The Fishing Line

There is a new friend on the local fishing scene that, I believe, will help with the concerns we have over data collection regarding fish species, size and numbers.
Whenever the issue of ‘overfishing’ has been raised with me, the number one complaint has been that the data upon which regulations are determined is faulty or at best, incomplete.
NEAMAP, Northeast Atlantic Monitoring and Assessment Program, working through the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences and the graduate school of the College of William and Mary, started to do field work in our local waters in 2006.
In the 1900s the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission concerned over fishing, collected independent data from NY to NC. Noaa did much of this data collection but the job is enormous and their new vessel, the FSB Henry Bigelow, is too big to get inside shallower areas of the North Atlantic bite.
I spoke to Multispecies Surveys Leader and a Principal Investigator for the NEAMAP program, Jim Gartland. Gartland has local ties to Cape May and knows these waters well. He told me the results of the surveys will lead to long-term monitoring trends. Right now, they only have documentation for a year and a half, too soon to draw any definitive conclusions but the data will be incorporated into the fishery management process.
Gartland is excited about getting results.
“The goal is to show what’s out there. To get the best possible representation and then to use it in management.”
Hoping to get better information per nautical mile, NEAMAP will fill the gap in coverage from west of Martha’s Vineyard to Cape Hatteras, at the 20-60 foot depth, doing spring and fall surveys. They charter a 95-foot commercial fishing boat, the FV (fishing vessel) Darana R, and visit 150 sites. Once on the station, a trawl net gathers specimen for 20 minutes, the catch is sorted by species and monitored for weight and length.
For species of particular management interest, each fish is measured, weighed, sexed, and maturity level determined. Stomach contents are analyzed to determine what it has been eating and the ear bones are disected; the ear rings tell how old the fish is.
NEAMAP will be back in Cape May in the fall. I’ll catch up with Gartland then and report on the latest findings of interest to us.
NOAA Survey News: Marine recreational anglers caught more than 468 million fish in 2007, down slightly from last year’s historic high of 475 million fish, but still the second highest recreational catch total in the last ten years. The 2007 data demonstrates a widespread turn toward “catch and release.” While anglers are catching about 27 percent more fish, they are also releasing more fish than they keep.
“We rely on data from both the recreational and commercial fishing communities to ensure we’re making informed conservation decisions,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
These statistics are compiled by NOAA’s Fisheries Service from in-person and telephone interviews with recreational fishermen.
NOAA’s Fisheries Service is accepting public comments until Aug. 11 on the rule to create a National Saltwater Angler Registry, a major part of the initiative to improve surveys. The registry will help NOAA do more complete angler surveys and demonstrate the economic benefits of recreational fishing on national and local economies. Send comments to regulations.gov or mail to: Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 Attn.: Gordon Colvin
LOCAL TOURNAMENT RESULTS: Great weather, great participants and sponsors, and a great bite; this year’s South Jersey Mid-Atlantic Tuna Tournament, left no one disappointed.
On the first weigh-in day, the scoreboard was getting changed faster than a swimming bait on a flat line. Weighmaster Chris Booth opened the scales at 5 p.m., and within the first hour pronounced on some 20 tuna, including the eventual heaviest tuna, a 202-pound bluefin boated by Joe O’Boyle’s Mojo.
Somewhere about the half way point a rush of yellowfin began making their way to the scales and with less than 30 minutes before closing, Soul Mate brought in the largest three yellowfin of the day, 69, 72 and finally an 89-pounder.
Compared to Thursday’s brisk pace (24 bluefin and 23 yellowfin), Friday was somewhat subdued with 11 yellowfin and 14 bluefin, brought to the scales.
Since South Jersey’s Tuna Tournament is a “fish-two-of-three” day event the sortie count on Saturday was just shy of 15 boats. Saturday was an “all-bluefin” day with four fish brought to the scales, including the eventual second and third heaviest of the tournament.
A total purse of $195,965 was divided amongst nine teams. The crew of the Soul Mate held on to win $66,218.75, while the 202-pound bluefin, also brought in Thursday, helped the crew of the Mojo take home $51,982.50.
BOW: Register now for “Becoming an Outdoors-Woman” Coastal workshop, Sept. 5-7, Grand Hotel, Cape May. The workshop, directed toward women, is for anyone 18 years or older who wishes to learn new outdoor skills, improve existing skills and enhance their appreciation of the outdoors. Go to njfishandwildlife.com/pdf/2008/bow_coastal08.pdf. Deadline Aug. 15.
ANOTHER VIEWPOINT: (savefish.com) H.R. 21 (aka Oceans 21), would set new requirements on fishermen and fisheries managers outside of and on top of the established process under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This legislation would establish a comprehensive National Oceans Policy and guiding principles for use and management of U.S. coasts, oceans, Great Lakes and their resources. While the intention of this legislation is to improve coordination among federal agencies, laws and regulations, H.R. 21 would only result in additional layers of bureaucracy within the management of federal marine fisheries.
Contact John DePersenaire, jdepersenaire@joinrfa.org for more information.
MORE NEWS: The House and Senate passed S. 2766, “The Clean Boating Act of 2008” which will restore an exemption for recreational boats from permitting requirements under the Clean Water Act. U.S. Congressman Frank A. LoBiondo (NJ-02) supported the bill. The legislation awaits the President’s signature.
Send your fish stories and pictures and Be My Guest reporter. Send info to cmiller@cmcherald.com. All photos received go up on our photo gallery SeeMyBigFish.com
Cutline: Be My Guest – Bucktail Willie Shillingford, fishing out of Whale Creek Marina with his two grandsons from Utah caught 96 fluke including eight legal fish. Fluke were jumping on Gulp shrimp with larger fish being caught on sea robin strips. Picture is Alex Shillingford from Highland, Utah.