Fisheries Management

One weekday last September, off the mouth of the Choptank River, the flounder fishing was only a little short of incredible. In fact, had Keith Walters and I wanted to fish out the balance of the rising tide, we could have caught keepers until we ran out of minnows.Instead, we kept perhaps a dozen flounder from 15 to 23 inches and headed in.This year, the Department of Natural Resources is proposing to change the regulations for the recreational summer flounder fishery to ensure that quality fishing continues.

Steamed crabs, cream of crab soup, crab cakes, crab imperial, soft shell crab, deviled crab, corn and crab chowder, crab bisque, crab dip, crab salad, crab fritters, crab ravioli, crab pie, crab quiche - but that's probably enough for the first day. Pardon us while we drool at the news that the Chesapeake Bay crab population has rebounded. The annual winter dredge survey has projected an estimated 764 million blue crabs bay-wide, the highest crab population estimate since 1993 and a stunning two-thirds more than last year's total.

THE REMARKABLE REBOUND of the rockfish in the Chesapeake Bay is an exultant affirmation of scientific fisheries management and of prudent human restraint. Young rockfish in the bay are at record levels -- indeed, 50 percent higher than the abundance record set three years ago, according to the state's annual survey that has been conducted since 1954.That's exciting news, given the virtual collapse of the valuable bay species in the 1980s and the resulting five-year Maryland moratorium on catching rock that was lifted in 1990.

Anglers and watermen are at odds, again, this time over fishing license fees.  With the Maryland Department of Natural Resources facing a looming deficit in funds for overseeing both recreational and commercial fishing, anglers are pushing a bill that would require the state to cover 90 percent of its costs for managing each fishery with license fees from the people engaged in that activity. They testified before the House Environmental Matters Committee in support of HB1173 , while watermen argued that the issue needs more study.

After years of watching the quality of fisheries management and research deteriorate as money and staff melted away, a group representing some of the state's most influential fishermen has decided to take the lead in putting the agency back on a strong footing. The Fishery Management Reform Act, sponsored by state Sen. John Astle, calls for raising saltwater and freshwater license fees and requiring a 50 percent match from the state's general fund that would put $3.75 million in the Department of Natural Resources budget.

The public will get the opportunity to comment on the Striped Bass Advisory Board's proposed regulations for the fall striped bass fishery from 6 to 9 p.m. Monday.The meeting will take place in the ground-floor conference room of the Maryland Department of Agriculture, 50 Harry Truman Parkway, Annapolis.This year's proposal would allow an increase in the striped bass quota from 750,000 pounds to 1,074,000 total allowable catch. The proposal would establish 1991-1992 seasons and require recreational permits and tags and catch limits.

TOKYO -- I almost packed a fishing rod. But the thought of making the local newspapers for illegally taking carp from the Imperial Ponds gave me pause. It's tough to recall what day it is here at the World Figure Skating Championships, where Bel Air's Kimmie Meissner was defending her title. If you want to try something different, try keeping skaters and stripers straight. Can't wait to get back and do some fishing. Right now, the only fish I'm seeing is sushi, and that's nothing but fancy bait.

A 15-year veteran of the Department of Natural Resources has been tapped to head the struggling Maryland Fisheries Service. Tom O'Connell, 38, inherits a unit that has lost a quarter of its work force over the past five years and could lose a like number to retirement by 2011. It faces a skeptical constituency of 650,000 recreational anglers, watermen, conservationists and charter boat captains. "It was a minute of excitement followed by an overwhelming feeling of responsibility," said O'Connell, a Caroline County resident, who was promoted from assistant director for the Estuarine and Marine Fisheries Division.

The fleet in the BOC Challenge, a single-handed round-the-world sailing race, is expected to be in Sydney, Australia, before Christmas. And for American Steve Pettengill, the leg from Cape Town across the Roaring 40s of the southern ocean have been especially challenging.Earlier this month, a part of the rig on Hunter's Child broke, and Pettengill was in danger of losing the mast overboard. At the time of the breakage, Pettengill had been making 13 knots under reefed main and jib in 30- to 40-knot winds and heavy seas.

Why can't impatience be a virtue, too? I know, "Slow and steady wins the race," and "Rome wasn't built in a day." But we got to the moon because John F. Kennedy poked a stick in the placid behinds of Americans and the rocket establishment. Teams such as the Detroit Tigers get better because the guy with the checkbook OKs a blockbuster deal when everyone else is happy just listening to themselves talk. (Can you hear us now, Orioles?) So Scott McGuire, one of the young Turks on the state Task Force on Fisheries Management could hardly be faulted for expressing disappointment when his eager "I'm ready to get to work" was met with a verbal bucket of cold water and a lengthy tutorial on all things finned.

A 15-year veteran of the Department of Natural Resources has been tapped to head the struggling Maryland Fisheries Service. Tom O'Connell, 38, inherits a unit that has lost a quarter of its work force over the past five years and could lose a like number to retirement by 2011. It faces a skeptical constituency of 650,000 recreational anglers, watermen, conservationists and charter boat captains. "It was a minute of excitement followed by an overwhelming feeling of responsibility," said O'Connell, a Caroline County resident, who was promoted from assistant director for the Estuarine and Marine Fisheries Division.

Why can't impatience be a virtue, too? I know, "Slow and steady wins the race," and "Rome wasn't built in a day." But we got to the moon because John F. Kennedy poked a stick in the placid behinds of Americans and the rocket establishment. Teams such as the Detroit Tigers get better because the guy with the checkbook OKs a blockbuster deal when everyone else is happy just listening to themselves talk. (Can you hear us now, Orioles?) So Scott McGuire, one of the young Turks on the state Task Force on Fisheries Management could hardly be faulted for expressing disappointment when his eager "I'm ready to get to work" was met with a verbal bucket of cold water and a lengthy tutorial on all things finned.

Tired blood alert: Crack open the Geritol and pass it to the Department of Natural Resources. After six months of dawdling, the leadership of the DNR last week rolled out the list of people it has selected to revise the state's fisheries management plan. Same old cast of characters. What a pity. When Secretary John Griffin and sidekick Eric Schwaab took forever to recruit members for the Fisheries Management Task Force, they raised hope that perhaps they were about to do something bold, something to signal a new day, something to show that they are deeply worried about the decline in the number of recreational fishing licenses sold each year and the lack of interest in the sport by our tadpoles.

TOKYO -- I almost packed a fishing rod. But the thought of making the local newspapers for illegally taking carp from the Imperial Ponds gave me pause. It's tough to recall what day it is here at the World Figure Skating Championships, where Bel Air's Kimmie Meissner was defending her title. If you want to try something different, try keeping skaters and stripers straight. Can't wait to get back and do some fishing. Right now, the only fish I'm seeing is sushi, and that's nothing but fancy bait.

After years of watching the quality of fisheries management and research deteriorate as money and staff melted away, a group representing some of the state's most influential fishermen has decided to take the lead in putting the agency back on a strong footing. The Fishery Management Reform Act, sponsored by state Sen. John Astle, calls for raising saltwater and freshwater license fees and requiring a 50 percent match from the state's general fund that would put $3.75 million in the Department of Natural Resources budget.

Lately, most of the news from Washington has been dominated by partisan fights and acrimony. However, there is one issue receiving bipartisan support - the fate of America's oceans. The Senate recently approved the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by unanimous consent. This development comes not a moment too soon. Destructive practices by the commercial fishing industry are depleting fish populations and devastating key ocean habitat. Equipped with high-tech fleets, fishing industry conglomerates have become so voracious that some fish populations have disappeared within just a few years.

Saving the shad may require a rescue mission launched from Capitol Hill.Atlantic Coast states seem incapable of doing it on their own, because of competing interests, differing regulations and pressure from local fishermen.But legislation before Congress would force the states to limit catches of shad and other coastal fish that roam from place to place and need regional protection.Congress alone has the clout to force the Atlantic group to act in unison to save threatened species."This is the only way you can get states to do what they have to do -- [threaten them with]

Lately, most of the news from Washington has been dominated by partisan fights and acrimony. However, there is one issue receiving bipartisan support - the fate of America's oceans. The Senate recently approved the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by unanimous consent. This development comes not a moment too soon. Destructive practices by the commercial fishing industry are depleting fish populations and devastating key ocean habitat. Equipped with high-tech fleets, fishing industry conglomerates have become so voracious that some fish populations have disappeared within just a few years.

ON SEPT. 11, 1984, Maryland stunned the East Coast fishing community with a long-term ban on catching striped bass, or rockfish. "I knew that day we were going to win," says Dick Russell, author of Striper Wars (Island Press, 2005). Only months earlier, near-extinction seemed a more-likely fate for the Atlantic coast's premiere sport and commercial species. Maryland's Department of Natural Resources in late 1983 had caved to commercial netting interests, further weakening already inadequate protection for the rockfish.

ONCE PUSHED to dangerously low levels, the Chesapeake Bay rockfish is more abundant now than anytime in the past three decades. This summer's survey by state scientists indicates a superior hatching season, the 10th straight year of healthy reproduction. It reflects the successful recovery of this important sport and commercial species, Maryland's state fish. The annual netting surveys, conducted for nearly 40 years, help Maryland and other states to manage the species. This year's high numbers of young could lead to calls for relaxing limits on the size and number of rockfish, or striped bass, that can be caught.