Fish Report 12/7/2011
Sorry Bobby, Going Fishing
NE Regional Action Items
VTRs?
Friday, December 9th -- Long Sea Bass -- Calm & Warm(er) -- 6 to 4 -- $125.00 -- Bait Provided -- Jigs Are Not -- (but jigs are hot!)
Hi All,
A calm has opened for Friday, December 9th.
Winds 5 to 10 -- Waves 1 to 2 -- Air Temp 50 -- Might be the last of that this winter.
Long Sea Bass -- 6 to 4 -- $125.00 -- Bait Provided -- Jigs Are Not.
Try to get another cbass trip Monday -- 12/12/11 -- 5:30 to 4 -- $125.00 -- But the forecasted calm isn't as sound--Maybe; there don't appear to be many windows coming..
Capt. Bob's service is Friday at 11:00 -- My obligations are too many not to fish if I can.. He, of all people, would have understood..
Will be thinking of him though. Have been. A friend sent this very curious classical/bluegrass hybrid tune with Yo-Yo Ma, Aoife O'Donovan, Chris Thile -- Haunting -- Track is Here and Heaven http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IT-xf0IVdE
.........................
Lot of good stuff falling into place from the rec-fish summit a while back http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2011/12/docs/action_agenda_ne.pdf
I was so glad to see Essential Fish Habitat -EFH- in the Summit Action Plan
..then I read on.
"In the Mid-Atlantic, the Northeast Regional Office will provide technical assistance in development of the EFH provisions of the Bluefish Fishery Management Plan........ "
Dang, well, blues do use reefs for about two months in fall when they're eating the heck out of sea bass -- there is an ecosystem connection.
Pretty disheartening though.
Ah well, its one thing in an ocean of ills.
There is a lot in that plan -- worth reading.
Then Dr. Chris Moore, Executive Director of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, sends out a letter to participants in last week's conference. He concludes by stating our fear the data we send in, the Vessel Trip Report data -- a catch form we fill out every day ..that our fears are unfounded because It Is Used to fact-check recreational catch estimates, at least for party/charter.
Um, well, No.
The Official Estimate for Maryland Party/Charter sea bass in May/June 2010 is Zero. I officially reported --and WOULD NOT have received fishing permits the following year had I not-- 2,026 cbass in just the first week of season.
In 2011 I reported 848 cbass for the first 4 days I fished in May. The official estimate for all Maryland party/charter sea bass for all of May/June is 713.
There are other boats sending this data in.
"Can't change it."
"Not Our Fault."
"Just Following Orders."
The single most important aspect of VTR truthing --just a concept of mine-- is the ability to determine percentages or, via participant research, "mode-share" of catch based off VTR-verified data...
For instance, there's NO WAY that Maryland private boats (here the 'private boat mode') EVER took more sea bass than MD partyboats -- EVER.
Unless you use the official estimates.
There's NO WAY that NJ's shore anglers caught ALL the mid-Atlantic's shore-based tog in March/April 2010 -- There's NO WAY those same NJ shore anglers caught 67,376 more tog that spring than ALL the party & charter boats in ALL the Mid-Atlantic..
But managers, who mostly don't fish, shrug their shoulders, "Angler effort sure is hard to predict."
I can show numerous examples where just my own VTR reported catch exceeds the MRFSS estimate in a given period or year - and I can show where catches fantastically higher than my real percentage of MD catch are represented..
However hard it is to push with rope--to show an estimate is too high, I can absolutely demonstrate many of MRFSS' underestimates.
I'm telling you, MRFSS is a cancer eating fisheries science from the inside.
Hey Management -- NY, NJ, VA & DE -- everyone has different percentages -- Find out what they are and use the VTRs to calculate if MRFSS is even in the ballpark.
I could go on & on.
Believe I have, actually.
Finding the truth of catch is vital to righting our restoration strategies..
From a knowledge of habitat we could base a true picture of where our restoration lies based on present-day holding capacity. With knowledge of spawning-biology, philopatry (homing/natal fidelity) & engineered/protected habitat expansion we can take the Mid-Atlantic's reef fish populations higher than any historical number.
I believe we are in marine science's darkest hour, a time when fishery restoration was thought to be simply a matter of catch restriction. Regulation will always be central, but so too is leaning how to make more fish..
Regards,
Monty
Capt. Monty Hawkins
mhawkins@siteone.net
Party Boat "Morning Star"
Reservation Line 410 520 2076
http://www.morningstarfishing.com/