THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407170173
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 139 lines
Some angler stands a pretty good chance of landing a Virginia-record bluefin tuna within the next few weeks. But there's also a good chance the fish will not be accepted as the state standard.
For one thing, if the tuna weighs more than 235 pounds, it could be an illegal catch. And if the boat has more than one tuna of 135 pounds or more aboard, that would also make it an illegal catch.
And the rules of the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament, the official keeper of Virginia angling records, clearly state that record catches must meet ``all applicable regulations and laws.''
Claude Bain, tournament director, admits that he is troubled by the situation.
``You need a special permit, above the regular permit required to even fish for bluefins, to keep any tuna of 235 pounds or more,'' Bain said. ``And I'm concerned there are a lot of fishermen out there who don't have that special permit.''
The laws are designed to protect the bluefin population, which has been on the decline for decades and is at an all-time low in recorded history.
Several bluefins of 135 pounds or more already have been caught off Virginia. Most have come from waters southeast of Chincoteague on the Eastern Shore. And one weighed more than 220 pounds.
The official state record is 204 pounds, set in 1976 by Bill Vance of Medina, Ohio. He was fishing off Virginia Beach.
Meanwhile, the Coast Guard may be getting the last laugh on Virginia and North Carolina tuna fishermen who scoffed at the federal government's efforts to protect dwindling supplies of both bluefin and yellowfin tuna. The Coast Guard has been called in to aid the National Marine Fisheries Service's limited manpower in law enforcement.
The agencies reportedly are concentrating on both charter and private boats sailing from Chincoteague and from Oregon Inlet, south of Nags Head, N.C.
While bluefin tuna are the targets of the enforcement effort at Chincoteague, at Oregon Inlet the Coast Guard is watching the new 22-inch minimum (to the fork of the tail) on yellowfins.
Anyone interested in keeping a bluefin tuna of 235 pounds or more can obtain a special permit, known as an ``incidental-category permit,'' by writing to the National Marine Fisheries Service, Permits Section, One Blackburn Drive, Gloucester, Mass. 01930-2298, or by calling (508) 281-9140.
THE NUMBERS: If you see a crime being committed, you can pick up the telephone, dial 911 and summon a police officer.
But what if you see, or even think you see, a hunting or fishing violation, such as someone shooting deer after dark, an angler keeping more fish than allowed or a trawl boat fishing in the Chesapeake Bay?
There are also telephone numbers for summoning a law enforcement officer, whether it's a game warden with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries or a marine patrol officer with the Marine Resources Commission. Both are toll-free 800 numbers staffed 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
The game department number is 1-800-237-5712. To reach the marine patrol, call 1-800-541-4646. All callers will receive anonymity.
DECISIONS AT LAST: Two of the most controversial matters in the history of Virginia fishing will be decided when the Marine Resources Commission meets July 29.
Dates and limits for this year's striped bass season will be finalized at that meeting. But for once, little controversy is anticipated.
The biggest controversy is expected to be the nine-member board's decision on new regulations to aid the beleaguered gray trout, also known as weakfish.
The board also will decide the much-debated issue of whether to allow commercial rod-and-reel fishermen to exceed bag limits already in place for recreational fishermen. The subject has been under study for almost a year.
Public hearings on the latter issue already have been held, so the public is not expected to be allowed additional comments. But the board can anticipate a load of comments at a public hearing on the gray trout plan, aimed at reducing the overall fish mortality by 19 percent this year and by 25 percent in 1995, based on 1990-92 levels.
Recreational fishermen have been offered two options: A 14-inch minimum size and a 10-fish daily bag limit, or a 10-inch minimum and a four-fish bag. Presently, the minimum size is 12 inches and the daily bag 15 fish.
Constraints are also on the board for commercial fishermen, including a reduction in the number of licensed pound nets and the designation of seasons when gill-net, haul-seine and trawl-boat landings of the species would not be allowed.
The commission's professional staff has not finalized its recommendations for the commercial rod-and-reelers, although it is expected to at least establish areas, such as along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, where that type of fishing would be banned, perhaps during certain times.
The striper plan calls for extending the recreational season from 32 to 47 days, eliminating the 36-inch maximum size and increasing the commercial quota from 211,000 pounds to 317,000 pounds.
Scientists say that the striper, once brought to its caudal fins by excessive fishing, now has completely recovered.
The agency's monthly meeting has been changed to July 29, which is a Friday. It normally meets the fourth Tuesday in each month. The hearings will begin at noon at the agency's headquarters at 2600 Washington Ave., Newport News.
GOING SOLO: Woo Daves of Burrowsville will be the lone Virginian in the 41-person field at the 1995 BASS Masters Classic fishing tournament on High Rock Lake near Greensboro.
For Daves, 48, it will be his 13th appearance in the contest's 23 years. The contest is considered the World Series of professional bass fishing and is worth $50,000 to the winner, plus an estimated $1 million in endorsements.
The field also includes the defending champ, David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., who picked up $180,300 this year when he was named angler of the year by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society (BASS).
Competition is set for July 28-30, with daily weigh-ins at the Greensboro Coliseum's special events center.
OUT OF THE RACE? The yacht Imagine, renamed the Emmaus, apparently will not be a competitor in the BOC Challenge around-the-world sailing race, to start in September in Charleston, S.C.
The boat, now at a marina near Charleston, is involved in several pending lawsuits. ``There's no way it can start that race,'' said someone close to the matter who asked not to be identified.
The aluminum-hull 60-footer was built at Howdy's Bailey's boat yard in Norfolk for Michael Carr of New England. But it developed problems during sea trials, and Carr abandoned the project, criticizing just about everyone involved.
Then it reportedly was purchased by a Louisiana group headed by Michael Pierce, who said he planned to have it repaired and would enter the race. Pierce was unavailable for comment.
UP FOR BIDS: For lease: One sporting clays-shooting range. Location: Amelia County. Terms: Negotiable. Contact: Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The game department opened the range in 1989, primarily as a model for the fast-growing shooting sport, which offers clay targets under simulated hunting conditions.
Now that scores of ranges have been developed across the state, the agency has closed the facility and plans to lease it.
SHORT CASTS: Nicholas Ball of Virginia Beach continues to hold the Virginia lead in the kids division of the Big Bass World Championship. His fish, caught at Indian Lakes, weighed 8.82 pounds. Eugene North of Hampton leads the Virginia adult division with an 8.46-pounder from Western Branch Reservoir. . in more than 20 years of efforts to restore the fish to what once was its most prolific spawning area. The fish were mechanically lifted over the Conowingo Dam, their biggest blockage in returning to the river. . . . Virginia hunters are being asked to contribute at least $1 to the state's Hunters for the Hungry program, which donates hunter-killed venison to the needy. The program hopes to produce a record 100,000 pounds of deer meat this year, according to program founder David Horne of Big Island. It has contributed more than 170,000 pounds in its first three years. by CNB