Pacemaker Fishing Forum

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will decide whether to increase the commercial quota for striped bass (rockfish) at their November meeting in Charleston, SC November 7-11. 

CCA Virginia believes that an increase in the commercial quota is inappropriate in light of the declining coastal population of striped bass.

Commissioners will be voting on Addendum II to Amendment 6. We favor Option 1 which leaves the present commercial quota in place.

Members and others are encouraged to express their concern by writing or e-mailling the ASMFC. Comments regarding an increase in the commercial quota for striped bass must be received by 5pm Friday October 1.

Background information is provided below.


Mail:

Nichola Meserve
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 'Eye' Street, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

E-Mail- nmeserve@asmfc.org

Fax- (202) 289-6051

Phone- (202) 289-6400


Sample Letter

Nichola Meserve

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
1444 'Eye' Street, NW, 6th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20005

I am opposed to increasing the coastal commercial harvest quota for striped bass, and request that the ASMFC adopt Option I for Addendum II, Amendment 6 which would leave the present coastal commercial harvest quotas unchanged.

I understand that the coastal striped bass population is declining. Accordingly, additional harvest is not warranted.

Your Name

Your Address

Your Phone Number

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Background Information

Many of our members tell us they are not encountering striped bass in the same numbers as they did in recent years.  This is not just anecdotal evidence - the facts bear this observation out. The recreational catch has declined over 60% in the last three years. Clearly, the striped bass population is in a state of decline. 

The Atlantic Striped Bass Technical Committee (TC) noted, at its meeting on March 24 that the abundance of age 8+ fish will decline at least through 2015. 

We believe that the recreational catch, when viewed on a coastwide basis, serves as a proxy for striped bass abundance.  Since such catch has now declined to mid-1990 levels, we believe there is cause for significant concern. 

The number of trips taken by shore and private boat fishermen in state waters has declined, but far less than has the catch of striped bass.  This further supports our belief that the cause of the decline in recreational striped bass catch is driven by a decline in the underlying stock and not declining effort. We believe the ASMFC should be more precautionary with striped bass management in light of the observed decline in abundance, not less.   

Disease -  Mycobacteria has been found in more than 60% of the striped bass sampled in the Chesapeake Bay and we believe the disease represents a serious threat to the recruitment of striped bass from the Bay to the coastal population.  The majority of fish that populate the northern and southern end of the range come from the Chesapeake Bay.  These are the areas that are experiencing declines in recreational encounters.  Until the effect of the current Mycobacterium infection on the Chesapeake Bay stock of striped bass is determined, we believe the ASMFC should proceed cautiously with management measures.

Economic -  An economic analysis conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in 2000 compared the value of the recreational striped bass fishery in Virginia to the value of the commercial striped bass fishery.  Their conclusion was that the greatest benefit to the state would be to allocate 100 percent of the striped bass harvest to the recreational fishery.  The commercial fishery would have to sell their catch for more than $20 per pound to equal the value of the recreational fishery.  While this particular analysis is for Virginia, we believe it is the best available economic data and broadly applicable to the entire fishery until further economic analyses are conducted in other areas.   

Addendum II is lowering the economic value of the fishery by shifting allocation to the commercial fishery and away from the recreational sector.

The proposed increase of the coastal commercial harvest is in fact an allocation shift by the ASMFC.  Since the coastal population is managed by an overall F target, which includes commercial harvest and discards, any increase in commercial mortality means less mortality available to the recreational fishery.  In times of abundance, this effect is small, but in a declining stock the allocation shift would be more evident.       

Furthermore, there are essential differences between the recreational and commercial fisheries.  The commercial fishery is reliant on managing for maximum sustainable yield, and thus harvest.  MSY management by definition means reducing a stock to less than half its virgin biomass to maximize yield per recruit.  The recreational fishery is reliant upon abundance and a representative age structure to maximize the encounter rate.  The recreational fishery is not so dependent on harvest, with the number of fish caught and released usually far outnumbering those killed.  We believe striped bass, one of the more sought after and prized species on the Atlantic coast, would be better served by decreasing overall fishing mortality to restore abundance and further improve the age structure of the population.   

Conclusion - We believe that this is a time of uncertainty, when juvenile abundance indices are indicating lower levels of spawning success and both disease and illegal harvest pose yet unquantified threats to the population.  Under such circumstances, the ASMFC Striped Bass Management Board should be taking a precautionary approach to management, perhaps considering alternatives for decreasing mortality by all sectors, and certainly not increasing harvest.  Striped bass are the ASMFC's crown jewel for management success.  We believe Addendum II is potentially a serious threat to that success and should not be adopted.