EMERGENCY STRIPED BASS MEASURES: THE PUBLIC'S REACTION

 

When the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’sAtlantic Striped Bass Management Board voted to adopt emergency measures atlast week’s meeting, which will require all states (with minor exceptions inthe Chesapeake Bay) to cap the recreational size limit at 31 inches, a lot of folks were caught by surprise.

I’m not sure why that was, as anyone who was tuned in to the striped bass management process pretty well knew, at least a couple of weeks before the meeting, that talks were going on, and that some sort of emergency action would be proposed. 

Stakeholders were reaching out to Management Board members, asking them to support some sort of recreational landings reductions, Management Board members were reaching out to stakeholders seeking their views on possible actions, and Management Board members were talking to each other about what sort of measures might win the support of two-thirds of the Board, and thus be adopted in accordance with the ASMFC’s Interstate Fishery Management Program Charter.

Even so, a lot of folks expressed some surprise that the motion for emergency action was made.  Adam Nowalsky, the legislative proxy from New Jersey, even made a motion to postpone action on the emergency motion, arguing that there was no notice that it would be made, no public comment on the question, and no scientific analysis of its impacts.  

A fellow legislative proxy, Craig Pugh of Delaware, seconded the motion, and while doing so commented that the emergency action

“regulates to a superabundant supply of these fish.”

Whatever that was intended to mean.

In any event, the effort to stall didn’t get very far for, as Massachusetts’ Legislative Appointee, State Representative Sarah Peake, observed,

“They call it ‘emergency’ for a reason…”

She then advised the Management Board,

“Let’s not kick the can down the road,”

and the Board cleary agreed, decisively voting down the motion to postpone with 14 jurisdictions against, and only New Jersey and Delaware in favor.

Even so, now that the emergency action has been adopted, and states must put the 31” maximum size was into place on or before July 2^nd, we’re still hearing some people, most but not all from New Jersey, complain that was done without adequate notice.

But as Rep. Peake noted, that’s why it’s deemed an “emergency” action; emergencies, by their very nature, don’t come with much warning.  It’s also why the ASMFC requires a two-thirds vote for passage; it was an extraordinary action, taken without public comment, and thus a supermajority of the Management Board is needed before it can be adopted. 

The Board must be truly convinced that an emergency exists.

In that regard, the vote of 15 to 1 speaks for itself.

Martin Gary, the current chair of the Management Board as well as the executive secretary of the Potomac River Fisheries Commission, explained the lopsided vote, saying

“We really felt we should try to get ahead of this as soon as we could,”

to prevent excessive fishing mortality from making it even more difficult to rebuild the striped bass stock.  Michael Luisi, the assistant fisheries director for Maryland, echoed those sentiments

“Another year of fishing on them like we did last year could have been really bad.”

So now that emergency regulations must be put in place, what are people's thoughts?

As always, opinion is split, but for the most part angling and conservation organizations, and serious striped bass anglers, agree with the Management Board.

The MV Times, a publication based on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, an island with a long striped bass fishing tradition that reaps substantial economic benefits from visiting striped bass anglers, interviewed Patrick Paquette, the government affairs officer of the Massachusetts Striped Bass Association, who called the emergency action

“the best option in a bad situation.”

He noted that the recruitment of young striped bass into the population has been low in recent years, and that the bass spawned in 2015 now constitute a substantial portion of the population; he also noted that such fish are now all within the 28- to 35-inch slot limit that has governed the recreational fishery in most coastal states.  That made the 2015s very vulnerable to harvest in 2022 and, as Mr. Paquette said,

“as a result, massively increased numbers of fish died than in prior years.”

He also observed that another big factor caused 2022 recreational landings to spike; in the striped bass fishery, abundance leads to increased recreational effort.

“When fish are available, more people go fishing; that’s just common sense.”

Thus, both he and his organization support the emergency action.

Near the other end of the striped bass’ migratory range, Steven Atkinson, president of the Virginia Saltwater Sportfishing Association, expressed similar views, saying that the current state of the striped bass, along with the high 2022 landings, created an

“either pay me now, or pay me more later”

situation, and that

“I always prefer the now option.  This fishery has been in decline for years, and it is time that they took bold action to save it.”

Stripers Forever, an organization focused on the health of the striped bass stock, deemed both the emergency measure and the Management Board’s decision to initiate the longer-term Addendum II to the management plan

“An enormous win for striped bass conservation,”

and went on to say,

“While we believe that there were many instances where board action could have been taken to avoid the need for such strong measures, we do commend the steps that were taken to get the stock back on track to recover by 2029.  There was enormous outreach by anglers, guides, captains, companies, and conservation organizations to take immediate action.  The board heard that call and acted upon it, we thank them for that.  Numerous board members openly stated that they had received comments from the public and in turn felt that they needed to act on them…”

Another group, the American Saltwater Guides Association (which, despite its name, also represents members of the fishing tackle industry and conservation-minded anglers) took a similar tack, praising the Management Board’s actions with respect to both the emergency measures and Addendum II, saying

“the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Striped Bass Board took two historic actions to conserve the prolific 2015-year class and to improve the probability of rebuilding the striped bass stock by 2029…Had the Board not acted today, the odds of rebuilding would have remained unacceptably low at around 11-15% due to the dramatic increase in recreational harvest in 2022.  While the road to striped bass recovery is still a long one, the Board’s strong conservation-minded action today can give the entire striped bass community hope that this stock will rebuild and that the Board can make the hard but necessary decisions to manage striped bass.”

While comments made by other organizations closely tied to the fishing industry were more measured, if still positive, it was difficult to find any angling-related organizations that clearly condemned the emergency action.

Instead, most of the complaints I have heard have come from individuals who are either afraid that the new rules might cause harm to their businesses, or complain that they represent a “loss of freedom” or impinge upon their non-existent “right” to kill and keep a striped bass.

Some deluded souls believe that the emergency action will face a court challenge, ignoring the fact that when every state but New Jersey approved the measure, they’re not likely to find an attorney general willing to take up their cause.  Finding a willing AG is important, since most—probably—of those discontented folks, while more than willing to loudly whine and complain, aren’t the kind who would willingly part with the many thousands of dollars needed to finance a challenge themselves.  Even if that weren’t the case, they’d still need to convince a court to ignore the precedent set in the 2010 case of New York v. Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a 2^nd Circuit decision that seems to place ASMFC’s management actions beyond the reach of judicial review.

The general tenor of the opposition can best be summed up in an article that appeared in The SandPaper, a publication originating in Long Beach Island/southern Ocean County, New Jersey, which ranted,

“POTENTIAL BAD-ASS BASS NEWS:  Yet another squeeze on our keeping of striped bass is taking place, this one coming as an ‘emergency rule’ taken by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission on behalf of its Striped Bass Board.

“Beginning very soon—positively by July 2—we can only keep bass falling within the miniscule slot range of 28 to (under) 31 inches, with a one-fish bag limit.

“The board members had voted (NJ being the only dissenting member) to implement the change.  Per a buddy close to the proceedings, “There was no advance warning, no public comment, no way to change or alter the plan.  It’s an emergency rule.’

“Technically, an emergency measure can run for only 180 days, but don’t bank on it being reversed by, say, the fall bassing season—though our noisy opposition to the rule could rattle some cages.  I’ll keep you posted on such strategic outcries.

“While this latest cutback of keeperage would not quite render the striped bass a catch-and-release-only species, it’s getting all too close, playing into the mindlessness of those anglers wanting a total unhook-and-release policy for that now neurotically beloved bass.

“I deeply question the science behind these draconian striped bass management actions, especially the numbers gleaned from the Chesapeake sites used to definitively establish young-of-year successes and failures.

“History will prove that the over-conservation of stripers marked doom for a slew of other gamefish species, the young of which bass (and fluke) down with relish.”

General contempt for the science, attacks on catch-and-release anglers, an insistence on killing fish and, worst of all, a complete failure to acknowledge the threats currently confronting the striped bass stock seems to be the hallmark of just about all of the comments critical of the emergency measures.

Fortunately, the Management Board respects both the science and the striped bass stakeholders, and understands that the bass are in trouble. 

The public, by and large, does as well.

Thus, the reaction to the emergency measures has, on the whole, been positive.  Hopefully, that will encourage the Management Board to continue to strive for timely rebuilding, and a healthy and abundant striped bass stock.