TheDay 10/10/05

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• One day in the not-too-distant future, people might start to look upon striped bass as the marine equivalent of the white-tailed deer. Just as deer overpopulation has been blamed for a variety of ills — over-foraged woodlands, damaged landscaping, the spread of Lyme disease, sickly herds and pressure on wildlife experts to find acceptable ways to thin deer numbers — striped bass are becoming known as the fish that may be doing too well for its own good and that of the ecosystem.
• Reading just the title of one entry on striped bass on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Web site hints at the budding debate: “The Challenge of Managing a Restored Species.” “The population is so big that some people are getting concerned,” said Victor Crecco, research coordinator for the state Department of Environmental Protection's Marine Fisheries Division, headquartered in Old Lyme. “We're in uncharted territory. The population can't just keep growing. But people don't know what to do yet with these stocks that are just getting out of hand.”
• Earlier this fall, Crecco attended a fisheries commission meeting in Alexandria, Va., where the status of the striped bass population from Maine to Florida was a main topic. The commission brings together representatives of all 14 Atlantic coast states to craft common approaches to the regulation and management of commercially and recreationally important species. In Long Island Sound and Connecticut's tidal rivers, stripped bass are one of the top three recreational species, alongside bluefish and scup, according to Rod MacLeod, DEP senior fisheries biologist. “From now until November, this is a prime time to catch stripers,” said MacLeod. “As long as you have access to the coast, your odds of catching a striped bass are pretty high.”
• At the recent commission meeting, Crecco and a few other members favored having the panel revise regulations to allow anglers to catch more striped bass, but they failed to win the support of the rest. The suggestion is likely to be made again, should current trends continue.
• Much of the reluctance to act stems from the fact that not too long ago, striped bass were severely over-fished and scarce, Crecco noted. In 1984, strict limits reduced the number of striped bass fishermen could catch. By 1995, the population was declared officially rebuilt and catch limits were relaxed. It's considered one of the biggest success stories of the trial-and-error history of fisheries management. But since 1995, the numbers of striped bass has continued to soar, and now an estimated 160 million pounds of striped bass are swimming, feeding and spawning along the Atlantic coast and adjoining rivers and estuaries such as Long Island Sound, according to a July commission report. That's up eightfold over the last 20 years. The problem with so many striped bass, a native species that can live up to 30 years and grow to more than 100 pounds, is their collective appetites. “They're voracious eaters,” Crecco said. “They've just about exterminated the blueback herring population in the Connecticut River.”
• He also connects a poor shad harvest in the river this year to the overabundance of striped bass, which have a varied carnivorous diet. Other menu favorites such as weakfish and menhaden could also be threatened if bass numbers continued to multiply. Bluefish and shark are among natural predators of striped bass, especially younger ones, but they don't seem to be consuming enough to keep striped bass numbers in check. “I do see a problem on the horizon,” Crecco said.
• In Connecticut, current regulations limit an individual fisherman's striped bass catch to two per day of at least 28 inches in length. Fishing for striped bass is allowed year-round, though certain times of the year are known to be better than others, because of migration patterns. They are near-shore fish that can be caught off fishing piers or right off the beach, or from boats that travel short distances into open waters. Currently striped bass can not be fished commercially in Connecticut waters, although that is allowed in some states.
• Kerry Douton, owner of J&B Tackle in Niantic, leads striped bass fishing trips for small groups on his 36-foot vessel, the Dot-e-Dee. This time of year he runs three trips per day. “The fishing is very good,” he said. “On most trips we catch our limit.” Striped bass are a favorite of many anglers, he said, because they are known to fight hard when caught. Landing a striper that's 30, 40 or 50 pounds isn't a rarity. “And it's a very good eating fish,” Douton said. “It's a lot of fun to catch.” Douton said he doesn't see a need to relax limits on striped bass. Fishermen are accustomed to the rules, he said, and seem satisfied with what they're able to catch. “The stocks are good, but they're not out of control,” he said.
• MacLeod, who oversees annual surveys of recreational anglers as part of his job at the DEP, said favorite local spots to fish for stripers from shore include the pier at the DEP Marine Headquarters on the Connecticut River, the fishing pier at Fort Trumbull State Park in New London and the beaches at Harkness State Park in Waterford and Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic. At the Fort Trumbull pier one foggy October morning, fisherman Joel Walz was lamenting the outcome of his attempt to lure a striper to his dinner table. “It broke my pole in three pieces,” said Walz, a resident of Easthampton, Mass., visiting for the day, as he pointed toward two detached sections of his fishing rod resting in a bucket. The third was somewhere underwater. “I had a big hook and a big piece of bait on the line. It behaved like a striped bass.”