Recreational Anglers

OCEAN CITY -- Strict new rules for marlin, bluefin tuna, swordfish, sharks and other game fish have Ocean City charter boat captains complaining that heavy-handed federal oversight is threatening their business.About a month before the regulations take effect June 1, recreational anglers and charter boat operators are waiting for final word from the National Marine Fisheries Service about which species of fish they will be allowed to catch and keep and how long the seasons will be."I've seen the regulations get tighter and tighter over the years," said Bob Gowar, chief captain at the Ocean City Fishing Center, where 35 charter boat captains tie up. "The recreational fishermen take the beating on everything that goes down."

NORTH EAST -- Early in the 1960s, Eleanore Benjamin recalls, she and her husband, Herb, plopped down $8,000 for a boxy building on Main Street, painted their name on a shingle and declared themselves open for business.Not every town is clamoring for a business where residents can stop for a bucket of minnows and a haircut, but that is exactly what they created. And despite a couple of crises -- fishing bans and an era of longer hair -- Herb's Tackle Shop has survived.But now the Benjamins are facing something they fear they cannot overcome.

The Department of Natural Resources is set to propose new striped bass (rockfish), flounder and crab regulations directly affecting Anne Arundel County anglers.Formal hearing dates and regulations will be announced shortly, said DNR Assistant Secretary Jim Peck.The proposed spring rockfish season will be May 1-31 and be limited to the main stem of the Chesapeake Bay below the northern span of the Bay Bridge and includes Tangier and Pocomoke sounds as well as the Atlantic Ocean.As in past spring seasons, since the partial reopening of the rockfish fishery, live bait and gaffs will be prohibited.

With Memorial Day tomorrow, thousands of Harford County residents are spending the long holiday weekend on the water. Some folks have battled endless traffic jams, traveling to Ocean City, Rehoboth and Virginia Beach, while others have opted to spend their leisure time closer to home.Avid recreational anglers and pleasure boaters have several viable options, most of them situated less than 30 minutes from Bel Air, Aberdeen and Edgewood.Conowingo Lake, just 20 minutes north of Bel Air, is the largest impoundment on the Susquehanna River.

If the Maryland General Assembly's Administrative Executive Legislative Review Committee approves, 1993's fall striped-bass (rockfish) season likely will open Oct. 1.Although this season will be nearly identical to 1992's, there will be some significant changes.Depending on water temperatures on opening day, there's a good chance large numbers of rockfish still will be congregated in the upper bay, especially in an area ranging from the Susquehanna River south to Love Point.Most of these fish will measure 15 to 24 inches, but a few might top 36 inches, a size that last season had to be released.

With the fall 1992 rockfish season but a month a way, it's surprising how many fishermen do not know what's happening. I had three questions Monday regarding creel limit and whether tags will be required. The following is the most up-to-date release from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and should answer everyone's questions on the 1992 fall striped bass or rockfish season.The fall season opens Oct. 1 and runs through Oct. 31. It will pick up again Nov. 6-8, 13-15 and 20-22, for a total of 40 days.

Last Saturday, Maryland closed down the fall rockfish season for recreational anglers who fished from private boats or the shoreline. While the season was ended for the private fisherman, the charter-boat fishermen were allowed to continue fishing.Was the private recreational angler ripped off?According to figures from the Department of Natural Resources, they were not.However, recreational fishermen did catch more than their quota. Again.And probably that should not be too surprising, if one looks at the numbers.

Late rockfish flash: Recreational anglers WILL need a striped bass permit for the 1992 fall season. The permit is free and will be available at bait and tackle shops.By issuing permits, the state can determine how many people fish for rockfish and establish the recreational striped bass harvest.The estimates on the number of people who fish the bay vary greatly. I've seen numbers ranging from 100,000 to over 900,000. Most numbers are either inflated or deflated to fit people's arguments. For example, a representative of anglers would use a larger number when lobbying a politician to impress him or her.Requiring an angler to apply for a free permit before he or she goes rockfishing gives you a much better count.

Next fall's rockfish season now under consideration should be an equitable affair that would give everyone a fair chance to catch a fish. No repeats, thank you, of last October's fiasco.Of course, not everyone will be able to keep a rock. No way.The suggested more liberal sports-commercial total quota of about a million pounds (a 30 percent increase) probably would restrict the actual number of keeper non-commercial rock to about 85,000.That sounds like a lot -- but it's estimated that 200,000 anglers participated in last year's first post-moratorium season that was aborted for recreational fishermen after nine days.

The 1990 recreational striped bass season is over, the charter boat season ends tomorrow evening and the commercial season will start later this year.What happened?Why was the season so short? Who caught all the fish? How many fish were caught? These are but a few of the questions I'm receiving from both recreational and charter captains. Most have adopted a cynical attitude: "the state did it to us again." I disagree.I'll admit that I do not have any of the answers, but I have talked to the Department of Natural Resources staff I have known and respected for years.

In less than 20 feet of water, just north of where tankers and cruise ships make their slow turns from the Chesapeake Bay into the Patapsco River, lies the third rail of Maryland fishing. An oyster bar made up of millions of bushels of fossil shell sits on the bay bottom - the largest single deposit left in Maryland's portion of the bay. The state wants to restart its languishing oyster restoration program by digging up as much as 30 percent of the bar - known as Man-O-War Shoal - to serve as a foundation for a $30 million program.

There's truth. And then there's Internet truth. There are others, such as the self-evident truths, but we'll focus on the one that has watermen, recreational anglers and charter boat captains headed for a showdown that no doubt will be refereed by Department of Natural Resources fisheries biologists. Unfortunately, even when interpreted by the well-intentioned, Internet truth can often be just one facet of the big picture. A snapshot. A drive-by glimpse. The proverbial elephant as envisioned by a group of blind men, who draw their conclusions after touching just one part of the beast.

As the yellow perch begin their spawning runs up Chesapeake Bay tributaries, the state is set to implement regulations to protect the species from overfishing while giving recreational anglers a greater share of the annual allocation. The rules, developed over the past year after pressure from the General Assembly, will take effect Monday. "I think we made a lot of progress," said Tom O'Connell, head of the Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Service. "We learned that we have to be more conservative in management to allow the population to sustain itself and grow in time."

"We're going to burn your building down ... if you keep talking like that." "Let's go. Let's go outside." Each statement was made at a recent public meeting. Neither was appropriate. Each speaker owes the target a public apology. I mean, seriously, is this what we're coming to, where a forum to discuss ideas becomes a platform to bully? The first statement was made by Larry Simns, head of the Maryland Watermen's Association, to Department of Natural Resources biologist Lynn Fegley. The threat was made at a meeting of the Tidal Fish Advisory Commission during a discussion of blue crab regulations.

Chesapeake Bay tributaries in the Baltimore area closed 20 years ago to protect the dwindling yellow perch population might soon be opened to recreational anglers under a blueprint being prepared by state natural resources officials. The proposal, more than 10 years in the making, is a series of mix-and-match options for anglers and commercial fishermen that covers season length, size of catch and which waterways should remain closed. The plan is in its final days of drafting, with representatives of the recreational and commercial communities weighing in. A public comment period begins next month.

It might not be fair, but the Maryland Fisheries Service has got to get it absolutely right this time when it offers up its new plan to manage yellow perch. One hundred percent. No doubt about it. Nailed. So much is riding on it, beginning with the service's credibility with recreational anglers, who saw their license fees double last year, and state lawmakers, who are watching the process. At a meeting tomorrow night in Annapolis, officials will ask anglers what they want to see in new regulations.

With the regulatory clock ticking toward midnight, Maryland fisheries officials are scrambling to get recreational anglers and commercial watermen to agree on new rules to cover yellow perch fishing. Department of Natural Resources officials will meet July 28 with recreational anglers to find out what they would like to see for rules covering season length, size and daily creel limit, said Tom O'Connell, fisheries service director. The agency met with commercial netters this month. Once both sides have been polled, O'Connell said his staff will develop a management plan that satisfies a bill passed by the General Assembly last year to protect yellow perch while giving recreational anglers a bigger share of the catch.

For the first time in 15 years, Maryland striped bass anglers will have a spring trophy season designed and managed by state fisheries officials. By an overwhelming margin, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission yesterday relinquished control of the state's most popular and lucrative season for 2008, thereby eliminating an annual quota that was often exceeded and allowing Maryland to regulate its season the way other Eastern Seaboard states do....

WASHINGTON -- In a move being cheered by recreational anglers, President Bush will announce today new conservation goals for a popular Chesapeake Bay fish that include stricter limits on commercial hauls of rockfish but greater access for outdoor enthusiasts who enjoy catching the species. The new federal policy - largely advisory in nature - will come through an executive order the president is scheduled to issue during a visit to St. Michaels on the Eastern Shore. After signing the order, Bush plans to go fishing on the Chesapeake, he said in a weekend radio address recorded yesterday.

You really can't go wrong this month if you say, "I'll have the fish, please." Out on the water, stripers and blues are schooling up for their annual fall dance. On terra firma, the calendar is filling with the dates of meetings and hearings to talk about finned critters. With time running out, the Department of Natural Resources is moving quickly to draft a yellow perch management plan that would take effect Jan. 1. A group of stakeholders met Aug. 22 to review proposals that would help yellow perch migrate up rivers and streams to their historical spawning areas and provide a formula for divvying up the harvest between recreational and commercial fishermen.