Greetings!
CCA Maryland has met with Maryland DNR to discuss the 14% increase in striped bass harvest. You can read DNR's explanation of this action here. CCA sent a response to this action yesterday. Click the links to read the CCA response and news release. We want to be very clear on this. CCA is not questioning the science behind this issue. It was noted that there have been cuts on the commercial quota in Maryland for the last few years and this is the first increase in a long time. Well, from 2006 to 2009 recreational catches declined by 66% COASTWIDE. We aren't asking for more now that we had a good spawn. We only want to conserve the fish. CCA Maryland believes that with all of the uncertainties out there for striped bass, this is a terrible decision. These uncertainties include what myco is doing to the stock, what poaching (recreational and commercial) is doing to the stock, and what the Virginia winter fishery is doing to the stock. In the face of impending conservation measures, adding to the harvest is the worst possible time to make this decision. There is a chance, a very slight chance, that we could turn this around. Right now, we only have you on our side. Many other stakeholders are concerned about keeping harvest up so their slice of the pie isn't disturbed. Is this how we treat our resource? Is this how we want Maryland to be viewed by other states on federal committees? Isn't it time for you to stand up for the fish you spend so much time pursuing? We encourage individuals and other organizations to stand together with us. We will stand alone for now. It has never stopped us before. Failure is far better than not trying. To avoid decisions like this in the future CCA Maryland has recommended that MD DNR provide an opportunity for stakeholder input through the Sport and Tidal Fisheries Advisory Commission prior to setting the 2015 Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass Quota and each year thereafter. This fail safe measure would ensure that we won't get surprise actions moving forward. |
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Third annual Pickerel Championship
Anglers will have the chance to keep their fishing skills sharp during the winter months through the third annual Coastal Conservation Association Maryland Catch and Release Pickerel Championship scheduled for Dec. 15-March 15. The fly and light tackle tourney will cover any tidal tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. Fishermen will be required to take photos of their catch against any standard ruler and submit those photos to a judging panel. Prizes will be awarded each month and for the total tournament based on inches of pickerel caught with the top prizes being fishing rods. Complete information, rules, and registration procedures can be found at here. Registration costs $30. Tournament sponsors include Anglers Sport Center, Costa, Temple Fork Outfitters, and http://www.tight-lined-tales-of-a-fly-fisherman.com.
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Flannery tops winter shoot
Jim Flannery won top individual honors in last weekend's CCA MD Winter Shoot connecting on 37of 50 targets, while the team of Diana and Fritz Denig, Robert Hoffer, and Mark Williams won the team category with 33.25 targets. Second place in the individual competition went to Skip Zahniser, and Eric Stone was third. Twenty-six shooters participated, according to Dave Sikorski, organizer of the event. |
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Outdoors: Striped bass stock continues decline
By: Tee Clarkson outdoors@timesdispatch.com
Many anglers will remember the 1989 moratorium imposed on striped bass in Virginia. The ban marked a part of what was a remarkably successful effort to save the struggling striped bass population on the East Coast.
Within several years, the fish were booming and anglers all but forgot about the near collapse of the fishery as the moratorium was lifted and keeper stripers were bountiful again.
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Sincerely,
Tony Friedrich
Coastal Conservation Association Maryland |
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With The Striped Bass In Trouble, It's Time For Recreational Anglers To Drastically Limit Their Catch by Monte Burke
In his book, "The Founding Fish," John McPhee makes the argument that the American shad, given its role in our nation's history, is indeed "America's fish" (the little fish makes Forrest Gump-like cameos alongside George Washington, George Pickett and John Wilkes Booth).
Far be it from me to question a master like McPhee, but I would suggest he may have chosen the wrong fish. The striped bass just might have a more solid claim as "America's fish," and may have played a bigger role in our country's beginnings than the shad or any other fish (cod, according to Mark Kurlansky, would also have a claim).
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Upcoming Events 3rd Annual Pickerel Championship Sunday December 15, 2013 at 1:00 PM EST -to- Friday March 14, 2014 at 1:00 PM EDT Catch, photo, and release tournament for tidal pickerel in tributaries of the Chesapeake bay Maryland Tidal Waters |
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