2015 Annual Angler Survey Results

The results of the Stripers Forever 2015 Annual Fishing Survey are finalized and you will find them below. In 2015 we received 657 responses to our annual survey.  This represents the second year in a row of participation decline, and we believe that it reflects a decreasing interest in the fishery due to a decline in the quality of fishing.  This year’s survey has again produced a good representative sampling of sentiments from fishers all along the striper’s migratory range, and as usual MA and NJ vied for the greatest contributions with 154 and 149 completed surveys respectively.

2015 saw very little change in angler sentiment.  82% of anglers reported catching fewer fish compared to 85% in 2014.  73% said they were catching smaller fish compared to 71% in 2014.   In 2015 84% described the striper fishery as worse or much worse compared to 85% last year.  It seems evident that most of the older, larger fish from the great year classes of the 1990s and early 2000s have been removed from the population, and with the exception of an occasional school at certain peak periods the population is much less abundant now, and comprised mostly of smaller fish from the poor and mediocre year classes that have generally characterized the fishery since 2003.

We asked our members about what they were seeing from the 2011 year class.  The results were that 84% felt that this year class, which ASMFC biologist seem to be counting on, was appearing in the fishery at levels far below those that one would expect.  Only 16% of respondents felt that the 2011 year class was evident at levels expected from such a huge year class.

Answers to questions about the need for a slot limit of smaller-sized stripers, and what percentage of the current commercial quotas should be reallocated to recreational quotas, show that our members continue to believe we should not be harvesting large, breeding stripers, that they want to set aside a high percentage of the current commercial catch for conservation – and not harvest it themselves.  75% of our members said that they are willing to buy a stamp to finance the buyout of the commercial fishery.

We had survey results from 61 guides.  Without a doubt the decline in striper fishing is hurting this valuable industry as well as the related fishing tourism and tackle businesses.  The guides know how to fish their areas, though, and can usually produce the best results possible from their home waters.  If you are thinking about a guided trip please check out the guides and tackle shops listed on the Stripers Forever website.

We will send this information to the press and to fishery policy makers everywhere.  We hope that you will use this information personally to help us advocate for the goal of coast-wide striped bass game fish.  Please share the results with your local fishing club, home town newspaper, and elected officials that you may know.

• 2015 Survey Results and Comments Final
• 2015 Summary Data with graphics
• Data_Q27_160119 Guides Comments 2015
• Data_Q20_160119 Management Comments 2015
• Key Comparisons 2003 through 2015

If you have any questions about the survey please don’t hesitate to e-mail us at stripers@stripersforever.org

A Report On The Hearings At The Massachusetts State House

I want to thank everyone that went to the hearing, especially Mike Spinney, Bob Ford and Ted Merchant who boldly testified on behalf of our Game Fish Bills.

The Hearing environment was a bit more welcoming than expected yet there remains, I think, a very strong allegiance to those commercial fishermen that the elected officials don’t want to hurt. Quoting the Chairman’s comments that he made after the official hearing was concluded, ” I have to look out for the commercial fishermen in my district.”

Sadly, there are probably 200 times more recreational fishermen in his district than commercial permit holders, but because recreational fishermen aren’t vocal and don’t write to or call their elected political officials the empathy of the representatives and senators continues to favor those that do speak up and are heard.

I don’t mean to scold; I’m just telling it as I see it. We need to beat the bushes and somehow motivate our membership into getting personally involved in advancing striped bass fishery causes that will directly effect the quality of their lives. These elected officials need to be impressed with the benefits of conserving these fish by designating them a game species.

Fred Jennings put together and presented some very enlightening numbers crunching. “Due to the downturn in the striped bass fishery and the 80% fewer trips taken to fish for them since 2007 (NOAA) the Commonwealth has lost almost $250 million in salaries and wages and MA sales, fuel and income taxes have fallen by $45 million.”

Even when presented with the opportunity to support recovering these lost monies -and more – by making wild stripers a game species, there remains great political reluctance to change what many refuse to see as being broken. It really defies rational thinking. I can only understand this apparent political myopia that is based on the dismissal of facts, in that it allows elected officials to justify avoiding change, especially change that might adversely effect someone “…..in my district”!

At the conclusion of the official hearing, Fred Jennings and I were invited to meet with the committee members that were still in attendance, and we were given a terrific opportunity to participate in an informal discourse centered on the evidence supporting game fish status for wild striped bass. Many questions were asked and answered, and much additional information to our testimony was shared. We left the meeting room with the feeling that we were granted more time and positive attention than ever before, and that we had made some of the inroads necessary to get this legislation passed.

The process of effecting change, especially to an entrenched and traditional “way of doing things”, is difficult and requires time. Towards that end I feel we have made significant progress. I’m confidant Stripers Forever’s efforts are increasing support in the Massachusetts Legislature for conserving these special fish.

The comment period is still open for these bills. It would help our game fish cause if you would write a brief comment in support of these bills based on your fishing experiences especially if you feel the striped bass fishery has been degraded under present management policies. Links to the email addresses of the committee members are all listed below. THANKS, it will really help and take just a minute. Make sure to send send your comments to every member listed below. The more they hear from us the more likely they are to value the importance of Striped Bass conservation.

Dean Clark, MA Co-Chair

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For those that wish to read more, below are the two pieces that were written in response to Committee requests:

Representative- Rebuttal Response

Representative- Background Info

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Massachusetts State House

189th General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts
24 Beacon Street Boston, MA 01233

Senate Members
Anne Gobi – Senate Chair anne.gobi@masenate.gov – Rm 513
Michael Rush – Senate Vice Chair Mike.Rush@masenate.gov – Rm 511C
James Eldridge James.Eldridge@masenate.gov – Rm 218
James TImilty James.Timilty@masenate.gov – Rm 507
Thomas McGee Thomas.McGee@masenate.gov – Rm 109C
Robert Hedlund Robert.Hedlund@masenate.gov – Rm 313C

House Members
Paul Schmid – House Chair Paul.Schmid@mahouse.gov – Rm 473F
Brian Mannal – House Vice Chair Brian.Mannal@mahouse.gov – Rm 473F
Robert Koczera Robert.Koczera@mahouse.gov – Rm 448
Carolyn Dykema Carolyn.Dykema@mahouse.gov – Rm 127
Mary Keefe Mary.Keefe@mahouse.gov Rm 473F
Christine Barber Christine.Barber@mahouse.gov – Rm 236
Kames Kelcourse james.kelcourse@mahouse.gov – Rm 130
James Cantwell James.Cantwell@mahouse.gov – Rm 22
Josh Cutler Josh.Cutler@mahouse.gov – 473F
Jay Livingstone Jay.Livingstone@mahouse.gov – Rm 136
Donald Berthiaume Jr. Donald.Berthiaume@mahouse.gov – Rm 540

Please contact Dean Clark at seaflycapecod@gmail.com if you have any questions.

New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) Warns Of An Important Public Health Issue – Consumption Of Toxins In Striped Bass

The New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) recently ran a story about an important public health issue—consumption of toxins in striped bass. Here’s a link to the article.

This article will also run in the Cape Cod Times and the New Bedford Standard-Times.

When Stripers Forever learned that Massachusetts is the only state that does not warn its citizens of the potential dangers of eating striped bass, which are known to contain high levels of PCBs and mercury, we introduced legislation to correct the oversight.

Please take a moment today to share this article with your friends and family, and please also call your state legislators to tell them that you support House Bill 2069, An Article Relative to Food Labeling. You can use this link to find your local representative and senator and the best way to reach them: MA Legislature People Search

And when you do, please remind them that you are a recreational angler who supports strong striped bass conservation. We know our opposition is active in voicing their opinion, but we also know our membership far exceeds theirs and so we must let our voice be heard.

Thanks again for your continued support of wild striped bass conservation.

Massachusetts Legislature To Hold Hearings On Two SF Sponsored Bills

• SB476 (SD225) – An Act relative to the conservation of striped bass, which would restrict participation in the commercial striped bass fishery to those individuals with an historically significant (1,000 lbs average for previous five years) catch.
• HB667 (HD3042) – An Act relative to the conservation of striped bass, which would establish a special commission to study the economic impact of both the recreational and commercial striped bass fishery.

• Are a guide or charter captain who has lost clients or trips as a result of the fishery’s decline
• Are a recreational angler who has made fewer trips to the coast because of the fishery’s decline
• Are an angling-related retailer who has lost revenue because of a decline in interest in the fishery

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Here are some statistics and talking points to help you plan your testimony:

• Relationship of Striped Bass Catch and Saltwater Recreational Fishing Trips 2000- 2015
• FBJ Report on Revenue and Tax Impact of Declining Striped Bass Trips in MA 1 Nov 2015

• Declining catches – the recreational catch of striped bass has declined steadily and dramatically in the early 2000s reflecting on average declining year classes along with continued pressure on the resource including both legal and illegal sale of adult striped bass.
• Poor year class trends – in the 10 years from 1996 through 2005 the average young of the year in Chesapeake Bay was 22.2. From 2006 through and including 2015 it is 11.1 or exactly half. This calls for dramatic adjustments in harvest levels that have not been made. The quality of fishing is suffering.
• Poor apparent survival of year class members – the 2011 year class at 34.6 was easily the largest of the last 10 years. The coast should be swimming in 20-inch fish. Instead these fish are scarcer than they would be from a normal year class. Either there are considerable problems with how that year class was measured or the young fish did not survive as expected.
• Less fishing trips and people fishing in MA – nearly a decade of declining catches has reduced the number of MA saltwater fishing trips since 2006 by 50%.
• Empty assurances from ASMFC – the ASMFC has constantly offered upbeat forecasts for striped bass abundance that have been completely wrong. A more conservative management philosophy than currently exists is needed since the recreational fishery thrives on good fishing and not on high harvest levels.
• Neglect of clear evidence that much more money in managing for a high quality rec fishery – Most current fishery management within the stripers range is focused on maintaining the commercial harvest. The commercial value of striped bass is really incidental to the recreational value of the species, but that seems lost on the ASMFC and most state fishery directors.
• Difficulty of many commercial fishing participants in making money as evidenced by Peros article this year – SB476 is designed to immediately remove the weekend warriors from the MA commercial striped bass fishery. Only fishermen with proven commercial levels of landings will be allowed to continue in the fishery. This will help the real commercial fishermen remaining in the fishery to make a better return while also conserving the resource.