cowcatcher1

I came across this artical this morning, and thought it was a good read. I hope you enjoy it. Times willk be changing for us all.

South Carolina fishing: Restrictions proposed on striped bass

Anglers and tourism officials hope size restrictions and shorter season will bolster depleted fish Santee population

By JOEY HOLLEMAN - jholleman@thestate.com


A 36-inch rockfish, better know as a striped bass, is readied to be put back in the Chesapeake Bay after being caught Wednesday, April 13, 2005, off Chesapeake Beach, Md. Overfishing is being blamed for striped bass declines in South Carolina.

• PROPOSED STRIPER CHANGES

In a move that clashes with South Carolina’s don’t-tell-me-what-to-do mentality, a coalition of fishing guides, tourism officials and anglers is pleading with the Legislature to place more restrictions on catching striped bass.
For years, some groups ignored evidence the popular species was declining in size and numbers. Others couldn’t agree on the best way to turn around the decline.
Now, after a series of meetings when they were asked, rather than told, what to do, the groups have stepped forward to say: Stop us before we do more harm.
“Through a shared suffering, we can turn this thing around,” said Jerry Hilbish, who fishes for stripers on the Saluda River near Columbia.
The meetings led to proposed legislation, H. 4548, which would ban fishing for striped bass in the Santee River system from the Lake Murray dam south to the coast from June 1 through Sept. 30. (That includes the Broad River up to the Columbia Canal diversion dam and the Wateree River up to the Lake Wateree dam.)
The rest of the year, anglers could keep only three striped bass a day, with a minimum length of 26 inches. Currently, the year-round limits are five fish a day larger than 21 inches.
For fishermen around Columbia, the changes would cut short the striper season and steal some of the excitement from the spring weeks when the big fish run up the Congaree, Lower Saluda, Broad and Wateree rivers from downstream lakes.
For fishing guides on lakes Marion and Moultrie, the regulations could kill their business. But the truth is, they already are suffering because of the rapid drop in the striper population, caused in part by overfishing.
The state has monitored striper populations in the Santee system for about 30 years, and numbers have sunk to all-time lows the past few years.
Recent droughts contributed to the decline. Floods help wash essential nutrients into the lakes. Anglers believe growing populations of white perch, which compete for food, and cormorants, which eat young stripers, also have hurt. But studies indicate fishing causes more than half of the annual mortality.
Each year, the state stocks the Santee system with about 2.4 million striped bass fingerlings produced in hatcheries. Given a chance to grow old, the striper population should begin to turn around. The reproductive years begin at age 4 or 5, when the fish are about 26 inches long.
S.C. Natural Resources officials began tightening striper restrictions on the Santee River system decades ago. An 18-inch minimum, instituted in 1984, and a five-a-day limit, set in 1989, had little impact. A 21-inch limit, set in 1995, seemed to help until numbers began to drop again in 2002.
Early last year, during public meetings across the state, the agency suggested several possible restrictions. None of the ideas gathered steam, and nothing changed because the Legislature, not wildlife biologists, sets the regulations..
The state Department of Natural Resources decided to try a different tack last year. They hired Jae Espy from Clemson University to coordinate meetings of fishermen, guides and tourism officials appointed by legislators.
Rather than issuing a recommendation, the Natural Resources agency asked the stakeholders for ideas. At first, it was like herding cats. But the various groups eventually put aside their differences and admitted their shared needs.
“They had credible information presented to them in language they understood,” Espy said. “And we had long discussions — not being spoken down to — but real discussions.”
After numerous meetings, the group agreed to restrictions even more severe than the state agency had recommended. State Rep. David Umphlett, R-Moncks Corner, incorporated those recommendations into the House bill.
Allan Weiss, who owns Black Camp marina on Lake Moultrie, explained why the Santee Cooper Country tourism group wants restrictions.
“Some guides already have quit taking people out (for stripers),” Weiss said. “The economic impact has been dramatic, and the sooner the lakes return to their world-class status, the sooner the economic impact will be back to where it was.”
Fishing guides will be hit harder than anyone by the regulations. Don Drose of Don’s Guide Service on Lake Marion brought in about $9,000 from summer striper trips in recent years.
After 48 years of guiding striper trips, he will try to fill the void with catfish-fishing excursions.
“It’s going to impact me, but I think it needs to be done because they’re killing so many fish in the summer,” Drose said, referring to the propensity of caught-and-released stripers to die when placed back in warm lake water.
The proposed size regulations would mean if an angler caught a striper younger than about 5 years, it would have to be released. Wildlife biologists believe if the fish consistently get at least one year of reproduction before being caught, the population will stabilize.
“Over a six- or seven-year period, they will build back up,” Umphlett predicted. And fishermen, guides and tourism “will reap the benefits in the future.”
Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366.

Pt.Jude Joe

Wow 5 fish at 21 inches!

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www.pointjudelures.com

JackC

Just wanted ease your concerns. The fishery in this article is NOT our fishery. Its a unique fishery for that State. Our bass stocks are managed by ASMFC, stock assessment is just out and its all good news.

(I believe the fishery in that article is basically a totally different population of fish, note the discussion of stocking and FW fishing in the article.)

Go to the ASMFC website and you can read it, the report just came out.

Quote: The assessment estimates that the resource remains at a high level with spawning stock biomass at 55 MILLION pounds, well above the target and threshold levels of 38.6 and 30.9 million pounds....

Relax, bass and bluefish are the only bright spots in fishery management for NE.

Jack