STRIPED BASS
COMMITTEE REPORT
By Mike Burke
(from Jersey Coast Anglers
Association - July
1997 Newspaper)
For New Jersey, striped bass management began with a bag limit of 10 fish at 18". In the early eighties, the ASMFC took control of striped bass management and imposed a 5 fish at 24" limit. Thereafter, it was determined that more serious action was needed and this fishery came very close to being shutdown. New Jersey anglers adjusted well to the new regulations and in many cases anglers self-imposed even more stringent limits on themselves. Since then, the bass stock has been recovering and more lenient regulations have been imposed. The current limit of 2 fish at 28" was greatly deserved and welcomed.
Along the striped bass recovery, the disbursement of the harvestable yield has been twisted. If the stock is (as stated by the ASMFC scientists) at a point where it can support commercial harvest increases (like the one granted this past January), why are we only receiving 2 fish at 28" ? Should not our bag limit be increased proportionately to those of the commercial sector? Should our bag limit be considerably closer to our historical limit (10 fish at 18") before commercial limits are raised beyond their historical limits?
Current fishery management principles seem to consist of three elements.
- Determine the largest possible harvestable yield.
- Allocate the recreational sector just enough to shut them up.
- Allocate the balance to the commercial sector.
Operating under this kind of management, every fish we conserve this year just goes to increase the harvestable yield for the next and in turn is re-allocated to the commercial sector. For years this committee's policy has been to conserve as many fish as possible. Given today's stock condition and fishery management principals, I think it's time to start fighting for our fare share of the harvestable yield.