The Herald and The Laatern

Page 22

Wedneaday, February ts, ItHI

Gill Netting-an Ancient Fishing Method-in Delaware Bay

Everyday thi» past summer a small, fishmn boat maneuvered its way around the commercial charter boats and private boats moored in Bidwells Creek in Cape May county and entered Delaware Bay for H day of fishing This boat, owned by Ed and Bert Schubert, was different from the nihers because if was going gill netting Its si/e and gear were characteristic of the other gill netting boats that work Delaware Bay out of BlyalVe, Fortescue. and the small creeks up. into Salem Cotfnty The boats, often open flat bottom garveys, vary in size from about 16 up to 30 feet ’ This fishing is hard wdrk I^ng nets must be hauled, often against the current, into the boat and each fish quickly remov ed by hand A few fishermen, such as the Schuberts, have added hydraulic flet reels to reduce the work in pulling thejr nets Many times, depending oh fish activity and market demands, the days’ efforts yield only small profits <HM. NETTING IS AN OLD method of catching fish Though designs and regula . lions differ, gill netting has been used on all the coasts and in the fresh waters of the United States Various modifications are made in the basic net design to adapt nets to local conditions and species In some areas gill'netting by both commercial and recreational fishermen is permitted. Fish catch themselves in a gill net The net is a wall of netting which hangs upright in thf- water because the bottom .line dead line) is weighted and the top line (float line; is buoyed by floats When a commer cial size fish attempts to swim through the net s meshes it will not be able to get its dorsal fin through and wilftry to back out. In struggling to back out the net's twhie catches on the fish's gill covers and prevents it from escaping The "gilled' fish is removed by hand when the net is tended IN COMPARISON WITH other fishing gear, the gill net is very selective Nets can be rigged to float at the surface for pelagic fish or set ort the bottom for demersal fish Mesh size is important in determining the fish caught and can be effectiv in managing a stock of fish Older, larger fish can be selectively caught by a large mesh size, which smaller individuals of the same species can pass unharmed through the net Fishermen in Delaware Bay use a

variety of mesh sizes to limit their catcH of small or commercially unimportant species • Basically, two types of gill nets are used in New Jersey. One. drifting gill net. is marked with flags-at each end and set to drift with the current. These nets are normally over a hundred fathoms in length'. The other net. a staked or anchored net. is anchored by stakes in one location. Stake nets normally approach. 30 fathoms in length but are limited in size by how much the stakes can hold Debris moved by strong .tidal, currents can also severly damage these nets IN DELAWARE BAY. fishermen look forward to February as the beginning of the gill netting season. Often a few hardy souls place ifcrfr stakes as ^oon as the ice leaves the Hay They are hoping to catch a few^if the striped bass which make a brief spring run in the bay As in other fisheries, those with the early catches will have the best markets These early fishermen who also have to be cautious because sudden freezes can damagb nets and the expense of new nets or net repairs can reduce early profits. As the bay water's warm, a variety of fish fri-e caught Early spring activity has been improving in Delaware Bay. This is in sharp contrast to the decling fisheries observed in Chesapeake Bay over the last five years Runs of the herring like menhaden (bunker) provide a bait harvest that will be used up and down the east coast for crab bait. Perch, weakfish and bluefish are also caught later in the season. HARVESTS AND PROFITS fluctuate a lot during the spring and summer depending on the species and weather conditions in die bay. One week the catch may approach 1000 lbs./day while only 1-200 lbs are caught per day the next week. The abundance of fish also determines their market price. Weakfish may normally be sold to local markets for nearly 40* per pound by large catches by offshore trawlers can depress the local markets to 10* a pound or less. When low market price and poor fishing occur together, fishing barely provides enough to pay operating costs In the past, gill netting in New Jersey was regulated by state laws which restricted fishing on Sunday, limited the

length and mesh sizes of nets, and set the netting season. Traditionally there have been two sets of netting regulations in the state, Dating back to the early 1900s, there was a set of rules which appliedto the Delaware Bay and another set that applied to bays and ocegn along the Atlantic Coast. These regulations differed in the type and size of nets allowed and in the seasons when they could be used. Differences in the laws allowed striped bass to be landed commercially in Delaware Bay but not in the Atlantic. THIS SUMMER, THE SCHUBERTS and other South Jersey gill netters were wor ried that they would not be working in Delaware Bay this fall or ever agin. Passage of the New Jersey’s Marine Fisheries Management and Commercial Fisheries Act <S-1399)in 1979 inadvertently restricted gill netting in the state to the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. A new bill revising the state’s netting laws was needed to allow netting to continue in Delaware Bay. A, law to meet these needs. S-1449, was spono^fcl by Senator Zanes of Salem County and signed by Governor Byrne this past September. The new legislation permits gill netting to continue in Delaware Bay and standardizes netting laws so that they will apply to both the Atlantic and Delaware Bay fishermen. Gill netters in the bay will now be able to fish more nets but for the first time they will have to pay a license fee for each net. SUNDAY FISHING RESTRICTIONS have been removed. This essentially allows more fishing rime and also allows fishermen to tend their nets as soon as possible after a storm. Under the old restrictions fishermen complained that if bad weather kept them from recovering their nets on Saturday, the fidh would spoil by Monday. The new law is designed to reduce this waste and to permit increased profits from longer fishing time. One provision of the new law which upsets Delaware Bay netters is the restriction on using gill nets to catch striped bass

In the past,' striped bass were normally caught for A short time in February and March. To the fishermen, the new law is a major economic blow because striped bass has the highest market potential of any fish caught in Delaware Bay. In the early spring, fishermen may get up to$l or $1.50 per pound of these fish. They emphasize that it will be possible to keep striped bass from being entangled in their shad nets but the new regulations will force them to throw back these dead fish because they can not be landed or sold. THE INTENT OF THE NEW law was explained to fishermen ahd defended by Bruce Freeman, the state's Marine Fisheries Administrator. He stressed that the state's aim was to preserve the declining stocks of this important recreational species and the new regulation would prevent an increase in commercial fishing efforts which could result in substantial increased in harvest of this species. This winter, while the Delaware Bay netters repair their gear in preparation for a new season, they will have to plan to change their netting operations to comply with the new laws but they will also have some new options which could increase their profits. The number of nets they carry will no longer be limted by law and tKey will have an opportunity to decide this f6r themselves. They will have to weigh the potential of longer seasons, restrictions on striped bass, and a license fee per net to determine how many nets will be profitable. When the gear is ready and fishing decisions made, the netters in Delaware Bay will be anxiously awaiting the first break in the winter cold so they can go back to work.' As water temperatures warm and fish begin to move in the bay, netters will return to continue this important part of New Jersey’s fisheries. Stewart Tweed is the'Marine Extension Agent covering Cape May County. He wrote this article for the "The Jersey Shoreline"

Ferry Tolls Going Up 15 Percent

NEW CASTLE, Del. - At its February meeting, the Delaware River and Bay Authority approved a 15 percent toll increase for the Cape May-Lewes Ferry Effective April 1, a car and driver using the ferry, will pay $11 for a one-way trip. The present fare is $9.25. The toll increase resulted from last month's report to the commissioners which revealed that ferry operating expenses exceeded revenues by $50,000 during 1980. The skyrocketing cost of diesel fuel was cited as the primary reason for the increase in operating expenses. The price of diesel fuel, which is delivered by barge to Cape May, is currently $1.10 per gallon, compared to 64 cents per gallon just two years age. EVEN WITH THE TOLL increase, the Authority expects that 198i"lerry revenues will still be less than expenses. Ferry operating costs for 1981 are expected to reach $3.9 million, compared with $3.4 million in 1980. In other matters, the commissioners authorized the preparation of plaques and

the planting of holly trees on each^side of the Delaware Memorial twin bridges to commemorate the return of the hostages from Iran. The work will be completed in the spring df this year. Also, it was reported that . during January, traffic on the ferry decreased by 1,489 vehicles and 3«313 passengers from January 1980. THESE STATISTICS WERE made public by Theodore C. Bright, general manager, and included in his monthly report to the commissioners. Ferry traffic for January, 1981 was 4,089 vehicles and 9,030 passengers compared to 5,547 vehicles and 12,343 passengers for January, 1980, a decrease of 26.28 percent fo# vehicles and a decrease of 26.84 percent (ot passengers. For the 12-month period ended Jan. 31, 1981, traffic was 234,522 vehicles and 706,738 passengers compared to 203,890 vehicles and 604,639 passengers for the twelve-month period ended January 31, 1980, an increase of 15.02 per cent for vehicles and 16.89 per cent for passengers.