ASMFC Striped Bass Board played us as deftly as Yo-Yo Ma plays his Stradivarius Cello

[Roccus7]

The more I consider ASMFC's decision not to do anything regarding striped bass conservation, the more I realize that this was inevitable; certain Board Members played us! By asking the TC to come up with multiple, ridiculous analyses in the short time between the October and December meetings, those Board Member pushing these options knew damn well that this diversionary tactic would guarantee that nothing could be done for the 2025 season.

Look at the facts:

• Nobody is arguing that SSB's relationship with YOY success in the Chesapeake is tenuous at best, BUT can't deny that a robust SSB with a good distribution from multiple year classes won't hurt YOY results. Trying to prop up the SSB so the Amendment 7 2029 target is reached is the only thing that ASMFC is authorized and required to do. However, just the fact that restoring the SSB to target may not do anything for YOY gives folks enough leverage to say, "Why do anything, even if the SSB recovers the YOY classes make continue to be abysmal."
• Recreational No Targeting Closures - The majority of members of all sectors of the Recreational Fishing Community would never be in favor to these in any form...
  • For guides, 6-packs and Party Boats, it's lost business, and with this group, it's a unanimous NFW!! Don't start with the "Target Other Fish", because that doesn't work for long stretches of the coast.
  • For many recreational fishermen, including myself, the loss of significant portions of their favorite pastime is a non-starter. Once again "Target Other Fish" is a lost cause for a significant portion of the coast. Some recreational fishermen may agree to this, but I'd bet a majority would not.
  • And to put another nail in the No Targeting Closures Coffin - ECOs have consistently stated the enforcement would be "very difficult", which by the way, is Japanese for NFW!!
• Recreational No Harvest Closures - In any form, timed closures up to no retention at all, could fly, but probably split the For Hire and Recreational votes. We know which group holds far more sway with ASFMC, so could be a moot point.
  • Many For Hire business would scream bloody murder about lost business once again, but if it was a limited wave-specified closure it might be palatable for enough For Hires to stomach.
  • Regarding Recreational Fisherman, many would be unhappy, but some, including myself, who see the importance of conservation now, would agree to some form of this.
• The totally ridiculous, unrealistic and disingenuous analysis by statisticians for a slot lowering to protect the 2018 class, something that might have been a viable option, ended up being declared not viable, not because it wasn't but because it was not properly modeled and analyzed due to statistical incompetence. This was the icing on the Can Kickers' Cake, the final nail in the coffin of 2025 conservation.

No, I didn't touch at all on the issue of Commercial Fishing. Why? Simply a complete commercial shut down wouldn't make equate to the desired 14% reduction. The Commercial groups sit back and find the infighting between For Hire Recs and straight Recs hilarious because they know until the Rec Sector is unified, they are protected from any potential damage.

So what should the Board do? They should NOT ask the TC to come up with another "1 from Column A and 2 from Column B" multi variable and options exercise. They should give the TC no more than 3 options, although 2 would be better which are based around Harvest closures, since this seems to be the least detestable to the entire recreational sector, the biggest source of striped bass mortality. The TC should totally analyze the different proposal to see if they would get the necessary reductions for at least a 50% chance of restoring the SSB to the 2029 target outlined in Amendment 7.

 

[george]

You’ve certainly shared a lot of thoughts here, some of which I agree with and some I don’t. It’s always interesting to see the perspective from the "scientists'” side.

That said, are we really supposed to believe that stopping recreational anglers from catch-and-release fishing is going to save striped bass? Take a moment to think about that. This approach seems to ignore the 4 million pounds of fish being taken by gill nets and draggers. Is the real issue anglers using circle hooks and diamond jigs?

To be clear, I’m not blaming the commercial fishery, nor do I believe that striped bass are in as much trouble as some suggest. My point is that this reasoning just doesn’t add up, and it certainly doesn’t feel fair.

I’ve repeatedly argued that the catch-and-release mortality numbers are clearly flawed. Does anyone seriously disagree? Even if you rely on a decades-old study, shouldn’t we at least factor in the 4.5% reduction credited to the adoption of circle hooks? When you do, it’s clear that recreational anglers are not the villains here. Yet, despite this, the ASMFC has consistently refused to even acknowledge these facts.

I have no confidence in this plan. It’s riddled with politics and unfairly stacked against the recreational angler.