27,000 in U.S. waters. Gray seals eat primarily sand lance, hakes and flatfish, and squids.

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Harbor seals hauled out in a remote sandy area in Chatham, Massachusetts.

Photo credit left and right images: NOAA Fisheries

Harbor seals: There are an estimated 75,000 harbor seals from eastern Canada to North Carolina. Their breeding season is May through June, primarily in Maine. After the breeding season ends they disperse throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic region. In the Northeast region, they eat mainly a variety of groundfish (hakes, cod, haddock, flatfish), redfish, herring and squids; diet data comes mainly from juvenile animals and more research is needed on animals at other life stages.

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A gray seal family during pupping season on Muskeget Island off Nantucket. The pup is covered in white fur at left, the father is behind the mother at right. Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries

Seals move around to forage and spend significant amounts of time in the water, making it hard to estimate their numbers. Seasonal changes in gray and harbor seal abundance outside of the breeding season are unknown.

Population numbers have been increasing since federal regulations protecting marine mammals were put in place in the 1970s. A 2016 study estimated 30-50,000 animals at various times in southeastern Massachusetts. • Culling has been tried in the past (U.S. and elsewhere) and was shown to be ineffective. Gray seals from Canada continuously supplement seals in the U.S., so seals that are removed will just be replaced by animals from other regions. •

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Sharks •

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Shark populations have been slowly increasing since the 1990s due to the implementation of management measures. The U.S. has managed its shark fisheries since 1993, and banned both the commercial and recreational harvesting of white sharks in 1997. There is currently no estimate of white sharks in Cape waters; research is ongoing.

A 2014 study used records compiled over more than 200 years, revealing that white sharks occur primarily between Massachusetts and New Jersey during the summer, off Florida during winter, and have a broad distribution along the U.S. East Coast during spring and fall. White sharks appear to be more common in coastal rather than offshore waters in the U.S. Atlantic, although preliminary satellite tracking data suggest individuals may also spend considerable time beyond the continental shelf.

White shark. Photo credit: Greg Skomal

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Basking shark is often mistaken for a white shark in New England. Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries

Most sharks are opportunistic feeders, but some species have a more selective diet. The basking shark, often mistaken for a white shark in New England waters, is one of the largest species and is a filter feeder. The smooth dogfish, a summer visitor to New England waters, is a small coastal shark that specializes in crustaceans. Many species, like the white shark, change their diet as they get larger, eating smaller prey items when they are young and moving on to larger prey as they grow.

The white shark eats primarily fish when it is young and prefers marine mammals at larger sizes. Scavenging is also an important source of food for many sharks. White sharks are fairly solitary animals, but have been known to feed together in groups when they are scavenging a large food source, such as a dead whale.

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Four million people visit the Cape Cod National Seashore each year. As the human population increases, more people are visiting beaches. The 2018 fatal shark attack on the Cape was the first in Massachusetts in more than 80 years (last was 1936 in Mattapoisett). A shark attack occurs once every 730 million beach visits, or about one in a billion chance (Stanford University study).

• Worldwide, sharks kill on average 6 humans each year; in the U.S. an average of one person per year. Humans kill an estimated 100 million sharks each year. States with the highest number of shark attacks since 2000 (in order from highest) are Florida, Hawaii, South Carolina, California, North Carolina, Texas, Oregon, Georgia and Alabama. In 2018 there were 32 unprovoked shark attacks in the U.S., with one fatality. (Source: International Shark Attack File) • Over a period of 5 years, at just 6 beaches at the Cape Cod National Seashore, lifeguards rescued 680 people from the water due to riptides. On the Outer Cape, the risk of drowning from rip tides is much greater than the risk of being attacked by a shark. Odds of being injured by sharks are far less than from fireworks, lightning strikes, car and bicycle accidents, and jellyfish stings.

Bees, wasps, snakes, dogs, and taking selfies cause far more fatalities each year than sharks. On the list of dangers in aquatic environments, sharks rank near the bottom. Odds of drowning and other beach-related fatalities are 1 in 2 million, shark attacks are 1 in 11.5 million.

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NEWS & VIEWS Time’s running out to meet Bay cleanup goals, especially in Pennsylvania

By William C. Baker, Bay Journal, August 14, 2019 It is a critical time for the Chesapeake Bay. The historic federal-state partnership working to clean up the Bay’s pollution is entering the final phase of restoration. By 2025, the six Bay states and the District of Columbia must have all of the pieces in place to meet science-based pollution reduction targets. If they succeed, we will all have clean water.

The restoration effort is unprecedented in scale and scope. Fully realizing its goals will result in the largest environmental success story in history.

A saved Chesapeake Bay will provide an estimated $130 billion annually in natural resource benefits to the Bay region, home to more than 18 million people and our nation’s capital. It will also provide a model for environmental restoration across the country and around the world.

Success demands two things: Each of the Bay states and the District of Columbia must do their part to reduce pollution. If they don’t, the EPA must step in.

tion goals. It is imperative for these plans to be sufficient to get the job done.

Pennsylvania’s draft plan contains many notable improvements over previous ones. But it falls short. It achieves only 67 percent of the pollution reduction needed, and will require significantly more investment than the commonwealth has provided to date.

In fact, by consistently underfunding clean water efforts since the federal-state partnership was launched in 2009, Pennsylvania’s legislators have failed to uphold their promise to sufficiently reduce pollution to its surface water and groundwater.

The consequences are wide-reaching. Clean and abundant water is critical to Pennsylvania’s economy, the health of its citizens, its outdoor heritage and quality of life. But according to the commonwealth’s latest assessment of its waterways, approximately 40 percent of its rivers and streams violate water quality standards.

Fortunately, there are many boots on the ground working hard to reduce pollution in Pennsylvania. State and local agency leaders, farmers, sportsmen and women, conservation leaders and local communities want to do more to protect Pennsylvania’s streams and rivers. We must support them.

The agency has a critical opportunity over the next few months to hold up its end of the deal. It This is a regional problem. Together, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia account for 90 peris currently reviewing the final plans drafted by cent of the pollution fouling the Bay and its rivers the Bay jurisdictions to meet their 2025 restora-

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and streams. None of these states are perfect, but because of early successes in reducing pollution from sewage treatment plants, Maryland and Virginia are on track to meet their goals.

But Pennsylvania’s success will be rooted in investing in the more than 33,000 farms and 1,000 local governments. Continued failure means failure for the entire regional partnership. So, unless Pennsylvania’s legislature acts now and substantially invests in these efforts, the EPA must impose penalties.

That’s not to say the road to finishing the job is easy. The challenges are substantial and varied.

We must confront climate change. We must fight regulatory rollbacks that jeopardize clean water and air. We must clean up legacy pollution from the Conowingo Dam. But we know what we need to do. The science is clear. There is a plan. What is needed is the political will and leadership to implement it.

The entire federal-state partnership wants Pennsylvania to succeed. We need the state to sucThe EPA has the authority to increase regulaceed. Today, Pennsylvania has the opportunity to tions; review state-issued permits to make sure be the Bay’s hero. With a science-based plan — they adequately address polluted runoff from cit- and resources to implement it — Pennsylvania will ies; and withhold or place conditions on grant help the region make history. funding. It is hard to overstate the importance of the EPA’s enforcement role. Pennsylvania’s elected officials should do all they can to avoid this New Recreational Rules for outcome.

For decades, efforts to restore the Bay came up short. But in the last decade, progress has been made and science says the Bay is improving. Science also makes it clear that the recovery is fragile.

Groundfish in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank Gulf of Maine

The 2019 Gulf of Maine cod and haddock recreational management measures are changing. We The Chesapeake is not alone. The same challeng- are opening a 2-week season (September 15-30) for Gulf of Maine cod: es plague waters across the country. From the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, algal blooms and dead zones caused by pollution have persist- Cod Open Season: Sept 15-30 ed and intensified.

Possession Limit: 1 per person In 2010, we did something different in the Chesa- Minimum Size: 21 inches peake. The EPA set science-based targets to reBased on the comments we received on the produce pollution from all of the sources that conposed rule, we are not opening an April season tribute to the Bay’s unhealthy water. All of the for Gulf of Maine cod.

Bay jurisdictions committed to have practices in place to meet those targets by 2025. And the Haddock EPA agreed to hold them accountable. A blueOpen Season: May 1-Feb 28/29, Apr 15-30 print to clean up the Bay was set in place.

Possession Limit: 15 per person Minimum Size: 17 inches It is working. Bay grasses are recovering, blue We are increasing the possession limit for Gulf of crab populations are rebounding, and the dead Maine haddock from 12 to 15 fish, and have rezone is shrinking. Communities throughout the moved Bay region are benefiting from cleaner streams, greener urban landscapes and more resilience to Georges Bank extreme weather — all of which improve local Cod economies.

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Open Season: All year Possession Limit: 10 per person Minimum Size: 21 inches The 2019 Georges Bank cod recreational management measures decrease the minimum size of cod to 21 inches. The possession limit and season remain the same.

Making Waves Fall 2019

lations, Yamaha Marine U.S. Business Unit.

“Yamaha Rightwaters serves to improve habitats, manage invasive species, support scientific research and improve water quality.”

Located off the coast of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties in Calif., Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 federally designatMore Information ed marine protected areas administered by the Read the permit holder bulletin on our website.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministraThis rule is effective at 8:45 am on Friday, July 5. tion (NOAA) within the Department of ComFor more information on recreational rules for merce. The national marine sanctuary encomother species, bookmark our Recreational Fishing passes 1,110 square nautical miles (1,470 square Rules page or download the FishRules app. miles) of water from mean high tide (MHW) to six nautical miles offshore of Santa Barbara, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa and San Miguel islands.

Yamaha Rightwaters™ Supports

NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary operates the Research Vessel Shark Cat, a 28-foot twin -hull power cruiser, principally for single-day reKENNESAW, Ga.-- Yamaha Marine recently donat- search, with some additional vessel operations to support education as well as management and ed two F300 outboards to Channel Islands Naenforcement of sanctuary rules. The vessel can carry up to three divers, with two tanks each, and is outfitted with a dive ladder, oxygen, AED and backboard. With a continuous cruising speed of 25 knots, the Shark Cat is also an important asset for emergency response within the national marine sanctuary.

tional Marine Sanctuary, which will power the group’s research vessel Shark Cat during expeditions in the 2019 season. Support for the national marine sanctuary is an activity of Yamaha Rightwaters™, a sustainability program that encompasses all of Yamaha Marine’s conservation and water quality efforts.

Ongoing Shark Cat missions/activities include: Quick mobilization for research on basking sharks and time-sensitive whale disentanglement mission support. Oil spill response support. Hydrophone mooring deployment to monitor ocean noise. NOAA science dive operations (e.g. eelgrass monitoring).

“We are extremely grateful for Yamaha’s support and assistance through the donation of these outboards,” said John Armor, director of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. “The engines will enhance the mission of Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary and increase our ability to conduct important research, monitoring, and response activities.”

“The national marine sanctuary is a special place for species close to extinction, sensitive habitats, shipwrecks and maritime heritage artifacts,” said Yamaha Marine products are marketed throughMartin Peters, Division Manager, Government Re-

Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Fall 2019

out the United States and around the world.

Yamaha Marine U.S. Business Unit, based in Kennesaw, Ga., supports its 2,400 U.S. dealers and boat builders with marketing, training and parts for Yamaha’s full line of products and strives to be the industry leader in reliability, technology and customer service. Yamaha Marine is the only outboard brand to have earned NMMA®’s C.S.I. Customer Satisfaction Index award every year since its inception.

New York: Largest Expansion of Artificial Reefs in State History

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo launched the second year of the largest artificial reef expansion in New York State history, as part of the State's ongoing initiative to develop a stronger, more diverse marine ecosystem and provide habitat for fish and other marine life off of New York's shore.

So far in 2019, Fire Island Reef and Matinecock Reef have received recycled materials that were cleaned of contaminants and donated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NYS Department of Transportation, New York Power Authority, New York State Canal Corporation, and NYC Department of Transportation.

The materials used for the reef expansion were strategically-placed hard and durable structures such as steel vessels, rock, concrete, and steel pipes. Once materials settle on the seafloor, black-

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fish, black sea bass, cod, and summer flounder, move in to inhabit the new structures, and encrusting organisms such as barnacles, sponges, anemones, corals, and mussels will cling to and cover the material. Over time, these recycled structures will become habitat similar to a natural reef.

Use the Artificial Reefs Interactive Map to find out more about reef site characteristics, materials used, coordinates of patch reefs, and the history of deployments. If you visit one of New York's artificial reefs, submit your observations using the Artificial Reef Volunteer Fishing & Diving Survey.

Visit our website to learn more about the benefits of Artificial Reefs.

To keep up with the RFA's current initiatives and all the Breaking Fisheries News go to www.joinrfa.org

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Chairman Robert T. Healey Jr. Treasurer John Kasinski Board Members Bob Healey, Sr. Pat Healey Nick Cicero Tred Barta Jack Holmes Mike Leech Nate Odum Andrew Semprevivo Tony Novelli Jim Motsko Mark Odom Carl T. Huffman Bob Flocken Martin Peters Libby Yranski Bob Shomo Jr.

Viking Group

Viking Yacht Company Viking Yacht Company Viking Yacht Company Folsom Corporation The World of Tred Barta Southern Kingfish Assn., Retired World Cup Blue Marlin Tournament Mexico Beach Marina & Outfitters Seakeeper, Inc. Contender Boats Ocean City White Marlin Open Main Street Properties Elec-Tra-Mate, Inc Hi-Liner/Diamond Fishing Products Yamaha Marine Group National Marine Manufacturers Assn.

Johnson and Towers Inc

M A K I N G

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The Official Publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

The RFA Mission Safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers Protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs Ensure the long-term sustainability of our nation’s fisheries.

Anti-fishing groups and radical environmentalists are pushing their agenda on marine fisheries issues affecting you. The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is in the trenches too, lobbying, educating decision makers and ensuring that the interests of America’s coastal fishermen are being heard loud and clear. Incorporated in 1996 as a 501c4 national, grassroots political action organization, RFA represents recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry on marine fisheries issues on every coast, with state chapters established to spearhead the regional issues while building local support.

“The biggest challenge we face is the fight to reform and bring common sense and sound science into the fisheries management process," says James Donofrio, RFA founder and Executive Director.

“Anti-fishing and extreme environmental groups are working everyday to get us off the water.” Despite the threats to diminish access to our nation’s resources, Donofrio says that RFA offers members hope in an organization that’s designed from the ground up to fight back. “As individuals, our concerns will simply not be heard; but as a united group, we can and do stand up to anyone who threatens the sport we enjoy so much – fishing!”

After nearly 20 years working inside the Beltway and within state capitols along the coast, RFA has become known as one of the nation’s most respected lobbying organizations, and our members have a lot to celebrate.

The Recreational Fishing Alliance Headquarters P.O. Box 3080 New Gretna, New Jersey 08224 Phone: 1-888-JOIN RFA toll free Fax: (609) 294-3812

Jim Donofrio Executive Director

John DePersenaire Managing Director

Gary Caputi Corp. Relations Director

Barry Gibson New England Director

Jim Martin West Coast Director

Sharon Scaltrito Office Manager