Virginia Saltwater Fishing

The ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The Addendum revises the definition of juvenile recruitment failure based on a recommendation from the Striped Bass Technical Committee. The Management Board approved status quo management for the coastal commercial quotas, which were being considered for an increase as part of the Addendum.

“After lengthy deliberation, the sense of the Board was that recent fishery trends do not warrant an increase in fishing mortality, commercial or recreational, at this time,” said Board Chair, Jack Travelstead. “The Board also accelerated the assessment schedule, requesting an update assessment in 2011 prior to the next benchmark assessment in 2013 to more closely track changes in the fishery and the resource.”

The proposal to increase the coastal commercial quota was intended to bring more parity between the commercial and recreational fishery sectors. Although Amendment 6 established management programs for both fisheries based on the same target fishing mortality rate, the coastal commercial fisheries are controlled by quotas whereas the coastal recreational fisheries are managed through possession and size limits. As a result, the recreational harvest has increased with expanding striped bass population levels, and now accounts for approximately 70 percent of total harvest.

The Management Board opted to maintain the existing coastal commercial quotas for several reasons, including a 66 percent decline in estimated recreational catch from 2006 to 2009; a 25 percent decline in estimated striped bass abundance from 2004 to 2008; and several years of below-average production of fish from the Chesapeake Bay. The 2011 assessment update will help to indicate whether these trends are short- or long-term, and if corrective action is necessary to maintain the spawning stock biomass above the target level.

Juvenile abundance indices are an important component of the striped bass monitoring program. Under the management plan, six states are required to conduct juvenile sampling surveys, and the resulting indices of abundance are analyzed for recruitment failure. “Recruitment” is the appearance of young-of-the-year fish in the nursery areas. When recruitment failure occurs in a given year, there likely will be reduced abundance and availability of fish from that year class when surviving fish become available to the fisheries.

Management action is prompted when recruitment failure occurs for three consecutive years in any of the surveyed areas. The revision results in a fixed value to determine recruitment failure in each surveyed area rather than a value that changes from year to year. Additionally, the data points used in the calculation have been standardized, which will result in a more conservative evaluation of recruitment failure in several surveys. Under the revised definition (as with the original definition), three consecutive years of recruitment failure has not occurred in any area, and no management action has been triggered based on the juvenile abundance indices.

Copies of the Addendum will be available on the Commission website (www.asmfc.org) under Breaking News. For more information, please contact Robert Beal, ISFMP Director, at 703/842-0740 or rbeal@asmfc.org.

source: ASFMC press release?

In December, the American Striper Association (ASA) will hold a National tournament in conjunction with the  Million Dollar Rockfish Challenge in Virginia Beach.

This unique tournament will take place  during the Chesapeake Bay striper season which will allow anglers to fish the Bay as well as the Virginia Coast.

The tournament will have a $100,000 tournament payout as well as an opportunity to win $1,000,000 for a new World Record and $250,000 for a new Virginia State Record.

The Million Dollar Rockfish Challenge is scheduled for December 26-30, at the Marina Shores Marina.

Live eels are very effective live baits for catching striped bass (rockfish). Eels are usually hooked thru the lips or eye sockets and fished on a Carolina style leader, with a no weight or with an egg sinker above the leader. Circle hooks are the preferred hook style as eels tend to be swallowed by striped bass.

Detecting a bite takes a little time to learn as fish sometimes inhale eels without moving much. When movement is felt on the line, a firm steady retrieve may be all that’s needed. Hard snatching is likely to result in lost fish as circle hooks require that line pressure be applied at a steady rate in order to hook set to occur.

Live eels are usually allowed to drift along bridge pilings, wrecks, jetty rocks, rips, drop offs or channel edges where large fish tend to congregate. Most full service tackle shops in Virginia offer live eels during the fall and early winter. Eels remain will remain live for long periods of time if kept cold and wet, but not submerged in water. Do not allow eels to directly contact ice as it may kill them. A good setup is to add ice to a cardboard box and then cover it with damp newspapers. Eels are then laid on top. When properly stored in a bait cooler, chilled eels may live for several days. A rag or handful of sand will help control live eels while rigging them.

Striped bass or “rockfish” can be a delicious fish for the table. A few simple steps are important in caring for the fish prior to cooking. The fish should be stored on ice and laid out flat until cleaned. Once the fish is home, it can be rinsed thoroughly and filleted.

Cleaning methods vary and either procedure can be used. The fish can be scaled and the skin left on, filleted and then skinned or the skin can be cut around the perimeter of the fish and pulled off with pliers.

The skin-on method works well for smaller fish which are baked or grilled. Skinning the fish before filleting has some advantages, the most important being speed. Filleting the fish and then cutting the skin off removes the most dark meat and leaves the highest quality portion, although some fish is lost in the process.

Striped bass can be enjoyed in several ways. Small rockfish are delicious fried, broiled, grilled or baked. Larger rockfish have beautiful firm white flakey flesh andare perfect for grilling, broiling, chowders, fish cakes and other cooking methods.

The following are a few Striped Bass recipes:

Dijon Rockfish

Ingredients:

1 lb striped bass fillets
2oz. white wine
2oz. mayonaise
2oz. dijon mustard

Instructions:

This one is real simple but it’s also really good.

Mix equal parts of white wine, mayonaise and dijon mustard and wisk until smooth.

Pour over fish fillets in baking dish and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until done.

Lemon Butter Rockfish

Ingredients:
1 lb. striped bass fillets
1/2 fresh lemon
1 tbsp. butter
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. Old Bay crab seasoning or equivalent

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Drain fillets and lay in a casserole dish basted with olive oil.

Squeeze lemon over fillets, drizzle with melted butter and sprinkle with crab seasoning.

Bake for 10 minutes or until fish is white on the outside and still slightly pink in the center.

Ingredients

8 oz. cooked fish – striped bass, black sea bass, tautog or other white fish with firm, flaky meat.
1 large potato, peeled and diced
1 small tomato, diced and seeds removed
1 small onion, diced
1 carrot, peeled and sliced
2 cups (1 can) chicken stock or fish stock
1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. flour
salt to taste

1.  Bring stock to a boil and add vegetables, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes, until vegetables begin to soften. Add fish and set aside.

2.  In a separate saucepan, melt 2 tbsp. butter, add 2 tbsp. flour and cook until browned slightly.  Add one cup cold milk and simmer until mixture starts to thicken. Simmer vegetables and fish, slowly adding the milk mixture.

3.  Simmer 5 minutes, add small amounts of milk to thin or flour to thicken.

4.  Remove from heat and serve. Sprinkle with a small amount of fresh chopped parsley, chives or cilantro and red pepper.

Note:

This hearty chowder makes a simple and delicious lunch. It can be improved by adding diced shrimp, crabmeat, scallops, clams, oysters or other seafood.

Three winter striped bass tournaments are coming up in Hampton Roads Virginia.

They are:

ASA National Striper Tournament

Long Bay Pointe Marina
2109 W. Great Neck Rd.
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(321) 287-6351
Start Date: 12/12/2009
End Date: 12/12/2009

Tournament Headquarters
Murphy’s Grand Irish Pub
30th and Pacific Ave
Virginia Beach, VA
757-417-7701

ASA National Striper Tournament American Striper Association, the Nation’s largest Striped Bass Tournament Series, is hosting its 2009 National Tournament to Virginia Beach. The Chesapeake Bay is known as the premier Striped Bass fishery on the East Coast. Expected payouts will exceed $100,000 for the tournament and Angler of the Year awards.
*All boats fishing the Virginia Beach National Tournament will qualify for a $5,000 bonus to be awarded at the Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout.

Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout

828 High Point Avenue
Virginia Beach, VA 23451
(757) 319-5146
Start Date: 1/07/2010
End Date: 1/09/2010

Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout The 7th Annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout returns to Virginia Beach January 7th to the 9th. Get ready to reel as the largest Rockfish Tournament in the country comes to the Beach. Over 1,000 anglers will battle it out for the top bragging rights and a guaranteed CASH prize of $100,000. This year will have two divisions – one for live bait and one for artificial bait.

2nd Annual Virginia Beach Rockfish Frostbite Challenge Tournament
P.O. Box 6807
Virginia Beach, VA 23456
(757) 689-2694
(757) 576-4013
Start Date: 1/14/2010
End Date: 1/17/2010

Thursday, January 14th: Registration 4:00pm until 7:00pm, Captains Meeting at 7:00pm with the party rolling until 9:00pm. Awards Banquet will begin at 6:00pm on Sunday, January 17 and run to around 10:00pm, with awards presented at approx. 8:30pm. Give-Aways start at 7:00pm and will continue throughout the night. All events will be hosted by and take place at HOOKS at Rudee Inlet in Va Beach.  Weigh scales are at Fisherman’s Wharf Marina and Long Bay Pointe Marina.

The 2009 Atlantic striped stock assessment update indicates that the resource remains in good condition with female spawning stock biomass (SSB)  percent of the SSB target and 185 percent of the SSB threshold. Estimated fishing mortality rates (F) in 2008 are equal to or less than 0.21 and below the target (0.30) and threshold (0.34) rates. The assessment provides stock status for the combination of the three primary stocks (Hudson River, Delaware River, and Chesapeake and tributaries).  The striped bass stock complex is determined to be not overfished with overfishing not occurring.

Although spawning stock and total biomass have remained relatively stable over the last several years, stock abundance declined from 2004 to 2007 with a small increase in 2008. The decrease in abundance is reflected in a decline in coastwide landings in 2007 and 2008. The decline is more prevalent in areas largely dependent on contributions from the Chesapeake stocks (such as Maine) than areas that are dominated by the Hudson stock (such as New York). The spawning stock has remained relatively stable due to the growth and maturation of the 2003 year class and the accumulation of spawning biomass from year classes prior to 1996. The latest results of the statistical catch-at-age model also exhibit an increasing retrospective bias where F is overestimated and abundance and biomass underestimated. Retrospective bias may be the result of error in catch estimates, natural mortality, unequal stock mixing, and changes in catchability or selectivity. Analysis of tag data also suggests an increasing natural mortality in Chesapeake Bay, likely the result of the mycobacteriosis.

Recruitment estimates have averaged 12.5 million fish since 1995 when the stock complex was declared restored. The 2006 and 2007 estimates were the lowest in recent years at 7.4 million and 5.8 million fish, respectively. The 2003 cohort remains the largest since 1982 at 22.8 million fish. Recruitment in 2008 of 13.3 million fish was slightly above the recent average.

Striped bass are one of the most sought after species by recreational anglers along the Atlantic coast. In 2008, recreational anglers landed over 2.2 million striped bass weighing 12,310 metric tons (mt). Recreational landings have ranged from a low of 336 mt in 1989 to a high of 13,814 mt in 2006. The coastwide landings in 2008 reflect a 17 percent decline from a high of 2.7 million fish in 2006. Changes in landings have varied by state, with MA, CT, and NY showing an increase in landings and the remaining states showing a 32% decrease on average. Recreational discard mortalities (assuming an 8 percent mortality of releases) in 2008 were 950,000 fish, a 64 percent decrease from a high of 2.1 million fish in 2006.

Landings from the commercial striped bass fishery have been consistently lower than the recreational catch. Commercial landings increased from 63 mt in 1987 to 2,679 mt in 1997 and have remained steady due to quota restrictions. Landings in 2008 were 3,281 mt. Gill nets are the dominant commercial gear used to target striped bass. Other commercial fishing gears include hook and line, pound nets, seines, and trawls.

Copies of the stock assessment update will be available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News. For more information, please contact Nichola Meserve, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at (202) 289-6400 or nmeserve@asmfc.org.

source: ASMFC press release

Oct 19, 2009— The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced that 2009 Young-of-the-Year Striped Bass Survey was a 7.9 catch per haul this year, slightly below the long term average of 11.7. DNR has used the same techniques for the survey for the past 50 years to show the yearly spawning success for Rockfish.

“These numbers may be slightly below the average, but it’s well within the normal range of expectations,” said DNR Fisheries Service Director Tom O’Connell. “The 2001 super year class,  followed by a robust year class in 2003, should project for a healthy, sustainable  population.”

DNR samples from the same 22 locations every year. Biologists use a large net to sweep the area, counting all the fish the net picks up.  During this year’s survey, biologists identified and counted more than 35,000 fish of 49 species, including 1,039 young-of-year striped bass.

DNR biologists say it’s normal to see both spikes and dips in the yearly average, because striped bass reproduction hinges on many environmental factors. This year’s index is double the value of last year, and along with other large year classes, such as the record setting 1996, 2001 and 2003 will contributing to strengthen the population.

DNR has monitored the reproductive success of striped bass and other species in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay annually since 1954.  Twenty-two survey sites are located in the four major spawning systems:  Choptank, Potomac, and Nanticoke rivers, and the Upper Bay.  Biologists visit each site monthly from July through September, collecting fish samples with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine.  The index is calculated as the average catch of young-of-year fish per sample.  For more information, go to www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries/juvindex/index.html.

Atlantic coast states from Maine through North Carolina have scheduled their hearings to gather public comment on Draft Addendum II to Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass. The dates, times, and locations of the scheduled meetings follow. Please note that some states will also be conducting hearings on other ASMFC proposed species management actions.

Maine Department of Marine Resources
October 5, 2009; 6:00 PM
Freeport Community Library
10 Library Drive
Freeport, Maine
Contact: Terry Stockwell at (207) 624-6553
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Menhaden Draft Addendum IV

New Hampshire Fish and Game
October 8, 2009; 7:00 PM
Urban Forestry Center
45 Elwyn Road
Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Contact: Doug Grout at (603) 868-1095
* Public comment will also be gathered on Lobster Draft Addendum XV (6:30 PM) and Shad Draft Amendment 3 (7:30 PM)

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
September 30, 2009; 7:00 PM
Annisquam River Marine Fisheries Station
30 Emerson Avenue
Gloucester, Massachusetts
Contact:  Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3

Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 1, 2009; 6:00 PM
URI, Narragansett Bay Campus, Corless Auditorium
215 South Ferry Road
Narragansett, Rhode Island
Contact: Jason McNamee at (401) 423-1943
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

Connecticut Dept. of Environmental Protection
October 6, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Headquarters (Boating Education Center)
333 Ferry Road
Old Lyme, Connecticut
Contact: David Simpson at (860) 434-6043
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation

September 24, 2009; 7:00 PM
Marine Resources Headquarters
205 North Belle Mead Road, Suite 1
East Setauket, New York
Contact: Steve Heins at (631) 444-0435
* Public comment will also be gathered on Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
October 6, 2009; 7:00 PM
Toms River Township Clerk’s Office
L. Manuel Hirshblond Room
33 Washington Street
Toms River, New Jersey
Contact: Tom McCloy at (609) 292-7794
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (8:00 PM)

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
September 29, 2009; 7:00 PM
Tyler State Park
101 Swamp Road
New Town, Pennsylvania
Contact: Leroy Young at (814) 359-5177

* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3

Delaware Dept. of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
October 7, 2009; 6:00 PM
Richardson and Robbins Building Auditorium
89 Kings Highway
Dover, Delaware
Contact: Craig Shirey at (302) 739-9914
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (6:30 PM) and Shad Draft Amendment 3 (7:30 PM)

Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources
October 6, 2009; 5:30 PM
Tawes State Office Building, C1 Conference Room
580 Taylor Avenue
Annapolis, Maryland
Contact: Harry Hornick at (410) 260-8305
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Menhaden Draft Addendum IV

Virginia Marine Resources Commission
September 28, 2009; 6:00 PM
2600 Washington Avenue, 4th Floor
Newport News, Virginia
Contact: Jack Travelstead at (757) 247-2247
* Public comment will also be gathered on Shad Draft Amendment 3 and Scup and Black Sea Bass Draft Addendum XX

North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries
October 14, 2009; 6:00 PM
Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, North Carolina
Contact: Michelle Duval at (252) 808-8011
* Public comment will also be gathered on Weakfish Draft Addendum IV (7:00 PM)

Draft Addendum II proposes to allow unused coastal commercial quota of striped bass to be rolled over from one year to the next. Options include state eligibility and the amount of unused quota that may be carried over. The Draft Addendum also outlines procedures for implementing and monitoring quota roll over.

The existing management program addresses coastal commercial quota overages, requiring payback of an overage in the subsequent year, yet it is silent on coastal commercial quota underages.  While avoiding a quota overage signifies managerial success, a quota underage represents lost opportunity to commercial harvesters. Quota underages may result from changes in fish abundance or distribution, environmental factors, fishing effort, and regulatory measures.

The Draft Addendum presents a hypothetical situation to analyze the potential effect of allowing roll over. Had all unused coastal commercial quota in 2003 through 2007 been rolled over and then harvested in 2004 through 2008, the average increase in the total coastal commercial quota would have been less than 15 percent and the average increase in the total coastwide harvest less than two percent. An analysis by the Technical Committee indicated that a 15 percent increase in the coastal commercial quotas would have a limited effect on the fishing mortality rate, and that large fluctuations in recreational harvest, which is not regulated by quota, present a greater level of risk of exceeding the fishing mortality target or threshold. However, the Technical Committee also noted that the potential effect of roll over on the stock increases if quota underages occur due to population decline. Other concerns included the two to three year lag in reporting the fishing mortality rate estimate for any given year and that allowing roll over could provide an incentive to under report harvest.

Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on Draft Addendum II, either by attending public hearings or providing written comments.  Copies of Draft Addendum II are available via the Commission’s website at www.asmfc.org under Breaking News.  Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on October 16, 2009 and should be forwarded to Nichola Meserve, FMP Coordinator, 1444 ‘Eye’ Street, NW, Sixth Floor, Washington, DC 20005; (202) 289-6051 (FAX) or at nmeserve@asmfc.org (Subject line: Striped Bass Draft Addendum II).

source: ASMFC press release