Sunday, September 8, 2019

THE CULTURE WARS OF THE STRIPED BASS DEBATE


New York held its first meeting on the Atlantic States MarineFisheries Commission’s draft addendum to the striped bass management plan last Wednesday.  As I sat in the crowd listening to the various people speak, it became clear that much of the striped bass debate—and of any fisheries management debate, for that matter—boils down to a near-tribal clash between cultures rather than a mere discussion of facts and ideas.

In the old days, the lines were pretty simple.  Anglers sat on one side of the room, and commercial fishermen on the other.  The anglers blamed the commercials for killing too many fish, and the commercials responded that they were working for a living, and providing food for folks’ tables, while anglers merely engaged in play.  Fights were more about allocation than about the health of the fish stocks themselves.

That sort of thing went on for a very long time, and for some fishermen now on the far side of sixty, it’s still going on today.
But today’s debate has become far more complex than a mere commercial/recreational fight.  

These days, anglers may be more likely to point accusing fingers at other anglers rather than at the commercial crowd, and while some commercial fishermen also engage in internecine fights, or pick bones with anglers, others—particularly the younger fishermen who want to stay in the business for the next thirty or so years—no longer raise knee-jerk objections to new regulations, and grudgingly support the management process.

Last Wednesday, the commercial bass fishermen said little or nothing at all.

But the recreational sector turned out in all of its diverse glory, making a plethora of comments that made it clear that the angling sector doesn’t, and almost certainly never will, present a united front, and that the frequent calls for “unity” that we hear either represent an impossible dream or are a badly disguised effort from folks who are really saying, “Let’s all do things my way.”

It wasn’t just a simple contest between those who emphasized harvest versus those who promoted conservation.  It wasn’t the typical science-deniers squared off against those who supported the findings in the most recent stock assessment.  It also wasn’t a reprise of past meetings, where fishing-related businesses opposed management measures, while a majority of fishermen wanted to see actions taken, although there was a bit of that going ‘round.

Startlingly, there wasn’t even one explicit comment that “the science is bad,” although there were hints of that in some people’s comments.

Instead, what we saw on Wednesday night was in many ways a clash of cultures, worldviews and personal values, with elements reminiscent of football-team rivalries and, unfortunately, other elements that evoked images of street thugs defending their turf.  While no one was physically removed from the room, there was enough going on that the law enforcement folks present had to issue a warning or two.

The worst behavior came from those who seemed to feel the most entitled to harvest fish.

One for-hire captain rambled on for close to ten minutes (when the limit on each person was three), managing to loft personal attacks at several people, including me, without ever offering coherent comments on the specific options that the ASMFC wanted us all to discuss.  In the end, he seemed to justify his behavior by making the dubious statement that “God put the striped bass on Earth for people to use for food,” and suggesting that conservation-minded anglers perhaps worshipped the fish as some sort of “pagan god.”  

The possibility that the bass evolved to survive in an ecosystem where human predation—and particularly technology-assisted human predation—was not a threat to their survival is apparently not a part of that deity-driven worldview.

And, of course, if you’re divinely chosen to kill fish for food, you’re relieved of any responsibility to maintain the future health of the stock.  That places you in direct conflict with conservation advocates, who are concerned that today’s excessive landings can hurt tomorrow’s striped bass fishery.  Thus, it’s OK to treat such apostates in a decidedly un-Christian manner, jeering them as they speak, taunting them when they return to their seats, attacking them personally and even inviting them outside for a brawl.  (That’s one of the times that enforcement stepped in, to cool the “chosen one” down…)

The argument that people are entitled to take bass for food also leads to another dispute as to whether catch-and-release is ethical, as about 9% of all bass released don’t survive the experience.  So should anglers just “play with” their fish if they’re not intending to eat them?  There are those who say “No.”  When I attended NMFS' Recreational Fishing Summit in the spring of 2018, a representative of western Pacific anglers felt very strongly about that, saying “We don’t play with our food.”

Although he wasn’t talking about striped bass, there are bass fishermen who share the same sentiments.

There are also those who feel economically entitled to harvest fish.  While they seek similar results as those who claim a divine right to kill fish, their behavior is notably less erratic and bizarre.  They made a good-faith effort to address the issues set out in the draft addendum, although their focus tended to be on what was best for their businesses, rather than what was best for the long-term health of bass stocks.  

In the old days here in New York, and in a few other states today, that has been the default position of the commercial fishing fleet.  However, the commercial fleet was notably absent from last Wednesday’s meeting, leaving some members of the party and charter boat fleet to hoist the economic entitlement banner on their own.

Those representing the economic entitlement faction tended to support either slot limits that would allow customers to keep a bass between 28 and 35 inches, or perhaps between 30 and 38, or a supposedly “conservation equivalent” proposal not included in the draft addendum that would pair a 30-inch minimum size with a slightly shortened season that would run from May 1-November 30, and prohibit paid crew from retaining fish.  The thought was that such limits would make it more likely that customers could catch a fish to take home, although the request was also couched in terms of avoiding release mortality.

A number of them also supported “sector separation,” leading to regulations for the for-hire fleet that were different from those imposed on surf and private-boat anglers—because the for-hire fleet, after all, does feel economically entitled to special treatment.

However, what ought to be noted is that there is not only a culture clash in the greater angling community, but in the charter boat community as well.  A number of charter boat captains, who cater to customers more interested in the experience of striped bass fishing than in killing fish to take home, But honesty compels me to say that the angling community isn’t without its conflicts, too.

There is certainly a subset of anglers who feels entitled to take fish home, regardless of the health of the stock.  Some will tell you up front that they will kill as many big bass as the law will allow which, if they’re good anglers, is theoretically one fish per day from the middle of April through mid-December (in New York; many states have no season at all), although it’s highly unlikely that anyone fishes every day of the season, and even more unlikely that they catch a legal fish every time they go out.

Some of those folks take their bass home and eat them; far too many illegally sell a least a part of their catch. There is also a contingent that fish to inflate their egos, and live to post photos of their catch on the Internet, or to drive from tackle shop to tackle shop, hauling out their fish at each stop in the hope of having their photo pinned to the tackle shop wall.

Such anglers tend to oppose conservation measures for their own reasons although, since they rarely care enough to show up at meetings, their views are seldom heard.

Most anglers I meet, and most at the meetings, tend to take a more reasonable stance.  They like to catch fish, and they like to take one or more fish home every season, but they don't want to do anything that might impair the bass’ future.  They want to see healthy stocks for the rest of their lives, and want to hand those stocks down for their kids and their grandkids to enjoy.  

These are the people captured in the NMFS survey, who consider fishing with family and friends their most important goal, although just catching fish doesn’t trail far behind.  While they might like to eat bass from time to time, they’re responsible enough not to elevate that desire above the needs of the striped bass itself.

A lot of surfcasters fall into that category, as they’ve learned through bitter experience that their limited, shorebound access to the resource means that bass have to be abundant if they are to catch them on anything like a regular basis.  Boat fishermen can easily move from place to place, and can catch bass on the bottom in 60 feet of water as easily as they can catch them when the fish are blitzing bait in the shallows.  Boat-based anglers can go to the fish, while surfcasters have to wait until the fish comes to them, which is far more likely when the population is healthy. 

A lot of private boat anglers fall into that category, too, although they still kill more fish than the surfcasting crowd.

From there, we move on to the anglers who, like the late Lee Wulff, believe that

They fish almost entirely for the experience, and seldom if ever take home a striped bass, although they are generally tolerant of those who do.  Many surfcasters fall into this category, too, as do many boat fishermen who prefer to challenge themselves by casting for their fish, rather than trolling or using bait.  Not surprisingly, a lot of salt water fly fishermen also think this way. 

Most catch-and-release anglers didn’t start out that way.  They’re typically experienced anglers who probably killed quite a few bass when they started out, but came to the conclusion that dead fish don’t necessarily make for a memorable trip, and realize that catch-and-release satisfies most or all of their reason for being out on the water.
Needless to say, such anglers have a strong conservation ethic, want to see the bass stock rebuilt, and support restrictive management measures—including measures far stronger than any even considered by the ASMFC.

Which takes us to one final tribe, anglers who would prohibit all striped bass landings, commercial or recreational, until the stock has recovered, regardless of the impact of such actions on the recreational or commercial fishing industries.  It’s an extreme view, perhaps just as extreme as those who claim a God-given right to kill, even if it arises out of far more altruistic motives.  Such a complete shutdown just isn’t needed right now; although it would undoubtedly be the fastest way to recover the stock, it would also cause a lot of unnecessary harm.

The bottom line is that there’s no common ground.

So how can fisheries managers make everyone happy?  How can they reconcile the wishes of those who believe that they have a God-given right to kill fish, regardless of the health of the stock, with those of the folks who are seeking to shut down the fishery until the stock is fully rebuilt?

The answer is that they can’t; as in every other aspect of politics, culture wars will always continue.

In the end, the best thing for fisheries managers to do is to forget about the fishermen, and instead think of the fish. 

After all, anyone claiming a God-given right to kill bass still needs to catch something before they can kill it, and that’s a lot easier to do when there are fish around.  (Yes, one can believe that if things get too bad, bass might fall from the sky to the sea like manna from Heaven, but that never happened with winter flounder, Atlantic salmon or cod, so depending on divine intervention to bail out the striper might just be one hope too far.)

Those who feel economically entitled might not like it if managers elevate the bass’ long-term interests ahead of their short-term cash flow, but they need to accept that they’re in a business, and there is probably no business in the country, from banks and brokerage houses to dry cleaners and gas stations, that don’t have to deal with regulations, and the resultant regulatory risk.  There’s no reason why the fishing industry should believe itself immune.  The striped bass population began to decline more than a decade ago; if some in the industry failed to pick up on that trend, and account for it in their business plans, they have no one to blame but themselves if things don’t work out too well.

And the folks seeking a moratorium are going to have to live with rules tight enough to restore the stock, without needlessly killing off people’s business.  Managers should give bass the rules that they need to thrive, and maybe a little more just to be safe, but there comes a point where overly-restrictive rules can become counterproductive, and cause harm to the management process itself.

In the end, the best thing that managers can do for all of the divergent interests in the fishery is to put the interests of the striped bass first, and give them the protections that they need to thrive.

For without the bass, there is nothing for anyone to catch, or to fight over, regardless of what they believe.

11 comments:

  1. Just more propaganda from the master. Not one single person at the meeting called for status quo. For Hire vessels calling for sector desperation are full ready to take a cut to do their part. Anyone who wants the 35" minimum should get it. If the for hire sector wants to take the 18" cut in a different manor what's the problem? You've been driving a wedge for far too long. You cause people to have momentary lapse of reason at these meetings, with you divise antagonistic ways...

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  2. Very unimpressive blog.
    Not one mention of MRIP. You are the guy who used to say PRESENT THE DATA, has not one bit of data to post.

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  3. Great piece Charley, spot on.

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  4. To be published in separate parts due to the length of the comment...

    THE CULTURE WARS OF THE STRIPED BASS DEBATE
    “EXPOSING THE BIAS OF CHARLES WITEK”

    Charles the 09.08.19 blog should have been remedial work for an individual such as yourself, at least to the layman who has seen and read through you past stories or heard your bloviating during various fishery meetings, but this particular blog reads as one of your poorest descriptions in describing the issues brought up at the Wednesday public comment meeting in Bethpage.

    For someone in the past who would mention at meetings when stakeholders spoke up with, “where is your data,” you have written a piece that neglects what the facts and most current MRIP data that the ASFMC technical committee and striped bass management board is making there regulatory decisions upon.

    Where was any mention in this blog to the new MRIP estimates when taking a snapshot of the four modes within the New York recreational sector? Why not, as if there is a recreational fishing red flag, wouldn’t we first check with the most current MRIP estimates?

    Why didn’t you mention in your piece - which I brought up in my public comment before the audience, that currently in 2019 the New York for-hire industry is less than 2 percent of ‘HARVEST’ reported, especially as the for-hire industry has mandated VTR and electronic reporting.

    More troubling and this was noted with the shocking news with the 2018 STOCK ASSESSMENT OF ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS presentation by M. Celestino in February 2019 as of 2017 with “recreational release discard mortality” making up 48% of the coastwide total removals, and currently in New York with the private vessel mode and only based upon preliminary Wave 2 and Wave 3 estimates having and in your own words “killed,” 102,186 dead striped bass released based upon the currently accepted 9% DM (discard mortality). That figure alone approximately equals total harvest for the for-hire industry (both party & charter combined) during the time series from 2016 through 2019 or four years in total.

    Somehow Charles you see this as acceptable in discarding perfectly fine eating seafood in ending up as the proverbial ‘crab food,’ and you double down with your theme of having an issue with those who just wish to pay for a day of striped bass fishing and take their one fish home. Somehow that is offensive to you with the vast majority of striped bass fishermen, especially within the downstate and Long Island region noted as being demographically diverse with the people that go fishing on party and charter boats or on their small private vessels and even along the shoreline.

    As troubling is this idea that the for-hire industry and those who spoke up somehow was emphasizing a “God – given right” to take a striped bass which is factually not true, instead of the talking point of all those stakeholders in stating it as a personal choice to legally possess one fish if they choose so?

    How come those who just perform catch and release have a greater right in commenting about the public resource, then those who understand that fish is food and like to take home one to enjoy eating? Didn’t I make the public comment that we don’t cause undue and unnecessary injury to a fish, then release this exhausted and stressed fish back into the environment where it has to survive and compete? Didn’t I sum this up with my last statement that we wouldn’t do this to a land animal? Yes we have found out through the latest striped bass assessment that Catch & Release is not as benign as you and many others of your ilk believe. Maybe you do not see this side since you are an individual with the financial means that choose to fly to foreign locations to use a high powered rifle to shoot exotic animals and whose heads hang upon the wall in your home…right?

    End of part I.

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  5. Continued...

    There is the primary issue as per the Addendum in choosing the most reasonable option to reach the mandated 18% reduction which will improve the stock biomass, but in minimizing as best the least impact to both angler enjoyment and financial viability of the for-hire industry here in New York. How can anyone support a 35 inch minimum size when that will dramatically increase fishing time thus correlates and results in discards and mortality to attain a striped bass that meets this new minimum size? Is this not true Charles?

    Worse, and as noted in ‘Catch Age Composition’ with the regulatory shifting in harvesting behavior within the New York Marine Coastal District to the removals of striped bass - that based upon aging sampling with fish a decade old and greater? What impact will there be by increasing within a year in raising the current minimum size from 28 inches up seven inches to 35 inches? Somehow you believe this will not only cause directed harvest to the oldest striped bass, but as noted during the public comment with an unimaginable compliance and enforcement issue, or are long time stakeholders missing something in making this last statement?

    Wasn’t this one of the critical goals in single stock management to have a wide distribution of age year classes of fish ranging from juvenile to the oldest in a stock, especially with larger striped bass being female? Wouldn’t the now inordinate rate of removals of the largest and oldest striped bass have a serious impact for many years to come when we literally skew those removals to the oldest fish?

    More so, wouldn’t those on the regulatory side in fishery management wish that the next generation of young people have a reasonable opportunity to catch a trophy striped bass, but then again you Charles Witek supports the current New York governor who is most noted for having the most radical abortion law in the country. In fact since we are trying as best to bring this to the public’s attention as this was something you omitted, whether purposely or unconsciously which was outlined by this statement on page 6 in the Draft Addendum for public comment, to wit:

    “While data required to quantify these measures are not currently available, the effects of changes to the striped bass management program approved through this addendum can be qualified as follows:
    For the recreational sector, increased minimum size limits or other restrictions can lead to decreased availability of legal sized striped bass which can lead to increased effort and an increase in dead releases.”

    The future for whom we ask, but nonetheless for the talking point on sector separation for the striped bass fishery for for-hire, since as per the new and re-calibrated MRIP estimates now show a number of years of consistently reporting of both low harvest and catch for for-hire vessels in contrast to the private vessel and shore bound modes. As a percentage of a fishery and to your theme of “killing fish,” it would be appropriate for the ASFMC to recognize which modes are doing “the most killing” (in your own words) and use differential regulations with size limit and possibly sea length in open days for for-hire since the Commission had approved the appropriate use of conservation equivalency to meet the reduction.

    End of part II.

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  6. Continued...

    What is there for you to debate based upon what is within and approved in the documents about and on the use of ‘CE’ and which will be used by some other states in choosing that regulatory path next year? Maybe a comment within this current blog to the audience to not be surprised on what we will hear in October at the Commission meeting in New Hampshire by three to four states in possibly choosing/making this regulatory choice moving forward with the striped bass fishery in 2020? Should New York recreational fishermen bear more of the economic blunt than other states in meeting the reduction… I do not believe so, nor do most stakeholders and fishermen believe that the New York recreational fishing community should not be allowed to shape a regulatory option best suited to their needs which also meets the required reduction.

    Charles, this is about the best interest of all people, and a subtle underlying thought by a few people (I was pulled over to the side by an old time captain about this at the end of the meeting) is in having an audience which was made predominately made up of the surf casting community who came across as elitist in rarely mentioning the socio-economic impact by those who support the 35” minimum size limit. Let me ask,

    “Who spoke out for those with a small private vessel that can only fish within the local bays, rivers (North and East) as well as harbors on Long island and New York City, or as much for people who only have access to some dock, pier or shoreline as I stated as we have along the 426 miles of New York City waterfront who rarely see striped bass greater than 35 inches when they fish?”

    How about their enjoyment, or do we, or more so YOU only recognize the enjoyment of the economically advantaged high end fly fishing and light tackle community?

    We from the for-hire industry do not wish this to sink to a class warfare discussion which you have a documented history of, and have been noted for with previously comments and blovations at meetings about the people in our communities who do fish and are neither involved in fishery politics and just wish for a fish to take home. Aren’t people more important than fish Charles, or are you so callous an individual as you come across with very few people speaking with you at a MRAC meeting?

    In closing Charles, this blog piece may be noted as your most noted “puff piece” as you only could dwell upon the emotions of the fishermen who showed up and not upon the data which clearly indicates who has done an inordinate amount of harvest and discard mortality over the past decade and a half. We are living in data – driven fishery management as it is the foundation for specification guidance by the technical people as well as both for the Council and Commission to make regulatory decisions upon. This is why there was not one comment made by anyone from the for-hire industry who spoke at the podium that questioned the science from the benchmark assessment and the findings on the current condition of the striped bass biomass.

    Maybe Charles you would have a ‘moment’ in which you could put aside your outright pattern of subjective bias and consider the most appropriate regulatory approach in targeting the specific modes which have caused the most removals. You have failed before this very audience to outline the crux of this issue to why we are going through this reduction exercise again by neglecting to mention the very MRIP estimates which you have time and again pointed to in backing up your position in the past. Personally I doubt you will ever recover in being exposed as one, a person who has little consideration for other people or those who make a living from taking people fishing.

    Steve EC Newellman
    NY RFHFA
    09.10.19
    Note: To be publicly shared……..

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  7. You have lost you mind to say the least cause over 100thousand fish released die and of those fish majority come from improperly handled surf fisherman ....on any given day you can see dozens of pictures of fish dragged through the sand held by gills slammed on the rocks ......that's fist point next big issue is you say only surf fisherman or recreational people came out in droves ....seems like the deck was stacked and pour organization was the cause of that overall attendance ....and last wheres your data cause you make some pretty staggering statements here

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  8. How can the DEC in good conscious keep a sociopath such as yourself in an advisory position? Mind blowing!

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  9. One more divisive blog to add to the list.

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