Joe
Martens
Acting Commissioner
New York State DEC
625 Broadway
Albany, NY 12233-1011
Dear Mr. Martens,
I am writing this letter to
express my opposition to recent proposals that would allow a directed trawl
fishery for striped bass, and also to express our concern about a declining striped bass
fishery.
It is important we face several
realities about the east coast population of striped bass. First, the size of
the population is declining and second, recent recruitment has been poor to bad
overall. It seems to us that these two
signals should give us pause,
lest we put the population in jeopardy of another steep decline similar to that
of the 1980s. In short, this should be a time when managers take a step back,
increase size limits, and reduce bag limits across the board. A flexible
management approach is, after all, a fundamental fisheries management
strategy in both fresh and
saltwater venues.
Furthermore, the harvesting of
striped bass for money, regardless of the particulars: commercial, recreational
commercial (ex. charter boats), guide services, etc; should not become an
excuse to allow harvest increases or excesses in a misguided sense of
protecting jobs. Many studies have repeatedly shown that the greatest value of
striped bass to the economy isn’t found in direct and easily documented
expenditures such as bookings alone or commercial landings; rather it is
nurtured within the day-to-day activities of striped bass anglers. More than
any other inshore species, anglers consider the pursuit of striped bass to be a
special, even sacred sport: a sport that requires a large fish population in
order to generate and maintain a high level of enthusiasm, and get the troops
out fishing frequently. When anglers fish often, they spend money on tackle,
line, lures, clothing, accessories, hotels, motels, gasoline and diesel, local
eateries, books, videos, etc.
Also, the recently implemented
saltwater license has had a subtle psychological effect on how anglers view
their angling experiences. To be blunt, they expect more. They expect a change
from the “old way,” where bureaucrats kow-tow to the demands of commercial
fishermen and others who make a living from our fisheries resources. Sooner or
later we all need to recognize the reality that if a species declines, fewer
anglers hire guides, get on party boats, or rent charter boats regardless of
how many fish they can theoretically kill. No one wants a day on the water
where very little happens. Angling is a sport about fun, and secondarily about
killing. Licensed anglers expect that managers will realize the importance of a
robust and conserved population of striped bass. Furthermore, we must remember this
reality: if the species anglers pursue aren’t nurtured and protected, there
will be little reason to purchase a license or go fishing. At that point, not only will a rich
tradition of pursuing striped bass in the coastal ocean suffer as it did in the
1980s, but all those who are part of an economy pursuant to angling for striped
bass will suffer as well.
This is a time when we need
conservation and protection of striped bass and not a liberalization of rules
that allows for more killing. Anglers have become increasingly concerned in
recent years about a reduced quality of striped bass fishing as well as the
declining size of the population. These serious concerns emerge from an
evaluation of their catches and their logs, and have stimulated a great deal of
vibrant discussion not only among independent anglers and their organizations,
but also in magazines, newspapers, and online: this is not a figment of our
collective imaginations, it is real. We need to reverse the decline, not
enhance it.
Yours Truly
