striped bass Archives - Page 15 of 16

Wellfleet, Mass. shellfisherman charged with illegal sales to restaurants

December 2, 2015 — WELLFLEET, Mass. — A Wellfleet man had his state commercial shellfishing license suspended and was charged with 45 violations of state shellfishing regulations after he allegedly was caught selling oysters to at least two Outer Cape restaurants without having a wholesale license.

The evidence also indicates that David Paine, 57, may not have complied with regulations that protect the public from infections from the bacteria Vibrio parahaemolyticus.

Paine was arraigned in Orleans District Court on Monday on violations of state shellfishing regulations between July 2014 and June of this year. His girlfriend, Kristi Johns, 41, who is a co-owner of Paine’s aquaculture grant, was arraigned Oct. 26 on four counts of violating fisheries regulations in arranging for sales of the oysters to The Whitman House in Truro.

Neither Paine nor Johns could be reached for comment. The phone number listed to them has been disconnected.

According to a report by Massachusetts Environmental Police Officer Daniel McGonagle contained in court documents, Paine sold oysters directly to The Whitman House and The Lost Dog Pub in Orleans. McGonagle wrote in his report that on June 22, he and Environmental Police Sgt. Kevin Clayton were notified of a possible oyster violation by a state Department of Public Health inspector who was investigating The Whitman House for allegedly selling striped bass before the season opened and marketing it as pollock.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

NEW JERSEY: Fish cops issue striped bass warning

December 2, 2015 — Federal fishing officials are warning anglers and commercial fishermen it is illegal to catch striped bass in waters outside three miles.

The ban on catching stripers is in an area called the “Exclusive Economic Zone,” or EEZ, which runs from 3 to 200 miles offshore and is under federal jurisdiction. The ban, which dates back to 1990, is not in place in state waters that are inside three miles.

In recent years the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement has teamed up with the U.S. Coast Guard and state agencies to enforce the ban. NOAA Fisheries Special Agent Jeffrey Ray said in New Jersey the agency will be working with the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife to enforce the ban.

The effort runs from November through February and could include dockside or at-sea inspections as well as aerial reconnaissance.

“There’s a lot of striped bass activity and we want to make sure the information is out there that people cannot catch striped bass in the EEZ. There will be patrols in the EEZ,” said Ray.

In the past the efforts have included putting undercover agents posing as patrons on party and charter boats to make sure they stay within three miles. There have been dozens of cases brought against captains that fished in the EEZ, including one against a charter boat operator based in Avalon several years ago.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

Bills could make striped bass New Jersey’s state fish

November 19, 2015 — There is a movement to have striped bass designated as the official saltwater fish of the state of New Jersey. The two bills that could make that a reality are sitting in the both state houses waiting on a vote.

The Assembly bill (A4563) was introduced in June and the companion Senate bill (S3192) followed in October. Fishermen are now urging legislatures to pass them.

“There are several reasons do it,” said Ray Dziadul, the conservation officer for the Raritan Bay Anglers Club. “It is the premier fish that fishermen fish for. It generates a lot of money for our economy.”

Just as important to Dziadul said is the benefit it would provide for striped bass, which have been in a recent population dive according to fishery managers.

Read the full story from the Asbury Park Press

NEW JERSEY: Massive school of fish fights off predators in Raritan Bay

November 16, 2015 — A group of New Jersey fishermen pulled their boat into a breathtaking scene last week and captured video of massive numbers of menhaden schooling to avoid the jaws of predator bluefish.

“My father and his friend have a combined 120 or so years of experience on the water and they had never seen anything like that,” said Nick Kita, 22, of Manville, who shot the video and posted it to Youtube. Kita also provided the video to NJ.com.

A professional photographer, Kita used both a submerged GoPro camera and an overhead drone to capture dramatic footage of the fish.

Read the full story at New Jersey Advance

VIRGINIA: Special Investigation: Big fight over little fish

November 12, 2015 — REEDVILLE, Va. – Small business owners along the Chesapeake Bay are concerned that commercial fishing by Omega Protein is hurting their livelihood. Both rely on catching menhaden, a small bony fish that is valuable to Omega for its oil and bone meal, as well as for bait to charter boat captains and crabbers.

Omega has fished for menhaden out of Reedville since the 1870’s. It hauls in millions of them each weekday during a fishing season that is quota-based and runs roughly from May to November.

10 On Your Side visited the Reedville operation and spoke with several employees about the company’s importance to the community. We also met with a charter boat captain who is convinced that Omega’s large hauls are hurting his business along with hundreds of others – marinas, crabbers, tackles shops, etc.

“Used to be these creeks would just be chocked full of menhaden flipping all over the surface,” said Chris Newsome, owner of Bay Fly Fishing in Gloucester. Newsome’s charter clients fish for striped bass, bluefish, speckled trout and redfish, and they feed on menhaden. “They’ve definitely become a lot harder to find over the years.”

Read the full story at WAVY

Atlantic Striped Bass Fishing in the EEZ: Restrictions Support Sustainability of Species

November 12, 2015 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement:

In an effort to ensure the healthy population of the striped bass in the Mid-Atlantic region, NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (OLE) is raising awareness of the federal regulations governing striped bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and increasing targeted enforcement efforts to protect the species from illegal poaching activities.

“Right now, the striped bass are beginning to migrate south from the northern states,” said Lt. Wynn Carney, OLE supervisory enforcement officer. “The striped bass will follow the bait south near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and in spring they will begin making their way up our streams and rivers to lay eggs.”

According to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, overfishing and poor environmental conditions lead to the collapse of the Atlantic striped bass fishery in the 1980s.

In order to ensure the sustainability of the species, the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act, found in Title 50 of the Code of Federal Regulations part 697.7, was promulgated. Thus, during the months of November through February, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement is joining state and federal marine law enforcement organizations in supporting a focused enforcement effort, targeting vessels retaining and fishing for striped bass in the EEZ. Marine law enforcement officers, including OLE and the U.S. Coast Guard, in the Mid-Atlantic will be ticketing fishermen who violate these regulations and who target striped bass within the EEZ.

“I am excited about the Mid-Atlantic States conducting a focused enforcement effort,” said Carney. “It’s significant that we’re working together toward a common goal.”

For maximum enforcement, officers will be conducting at-sea, aerial, and dock-side inspections.

For more information, call your local OLE field office or visit http://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-striped-bass.

Mass. public may be unaware of striped bass contaminants

November 10, 2015 — Anglers are perched on Massachusetts’ shores long into the cold weather, fishing for fare that often lands on their dinner tables: Striped bass.

But what they may not know is the striped bass they catch in state marine waters may contain high levels of toxins that make eating too much harmful to one’s health, especially for pregnant women and children.

Massachusetts is the only state on the East Coast that does not specifically mention striped bass in its fish consumption advisories. While some states issue broad blanket advisories, especially for pregnant women and children, others offer warnings not to eat too much of striped bass from specific water bodies.

Connecticut, Maine, and New Hampshire all recommend that children as well as women who are nursing, pregnant, or may become pregnant not eat striped bass at all. Some states in New England warn the general population not to eat more than a maximum of between 4 and 12 meals per year of striped bass caught in state waters. Rhode Island has the most stringent advisory, urging striped bass not be eaten at all.

Read the full story at the New England Center for Investigative Reporting

ASMFC Presents Willard Cole Prestigious Captain David H. Hart Award

November 4, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Willard “Bill” Cole, formerly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 74^th Annual Meeting in St. Augustine, FL.

Throughout his nearly 40-year career as a state, university, and federal fishery manager and scientist, Bill Cole worked to protect, restore, and conserve fisheries resources and their habitats along the Atlantic coast. Bill graduated from North Carolina State University in 1966, and moved to Lake City, Florida, where he began his career with the Florida Game and Freshwater Fish Commission. Shortly after, he joined the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), where he stayed for the remainder of his career. At USFWS, Bill served in different capacities and numerous offices from North Carolina, to New York, DC, Texas and even New Mexico. In each place he left an indelible mark; serving on review teams for the first Everglades study, developing the Navigable Waters Handbook; protecting riverine, wetland, and coastal habitats in Long Island Sound, the Hudson River and St. Lawrence Seaway; and establishing what ultimately would become the USFWS South Atlantic Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office. While with the South Atlantic Office, he worked closely with the State of North Carolina to restore anadromous fishery resources throughout the Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, once the site of the largest commercial American shad and river herring fisheries on the entire East Coast.

With his customary vision, Bill understood early on that management of fishery resources in North Carolina required participation in regional fishery management institutions as well. As such, he became involved with both the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Commission, as the Southeast Regional Director’s designee for both institutions. He served in that capacity continuously for 19 years. Bill served on numerous committees and management boards for both groups, and prior to his retirement served as Chair of the Commission’s South Atlantic State-Federal Fisheries Management Board.

Along with several colleagues, Bill conceived the Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise off North Carolina and Virginia. The Cruise was designed to tag striped bass in a mixed stock of migratory fish wintering off the North Carolina Outer Banks and southern Virginia as a part of the Commission’s Atlantic migratory striped bass management program. The Cruise began in 1988 and has been conducted annually with few interruptions. It is one of the longest time series of any such coastal tagging program, as well as one of the most effective federal, state, and academic partnerships. Bill served as Chief Scientist on all but two of the cruises during an 18 year period, and annually coordinated scheduling, equipment acquisition, and recruitment of all Scientific Party members. Through the years, tagging of additional ASMFC- and Council-managed species was added to the Cruise protocol. To date, the Cruise has tagged 252 Atlantic sturgeon and over 47,000 striped bass, with a tag return rate approaching 20 percent.

Bill is a charter member of the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Operations Committee, and has been an ardent supporter of the Program since its inception, providing staff to serve as the initial Program Coordinator, and working tirelessly with federal and state partners to move the program forward.

Finally, during his last year with USFWS, Bill was detailed to the National Marine Fisheries Service, where he served as Special Assistant to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, Dr. William Hogarth. Bill was a key element in the planning of several national-level meetings that brought together fisheries professionals from Regional Fishery Management Councils and Interstate Fisheries Management Commissions to consider the future directions of fisheries management.

Bill has characterized himself as a “biopolitician,” but his contribution to the management of U.S. East Coast fisheries goes well beyond his many notable accomplishments. Bill has been a true friend and mentor to many in our fisheries management family and we are deeply indebted to him. Since Bill was unable to attend the Hart Award ceremony, Dr. Wilson Laney, a longtime colleague and friend, accepted the award on Bill’s behalf.

The Commission instituted the Award in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding efforts to improve Atlantic coast marine fisheries. The Hart Award is named for one of the Commission’s longest serving members, who dedicated himself to the advancement and protection of marine fishery resources.

Douglas Grout Elected New ASMFC Chair

November 4, 2015 — ST. AUGUSTINE, Fl. – The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Today, member states of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission acknowledged the many accomplishments of outgoing Chair, Dr. Louis B. Daniel of North Carolina and elected Douglas Grout as its new Chair.

In assuming the chairmanship, Mr. Grout spoke enthusiastically about his new position, “I am honored to be elected by my colleagues from the 15 Atlantic coast states, and pledge to uphold the trust they have placed in me as I serve my term chairing the Commission. Under my watch, I will work to lead the Commission responsibly through the many challenges inherent in managing our nation’s coastal fisheries. I look forward to working closely with the Commission’s management partners and will ensure the voices of our many stakeholders are heard.”

“My predecessor, Louis Daniel, has cemented his legacy as a champion of marine fisheries and a role model to those they support by guiding the Commission through two productive years that included major management decisions for two of the Atlantic coast’s most iconic species, Atlantic striped bass and Atlantic menhaden. Evidenced by the fact that a record number of Commission-managed fisheries are thriving, Louis never backed away from making tough decisions and always did what he believed to be the right thing. Under his leadership, the Commission transitioned smoothly through a period of major staff turnover, avoided an Endangered Species Act listing of American eel, and completed numerous benchmark stock assessments. In a tough fiscal environment, he also fought to provide the states with the resources they needed to get the job done.”

Mr. Grout currently serves as the Chief of the Marine Fisheries Division of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department where he has worked for over 30 years. He has been actively involved in the Commission process for many years, beginning in 1988 serving on the Management and Science Committee and numerous species technical committees. He received the Commission’s Award of Excellence in the Scientific/Technical/Advisory category in 2005. As a Commissioner, he has chaired the Northern Shrimp Section, the American Lobster Board, and most recently, the Atlantic Striped Bass Board. Mr. Grout received his M.S. and B.S. in Zoology from the University of New Hampshire and is an American Fisheries Society Certified Fisheries Scientist.

The Commission also elected James Gilmore from New York as its Vice-Chair.

Author Tracks Decline of Fisheries

September 30, 2015 — Three years have passed since the publication of the book, The Mortal Sea, but its impact continues. The 378-page history of the dramatic decline of fish in the western Atlantic took 10 years of investigative work to write. The book opens when European fishermen sailed these waters in pursuit of cod and finishes in relatively recent times, with the introduction of diesel powered draggers 60 years ago.

Jeffrey Bolster, the author, continues to give talks and share his book’s mission. On Sunday, Oct. 11, he will speak at the Chatham Historical Society.

In a phone interview with the Vineyard Gazette, Mr. Bolster said: “By the time I finished writing the book, I realized that I had written a parable. You will always have scientists saying we have taken too much. And you will always have someone say that the science isn’t enough. Whether you are talking about potable water in California, about plastics in the ocean or global warming, there will always be someone on either side of the issue, someone saying we need to proceed with caution. On the flip side, they will press on regardless.”

The fish in the ocean once numbered the grains of sand in the Sahara, he said. “And there was thinking that there was nothing we could do to touch it. Yet, it turns out, the killing of the fish in the ocean was far easier than the killing of all insects on the land,” Mr. Bolster said.

Today most striped bass caught along the eastern seaboard were spawned in the Chesapeake Bay. Yet more than a century ago, striped bass spawned in many of the rivers of the eastern seaboard all the way up to Maine.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette