Virginia Marine Resources Commission Drops Striped Bass Creel Limit In Emergency Regulation

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission enacts emergency regulations on striped bass

Yesterday in an unprecedented move, the Virginia Marine
Resources Commission enacted an emergency regulation for striped bass, or Rockfish. Anglers can now only keep one fish. There will be a public comment period on September 24th. In April this same commission in another unprecedented move, canceled trophy striped bass season.

The ASMFC has finally stated that striped bass are over fished and over-fishing is occurring. Virginia has decided to take action now instead of wait for the ASMFC and other agencies to set coast wide limits. The ASMFC Addendum VI calls for an 18% reduction. I would like to see a choice of a one fish limit for Delaware and all east coast states.

Virginia’s new emergency regulations for striped bass will allow anglers to keep one striped bass at 28 to 36 inches. This slot limit is an effort to curb the striped bass decline. The old creel limits allowed for one of the two fish to be longer than 28 inches.

Charter captains are complaining this will kill their business. Yet at the same time they knew something like this was going to happen. “We have been killing these fish for years without much thought, and now we are going to pay for it.” No rockfish is the alternative, and many recognize that issue.

Virginia commercial striped bass ventures are also being regulated. The commission implemented fishing net maximum mesh size limits of 9 inches for the coast and 7 inches in the bay. Previously there weren’t any net mesh size limits.

My opinion …
Personally I would like to see the other states make regulations like this to protect these fish, and all fish. I’d bet more than seventy percent of today’s anglers weren’t around to experience the striped bass moratorium, but they hear about it all the time. We have a responsibility as anglers and stewards of our fishery to do better. If you really want to protect the Chesapeake, maybe they should regulate the boats making three to four trips a day. Charters should have their own regulations, as commercial ventures, lets face it they are making money off the fishery, that is not recreational fishing.

When we had the same meetings in Delaware to set our limits a few years ago. I argued for one fish at 28 inches and above. I was told to sit down and shut up by a few bait shop owners and charter captains. They wanted to keep two fish so that people would still come here “No one is going to come fishing if they can only keep one fish” … Another popular opinion was … “These fish are staying in the EEZ to avoid being caught.” Bruh!! Really?? No they aren’t, Fish are not that smart. Then again the same guy said all the whales out there are killing all the bunker, I guess we should start shooting the whales too.
They voted and got their two fish.

What a mess that turned out to be for Delaware charter customers. I saw a guy in tears on the docks in Lewes, “I had to throw back the fish of a lifetime I have been trying to catch for forty years.”
Fast Forward a year later, everyone is crying they can’t keep any of the fish they were catching. Eighty percent of the striped bass caught had to go back in the water due to the slot limit. Talk about pissed off customers at the docks. Someone (me) at the that meeting pointed out that the average fish we catch in Delaware was going to fall in that slot limit. Maybe one fish and no size limit and everyone would be happy. Especially those paying customers.

Then everyone (shops and charters) go to the state of Delaware (DNREC). We want to change the limit, can we go to the one fish instead? (A year later) State of Delaware says no, the creel can not be changed until the bench mark assessment comes out in 2018.
Coincidentally, that was the same year DNREC started catching anglers cutting striped bass tails shorter to meet the slot limit. Yes that became a thing. By the way cutting off the entire tail makes it a little obvious.

Which is where we are now, the assessment is out, striped bass are over fished and over fishing is occurring. Guess how many fish they still want to keep? Yup, two. Given the opportunity to change the limit to one striped bass, keep any size 28 inches and above, and they still want those two fish. How soon we forget. Maybe we should just shut it down for a couple of years. That meeting is tomorrow night in Dover.

Fish On!
Rich King