THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 2, 1995 TAG: 9507010334
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 123 lines
After decades of nothing but bad news from the North American prairies where so many ducks nest and raise their young, there's some good news for the second year in a row.
How good?
The fall migration will be the largest ever seen by many of today's waterfowlers, according to Glenn Childs of Ducks Unlimited, an international waterfowl conservation organization.
The breeding population of ducks is 35.9 million, up more than 10 percent from a year ago and the highest since 1980, according to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.
The agency reported that the key mallard population rose 8 percent to 8.3 million birds, the highest since 1972 and above the 8.1 million target under an agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico to increase numbers.
``We're just excited we're going to see somewhere between 83 million and 90 million birds migrating south this fall and winter,'' Childs said.
Early in this decade, those same surveys indicated that the fall migration had dipped to as little as 62 million birds.
This summer's survey indicated that three species - canvasback, redhed and gadwall - were the highest since the counting began more than 30 years ago.
Canvasback numbered 771,000, up from a low of 373,000 in 1985; there were 888,000 redheds, compared to 441,100 in 1988; and 2.8 million gadwalls, up from 1.3 million in 1985.
The population increases are not expected to result in any major liberalization of 1995-96 hunting restrictions. (The Asociated Press contributed to the above.)
A CLEANER BAY: Scientists have been saying that although it has a long way to go, the Chesapeake Bay is cleaner than it has been for years.
A lot of fishermen would agree, since Chesapeake Bay fishing is better than it's been for years.
This year's cobia run, for example, probably will be remembered as the best since the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament began in 1958. And the season still has at least six weeks to go.
Already more than 265 anglers have earned citation awards for big cobia registered with the contest, the most since a record 300 were registered in 1962.
Croaker and flounder are abundant throughout the Chesapeake, with some hardheads topping two pounds and some flounder going better than five pounds.
Sea mullet are plentiful throughout the lower Chesapeake and splendid numbers of big black drum are showing around the islands of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Striped bass have made an incredible turnaround in recent years, although much of that can be attributed to stringent harvest controls over the past decade.
Now comes word from the upper Chesapeake that the spring shad migration into the Susquehanna River, where the bay begins and its greatest producer of shad, was the best in decades.
While we all agree that fish are cyclic, the effect of a cleaner bay can't be denied, nor can limitations on both the commercial and recreational catch.
TROUT MEETING: Not everything about the bay is upbeat, however. Gray trout remain conspicious by their scarcity.
Most folks agree that the problem is not the bay but excessive catches, especially by fly-net fishermen off the North Carolina coast.
Presently, Virginia's recreational fishermen are limited to four trout, at least 12 inches long, per day, while commercial fishermen have been required to reduce the number of their nets and rigs.
But things may get worse before they get better.
That's why the Virginia Marine Resources Commission has scheduled a public meeting to hear from fishermen, commercial and recreational, in advance of planning the next step for aiding the fish.
The hearing is set for 7 p.m. July 11 at Waterman's Hall at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point.
The VMRC has prepared a Public Information Docket outlining the situation and possible management steps. It's available from the commission at 247-2247.
TALL ORDER: Thor Torgersen of Virginia Beach is one of nine Americans invited to sail on a Polish yacht during the Cutty Sark Tall Ships Race from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Bremerhaven, Germany, later this month.
Torgersen, 32, is a free-lance graphic artist and was selected from about 1,500 applicants. This will be the first time American sailors have crewed in the race. In all, about 100 ships will sail.
Subsequent legs will include stops in Denmark, Holland and Belgium. Torgersen will start aboard the Dar Mlodiezy, with the crew shifting to other ships for later races. The Polish boat will have a crew of about 200, including the 35 Poles who regularly sail it.
SPECKLE QUOTA: Two years ago, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission limited recreational fishermen to 10 speckled trout a day but declined to place a limit on the commercial catch.
Now the commission wants to reconsider the commercial limit and has scheduled the matter for its July 24th meeting. The matter will be heard at noon in the agency's headquarters at 2600 Washington Avenue, Newport News.
The commission's staff has proposed limiting netters to 51,104 pounds annually. The figure represents the average of the past two years, plus 25 percent.
It's an idea which deserves the support of the state's legions of trout fishermen.
But the handful of netters who have historically targeted trout deserve to be protected from opportunists entering the fishery.
The bottom line is that this is one species too valuable to rod-and-reelers to allow widespread commercial exploitation. Several states have declared it a game fish, outlawing all commercial catches.
SHORT CASTS: The Virginia Beach Anglers will stage their 21st annual Small Boat Marlin Tournament July 15, with headquarters at the Virginia Beach Fishing Center on Rudee Inlet. Competition will be open to boats between 19 and 33 feet. Registration will be at the marina at 6 p.m. July 14. Details: Jim Ingham, 422-0085. . . . Tonya Keyser of Virginia Beach boated a 512-pound bluefin tuna on a recent trip out of Pirate's Cove Marina at Nags Head. She was aboard the charter boat Suspense. The outing also produced a 175-pound bluefin for Chris Dixon of Portsmouth and a white marlin release for Brian McGuire of Chesapeake. . . . Doug West of Portsmouth won a recent flounder tournament staged by the Tidewater Angler Club. His catch weighed 4-8. Art Christman of Virginia Beach was second at 3-0, Andy Ligon of Norfolk third at 2-7. Thomas Myer of Norfolk won the junior award at 1-7. . . . Virginia hunters bagged a record 11,694 turkeys during the recent spring season. The old record, set a year ago, was 8,891. . . . Effective Sept. 18, the Federal Communications Commission will reduce the cost of a marine radio operator's license from $115 to $75. . . . A couple of outstanding videos have been produced by George Povermo, senior editor of Salt Water Sportsman Magazine. One details rigging offshore baits, the other successful tactics for catching dolphin (the fish). The cost is $24.95, plus $3 shipping and handling. They can be ordered by calling 800-340-1544. by CNB