Sea bass ban has anglers feeling gaffed

Ken Perotte's outdoor column

Date published: 10/22/2009

A 180-DAY BAN on recreational anglers keeping any black sea bass caught in federal waters north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., has the fishing community gnashing its teeth.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the closure, which began Oct. 5, on Sept. 30. The ban affects Atlantic waters of the United States exclusive economic zone, which extends 200 nautical miles offshore.

NOAA said the closure was in response to recent landings data showing recreational fishermen may catch more than double their annual quota by year's end.

"Landings data and scientific analyses show recreational fishermen have reached their quota and could exceed their 1.14 million pound harvest limit by as much as 84 to 225 percent if the recreational fishery is not closed," the closure announcement stated.

"Bull," say many recreational fisheries leaders, who challenge the data and the reporting systems used to justify the closure. The Recreational Fishing Alliance has indicated it is exploring legal action to challenge the ban.

Affected hard will be a winter charter fishing industry along the mid-Atlantic, where sea bass are a winter staple. For Virginia recreational anglers, the minimum keeper size on sea bass is 12.5 inches. The limit is 25 per day.

Yorktown angler and regional International Game Fish Association representative Dr. Ken Neill III, summed up the frustration noting: "First NOAA shut the fishery down based on a survey [the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistics Survey] nobody believes.

"It was never intended to be used as a short-term management tool. It is supposed to show long-term trends in recreational fisheries and it does that. It is a terrible tool to be used to make year-to-year regulations and even worse to make changes within a year."

To underscore his point, Neill added: "The MRFSS showed that we had a record catch of striped bass during hurricane and in the aftermath of Hurricane Isabel. Nobody was fishing then. We were without power, living in trailers."

Capt. Jim Brincefield, a Virginia charter boat operator and pioneer of winter deep dropping trips, called the closure "the worst fisheries management decision I have ever seen in my 48 years."

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Date published: 10/22/2009