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Looks like a decent 2018 striped bass year class in Maryland

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CWitek

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Maryland young-of-the-year numbers are out, and it looks like another decent year class was spawned.  At 14.8, the 2018 young of the year index was slightly above the 11.8 long-term average.  

 

Thus, while 2018 didn't produce a dominant year class, reproduction was good.  If properly managed--which is, of course, always the big "if"--the 2018s should help maintain the health of the population.

 

https://news.maryland.gov/dnr/2018/10/17/survey-finds-healthy-striped-bass-reproduction/

 

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

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22 mins ago, jps1010 said:

That's good news but I hope they don't use this as an excuse to do nothing.  Sure, there are fish to be found somewhere, but its really bad out there.  At least in the late 80s we had big Blues to keep us occupied.  We don't even have that anymore.

Agreed.  And I suspect that some will try to use this as an excuse to either do nothing or even try to increase landings.

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

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As someone who fishes from shore it’s tough. I’m lucky to pull one or two decent sized schoolies every trip for the most part. It sickens me to see people who don’t respect the size limits in person and online. I use Fishbrain sometimes to just see what is biting and people post picture all the time of well undersized stripers in their coolers. 

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doing nothing (for me, at least) includes lack of enforcement and doing nothing regarding habitat degradation/environmental decline.......   that happens all the time at the state and federal level

its all about da fishes...

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I read a lengthy reader post on this website awhile back that made the case that a good spawn and young of the year index means nothing if those juvenile fish don't survive due to water quality, loss of decent habitat. Made it sound like we are whistling through the graveyard....

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17 hours ago, BelAirSteve said:

Curious...you seem very cynical about the state(s) "doing nothing" - is there anything specific that you think SHOULD be done?

My concern actually goes beyond doing nothing; if they stuck to Addendum IV's strictures on the coast, we'd probably still be OK, at least in the short term, although I do think that they should enforce the Addendum's 20.5% reduction in Chesapeake Bay, rather than allow fishing mortality there exceed baseline harvest, and eliminate conservation equivalency, which allows New Jersey and Delaware anglers to land two bass instead of one, and allows Connecticut and New Jersey anglers to fish on a portion of those states' commercial quotas.  I believe that 1@28" ought to be standardized coastwide, without exception.

 

My real concern is that ASMFC will be revisiting the reference points, and has asked the folks doing the stock assessment to provide information on a number of alternative reference points, some of which will allow higher harvests while reducing the biomass target and threshold.  My fear is that some state delegations will look at the YOY numbers and say that recruitment is now good enough to allow a bigger kill and a smaller "safety net" in the female SSB.  The Chesapeake jurisdictions, New Jersey and Delaware would probably support such a change, and I don't trust NMFS or USF&W  to do the right thing on fisheries these days, so there is a real risk such changes could happen.

 

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

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16 hours ago, dixiekraut said:

I read a lengthy reader post on this website awhile back that made the case that a good spawn and young of the year index means nothing if those juvenile fish don't survive due to water quality, loss of decent habitat. Made it sound like we are whistling through the graveyard....

Historically, the Maryland YOY numbers have been a reliable predictor of future striped bass abundance.  Although a lot of anglers (including myself) are wondering why we're not seeing more 2011s, every other big year class has manifested itself in the fishery.  While water quality is a legitimate concern, up until now it has not caused a big year class to disappear.  Not saying that it couldn't happen, just that, as far as I can recall, it hasn't happened yet.

"I have always believed that outdoor writers who come out against fish and wildlife conservation are in the wrong business. To me, it makes as much sense golf writers coming out against grass.."  --  Ted Williams

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17 hours ago, BelAirSteve said:

Curious...you seem very cynical about the state(s) "doing nothing" - is there anything specific that you think SHOULD be done?

 

I think that we should keep the EEZ closed to striped bass fishing (if you feel the same way, comment here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0106). We should also apply the reductions CWitek mentioned in the Chesapeake bay, the conservation eq., and the shared commercial quotas. Additionally, I'd like to see a slot rule. Slot rules have been argued to death here but I think it's the right thing to do (you did ask for an opinion).

 

I have friends who think that rec. striped bass should have a tag program, similar to com. striped bass.

 

 

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2 hours ago, CWitek said:

Historically, the Maryland YOY numbers have been a reliable predictor of future striped bass abundance.  Although a lot of anglers (including myself) are wondering why we're not seeing more 2011s, every other big year class has manifested itself in the fishery.  While water quality is a legitimate concern, up until now it has not caused a big year class to disappear.  Not saying that it couldn't happen, just that, as far as I can recall, it hasn't happened yet.

Exactly . . . where are the 2011's . . . guessing those fish should be in the 28-32" category and lots of them.  Haven't seen the numbers here in NJ.

"Starving dogs begging for scraps. The big picture is not important as long as we can get our scraps."
 

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42 mins ago, cartopper said:

Exactly . . . where are the 2011's . . . guessing those fish should be in the 28-32" category and lots of them.  Haven't seen the numbers here in NJ.

Same here.  We certainly haven't seen much of anything on the SS of LI.  Sure, there are some spots producing fish but they are not spread out like they were like a number of years ago when more fish were around.

 

The ASMFC needs to do more to increase their numbers and stop with this nonsense of playing with reference points that will allow more fish to be killed. 

 

I know there is a meeting coming up.  Does anyone know if we can submit our comments and to whom?

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1 hour ago, cartopper said:

Exactly . . . where are the 2011's . . . guessing those fish should be in the 28-32" category and lots of them.  Haven't seen the numbers here in NJ.

I have not seen any significant numbers of fish in that range.

ASMFC - Destroying public resources and fisheries one stock at a time since 1942.

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2 hours ago, jps1010 said:

...

 

The ASMFC needs to do more to increase their numbers and stop with this nonsense of playing with reference points that will allow more fish to be killed. 

...

Agree; though the only tool they really have is to decide how many can be killed. Anyone wanting to see abundance in the fishery has interests directly in opposition to those valuing the fishery in dead fish and "management" in general. Unfortunately it seems the only way to lower mortality and promote the interests of those seeking to increase the numbers of fish is to basically show there aren't any fish, it is to a degree the way the system is theoretically set to operate. I would love to "show up" to promote an abundant fishery, if there were enough of us i think we might get something accomplished. This in no way doesn't mean we shouldn't fight the attempts to increase mortality.

"If you know that and you don't know anything else you know more than if you know everything else and you don't know that."
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