THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501290163
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
COLUMN: Outdoors
SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: Long : 112 lines
Chesapeake Bay striped-bass fishermen could have a 1995 recreational season four times as long as the one in 1994 under a plan being developed by a coalition of East Coast states.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which regulates all striper fishing on the East Coast, is expected to finalize the plan this spring.
Then it will be taken to public hearings by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, giving fishermen opportunities to comment.
Under the initial plan, the season could grow from 32 days to more than 115. The commercial quota would increase from 211,000 pounds to 754,000 pounds. That would include 667,000 pounds for the Chesapeake Bay and 87,000 pounds for the Atlantic Ocean.
Striper fishing has been closely regulated in coastal states since 1983, when it was confirmed that the population had been devastated by excessive fishing. In Virginia, saltwater striper fishing was banned for almost two years, until November 1990.
Virginia fishermen have been granted limited access to the fish for four years. Chesapeake Bay recreational fishermen have been allowed a 32-day season with a two-fish bag limit and an 18-inch minimum size.
The 1994 regulations included a 100-day ocean season running through March 31, 1995, with a one-fish daily bag limit and a minimum of 28 inches.
Several options probably will be available for the 1995 Chesapeake Bay season, according to Rob O'Reilly, spokesman for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
The two-fish bag is expected to remain. But the season could run 107 days with an 18-inch minimum or could be more than 114 days if the minimum is increased to as much as 24 inches.
In addition to the Bay season, the ASMFC is expected to approve an ocean season running as much as 240 days, maintaining the one-fish bag and the 28-inch minimum.
Virginia anglers will be given ample opportunity to be heard before the seasons are finalized, according to O'Reilly.
``I would guess that the seasons will not be finalized until the (Virginia) commission's June meeting,'' O'Reilly said. ``We'll hold hearings, since we certainly want fishermen to let us know which options they prefer.''
IN YOUR HANDS: The future of the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament rests in the hands of the General Assembly.
Put more directly, if you want to save the 37-year-old contest in its current form, you should contact your delegate or senator.
The contest awards handsome plaques, popularly known as ``citations,'' to anglers who weigh or release any of 23 saltwater species meeting minimum-size requirements.
In addition, it promotes the saltwater fishing industry through press releases and a promotional program, including hosting visiting regional and national fishing writers and television shows.
Gov. George F. Allen wants the tournament's annual $145,000 general-fund appropriation stricken from the state's budget.
Two measures for alternate funding are before the General Assembly.
One would appropriate full funding by expanding the Chesapeake Bay fishing license to cover all salt waters of the state, earmarking up to 15 percent of license fees for the contest.
Another would merely fund a program for awarding citations, estimated at about $25,000 annually. It would provide no funding for promotion, now handled by tournament director Claude Bain of Virginia Beach. The program is a function of the Marine Resources Commission.
The feeling here is that full funding is needed if the program is to be meaningful. Without monitoring by an expert of Bain's ability, the program will deteriorate into a giveaway.
North Carolina went to a clerk-operated program several years ago. The tournament's reputation and popularity have been in decline almost ever since.
Many, if not all, recreational fishermen in Virginia want to save the contest in its current form.
That's a message they need to get to their legislators and to Allen.
RIGHT DIRECTION: The Marine Resources Commission sent a message Tuesday that it can make some right decisions to conserve dwindling resources.
It's a course the commission needs to chart more often.
Tuesday, the commission declined to consider proposals which would have:
Allowed a limited fishery for the beleaguered shad.
Relaxed the boundaries of a crab sanctuary in Hampton Roads.
Allowed Gulf Coast oysters to be transplanted in local waters.
Allowed use of a highly-efficient ``Shinnecock'' clam rake.
Allowed some crabbers to remove the ``cull rings'' which enable small crabs to escape from traps.
These are the kind of hard decisions the commission must continue to make if there is to be a reversal of the widespread decline in Virginia's marine resources.
One waterman, Marshall Cox of Cheriton, Va., placed blame for the decline on the voting commissioners, saying ``you've allowed it to happen.''
Amen.
SHORT CASTS: The 71st Street Anglers of Virginia Beach have continued their ``tradition of benevolent donations to worthy causes'' by making another $2,000 donation to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. The club also donated $500 to the Surfrider Foundation, another conservation organization. . . . Paul Casady of Virginia Beach recently boated a 9-pound, 5-ounce largemouth bass on the Northwest River. He was out of Bob's Fishing Hole. The team of James Buchanan and Randy Fort of Virginia Beach won a largemouth bass contest out of the facility with a combined catch weighing 21-6. Buchanan had the day's lunker at 6-0. . . . Rick Morris of Virginia Beach is among the pro bass anglers who will appear this weekend at Bassarama, the bass-fishing show at the State Fairgrounds in Richmond. . . . The Eastern Shore Marlin Club will hold its annual winter meeting and election Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Captain's Deck restaurant in Nassawadox, Va. Details: B.W. James, 1-804-787-1226. . . . Statewide hunting seasons for quail, rabbit, fox, squirrel, raccoon, pheasant and bobcat end Tuesday. by CNB