Saving Seafood

Warming oceans: fish on the move

August 17, 2017 — The oceans are getting warmer, and fish are adapting to rising ocean temperatures with their fins and swimming to waters that better suit their temperature preferences. Shifts in the distribution of important coastal fish species are resulting in changes to historical fishing options, new fishing opportunities and new fisheries management challenges.

There are many examples of the distributions of fish species changing in response to the warming oceans, but let’s focus on a few species important to Delaware both past and present. Winter flounder were popular recreational fish decades ago, but they have largely left Delaware waters that are now too warm. Summer flounder and black sea bass remain two of the most sought-after recreational fish in Delaware, but their distribution is gradually shifting northward, with fewer fish available in Delaware waters.

While flounder and black sea bass are examples of changing fish distributions that have decreased fishing opportunities in Delaware, other species seem to be more available in Delaware due to the warming ocean, such as cobia and blueline tilefish, with other southern species likely to become more common in Delaware as our waters continue to warm.

Changing temperatures, changing fish

Winter flounder were a popular, cool weather catch for Delaware’s recreational anglers during the 1960s and 1970s. Delaware was at the southern range of winter flounder distribution and their departure from Delaware waters began soon after those peak years. The number of winter flounder caught during December in Delaware’s Inland Bays by the Division of Fish and Wildlife’s trawl survey declined by more than 90 percent between 1966 and 1981.

Adult winter flounder had virtually disappeared from the trawl survey catches by the early 1990s, with a similar and notable reduction in recreational angler catches. Winter flounder have suffered a steep population decline over the past 20 years and the current winter flounder distribution suggests that this species is still moving north to stay in its preferred temperature range, making it unlikely that they will return to Delaware.

Read the full story from Outdoor Delaware at the Delaware State News

In the Mid-Atlantic, nobody fishes more than New Jersey

June 9, 2017 — New Jersey is the leader in the Mid-Atlantic region when it comes to saltwater recreational fishing, according to the findings of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report.

No fishermen take more trips, buy more fishing tackle or work in the industry more than fishermen do in the Garden State.

The Mid-Atlantic States in the report include Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

The report, titled Fisheries Economics of the U.S., 2015, was released in May.

Based on the report’s 2015 numbers, New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry generated the most jobs 16,100 jobs, sales at $1.8 million and took the most fishing trips at 4.3 million.

New York was next with 7,800 jobs, $874 million in sales and 3.2 million trips.

Nationally, New Jersey’s saltwater recreational fishing industry ranked 3rd in jobs created behind Florida and California, 4th in sales behind Florida, California and Texas and 3rd in trips taken behind Florida and North Carolina.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

NEW JERSEY: ‘Perfect Storm’ ship sunk, becomes part of artificial reef

May 12, 2017 — The ship made famous in the book and subsequent film “The Perfect Storm” has been intentionally sunk off the New Jersey and Delaware coasts so it can become part of an artificial reef.

The sinking of the Tamaroa, a 205-foot Coast Guard vessel, took place Wednesday morning. The sinking initially was scheduled to occur several months ago, but was repeatedly delayed by rough seas and other related issues.

The vessel was sent down about 33 nautical miles (61 kilometers) off the coast of Cape May, New Jersey. It was deployed in water more than 120 feet (36.5 meters) deep after patches were removed from holes that were pre-cut into its hull, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.

The pre-cut holes were part of the extensive work that had to be done before the ship could be sunk, including the removal of interior paneling and insulation as well as emptying and cleaning the vessel of all fuel and fluids.

The ship turned on its side as it slowly went down in the calm water, then turned straight up as the bulk of the vessel went under water. It then disappeared from view as a person on board a neighboring vessel thanked the Tamaroa for its long service.

A tugboat had started hauling the Tamaroa from a Norfolk, Virginia, shipyard on Monday afternoon and it slowly made its way up the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday without any issues.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Daily Times 

Delaware River’s American shad population showing signs of rebound

May 4, 2017 — After years of declining American shad runs on the Delaware River, it looks like things may be trending in the right direction for the anadromous fish that makes its way up the river each spring to spawn. For the past few years, anglers have reported solid runs of the popular sportfish, with this year’s run being described as the best in decades.

“I’m here in the boat and I just had a double on while the phone was ringing,” said “Shad Pappy” George Magaro, explaining why he couldn’t immediately grab the phone when contacted. “This year has been fabulous.”

For Magaro, considered by many to be a legend among shad anglers, there are few days, if ever, he goes without latching onto at least a few shad. This year, however, his catches have been off the charts as he hauled in 191 fish in six outings, an average of 32 per trip.

“There are guys who’ve caught 150 in a day,” Magaro said. “The way the shad have been running this year, it’s like déjà vu from the late 1980s and early ’90s. The fish are here in good numbers.”

Magaro isn’t alone in his assessment. Eric Fistler, who runs the recently completed Bi-State Shad Fishing Contest, says the 2017 season has produced the best fishing he has seen in his lifetime. Angling before the 2017 shad fishing contest began, he and partner Mike Hinkel of Phillipsburg landed 80-plus shad in one afternoon. The next day, Fistler returned to the Delaware and had an experience most anglers only dream about.

Read the full story at The Morning Call

Is this year’s bluefish run a sign of climate change?

April 10, 2017 — It’s been about a month now since an unprecedented run of bluefish started bringing smiles to the faces of local anglers, and the bait and tackle shop owners selling them gear.

“I’ve been in business here for 23 years, and I’ve never seen a spring run of bluefish like this,” said Joe Morris at Lewes Harbour Marina. “I keep thinking tomorrow they will be gone, but they’re still here. A boat went off the point of Cape Henlopen yesterday and caught them.” That was Tuesday this week.

Morris said this year’s run of bluefish has been great for the tackle business. “They’ll eat everything, so we’ve been selling lots of steel leaders [to combat the sharp teeth and strong jaws of the blues], spoons, bucktails … and other guys have been wading the flats out by the fishing pier, and they’re using flies and poppers.” Not only have the blues been numerous and steady, this year’s run is also notable because they have gone way up into Indian River and Bay as well as into the shallow waters inside Cape Henlopen and on up the Broadkill River. “They follow the menhaden, and then they start eating anything else that’s available.” Morris has been cleaning lots of bluefish and talks to others who do the same. They’re finding menhaden in the bellies of the blues as well as small trout, perch and shad.

And while everyone who likes to fish is happy with the run, many are asking the same question: Why this year like never before?

The most frequent fingers point toward an abundance of menhaden – known locally as bunker – moving up the beach and into the mouth of Delaware Bay.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette

Fisheries managers seek Delmarva anglers’ input on flounder regulations

January 4, 2017 — BERLIN, Md. – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control each have public hearings scheduled to gather public comment on a new proposal for summer flounder management by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The ASMFC’s Draft Addendum XXVIII seeks alternative management approaches for a coast-wide 30% reduction in the recreational harvest of summer flounder in 2017. This comes after the ASMFC says a 2016 stock assessment estimated the flounder population as lower than previously expected and fishing mortality higher than it had been in recent years.

According to the the addendum, the commission is considering several different management options to meet reduction goals, including coast-wide size limit increases for flounder and more consistency among different states’ possession and size limits.

Delaware, Maryland and Virginia all make up one region within the ASMFC’s five region flounder management area up and down the Atlantic coast.

Read the full story at WMDT

To protect coral, bottom fishing gear banned near Delaware’s coast

December 16th, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency is banning commercial fishing gear that could drag along the seafloor in part of the Atlantic Ocean – including a portion 66 miles off the Delaware coast.

Deep-sea coral can live for hundreds to thousands of years, but once they are damaged, they can take decades or even centuries to re-grow.

To ensure these corals can live undisturbed, a section of the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Virginia – about the size of Virginia – has been designated as “protected”. The protected area is about 66 miles from Delaware’s shore and covers a portion of the Baltimore Canyon. Joseph Gordon, Pew Charitable Trust’s manager of U.S. northeast oceans, said that means fishing gear that reaches down to the depths that deep-sea coral inhabit would not be allowed to operate there.

“They’ve lived a long time but they live in an environment that is cold, with huge pressure, without light,” Gordon said, about the coral. “And so fishing technology could damage them in a way that could take centuries to recover from.”

Some bottom-fishing technologies include rockhoppers and canyon-busters. They are designed to roll over boulders and canyons, and according to Oceana, they can weigh at least several hundred pounds. NOAA authorizes the gear that fishermen can use for commercial fishing, and documented almost 1,000 bottom-fishing technologies in use in the Mid-Atlantic region in 2016. That is up from 630 documented in 2013.

Read the full story at Delaware Public Media 

Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to hold public hearings

November 30, 2016 — The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s Division of Fish & Wildlife will host Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission public hearings on proposed changes to the interstate fishery management plans for Atlantic menhaden at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 in DNREC’s Lewes Facility, 901 Pilottown Road.

The Atlantic menhaden FMP hearing will be preceded by a 6 p.m. public hearing on a proposed addendum to the Jonah crab FMP.

As the first step in the amendment process, the ASMFC is seeking input from stakeholders and other interested groups about changes observed in the fishery/resource and potential management measures. Work on Draft Amendment 3 to the Atlantic menhaden plan was initiated following review by the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board, of which Delaware is a member, and acceptance of the 2015 Stock Assessment and Peer Review report, which found the menhaden resource in good condition — neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing. Population fecundity, a measure of reproductive capacity, was estimated to be about double the threshold value of 86.8 trillion eggs. Additionally, total fishing mortality was below the current target.

The ASMFC’s public information document — the precursor to the forthcoming draft amendment — outlines a number of issues in the Atlantic menhaden fishery and solicits feedback on how the resource should be managed. Specifically, the PID presents a suite of tools to manage the menhaden resource using ecological reference points and provides options to allocate the resource among the states, regions and user groups. In addition to the specific issues identified, comments are welcome on all aspects of the fishery and resource, including recommendations for future management.

Read the full story at The Beacon 

Harvest of horseshoe crabs for medical use up for discussion

October 25, 2016 — Interstate fishing regulators who want to get a firmer handle on how many horseshoe crabs die as part of their harvest for biomedical use are meeting this week to discuss the issue.

The crabs are harvested for their blue blood, which is used to make sure medical products aren’t contaminated. Their blood contains a chemical that can be used to detect bacteria.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted this summer to propose taking into account the death toll associated with medical harvesting when determining how many horseshoe crabs can be harvested from the Delaware Bay.

The commission is meeting on Wednesday to discuss next steps.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Richmond Times-Dispatch

NEW JERSEY/DELAWARE BLACK SEA BASS REOPENS SATURDAY

October 18th, 2016 — This Saturday, October 22, the New Jersey and Delaware black sea bass fishery will officially reopen for the rest of 2016. For wreck fishermen in both states, the bag limit increases to 15 fish bag through December 31, with the minimum size of 12-1/2 inches in Delaware and 13 inches in New Jersey.

By all accounts, this should be a banner opener for the fishery as inshore waters have been loaded with smaller black sea bass on the move eastbound, with local wrecks and reefs practically blanketed by the tasty, hard-fighting fish.

“Sea bass are a menace on the reefs but that should be taken care of starting this Saturday,” noted Alex from the Reel Seat in this week’s report for The Fisherman Magazine’s Central Jersey report, explaining that folks dropping clam for the porgies on the Axel Carlson and Sea Girt spreads as well as the inshore lumps and wrecks.

“Can’t wait for Saturday,” added Capt. Joe Bogan of the Jamaica II who said getting jigs down to monster bluefish has even been tough because of the sea bass numbers of late. “Giant sea bass were slamming the jigs meant for the blues,” Bogan said.

Read the full story at The Fisherman