What's Next For Tautog?

[Savvy18]

I don't know about you folks, but for me (and the guys I fish with) the last 3 years of tautog fishing have been VERY challenging...To say the least!

The most perplexing thing is that there seems to be no explanation for it. I can only speak for the areas that I fish, which cover from the Verrazano Bridge all the way to the Jersey Reef, 17 Fathoms & around that vicinity. We cover depths from 14 feet to 125 feet and everything in between. Traditionally, our tog seasons have been very successful with both quantity and quality of fish. The last great season being 2015, where we saw excellent numbers of keeper fish and an even better ratio of 10+ fish. In December of 2015 we had a day that saw (4) guys catch and release (6) blackfish over 10 pounds on three different pieces of bottom. And that doesn't count the MONSTERS that broke us off...(I personally had 2 kick my ass that day ). You don't see days like that too often. Never had seen that before in 30+ years of fishing for tog.

In the last three seasons we have steadily seen the decline of both our keeper ratios and the 10+ fish are practically non-existent. Dozens of pieces all proving to be less productive the last three years than in any year prior to 2015. Some drops we've fished for 25 years, some we discovered more recently. Low lying pieces and some that come up like the Empire State Building. Reefs and secluded bottom as well. All drying up more and more - year after year.

So. what happened? Did we lose our touch as anglers or is it time to find out what is causing this phenomenon?

Look forward to hearing from you guys because this this topic is near and dear to my heart. Without tautog fishing, I'm done fishing in this state!

 

[george]

A lot was done with blackfish in 2018 imcludimg the crazy north and south shore separate regulations. I went to one of those hearings and besides myself there was only 1 recreational angler present there. He spoke well and did his best and represented a FB group. But the meeting was nothing short of a disgrace. The rep from asmfc was a young girl. Maybe in her 20’s. Many fisherman screamed and yelled at her like she was the one that overfished them. It was both sad and embarrassed. Admintimgly I had been missing from those hearings for a while, and I was reminding quickly why I stoped going. I mostly send letters now.

The bottom line is that the work that has been down will need some time to take effect. I think there’s hope for the fish as all commercially caught fish need to have tags, similar to striped bass. Rec anglers we’re slowly pushed out as the commercial price increased. Until the 2000’s rec anglers had a 365 day season and a 10-fish bag. We’re now down to like 45 days with 3 fish in the sound and 4 fish on the south shore. That pretty much says it all

Traditionally blackfish were left alone and tough to catch with anything other then hook and line. Now we have such a proliferation of pots, that not one of our sate agencies can tell us how many there are, where they’re set, and who has them? I was at the table when the language was written to regulated today about 15-years ago as we realized then something needed to be done. In an effort to work together we sat down with the only group that was keeping blackfish at the time, the local lobsterman. They asked for an exception to keep their traditional bycatch the ended up in their lobster pots. We felt it was on;y fair at the time and allowed it. So now with the lobsters gone tog have seen increased pressure from pots.

I targeted tog mostly in the west sound beginning in the late 70’s early 80’s. We would take an aluminum boat to the back side of Pea Island in the Western Sound and anywhere you dropped the hook, you caught fish. I can remember telling my fishing buddy, Steve, to enjoy it as it was only a matter of time before they were in trouble. And here we are.

The recent recent regulations established by asmfc have a chance at bringing that fishery back. If not they will have to look elsewhere as rec anglers are accounting for less and less and there isn’t much more that they can take from us.

As a recreational angler, I firmly believe we need to regroup in this state. Let the party and charter boats know that we are on their side, And we get back to what worked in the past, meeting with legislators and reminding them who has the power of the vote. I know it will work, it’s just a matter of finding some new blood that is willing to do what it takes to get things done.

When I started the bunker bill movement I was told it could never happen, that the state had tried in the past and lost in court while trying to eliminate the reduction boats. Well we pressed for years and finally got it passed. And I think we can all agree that our bunker population is healthy enough now to support our waters.

Hopefully the recent changes made by asmfc will be enough to bring back our tog, but we should be working in the background right now putting together a strategy to remind our managers that WE are over 1-million strong and we’re tired of sitting back and watching our fisheries go down the tube.

I guess these things are on my mind more than I would care to admit and it’s time for us to regroup before we loose it all.

 

[Savvy18]

I fear for the state of our tautog fishery for one specific reason. They have too much value in the live-fish market and too many guys are "particularly earnest" in their pursuit of this fish.

25 years ago, before all these advancements in technology, I don't think it would be a major issue. Today, different story. Any goofball with decent electronics can find and get on pieces. Too many guys are taking the "recreational" part out of recreational fishing.

 

[george]

It’s always like that. Look at Bluefin, fewer fish means more per pound which means trying for more fish. If striped bass couldn’t be sold there would be plenty around. A decent market for bluefish developed a few years ago and we are now seeing the effects of it. I can remember when you needed a 20-Poumd blue to even finish in the big money LIS bluefish Tourney. I don’t think they weighed a 20 in like 10-years now.

When tog we’re worthless on the market they were everywhere. Now that they’re getting good money for them they’re scarce. I’m not as concerned about the hook and line guys. it’s those damn pots. We have 10’s of thousands of them set in the LIS and they catchnd kill fish all year round.

Hopefully the new tag system will force all potters to register. I think they should be taxed on every pot they set.

 

[Roccus7]

If I'm reading minds correctly here, our best bet to control potting would be through NYDEC layering that tagging requirement over ASFM rules. Since blacks are non-migratory this would work to our advantage and we wouldn't have to fight other states

 

[BennyV]

All very good points.

In my opinion I’ve seen how the fish pot issue started the decline in the fishery when the lobsters disappeared in the Western LIS. You had literally every lobsterman switching gear over to make up for the shortfall in their income. Unfortunately tog, whelk, sea bass, bunker, etc....all became casualties of the lobster die-off.

I remember working on this Riptide when I was 13 watching monster blackfish after monster blackfish get pulled up off the airplane wreck. These days I work some trips where we are lucky to have a handful of keepers being caught. Tons of shorts. Just not many keepers.

I wish the folks that are regulating our species spent more time working with the local party boats. The amount of data that could be amassed by some sort of logging system through a smartphone would be the best data that they would have available. It would also be there in real time. I’m sure the guys and gals that make their living on the water would be more then willing to report this data. I can’t speak for them but I’m getting pretty damned tired of porgies.

 

[george]

If I'm reading minds correctly here, our best bet to control potting would be through NYDEC layering that tagging requirement over ASFM rules. Since blacks are non-migratory this would work to our advantage and we wouldn't have to fight other states

I fully agree. Over 15 years ago we were assured pots targeting tog would be counted and registered similar to how lobster pots are. Until this day no one has any clue now many there are - I’ve heard estimates in the 10’s of thousands - it’s we know the exact number. . Think of the number of those pots that were lost that kill tog year round.

Also we have a 25 fish possession limit for commercials, why allow them that many pots? So we reduce the recs to 10% of our traditional catch now a 45 day season with separate bag limits on both the north and south shores. ( a scary precedent for future management) They stopped us from fishing the spawn in the spring. And speaking for myself i never kept a tog ready to spawn, and anyone fishing my boat had to release them. Yet pots are now set year round. The asmfc has taken a good first step. NY must now regulate pots so we can get a real number on what they’re taking. If DEC doesn’t do it soon then we take it out of their hands and have it legislated and take DEC out of the decision process. When we were doing the tog bill we have now, the commercials wanted the 25 bag a regulation that could be adjusted by DEC, but that was the one piece we held strong on and it’s a good thing we did. With the amount of pressure coming from the coms, there’s no doubt it would have been increased. It comes up at every hearing.

A lot has changed since the first bill was written that have had a devastating impact on the fishery with the single largest factor being the collapse of the lobster fishery. I have already made strides in getting legislators to listen, so if DEC doesn’t do it, we will do it legislatively and finally get a real hold on this fishery.

The current situation has forced charter and party boat captains that would much rather be fishing, to get into the potting business. I don’t blame them, and I know they’d rather not have to do it, but why should they sit by while others are making money on the fishery they grew up on.

Fisheries managent is much more complicated then it needs to be. It takes common sense out if the equation and replaces it with politicaly correct guessing that almost never works.

It’s time that New York recreational anglers take back center stage in fisheries management before it’s too late.

George