Omega harvests tons of menhaden (via Purse Seiners)
which otherwise would be eaten by rockfish or be left to breed.
So the Rockfish, instead, eat crabs.
THAT, IN A NUTSHELL is the problem.
EVERYBODY who has half a brain KNOWS IT.
I'm glad I won't be mating this year. Too much non sense. Offshore it is until the macs and blues show up.
FYI the path chosen was reported to be OPPOSITE of what the department recommended. The governor's office picks which plan to use. Keep that in mind while you are breaking regulations this year.. Once again in typical fashion the Maryland Department of Natural Resources has put Revenue over saving a resource. The commission has the authority to order the state of Maryland to rewrite its regulations based on the statistical findings and the regulations in other states. I for one will not comply. If they allow Charter captains to keep two per person per day then this Captain will also be keeping two per person per day.
Menhaden, the most important fish in the sea.
I never understood why they allow fish that are undersized/underage to breed be taken. If they don't breed until they are 32" (I don't recall the exact spawning size) why are 18" fish allowed to be kept.
I believe they are more concerned with money than the resource.
AMEN! If our elected morons would fix the root cause of the problem, we would not have to live with ineffectual measures that will never solve the problem. Shutting down Omega-A will quickly restore both the Rock and Blues in the Bay. I'll bet the crab population will also explode.
One thing we can do as individuals is to always use circle hooks. The last time I was out I saw dozens of floaters from charters and others. It was sad and pathetic. Whenever I hear someone bitching about circle hooks it always surprises me. Been using them for years in FL and MD and have become more productive and certainly less lethal on release.
By your logic, then a 17" fish is the same age as a 16" fish, and so on down the line. So the line has to be drawn somewhere.One thing that has always bugged me is the summer "anything over 18"" rule.
An 18" fish is the same age as a 16"-17" fish, is it not? We are killing the genetically superior stock while allowing the inferior of the species to go on.
I'd love to see a slot limit that allows the smaller, say 16"-17", be kept, and the 18"-21" fish released. I'm aware of the release-mortality rates, but I think that can be lowered(circle hooks and rubber coated 'basket' type nets, etc). As it stands now, we're killing the 'stronger' fish and releasing the 'weaker' ones.
By your logic, then a 17" fish is the same age as a 16" fish, and so on down the line. So the line has to be drawn somewhere.
I think you missed my point.
What's better? 36" stripers or 40" stripers?
I didn't miss it, I'm merely pointing out that wherever you draw the line for keeper vs non-keeper fish, there will be the same year-class fish that are larger and smaller than that. So it doesn't matter if the cut off is 18" or 28", there will be fish of the same recruitment class that are stronger and weaker.
Well for now, we're killing all the larger fish and leaving all the runts for the future, genetically speaking. That was my point.
The Maryland DNR has just posted three options for the summer fishery and we need recreational anglers to give input NOW! Anglers, during the last comment period the DNR received a few hundred emails. That’s it. The recreational angling community quite frankly fell down on the public comment job and far too few people took the time to let their voices be heard. Thus, the spring catch and release fishing is closed.
dnr fisheries comment period open
Make your voices heard, recreational anglers!
Now, the DNR has opened up the public comment period for the summer/fall fishery. They are giving us three options:
Option Number One (which the ASMFC has recommended) lets recreational and charter boat anglers keep one fish per day at 18-inches from May 16 through December 15.
Option Number Two lets recreational anglers keep one fish per day at 19-inches with the season ending December 10, with a two-week closure from August 16 through August 31, but allows charter boats to keep two fish per day.
Option Number Three is essentially the same as Option Two, but additionally allows for some changes in when the two-week closure takes place (at some point between July 16 and August 31).
Remember: commercial interests are taking a 1.8-percent reduction in quota this year, while recreationals are being hit with a reduction of over 20-percent. Evidently that wasn’t good enough—now recreational anglers will also have to give up two weeks of prime summer fishing, this time so that the charter fleet can keep two fish a day as opposed to one.
Despite talk of “reducing discard mortality” and “expanding protection” do not think for one moment that any of this is being proposed for the good of the fishery. Cutting off April preseason catch-and-release fishing to “save” thousands of fish—the figure used was 10,000 C & R fish per day—that never would have been caught (much less died) buried that argument six feet under. No, options two and three exist for only one reason: so that charter boats can catch two fish per person per day, while recreational boats get one fish, the summer closure, and an earlier end to the season. The total estimated number of stripers being removed from the Bay is calculated to be approximately equal among these options.
For this reason, we believe that recreational anglers should give their public comment in favor of Option One. We also believe that each and every recreational angler should include in their comments a request for the state to immediately take action to scientifically determine seasonal catch and release mortality, so that in the future these decisions can be supported with data. When this issue arose with cod, it took a single study—utilizing modern technology and costing only $200,000—to get solid science on all the variables and factors affecting release mortality, and establish actual death rates for released fish. It is utterly shameful that we don’t have this sort of data for striped bass and instead have been using demonstrably unscientific, partial, and dated studies in the management of this fishery.
According to the latest data from Southwick and Associates, in the state of Maryland recreational striped bass fishing accounts for 5.5 times the number of jobs and 12.4 times more wages than commercial striped bass fishing, and it generates 14.6 times more GDP. Ninety-seven percent of the economic value of this fishery is generated by the recreational sector. Yet we recs have virtually zero say in what happens. If you read this far, please click the link above and make your comment right now.