ACTION ALERT – ASMFC 2024 Annual Meeting (Wednesday, October 23, 2024 1:30-5PM EST)
In 2022 the ASMFC adopted a new ten-year striped bass management plan, Stripers Forever was the lone voice calling for bold action beyond the scope of the available options. We called for a ten-year harvest moratorium. At the time we said:
“We are 18 years into a 10-year management plan that has utterly failed in its objective to rebuild striped bass stocks. Now the ASMFC is preparing to embark on yet another 10-year plan of compromise and half-measures, and stripers may not survive. Bold, decisive action is needed to prevent a collapse of the fishery like we saw in the late 1970s. An emergency moratorium was adopted in 1984, and is the only approach proven to work.”
We stand behind that call and today there is an opportunity to once again send a message to the ASMFC: For the sake of the survival of wild striped bass, adopt a ten-year harvest moratorium.
Environmental conditions in the most important area for striped bass reproduction have narrowed to the point where there is no room for error, as evinced by five consecutive years of spawning failure in the upper Chesapeake. Warming water, micobacteriosis, predation by invasive species, lack of forage, increased fishing pressure, gill netting, and industrial-scale poaching are removing adults faster than they can breed. Soon we will be presented with new options that amount to little more than minor, incremental adjustments that will succeed only in delaying the bold action needed to save striped bass.
It took the ASMFC 18 years to admit their previous ten-year plan had failed. We are now three years into Amendment 7 and striped bass are worse off than they were when that ten-year plan began. And with five straight years of spawning failure there are no new generations of fish coming into maturity in sufficient numbers. Yet we continue to harvest mature fish rather than preserve them. The situation is unsustainable.
As we did in 2021, it is time to go off script and let the ASMFC know that we reject their options; we reject the absurdity of trying to reverse the rapidly building momentum of an impending crash with tweaks that even they admit have, at best, a coin-flip chance of making only modest improvements. Striped bass can’t wait.
The ASMFC’s goals are to restore abundance and healthy age stratification. To achieve those goals demands a ten-year harvest moratorium that will maximize survival of the fish available today, protect what fish are spawned tomorrow, and allow these fish to grow into maturity. Please write to express your frustration with the ASMFC’s half-measures and demand the kind of bold action befitting a crisis. A harvest moratorium. Ten years of zero commercial harvest and of strict catch-and-release for the recreational fishery is the ONLY policy that has a chance of achieving the ASMFC’s stated goals and of saving striped bass.
ACTION ALERT
Submitting your comments is an easy and effective way to be part of the process. Let the ASMFC know that they must act now. As an added bonus we will be giving away 5 limited edition SFxSLP striped bass bracelets.
To be automatically be entered to win all you need to do is send your comments to comments@asmfc.org and CC us at comments@stripersforever.org.
Following the meeting on October 23rd we will randomly draw 5 winners. Winners will be notified via the email address used to send in comments.
- Get your comments in by 5 PM on Tuesday, October 15 so they will be included in the supplemental materials for the meeting.
- You must indicate in your email that you want your comments included in the supplemental materials for the meeting.
Next Wednesday, October 23, 2024 from 1:30pm to 5PM EST the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board will meet during the ASMFC 2024 Annual Meeting. Below is the meeting agenda.
To register for the live webinar please click here: ASMFC 2024 Annual Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
Webinar ID: 565-353-915
Call in: +1.562.247.8422
Access Code: 953-170-135
A PIN will be provided to you after joining the webinar. For those who will not be joining the webinar
but would like to listen in to the audio portion only, press the # key when asked for a PIN.
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- ASMFC Annual Meeting: Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Main Meeting Materials (PDF)
- ASMFC Annual Meeting: Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Supplemental Materials (PDF)
- ASMFC Annual Meeting: Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board – Supplemental Materials 2 (PDF)
UMass Amherst Depredation Survey
Do you go fishing along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina to Maine? Has a predator taken your fish while fighting it on the end of the line? A team from the University of Massachusetts Amherst is conducting a survey on depredation – when a predator partially or wholly consumes an angler’s catch before it is landed. If this is something you’ve experienced, then they need to hear your views on depredation. Use the link https://bit.ly/3VipGtl to take the survey.
Dr. Andy J. Danylchuk, Professor of Fish Conservation at UMass Amherst, recently reached out regarding a survey his lab is conducting. It is being spearheaded by Evan Prasky, a PhD student. This is a survey of anglers from North Carolina to Maine and is focused on depredation. Andy is a friend of Stripers Forever and is also the Science Advisor at Keep Fish Wet, promoting the use of science-based best practices to catch, handle, and release fish. We are thrilled to help with this important survey by sharing it with you. As a bonus for your participation and help with this research project, you can enter to win a Patagonia Guidewater Backpack (retail value $299).
For those not familiar, depredation is when a predator (shark, seal, etc) takes a fish off the end of an angler’s line before it is landed. Depredation is a rapidly increasing and controversial topic, and there are important knowledge gaps that are important to fill so that our community can address these issues in an informed way. With that, this is why our survey is specifically focused on the recreational fishery between North Carolina and Maine, since previous surveys have addressed the issue further south.
ASMFC 2024 Summer Meeting (Tuesday August 6, 2024 1-2:30pm EST)
Next Tuesday, August 6, 2024 from 1pm to 2:30pm EST the ASMFC Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board will meet to get updates on a variety of items and possibly take action on several. Below is the meeting agenda.
While there are no major action items on the agenda for this upcoming meeting, there should be some interesting conversations. Hopefully there will be some recommendations from the Recreational Release Mortality work group and positive movement forward to reduce those impacts. We are also anxious to hear about any updates on the 2024 Stock Assessment Update. The future of the striped bass FMP (fisheries management plan) hinges on the results of the 2024 Stock Assessment Update. Given the 5+ years of poor spawns we have some major concerns about the health of the stock and rebuilding timeline.
As always, we will be in attendance and will provide a meeting summary as quickly as possible. If you would like to attend please use the webinar link below.
To register for the live webinar please click here: ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board
You can also attend via phone: Webinar ID: 325-845-475 Phone: 415.655.0052 Access Code: 565-335-899
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- ASMFC Spring Meeting: Main Meeting Materials (PDF)
- ASMFC Spring Meeting: Supplemental Meeting Materials (PDF)
ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting Summary
A quick note before we get started with a summary. As we have done in the past, we provided live updates from the meeting through our Instagram stories (@stripersforever). If you are unable to attend a meeting it is a great way to stay up to date both during and after the meeting. Instagram is a great tool for connecting us with our supporters, we encourage everyone to give us a follow and to tune into our stories during future ASMFC meetings.
Last Wednesday, May 1, 2024, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met during the ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting. Below is a quick summary of the four major items that were addressed at the meeting. Following that you will find the ASMFC meeting summary, motions and all additional links.
Revised Addendum II State Implementation Plans
Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) all submitted revised implementation plans for Addendum II. Things were fairly straight forward for PA and PRFC, the same cannot be said for Maryland, what a surprise. If you remember, during the March meeting, Maryland dug deep to come up with every possible reason for why they could not comply on the commercial side. It was a weak argument and the rest of the board was not having it. Well, this time around, the board gave in and let Maryland off the hook despite saying essentially the same thing. Maryland will not make any adjustments to their 2024 commercial quota. Instead they will monitor 2024 commercial landings by using a complex system of check stations (33 in total) throughout the state. That will monitor, on a weekly basis, the total catch through December 1st of 2024. For the month of December, a projection of total catch will be made. Those numbers will then be combined to determine the total 2024 commercial harvest. If at that point, the total 2024 commercial harvest exceeds the Addendum II allowable quota, then the 2025 commercial quota will be adjusted accordingly.
But it doesn’t end there. Because all of that will be happening at the end of the 2024 calendar year, adjustments to the commercial quota for 2025 may not be possible or may stretch into 2026. The commercial season in Maryland begins much earlier than it does in the northern states. So, Maryland is already setting things up for no actual reduction or payback of commercial quota until 2025-26. Considering the circumstances, this seems somewhat unbelievable but the board did approve these revised implementation plans. Allowing Maryland to do this seemed in some ways a show of good faith by the rest of the board. The unfortunate truth is that we have a 2029 deadline for rebuilding and we need to reduce mortality now, not in 2025 or 2026.
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries – Recreational Release Mortality Study
Lots of interesting info coming out of the MA DMF Terminal Tackle Research Study. While the study is ongoing, preliminary data suggests that fishing methods and tackle types do have unique correlation to mortality. While the average mortality figure for released fish remained around 9%, individual tackle types showed a much different story. Single hook fly being the lowest overall chance of mortality at 3.3%. Lures with two trebles and dead bait produce the highest mortality, 8.1% and 6.8% respectively.
There was also some interesting info revealed in regards to circle vs J hooks. Perhaps the wide gap ‘octopus’ circle hooks are not doing as much good as we had hoped. The circle hooks in the original Caruso study had a much narrower 11mm gap. This study looked at the current popular model circle hooks which have a 19mm gap. Taking many variables into consideration, the mortality estimates showed that popular circle hook models did not reduce mortality. This information will certainly give the work group something to discuss.
The study had nearly 700 anglers sign up to participate and 882 trips and 3.580 fish in total were reported. The citizen science portion of the study will hopefully be extended into other states so water temps can be factored in and also so the study can have a broader collection of data.
If you would like to participate in the citizen science portion of the study please visit the MA DMF website to sign up: https://www.mass.gov/forms/become-a-dmf-citizen-scientist-for-striped-bass-conservation
Board Work Group To Discuss Release Mortality
The last portion of the meeting was spent forming a board work group to further discuss and integrate release mortality into the FMP (fisheries management plan). This group will focus on two areas to reduce recreational release mortality. Gear restrictions to increase the chance of survival after a striped bass is released and effort controls. The later would most likely be via seasonal closures, either no-target or no-harvest. All of this will be very important following the next stock assessment which is expected to be released in the fall of 2024. The board will need use these management tools to react and update the FMP with the goal of staying on track for a 2029 rebuild of the stock.
Striped Bass Advisory Panel & Vice-Chair
Peter Jenkins, owner of the Saltwater Edge in RI was approved to join the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Peter is not only a great person but also has been engaged in recreational angling for 50 years, has been a tackle shop owner for 30 years and more recently has been Chair of the American Saltwater Guides Association (ASGA) for the past 3 years. It’s fantastic news and we congratulate Peter on this appointment. Having a level headed and intelligent conservationist on the advisory panel means a lot for the future of striped bass.
Lastly, the board elected Chris Batsavage from North Carolina as Vice Chair of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board.
From the ASMFC:
ATLANTIC STRIPED BASS MANAGEMENT BOARD (MAY 1, 2024)
Meeting Summary:
The Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board met to consider revisions to Addendum II state implementation plans; receive an update on recreational release mortality study results; consider tasks for a Board Work Group on recreational release mortality; consider an Advisory Panel nomination; and elect a Vice Chair.
Three jurisdictions, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC) submitted revised state implementation plans for Addendum II. States are required to implement Addendum II measures by May 1, 2024. In March 2024, the Board approved Addendum II state implementation plans with the following exceptions: 1) Pennsylvania’s proposed timeline for implementing its new spring slot and bag limit; 2) Maryland and PRFC’s proposed timeline for paying back any potential 2024 commercial quota overage. Pennsylvania’s revised implementation plan specifies that it has implemented its new spring slot and bag limit as of May 1, 2024. Maryland and PRFC’s revised implementation plans specify that they will monitor 2024 commercial landings and develop projections as needed to estimate whether landings will exceed the 2024 quota to inform 2025 commercial tag and permit distribution. The Board approved the revised implementation plans for all three jurisdictions.
The Board received an overview of a Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF) study to characterize striped bass recreational release mortality. The first phase of the study focused on the efficacy of circle hooks and comparing release mortality from J-hooks vs. circle hooks. The second phase of the study focused on comparison of release injury and mortality across various terminal tackle using citizen science data collected by striped bass anglers. Data collection for this phase will continue into 2024 with recruitment of citizen participants from other states. The third phase of the study will focus on a survey of striped bass anglers on terminal tackle use over the next few years. MA DMF noted that additional analysis of collected data and future publication will be pursued in the coming years. Visit https://madmf.shinyapps.io/striper/ for more information.
The Board discussed the establishment of a Board Work Group to discuss release mortality. The Board approved four tasks for the Work Group with an expected progress update from the Work Group at the 2024 Summer Meeting, and a report to the Board at the 2024 Annual Meeting. The first Work Group task is to review existing no-targeting closures (state and federal waters), including any information on impacts to striped bass catch, effort, enforceability, and how anglers may respond to no-targeting closures (i.e., shifting effort). The second task is to review the MA DMF release mortality study and other relevant reports to evaluate the efficacy of potential gear modifications. The third task is to identify stock assessment sensitivity runs to potentially inform Board discussion of release mortality as well as tradeoffs of reducing the release mortality rate vs. reducing the number of releases overall. The fourth task is to consider public scoping (e.g., survey) on potential measures to address release mortality.
The Board approved the nomination of Peter Jenkins, a recreational angler from Rhode Island, to the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Finally, the Board elected Chris Batsavage from North Carolina as Vice Chair.
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org.
Motions:
Move to approve the revised Addendum II implementation plans for Pennsylvania, Potomac River Fisheries Commission, and Maryland. Motion made by Mr. Armstrong and seconded by Mr. Luisi. Motion passes by unanimous consent.
Move to approve the tasks for the Board Work Group on recreational release mortality as discussed today. Motion made by Mr. Hasbrouck and seconded by Mr. Luisi. Motion passes by unanimous consent.
Move to approve Peter Jenkins of Rhode Island to the Atlantic Striped Bass Advisory Panel. Motion made by Dr. McNamee and seconded by Dr. Davis. Motion passes by unanimous consent.
Move to elect Chris Batsavage as Vice-Chair of the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board. Motion made by Mr. Gary and seconded by Mr. Geer. Motion passes by unanimous consent.
The 2024 ASMFC Spring Meeting summary can also be found at: http://asmfc.org/files/2024SpringMeeting/2024SpringMeetingSummary.pdf
For more information, please contact Emilie Franke, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at efranke@asmfc.org
ADDITIONAL LINKS
- ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Board: Presentations (PDF)
- ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting – Atlantic Striped Bass Board: Meeting Recording Audio/Video (YouTube)
- ASMFC 2024 Spring Meeting Summary: 2024 Spring Meeting Summary (PDF)
