DATE: Thursday, September 11, 1997          TAG: 9709110432

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B9   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY RAJU CHEBIUM, ASSOCIATED PRESS 

DATELINE: BALTIMORE                         LENGTH:   52 lines

BAY'S STRIPED BASS ARE PLENTIFUL AGAIN

Ed O'Brien, a 30-year charter boat captain, is having a fine time fishing for striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay this year.

``Right now, fishing is as good as I've seen it,'' O'Brien said Wednesday. ``The fishing I'm seeing is as good as during the peak in the 1970s.''

O'Brien, who operates a charter boat in Chesapeake Beach, isn't alone in feeling that way.

Charter boat captains, recreational fishermen, commercial harvesters and scientists all say this year's striped bass - or rockfish - season is so good that it may turn out be one of the best in recent memory.

That's further proof that rockfish are continuing a remarkable comeback that began in the 1980s, when their numbers were so low some scientists were suggesting adding the fish to the endangered species list.

The state banned rockfishing for five years beginning in 1985 and began allowing restricted harvests of the fish - which can reach 2 to 3 feet - six years later.

``Striped bass are just abundant,'' said Pete Jensen, deputy director of the Maryland Fisheries Service, a part of the Department of Natural Resources. ``We have more striped bass than we have had in a number of decades, probably more than ever. The population has really responded positively to the moratorium.''

The news of a good rockfish season comes as the state struggles to find a solution to the Pfiesteria problem in the Pocomoke River on the Eastern Shore. The toxic microorganism is blamed for causing fish lesions, sores and kills in the lower Pocomoke, as well as health problems in some people.

O'Brien said that while Pfiesteria has dominated the headlines, the rest of the bay is teeming with rockfish, white perch, Spanish mackerel, bluefish and virtually every other species.

``It's been a dynamite fishing year. That's what's so sad about it,'' said O'Brien, vice president of the Maryland Charter Boat Association.

Scientists say the moratorium preserved spawning stock, which was able to breed for several seasons without the threat of being harvested. Scientists estimate the rockfish population will continue to grow until at least the year 2000.

The recreational fishing season, which began in August, lasts until November. The commercial hook-and-line season kicked off in July, and the gill-net season begins in late November or early December.

Environmentalists agree that the moratorium is largely responsible for rebounding rockfish numbers.

``What we're seeing with the return of rockfish in the past number of years is real good evidence that when you make an effort to manage a fishery, you're going to get good results,'' said Fran Flanigan, executive director of the Alliance For The Chesapeake Bay.

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