THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505210198
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 137 lines
The agencies charged with managing saltwater fishing at the national and state levels have drawn criticism from Virginia's largest group of anglers.
In letters to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, the Atlantic Coast Conservation Association has made its unhappiness clear.
Association president Bob Pride of Virginia Beach has criticized the National Marine Fisheries Service for proposing limits on yellowfin tuna catches that do not apply to all.
Also, Parks Rountree, an association official from Richmond, has written to William A. Pruitt, head of the Virginia commission, asking why the agency has been dragging its feet in establishing a commercial quota on speckled trout.
Both have raised good points, which deserve quick and reasonable answers.
The federal government has proposed a 10-fish daily bag limit on yellowfins caught by anglers, as well as a 350-metric-ton limit on the commercial purse-seine fishery. Yet it has failed to include other harvesters, including commercial rod-and-reel fishermen, in its proposals.
Pride criticized the plan in a letter to Richard Stone, the Virginia Beach native who heads the federal government's tuna program.
``The really insidious issue,'' Pride wrote, ``is that recreational bag limits provide regulators with the means to squeeze the recreational sector for harvest `savings.' The fish which recreational anglers save by virtue of such limits historically end up in commercial-sector allocations.
``Recreational fishermen are not the problem. Fishermen who sell their catch are the ones that seriously deplete the fisheries, and the proposed rule at least makes the definition clear: If you sell any part of your yellowfin catch, you are a commercial fisherman,'' and must have the necessary permits and safety equipment.
``While we support conservation and believe that recreational anglers must do their share to protect yellowfin, we fear that the imposition of any recreational bag limit without corresponding commercial quotas for all gear types might be a giant step backwards,'' he wrote.
The government has scheduled two local hearings on this and other tuna proposals. One will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Wednesday at the Lake Wright Motel on Northampton Boulevard in Norfolk, the other from 6 to 10 p.m. Thursday at the North Carolina Aquarium on Airport Road in Manteo.
As for speckled trout, the Marine Resources Commission several years ago adopted a regulation limiting recreational fishermen to 10 fish a day. But it did not place a quota on the commercial catch.
Rountree, in his letter to Pruitt, said the agency's own finfish-management subcommittee had, more than a year ago, approved establishing a quota, effective for the 1995 season. The committee is a citizens group, appointed by Pruitt, to advise the commission on fishery matters.
``As you know, the speckled trout is extremely valuable as a recreational game fish but is relatively insignificant from a commercial perspective (30,000 pounds annually landed),'' the letter says. ``The members of the committee agreed on the `proactive' approach to set some parameters to contain the fishery before it gets into trouble.''
STRIPERS, TOO: There is growing concern in angling circles that recreational fishermen did not get a fair shake when the new striped bass limits were adopted.
The regulations, announced this spring by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, called for tripling the length of the recreational season but quadrupling the commercial quota.
``We have several concerns about this,'' Pride said of the anglers group, ``and the biggest is whether or not the overall quota has been set too high. The plan has the backing of the scientific community. But what if they're wrong? We got into trouble by catching too many rockfish in the first place. That's why we have a management plan.
``Our second concern involves allocation. We all know that the commercial fellows are going to catch their quota. The commercial catch will go from 211,000 pounds (in 1994) to 879,000 pounds this year.
``But just because the recreational season was lengthened more than three times, from 32 days to 107 days, doesn't mean the catch will go up proportionately. We already had the peak of the season contained in the 32 days. I'll be surprised if the recreational catch increases by 50 percent. I'll be really surprised.
``By the same token, we think the angling season is long enough and that the two-fish bag limit is enough. Our real concern is that the fishery could again be hurt by excessive commercial catches.''
The striped bass fell on hard times in the 1970s and became the first inshore fish for which a coastwide management plan was adopted. Striper fishing was banned in most states. In Virginia, it was outlawed for almost two years, until November 1990.
The fishery now has been declared ``completely recovered.''
This is the first liberalization since the season reopened.
MONEY MATTER: Should money from Virginia's Chesapeake Bay fishing license be used for research on a species caught largely in ocean waters, where the license isn't required?
That's one of the questions the Marine Resources Commission will deal with Tuesday at its monthly meeting in Newport News.
Dr. Jack Musick, head of shark research at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, thinks the money will be well-spent, since so many sharks actually spawn in the Bay.
But I'm with those who oppose the idea, even though we need desperately to know more about the beleaguered shark. If we're going to fund shark research, let's first expand the license to cover all the state's salt waters.
There were those who opposed, for the same reason, funding the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament, which covers all waters, from the $1.3 million annual fund. But commission officials found a channel around this shoal. They ruled that only licensed anglers and those legally exempt from buying one would be eligible for the tournament's citation awards.
There are other scenarios. Should license money alone pay for any type of research or habitat-improvement project, such as planting aquatic vegetation, when both anglers and commercial fishermen will benefit? Shouldn't the commercials pay a fair share?
It'll be interesting to see how the nine-member commission goes on this one.
DUELING RODS: Fred and Eva Baine of Norfolk have been staging a season-long struggle to see who can catch the largest tautog.
Right now Eva is ahead, according to Ruth Cobb of Cobb's Marina in Norfolk, from which the Baines sail.
Fred started things off with a 10-pound, 12-ounce tog on April 3, when Eva's biggest fish weighed 9-10. Then he went even farther ahead April 16 with a 12-6 fish. On April 25, Eva closed the gap with a 10-12 tog.
But she moved ahead, perhaps for good, because the spring season is waning, with a giant weighing 13-12. It was boated May 7.
Stay tuned. We'll let you know if there are changes.
SHORT CASTS: Virginia's ``Hunters for the Hungry'' program hopes to donate more than 100,000 pounds of venison to needy causes during the 1995-96 deer season. The program has provided more than 250,000 pounds during its four years of existence. The program accepts and processes venison donated by successful hunters. Details: David Horne, 1-800-352-4868. . . . Betty Callahan of Chincoteague had the largest flounder in the Chincoteague Island Anglers' recent tournament. It weighed 3-10. . . . Virginia will observe national fishing week June 3-4, when no one will need a license in either fresh or salt water. . . . Dwight Sybers of Virginia Beach killed a 16-pound turkey in Southampton County. It had a 7 1/2-inch beard. . . . More than $500,000 is expected to be up for grabs in the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament at Morehead City, N.C., June 10-17. For details, call Kim Bennett, tournament director, at (919) 247-3575. . . . Virginia's shad-restoration program is having an outstanding spring. Biologists with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries collected more than 17.5 million eggs from 2,100 fish. The eggs will be hatched and stocked in various rivers. The program produced 5 million baby shad for stocking in 1994. by CNB