THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 31, 1996 TAG: 9603310215
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 173 lines
One of the most pressing questions involving the tremendous late-winter, early-spring bluefin tuna fishery off Hatteras, N.C., apparently has been answered.
The hook-and-release-alive techniques being used by most anglers are not killing large numbers of these great game and food fish, as some have charged.
At least that's the finding of a study recently conducted by bluefin experts from the National Marine Fisheries Service, charged with the well-being of U.S. tuna stocks.
To see for themselves, scientists from the federal agency scanned the ocean floor for three days last weekend as boats were catching and releasing hundreds of bluefins, some in excess of 500 pounds.
The survey was performed by an ROV, a remote-operated submersible vehicle. Mounted with a video camera and powerful lights to view the ocean floor, the ROV covered an area in which at least 30 boats were fishing each day.
``We didn't see a single dead bluefin,'' said Ron Rinaldo, who headed the survey party. ``Our conclusion is that very little damage is being done.''
The Hatteras fishery, which has exploded in the past three years, has drawn sharp criticism from recreational and commercial fishermen in the Northeast, the bluefin's historic summering grounds. They have warned that, even though the overwhelming majority of fish are being released, the resulting trauma is causing many to die.
That's not the case, Rinaldo said.
``We have some concerns that a very few of the released fish may not make it,'' he said. ``But with the techniques the North Carolina fishermen are using, it looks like almost all the fish are being released in great shape.
``We've spent several days down there over the past three years, and every fish that I've seen was brought to the boat in a matter of a few minutes.
``When they were released, they all had bright, vivid colors. That's an indication they're in good shape.
``It would be different if the fish were fought for a couple of hours. Then they would produce a high degree of lactic acid and might not make it. Plus, their colors would be pale. But that hasn't been the case. We're going to keep monitoring the situation, but right now one of the fishery's biggest questions apparently has been answered.''
While bluefins may have been spending the late winter and early spring off the Outer Banks for eons, only in the past three years has the fishery been exploited.
This year, virtually every boat slip at Hatteras was filled for the season, which begins in early January and runs through early April. The run has attracted boats from as far away as Texas and Massachusetts.
Michael Leech, president of the International Game Fish Association, the world's largest angling organization, called it ``the greatest fishing in recorded history.''
5,000 WINNER: Rick Morris, the up-and-coming young bass-fishing professional from Virginia Beach, had one of his biggest payoffs in a recent tournament at Lake Murray, near Columbia, S.C.
Morris finished 13th in the Bassmaster Top 100 contest, staged by the Bass Anglers Sportsman Society. He won $5,000 with a two-day catch of 10 bass weighing 32 pounds, 11 ounces.
Stacey King of Reeds Spring, Mo., took the $46,000 top prize with eight fish weighing an amazing 45-6 - an average of almost 6 pounds per fish. He had the lunker at 9-4.
Dave Dudley of Lynchburg and Woo Daves of Spring Grove, the only other Virginians in the pro division, finished out of the money. But Guy Hall of Virginia Beach earned $400 with a 22nd-place finish in the amateur division.
DUCKS, GEESE UP: The annual midwinter waterfowl survey by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries revealed what a lot of hunters already knew: Waterfowl populations in Virginia were up this year.
While actual numbers were not announced, the agency's Gary R. Costanzo said the count was better than last year's and better than the state's five-year average.
``The number of dabbling (puddle) ducks remained about the same as in 1995,'' he said. ``But we saw increases in diving ducks, including redheads.''
While the number of Canada geese also was up, Costanzo said this did not necessarily reflect a reversal in the downward trend of recent years.
``It was a result only of the cold weather and snow conditions farther north on the Atlantic Flyway,'' he said. ``The same holds for the increase in snow geese and tundra swan.''
For the first time, hunting for Canada geese was banned throughout the flyway this season. Officials hope the reduced pressure will trigger a population increase.
FISHING SCENE: The landing of the season's first flounder at Wachapreague on the Eastern Shore heads a list of several recent developments on the fishing front.
Robert Trout of Onancock apparently caught the season's first flatfish last weekend, boating two in excess of the state's 14-inch minimum.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Nixon of Virginia Beach already has caught 11 tautog meeting the 9-pound minimum for citations from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament, which began its 39th year Jan. 1. Nixon's largest weighed 16-4. He also has had others weighing 15-8, 15-6, 15-5, 15-4, 13-14 and 13-8. All were boated over wrecks off the Virginia Beach coast.
Harvey Caldwell of Virginia Beach won the recent crappie contest staged by the Tidewater Anglers Club with a fish that weighed 1.23 pounds. Mason Baker of Chesapeake was second at 0.85, while Benny Cannon of Chesapeake had the heaviest stringer at 3.86.
Bruce Robertson of Chesapeake caught three big speckled trout at the Hot Ditch in Chesapeake last week. They weighed 8-14, 8-0 and 5-10. Tracy Nutter of Chesapeake scored at 6-0.
Ray Hardy of Virginia Beach earned a Virginia freshwater citation with a 1-4 white perch, caught at West Neck Creek. Tom Bollweg of Norfolk scored with a 4-1 pickerel at Lake Burnt Mills.
CONTROVERSY: Some folks think the Virginia Marine Products Board was out of line with its recent request for $75,000 from the commercial fishermen's license fund.
Bob Pride of Virginia Beach, the new executive director for the Coastal Conservation Association, an angling organization, said he felt the money could better be spent on finfish research.
Several others expressed similar sentiments.
Pride said that his organization ``did not object to an industry promoting itself,'' but that the $75,000 would be better spent on research, which he said is disproportionately funded from recreational license fees.
The Marine Products Board is an 11-person group appointed by the governor to promote Virginia seafood.
The money would be used, among other things, to produce a video showing how the commercial fishing industry operates in Virginia.
Pride said he also objected to the opening statement in the proposal, which he said seemed to be aimed at Virginia's recreational fishermen.
That statement said: ``Virginia, along with virtually all coastal states, is faced with anti-commercial initiatives.''
``The idea that one board appointed by the governor would request money from another public board to promote and defend one user group against another user group is very strange,'' Pride said.
The proposal was not meant to be anti-recreational at all, according to Shirley Estes, executive director of the Marine Products Board.
``There's no reason for our board to be anti-recreational,'' she said, ``but I guess that's been misinterpreted.
``We just want to tell the public how the commercial fishing industry operates. If we have offended anyone, that certainly wasn't our intent.''
Virginia receives about $1.4 million a year from the licensing of saltwater anglers, another $460,000 from licensing commercial fishermen.
While separate citizens boards recommend how these funds are to be spent, the final decision rests with the board of the Marine Resources Commission.
The Marine Products Board is funded primarily by license fees paid to the marine commission for specific types of gear, such as crab pots and haul seines. This includes recreational-use-only licenses for crab pots and gill nets.
Because commercial fishing is on the decline, this fund has decreased from a high of $384,160 in 1989 to $293,847 for the current fiscal year, ending June 30.
SHORT CASTS: The four-fish daily bag limit and 14-inch minimum size on gray trout will remain in effect for 1996, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission decided Tuesday. . . . Deer hunting in North Carolina will get off to an early start Sept. 9, when the archery season opens statewide. In the eastern section of the state, the gun season for deer will begin Oct. 14. These and other small-game and big-game seasons have been approved by the Wildlife Resources Commission. . . . The 13th annual Reedville Bluefish Derby has received enough early entries to guarantee all prize money, according to Roger Wilkins, contest director. More than $100,000 in cash and prizes will be available in the contest, set for June 13-15. For the first time, striped bass also will be eligible for awards. . . . Ray Mangus of Virginia Beach has been elected president of the new Virginia Beach Billfish Foundation. Jim Ingham is vice president, Larry Davenport treasurer, Martha Davenport secretary and Cathy Ingham corresponding secretary. The club has 70 members. . . . Tom Charlton has been named president of the Nags Head Surf Fishing Club of North Carolina. Other officers are: vice president, Kearns Lowman; secretary, Maryann Maryott; and treasurer, Ruth Fowler. . . . A study to determine Virginia's population of ruffed grouse has been launched by Virginia Tech, funded by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. . . . The Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina is looking for anglers and angling groups to aid in a speckled trout tagging program. Funded by a $6,000 grant from the Division of Marine Fisheries, the program has a goal of tagging 2,000 specks. For details, contact CCA-NC in Wilmington, N.C., at 1-910-256-0083. . . . Bill Sugg of Suffolk, who annually teaches a six-week course in saltwater fishing, will offer a one-night class in offshore techniques April 9 at Lockhart's restaurant, at 8440 Tidewater Drive in Norfolk. Instructors will include charter skippers Don White, John Fleet and Al Paschall. Cost will be $15. For reservations and details, contact Sugg at 255-2833. by CNB