October 31, 2014 — The fishing panel that regulates striped bass has voted to cut catches next year by 25 percent and is pushing states to allow just one fish a day at 28 inches.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a compact of East Coast states including New Jersey, also left wiggle room for states to allow two fish per day at larger sizes.
The ASMFC, at a meeting Wednesday in Connecticut, voted 14-2 for an option that allows one fish per day at a minimum size of 28 inches. That would bring a 31 percent reduction in catches next year.
New Jersey, which currently allows two fish per day at 28 inches, and Delaware were the only states to vote against it.
But the ASMFC will also allow states to use a program known as “conservation equivalency” to keep the harvest cutback equal to or greater than a 25 percent reduction. Conservation equivalency, a system also used with summer flounder, allows each state to use a combination of bag limits, seasons and minimum fish size as long as it meets the specified reduction.
Adam Nowalsky, New Jersey’s legislative representative on the ASMFC, pushed for conservation equivalency and it passed in a 16-0 vote.
Barnegat Light party boat captain Eddie Yates, returning from a sea bass fishing trip Thursday, was happy there is some flexibility.
Yates said it could allow what is known as a slot limit, perhaps one striper at 28 to 35 inches and one at a 36-inch minimum. New Jersey could also tweak its season, which already bans back-bay striper fishing in the winter.
“My business can’t survive with one fish a day. We’re barely getting by with two fish a day. I’m glad they left it with a conservation equivalency and we can pick our own poison,” Yates said.
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