THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, August 28, 1994 TAG: 9408280178
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 155 lines
For the second time in a month, Virginia's request for a longer recreational striped bass season has been rejected.
The denial came just a few days ago from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, a coalition of all East Coast states. The decision is binding on Virginia. The same organization turned down Virginia's similar request in late July.
As things stand, the 1994 striper season on Virginia's salt waters will parallel that of 1993. Anglers will have 32 days, from Oct. 27 through Dec. 18, with fishing allowed only from midnight each Wednesday until midnight each Sunday. The bag limit will be two fish a day, with an 18-inch minimum on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries and a 28-inch minimum on coastal waters. The commercial quota also will remain unchanged at 211,000 pounds.
A 47-day recreational season and a 317,000-pound commercial quota had been sought from the coastal coalition by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
The rules still could change, according to Jack Travelstead, head of fisheries management for the Virginia agency.
``We still have a couple of options,'' Travelstead said.
``One, with the approval of (Gov. Allen's) administration, Virginia could go ahead and make the changes, challenge the coalition on its own, and see what happens.
``Two, there's still time to develop yet another plan, although I don't believe the commission will be willing to do that, since we've already been turned down twice.''
If the Allen administration and the commission decide to challenge the coalition, the action could lead to a total ban on all striped bass fishing, recreational and commercial, in Virginia. The Commerce Department was given that authority under federal legislation adopted in December.
But this process could take at least a couple of months, according to Travelstead.
``First, the (coalition) management committee would have to rule that we were out of compliance. Then the entire commission would review the matter. If they agreed, we would then be granted a hearing with the Commerce Department and the Interior Department.
``If they determined that we were not in compliance, all striper fishing in the state could be banned until we came up with an acceptable plan.''
The December law has never been challenged. But there appears to be growing concern in some states that a challenge will have to be made at some point, if only as a test.
That test could develop within the next few weeks, Travelstead said. But in New Jersey, not Virginia.
``New Jersey has until Sept. 1 to adopt a 10-fish daily bag limit on bluefish for recreational fishermen,'' Travelstead said. ``Right now they don't have a bag limit, and I'n not certain how close they are to adopting one.''
The ironic part of all of this is that Virginia is likely to have a 139-day recreational season for striped bass in 1995. By then, according to scientists, the East Coast striper population is expected to be ``fully recovered'' from the excessive fishing that almost wiped the species out and brought about the first controls more than a decade ago.
Stay tuned for the next chapter.
DUCK DATES: Virginia duck hunters will have 10 more days of shooting and will be allowed to kill a canvasback for the first time since 1986 in a season approved Friday by the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Hunters were offered the options of a 40-day, three-bird limit or a 30-day, four-bird limit. They overwhelmingly endorsed the longer season, according to Bob Ellis, department spokesman.
Waterfowl biologists have estimated that 71 million birds will make the annual fall migration down the nation's flyways, up from 59 million a year ago. Improved breeding and nesting conditions in Canada and the northern states were credited with the increase.
The duck season will be split into three segments, Oct. 5-8, Nov. 23-26 and Dec. 20-Jan. 20.
Black ducks will not be legal during the early season. Otherwise, the bag limit may not include more than one hen mallard, two wood ducks, one black duck, two redheads, one pintail, one canvasback or one fulvous tree duck.
The Canada goose season will be Nov. 21-Dec. 10, when the bag will be one, and Dec. 12-Jan. 20, when the bag will be two. Goose hunting will remain banned in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake and on Back Bay.
The coot season will match that for ducks, although the bag will be 15 daily. Mergansers will be legal on the same days with a five-bird limit not to include more than one hooded merganser.
Sea ducks (surf scoters, eiders and old squaw) also will be legal on the same dates, with the seven-bird bag to include no more than four scoters.
The snow goose season will run 107 days - Oct. 26-29 and Oct. 31-Feb. 10, with a five-bird bag, while the 50-day brant season will be Dec. 1-10 and Dec. 12-Jan. 20, with a two-bird limit. The 60-day swan season will run Dec. 3-Jan. 20, with 600 hunter permits available, up from 400 in 1993.
STILL OPEN: For the 1994 season, at least, the nation's 494 national wildlife refuges, including the Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge in Suffolk, will remain open to hunting, fishing and trapping.
The Clinton administration, at the urging of anti-hunting groups, has ordered the Department of the Interior to consider, on a year-to-year basis, all hunting, trapping and fishing on each refuge.
The challenge is probably the most serious yet in the decade-long campaign by hunting foes and preservationists to close all public lands to hunting.
The challenge, in the form of a lawsuit, was brought by the Wilderness Society, Defenders of Wildlife and three groups representing the National Audubon Society. Their lawyers were provided by the Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund.
Unfortunately, the plan's backers have some important supporters in the Clinton administration.
Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt is a former governor of Arizona and a supporter of that state's unsuccessful effort to outlaw all hunting, trapping and fishing on public lands in the state.
George T. Frampton, assistant secretary for fish, wildlife and parks, helped file the suit when he was president of the Wilderness Society, before being named to the federal post.
Hunting will continue unabated this fall. But matters could change drastically in the future.
As for the Great Dismal Swamp refuge, it is going ahead with its planned whitetail deer hunt later this year.
Applications will be accepted through Sept. 15, according to manager Lloyd Culp. The application should be on a 3x5-inch card, should include the hunter's name, address and telephone number, and should be accompanied by a non-refundable $10 check or money order. Applications should be mailed to: Deer Hunt, Great Dismal Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 349, Suffolk, Va. 23439.
SPECIAL DAY: Mickey Lamb says she is doing her best to make the local observation of National Hunting and Fishing Day a special event that hundreds of families can enjoy. But she also knows her job is not easy.
Lamb is executive director of the program, set for Sept. 24-25 at Sleepy Hole Park. Owned by the city of Portsmouth, the park is near the hamlet of Driver in Suffolk.
``Attendance has been dragging for the past few years,'' Lamb said. ``This will be the 23rd year, with two more to the silver anniversary, so I'm doing everything I can to make it an interesting, family-oriented affair.
``We'll have local fishing clubs giving demonstrations, archery demonstrations, rod-building seminars and a lot of local hunting and fishing experts on hand to share their skills and knowledge.''
The program will also feature a Civil War re-enactment and dances, songs and crafts from Native Americans.
Admission and parking will be free. You can get additional details from Lamb at 686-8162 after 2 p.m.
SHORT CASTS: Both new and used boats will be on exhibit on the waterfront in downtown Portsmouth Sept. 10-11 at the annual Portside Boat Show. Hours will be 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and admission will be free. Details: Ports Events, 393-9933. . . . For the first time in five years, Virginia state parks' campsites and cabins will remain open through Dec. 5. Many facilities have been closing after Labor Day. You can make reservations by calling 1-800-933-7275. . . . A 31-pound, 4-ounce northern pike, caught by George Wood of Fredericksburg, has been approved as a state record. The previous record was 27-12, held by Richard Bowman of Troutville. . . . The board of the Department of Game and Inland Fiseries has scheduled a series of public hearings around the state for comments on proposals for the agency's fish and non-game programs. One meeting will be from 7-10 p.m. Sept. 6 at Toano Middle School Auditorium, 7817 Richmond Road (U.S. 60), at Toano, near Williamsburg. near the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Details: Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce, 1-787-2460. . . . The annual Chincoteague Decoy and Art Show will be held next Saturday and Sunday at the Chincoteague Fire House. Details: Reggie Birch, 1-336-5727. by CNB