Anyone who watches “Law and Order” knows you need a body to close a murder conviction. I guess fisheries managers have never seen “Law and Order.” The latest fish management conundrum convicts anglers of murder without a single floating fish.
The Case
In many fisheries, regulations require anglers to release most of the fish they catch. “If we catch 40 striped bass, I’m lucky if I get two keepers,” explains Capt. John McMurray of NYCtuna.com. So, McMurray releases the remaining 38 fish.
That’s how fishing regulations work: Reduce the number of harvested fish to protect the population. But recent trends have flipped the script.
According to a 30-year-old study, 9 percent of striped bass die after release. In McMurray’s example, four of the 38 fish he released bit the dust. When that number is multiplied by the crowd of boats catching and releasing striped bass on a Saturday morning, the number of fish estimated to die after release exceeds the number of bass harvested for the plate.
“Realizing that post-release mortality accounts for a large portion of total mortality has changed my perspective,” McMurray says.
The Plot Thickens
Fisheries management is a many-headed hydra, and post-release mortality (PRM) is a growing concern for anglers and managers. Over the past year, striper anglers faced a 12 percent reduction in total allowable catch. Instead of changing regulations to reduce harvest and PRM, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission decided to maintain the status quo and create a Striped Bass Working Group to study the matter. One of the big challenges is reducing PRM.
Mike Waine, Atlantic Fisheries Policy Director at the American Sportfishing Association expects PRM to be at the top of the list for the working group. “I think one of the biggest tasks for them is updating the FMP’s (Fishery Management Plan) goals, objectives and management strategies given seven consecutive years of poor recruitment and a clear unwillingness to implement regulatory approaches that would reduce effort to address dead discards,” Waine says. Could this mean an impending moratorium or closures for striped bass?
Precedent Set
For a preview of PRM’s affect on regulations, look to Maryland, which recently changed the striped bass season to address high PRM resulting from warm water. Instead of a striped bass closure during April spawning season and a July closure to address high water temperatures, the season now implements a closure for the month of August.
Allison Colden, Ph.D, Maryland executive director at Chesapeake Bay Foundation, supported the change. Her first concern was simplifying the state’s striped bass season. “How can we make it easier for anglers to understand when and where they can catch striped bass?” In order for regulations to work, she points out, anglers have to follow the rules.
The second benefit is banning catch-and-release fishing during summer when, according to Maryland’s own research, 30 to 40 percent of striped bass die after release. “When post-release mortality is the issue, there is no other way to get there than a ‘no-target’ closure,” Colden says.
Deliberations
Understandably, closures get the attention of every striped bass angling group. “When ASMFC is telling us to stop fishing altogether, everyone will have lost. It’s simply not what we want to see in the biggest fishery on the east coast,” Waine warns.
Numbers are a big part of the equation. Fisheries managers base the 9 percent PRM estimate on a 30-year-old study. To determine the number of fish dying after release, scientists filled a pond with striped bass, caught and released fish, drained the pond and counted the survivors.
More recent studies use acoustic tags to estimate the number of fish dying after release. Scientists plant sound receivers in an area, attach a radio tag to the fish, release the fish and listen for the fish to pass the receiver. One acoustic study determined only 4 1/2 percent of striped bass die after release, half the current estimate.
Angler observation throws a wrench into the science. McMurray’s primary concern is low recruitment. “You can see the effects on the water. There are no small fish; we are only catching big fish, and many fish have mouth scars. I can tell they have been caught before,” he says, “I’m experiencing an existential crisis: A no-target closure would kill me, but I can’t argue that it’s unfair.”
Read Next: Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass in Peril
Chesapeake Bay light-tackle guide Capt. Kevin Josenhans would rather see equipment restrictions instead of total closure. “Artificial lures and barbless hooks would be easier to enforce than a no-target closure,” he says. He predicts a catch-and-release only fishery would discourage many anglers from targeting striped bass. “A lot of guys aren’t going to fish for striped bass if they can’t keep one,” he says.
PRM is just another Jenga block in the towering fisheries management challenge. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is facing a 2029 deadline to meet striped bass population goals. The next population report is due in 2027. The Striped Bass Working Group report follows. As it stands, ASMFC estimates there is only a 50 percent chance the striper population will meet the rebuilding goals. PRM and harvest numbers pale compared to seven years of low reproduction for striped bass in Chesapeake Bay. With PRM and harvest, striper mortality is at a historic low as a result of strict fishing regulations. Anglers are doing their part. The rest of the recovery is up to the fish.
