The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) would like to know your opinions on potential striped bass regulations for 2020. A recent assessment of the Atlantic Striped Bass population by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) concluded that striped bass are "overfished" (there are not enough adult fish in the population), and that "overfishing" is occurring (fishing activity is removing too many striped bass from the population every year). In response, ASMFC is requiring states to implement new fishing regulations in 2020 that will reduce striped bass harvest.
ASMFC will hold a public hearing in Connecticut sometime during August-September 2019 to obtain formal public comment on striped bass regulations. Your participation in the ASMFC public comment process is very important, so please stay tuned for additional information on that hearing. In the meantime, DEEP would like to engage with you now to better understand your opinions and interests.
Your participation in this survey is entirely voluntary and anonymous. If you choose to participate, please complete this survey by Monday July 15th, 2019. Thank you for your participation!
STRIPMINER Moderator
Registered: 07/01/04
Posts: 2031
I took it too,, good stuff. I hope they clamp down and bring back this ailing fishery. Great example of how a fishery can be affected by recreational impact only.
deep callin
Member
Registered: 06/18/05
Posts: 2690
I think poaching in the rivers all year has to make a dent.. and I know of guys that target the holdover holes and take many fish to sell to the local fish market all winter.
Ditto on the illegal trade of short and overbagged stripers. I mentioned it on my survey, unfortunately the problem lies in the court systems who treat these offenses as unimportant and trivial as they have going back for years. Like the last case of over a dozen short stripers being filleted in broad daylight in a housing project in Danbury. Fortunately, a police officer with a fishing background(who I believe is a site member) nabbed the poacher. He had a previous court appearance for the same offense only a year or so before and had bragged about what a joke the gringo courts are. I have been told he plans are to start up again...Why not????
JohnS
Life Time Member
Registered: 01/19/02
Posts: 12669
Loc: Wallingford/Florida
Originally Posted By: CWood Man
Isn't the main issue commercial and not recreational?
I remember seeing a video somebody posted and all the bycatch dead schoolie stripers that were tossed over was pretty sickening. That was from a commercial dragger. Not to say recreational legal harvest or poaching doesn’t impact the fishery. I really think nets do some major damage. Complete waste of dead fish that it appeared to have to dump legally overboard as it was not the target species.
Don P
Member
Registered: 05/03/07
Posts: 19032
Loc: CLINTON, CT
Originally Posted By: JohnS
Originally Posted By: CWood Man
Isn't the main issue commercial and not recreational?
I remember seeing a video somebody posted and all the bycatch dead schoolie stripers that were tossed over was pretty sickening. That was from a commercial dragger. Not to say recreational legal harvest or poaching doesn’t impact the fishery. I really think nets do some major damage. Complete waste of dead fish that it appeared to have to dump legally overboard as it was not the target species.
YES...Commercial guys need to make a living, but there are better ways to make that happen.
Posted from the same survey thread Mitch started:
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Registered: May 03, 2007 Posts: 9633 Personally........I understand CT doesn’t have a Commercial Striper industry. Of course Stripers are harvested in CT for Commercial purpose/market....such is life. This isn’t a CT boundary issue like freshwater ponds and lakes. I am not against Commercial Fishing....it just needs to be more ethical, fair, sustainable, etc...
CT DEEP and all fisheries “management/mis-management” across all ocean states need to push for Federal Regs on ALL Commercial Fishing and their effects on ALL species including by-catch, forage fish like menhaden, etc....
Commercial Long Line and Netters can’t fully control what species they catch. Many can’t release non-targeted species. These indiscrimate fish killing methods should be alotted a tonnage of “FISH/BIOMASS” harvested, and not an allotment of tonnage for just the target species. All fish/biomass caught goes against their overall allotment.
That will make the Commercial industry become more effective catchers of their targeted species, avoid by-catch and kill and dump, and/or find ways to make money from All of their bycatch....vs just throwing away dead by-catch with no consequence to their alottment and money bottom line. That would also help force better methods and technology to better target their target species....and Fisheries Management need to assign more sustainable alottments.
Of course they would need to be effectively enforced to their “Fish/Biomass” allotment. =Have digital scales on their hauling gear that sends their “Fish/Biomass” weight of their catch to satellite system that goes to the Federal management database
=Have a Federal Agent/Accountant/Data Collector on each commercial vessel...of course they can be bought off, bribed, etc...
I am curious how/why menhaden boats are allowed to catch millions/billions of pounds of menhaden every day and how Federal Fisheries Management finds that sustainable, and not negative to the overall fishery.
Overall.....There HAS to be a better way to manage our fisheries at a Federal and Global level for fish species that migrate across state and country water boundaries.
Sure, we all play our part, but COMMERCIAL fisheries catch, kill, discard wayyyyyyyyyy more fish and aquatic biomass than Recreational rod and reel fishermen.
Politics & Money.....Commercial Fishing has more money, are better organized, have more lobbyists, etc....than Recreational fishermen.
None of this is an “Easy” fix, but it needs fixing....or at least progress towards fixing, and it’s NOT fixing at the Recreational Fishermen side of the house, but YES we can all do better as Recreational fishermen on managing our small part.
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