At the dawn of the 21st Century, anglers in addition to fishery managers were fighting over striped bass.
More particularly, they were fighting over how the fish should live on managed—for maximum yield, which suggested unopen to grade of growth overfishing in addition to a spawning stock that lacked most of the older, larger in addition to most fecund females, or for a larger, stable, sustainable population that included a broad arrive at of ages in addition to sizes, but yielded a somewhat smaller annual harvest.
A large number of anglers, many of whom had fished for striped bass earlier in addition to during the stock collapse of the slowly 1970s in addition to early on 1980s, argued that the latter approach would, inwards the end, live on best for both fish in addition to fishermen.
“The job’s non done until nosotros select dorsum the large bass,”
they pointed to enquiry such every bit that referenced inwards a articulation National Marine Fisheries Service/United States Fish in addition to Wildlife Service report, which noted, inwards part, that
“The distribution of historic menses classes inwards a population has of import implications for stock productivity in addition to stability. Studies on striped bass direct hold shown that larger fish make larger eggs in addition to larvae, in addition to larger individuals of these life stages direct hold a greater gamble of survival.”
At the fourth dimension that debate was going on, fishery managers were mostly focused on obtaining maximum sustainable yield from fish populations. Managing for MSY mostly results inwards a population that, spell able to hold itself nether normal circumstances, is fairly pocket-sized in addition to made upward primarily of smaller individuals; the relatively high annual harvest charge per unit of measurement assures that most fish volition live on removed from the population good earlier they achieve a large size or older age.
Although the smaller individuals each contribute relatively footling to the spawning stock, they brand upward for depression private fecundity alongside high levels of abundance, in addition to collectively make plenty spawn to make average recruitment over the long term.
However, a spawning stock that is comprised of exactly a few historic menses classes, in addition to is dependent patch to relatively high levels of angling mortality, is vulnerable to recruitment failure. Should it sense consecutive years of below-average spawning success, spell mature adults are steadily removed from the population, the size of the spawning stock tin chop-chop decline. With few larger, older fish inwards the population to furnish a reserve of fecund females, the spawning potential of the stock volition plummet in addition to the stock tin easily collapse.
That is essentially what happened to striped bass during the slowly 1970s in addition to 1980s, when recruitment inwards the critically of import Maryland spawning areas tanked for fourteen years, initiative of all inwards 1975. Such hapless recruitment, coupled alongside excessive harvest, caused the stock to collapse, in addition to required heroic measures on the purpose of fishery managers to nurse it dorsum to health.
Not wanting to reckon history repeat itself, the anglers argued for lower harvest levels that would atomic number 82 to a to a greater extent than resilient stock inwards which the older historic menses classes were well-represented.
In to a greater extent than recent years, the quest for such a well-stratified stock—one which includes substantial numbers of what biologists at in 1 lawsuit sometimes cite to every bit “big, old, fat, fertile woman somebody fish”—has larn well-accepted amidst mainstream fisheries scientists. But 15 or xx years ago, the anglers who sought to elevate the long-term wellness of the striped bass stock inwards a higher house the chance for a large near-term harvest were staking out a seemingly radical in addition to sure controversial position.
The depth of the argument was illustrated yesteryear the differing opinions held yesteryear diverse members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Striped Bass Management Board; the split didn’t only separate dissimilar ground delegations, but separated representatives sent to ASMFC from a unmarried state.
For example, at the Management Board’s Dec 2002 meeting, Pat Augustine, the Governor’s Appointee from New York, set frontwards a displace that would hold the target angling mortality charge per unit of measurement at 0.30, a level that would let nearly 26% of the adult population to live on harvested each year.
In response, Gordon Colvin, who represented the New York Department of Environmental Conservation’s Marine Bureau, argued for a to a greater extent than conservative harvest level, saying
“as stated yesteryear unopen to of the advisors, at that spot is a clear indication inwards this amendment of an objective that would accelerate, to the extent that it’s reasonable to make so, the aging of the population, in addition to it volition accelerate faster at a lower mortality rate.
“Our ain analysis present that consistent alongside the stated objective of the plan…”
The destination outcome was Amendment vi to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass, a management document that managed to satisfy neither side. While the novel Amendment, adopted inwards 2003, acknowledged that
“1) There is growing concern that the management programme contained inwards Amendment 5 may non live on appropriate to forestall the exploitation target inwards Amendment 5 from beingness exceeded.
[and]
2) Over the yesteryear few years many members of the angling community direct hold raised the concern that the availability or abundance of large striped bass inwards the coastal migratory population has decreased,”
a goal
“To perpetuate, through cooperative interstate fishery management, migratory stocks of striped bass; to let commercial in addition to recreational angling consistent alongside the long-term maintenance of a broad historic menses structure, a self-sustaining spawning stock; in addition to also to furnish for the restoration in addition to management of their essential habitat, [emphasis added]”
and clear objectives to
“Manage striped bass fisheries nether a command dominion designed to hold stock size at or inwards a higher house the target woman somebody spawning stock biomass grade in addition to a grade of angling mortality at or below the target exploitation rate”
and
“Manage angling mortality to hold an historic menses construction that provides adequate spawning potential to sustain long-term abundance of striped bass populations,”
it also failed to cut down the target mortality rate, which made the Amendment’s acknowledgements, goal in addition to objectives band somewhat hollow.
Unfortunately, those who sought to cut down angling mortality ultimately flora themselves justified, for the woman somebody spawning stock biomass peaked inwards 2003, the same yr that Amendment vi was approved, in addition to and hence began a long slide from which it has non yet recovered.
A novel benchmark stock assessment, released inwards 2013, non alone documented the decline, but advised that the Amendment vi reference points were, every bit unopen to of us had warned a decade before, far every bit good high.
New, lower angling mortality reference points—a target of 0.18 in addition to a threshold of 0.219—were adopted inwards 2014. An update to the stock assessment indicated that, at the destination of the 2015 angling season, the woman somebody spawning stock biomass stood at 58,853 metric tons, good below the 72,032 metric ton target in addition to exactly slightly inwards a higher house the 57,626 metric ton target that denotes an overfished stock.
Those are the form of numbers that should brand fishery managers realize that that wellness of the striped bass stock is non every bit robust every bit it should be, in addition to drive them to human activity inwards a real conservative in addition to precautionary means until spawning stock biomass shows a fabric increase.
Unfortunately, unopen to managers desire to human activity inwards a real dissimilar manner. At the Striped Bass Management Board coming together held in conclusion October, representatives of the Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions, led yesteryear the Maryland delegation, along alongside the unremarkably conservation-averse representatives from New Bailiwick of Jersey in addition to Delaware sought to increment striped bass mortality yesteryear convincing the residual of the Management Board to consider reference points that select into trouble concern human relationship non alone the biological needs of the striped bass, but also diverse “socio-economic” considerations.
“Current [fishing mortality] target in addition to threshold are those that volition hold the populations at [spawning stock biomass] target in addition to threshold.
“There is a trade-off betwixt preserving [spawning stock biomass] in addition to allowing fishing.
“The Board has raised concerns that the electrical current [biological reference points] are every bit good conservative for diverse biological, ecological, in addition to socio-economic reasons, in addition to may live on restricting angling unnecessarily.”
The Management Board has appointed a working grouping to aspect into the number in addition to brand a recommendation, which the Management Board tin either adopt or reject.
In other words, hither nosotros travel again. The same arguments that nosotros faced when Amendment vi was beingness drafted are, similar a B-movie monster, coming dorsum to life exactly when nosotros idea they were finally dead.
Except this fourth dimension nosotros know that the striped bass stock slid downhill when fished at higher levels, in addition to that bass are far less abundant than they were exactly x years ago.
When it comes to fisheries issues, those who await the worst are seldom disappointed, hence it’s belike fourth dimension to larn ready for unopen to other fight. This 1 volition probable live on brusque in addition to sharp, in addition to focused on ASMFC’s Feb meeting, when the reference dot number volition belike live on decided.
If the determination favors socio-economic factors instead of biology, that determination volition almost sure infect the side yesteryear side stock assessment, in addition to harm the striped bass management process—and the wellness in addition to abundance of the striped bass stock—for at to the lowest degree the side yesteryear side v years, if non beyond.
So direct hold a overnice vacation season, in addition to live on ready to verbalize upward for the striper when the New Year's Day begins.
Because it mightiness live on a novel yr soon, but the same sometime struggle is all the same going on.
Striped Bass--Same Fight, Unlike Decade
4/
5
Oleh
Admin
