Hearing held for summer flounder regulations
A public hearing was held Jan. 15 in Dover about the proposed summer flounder regulations for 2015. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has the responsibility of setting the recreational size and bag limits as well as the seasons for summer flounder. Kirby Rootes-Murdy, the ASMFC flounder management plan coordinator, presented the program.
The reason for this hearing was to give the public a chance to have input before the ASMFC announced the 2015 flounder regulations. In 2014, ASMFC placed Delaware in the Southern Region along with Maryland and Virginia. All three states were given a 16-inch minimum size and a four-fish bag limit with no closed season.
New Jersey cried bloody murder because they were put in a region with New York and Connecticut, where each state had an 18-inch size limit, a five-fish bag limit and a 128-day season. They raised such a stink that ASMFC developed several options that would put all or part of New Jersey in the Southern Region.
Other than the status quo, all of these options would raise the minimum size in Delaware or in the states that remain in the Northern Region. In other words, the only state that would benefit from a change in regions would be New Jersey, and all other states would pay a penalty.
When public comments opened, everyone who spoke said to keep the regions the same. The one option that did receive some support would make Delaware Bay part of the Southern Region with the same 16-inch minimum size and four-fish bag limit. However, this option would raise the size limit in the Northern Region to 18.5 inches.
I don’t see how any of the options, except the status quo, could possibly pass since all the others will be detrimental to every state except New Jersey. The next ASMFC meeting will be in February, and we will have to wait for the results.
I did want to mention that 14 people attended this meeting, which is 14 more than attended the last flounder hearing. This is even more surprising since the only notice of the hearing was online.
New outdoor show
I want to thank Chuck Bishop for alerting me to a new boating and fishing show that is scheduled for May 23 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at American Legion Post 28 in Millsboro. This will be a swap meet as well as a fishing expo, with lots of tackle and boats available for sale. There will be seminars and food available. All proceeds will be used to take military veterans on fishing trips. Sounds like a good show for a great cause. I hope to have more info as we get closer to the event.
Catch and release
I am sure that when the 2015 rockfish season begins Delaware and most of the other states will have some sort of a two-fish bag limit. There has been grumbling that a one-fish limit is plenty for everyone, but unfortunately, this is not true. The charter and head boat industry would be impacted by a one-fish limit since it is unlikely many patrons would pay a considerable amount of money to take home one rockfish.
My personal preference would be a two-fish limit for a slot rockfish between 28 and 36 inches. I really don’t see any need to kill a rockfish over 36 inches, since the reduction ordered by the ASMFC is supposed to conserve the breeding stock. A similar slot limit has worked extremely well for red drum, increasing the population throughout their range.
I realize that red drum are an entirely different fish than striped bass. Drum have different spawning habits, live most of their lives in the ocean or bays, and never travel into fresh water. Nevertheless, I still believe if we save the big rockfish, we will end up with more rockfish.
Since my idea has zero chance of becoming the law, I would ask that all anglers release any rockfish measuring more than 36 inches. With the most likely regulations allowing one fish from 28 to 30-some inches and one fish over the maximum, anglers who release striped bass in excess of 36 inches will only take home one fish per trip.
You may ask how much of a difference will my releasing the so-called trophy fish have on the overall health of striped bass stocks? In truth, I have no idea. I do know for a fact that if you kill the large fish the breeding stock will diminish, leaving fewer mature females to spawn, so releasing the big ones may perhaps improve the overall population of striped bass.
At least, just think about it.
