Striped Bass & Menhaden Headline This Week’s ASMFC Meeting

Striped Bass & Menhaden Headline This Week’s ASMFC Meeting

Good news with menhaden, but it’s likely the Commission will fall short on striped bass Menhaden So, here’s the good news. It is highly likely, after a good 20 years of advocacy by anglers and environmental groups, that we’ll see menhaden managed in the context of its value as a prey species, by as early […]

Striped Bass & Bluefish: Same Problem, Different Managers, Very Different Approaches

Striped Bass & Bluefish:  Same Problem, Different Managers, Very Different Approaches

Striped bass and bluefish just go together. They’re both premier inshore gamefish of the New England and mid-Atlantic coasts. They frequently prey on the same schools of bait, with the bluefish slashing through the harried forage, while the bass follow beneath, feeding on the dead and the wounded. And they’re both overfished. But that’s where […]

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission: Time To Learn From The Past

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:  Time To Learn From The Past

Striped bass photo by John McMurray “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” George Santayana’s words have been repeated so often that they’ve become a cliché. Yet, repeated or not, they’re undoubtedly true. But when it comes to fisheries matters, merely remembering the past isn’t enough; in order to prevent making […]

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act: People Are Talking (And Rep. Huffman Is Listening)

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act:  People Are Talking (And Rep. Huffman Is Listening)

This post originally appeared on Charles Witek’s blog, One Angler’s Voyage, and is reprinted with permission. Last Friday, I had the privilege of participating in a “listening session” arranged by Rep. Jarred Huffman (D-CA), the Chairman of the House Natural Resources Water, Oceans and Wildlife Subcommittee. Eleven persons, not including the Congressman, sat at the […]

Striped Bass Demonstrate the Need to Hold Fishermen Accountable

Striped Bass Demonstrate the Need to Hold Fishermen Accountable

Actions have consequences. At least they should. If someone does something that is contrary to the public interest, they ought to pay an appropriate price for the harm that they do. But when it comes to fisheries management, things don’t always work out that way. For a very long time, fishermen were allowed to overfish, […]

Striped Bass Management: What If Magnuson-Stevens Applied?

Striped Bass Management:  What If Magnuson-Stevens Applied?

Photo: Capt. Dave Monti with Block Island striped bass. On August 8, 2019, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (Management Board) met to consider the future of the striped bass fishery. A benchmark stock assessment released in May 2019 (2018 Assessment) had determined that the striped bass stock was […]