sports

outdoors with Lou Rodia

Greedy , Selfish Anglers Peril To Stripers

It may to too little and too late. But, one at a time, states are starting to take a realistic look at what is really happening to the striped bass. They are banning possession, catching and the sale of stripers Sure, there has been a flurry of good fishing for bass along the Jersey Coast. Lots of big fish are being caught.

A relatively small percentage of the fishermen are really part of the striper fishing fraternity. When there are lots of stripers around, lots more fishermen fish for them. But they fish when a species is on the up cycle, while fish populations are at a peak and while the cycle is on the way down. THEN THEY quit when

too much time and effort are needed to catch a few fish. They go on to fish for something else until the cycle bounces back. But there will always be the striper fanatic who will fish to eternity for the hope of catching one more striper or one bigger than he ever caught. Ur fortunately, there is another group of fishermen who care not for the ups and downs in the striper cycle. In fact, some of them 1 prefer that there be shorter supplies than there are in the peak years. These are the rod and reel striper fishermen who go out to fish for these magnificent fish and catch them for the market. SCRATCH THESE semicommercial fishermen and they will insist that they are not commercial fishermen. We have heard all of the rationalizations. One is that they sell only a few fish to pay for gas. bait or tackle. And. since they sell only a few fish, they do not think they are commercial fishermen. Another rationalization is that the fish they caught were too big or they caught too many to give them away and they didn't want to throw them back. After they caught and kept the fish, the only way to keep from wasting them is to sell them. Another rationalization is that they sell the stripers because people want and need the fish and not enough are put into the market by the commercial fishermen. Thus, when stripers are brought into the market by hook and line anglers, some actually believe they are rendering a public service. SEVERAL HAVE told US they make enough money selling stripers each year to pay for. maintain and equip their boats. We have been cursed at, 1 threatened with damage to person, car and boat and ' screamed at in wee small hours phone calls by upset striper fishermen when we ^ suggest that the market for any and all striped bass

should be eliminated. We get accused of being in favor of taking their boats away. We have contended that it matters not at all to us if the individual fisherman sells fish. All we have ever asked is that they recognize themselves for what they are. If a fish is caught on a rod and reel and sold in the market, to a local restaurant or to someone standing around on the dock, that fish is a commercial fish. AND. NO MATTER how you slice it, the catcher of that fish is a commercial fisherman. Like it or not. anglers, by any definition, if you sell fish, you are a commercial fisherman. And we reiterate, that is your choice to make and we couldn't care less which side of the fence you want to stay on. But when you pick your side of the fence, stay on it. We do take great issue with those who sell fish and then stand up at public meetings and damn the commercial fishermen for catching too many fish. There is^ a hypocrisy in there someplace. We had a call from an irate angler who lambasted the commercial netters for catching all of "his" weakfish. As it turned out, he had been averaging 50 to 100 weakfish a day for several days and the fishing had slacked off. The day he called me, he and a buddy had only 20. HE EXPLAINED that he ' took his friends fishing. They caught fish for him and he in turn sold the fish in a fish market he operated. The "cash" went to buy and pay for his boat since it was what he termed "under the table" money. He took issue with my argument that he was really a commercial fisherman, and not a very ethical one at that. He said since he caught his fish on rod and reel, he was a sportsman. -t Commercial fishermen pay taxes on their earnings. pay their employes wages and need licenses to operate. They come under1, state laws, are inspected regularly, pay workmen's compensation and pay commercial rates for their insurance. THOSE OF YOU who sell fish and have regular marine insurance instead of commercial insurance may well find that in the event of any accident with the boat, and if it can be proved that you are using your boat for commercial purposes, your hull and your liability insurance might well be void. And, the same applies, incidentally, if you are taking passengers for hire and are not licensed and insured properly. Ask your insurance man. All of this not withstanding, it still boils down to the hypocrisy which attaches to the screamers at some of the public meetings on striper regulations. Kid yourselves not. big catches and reports of big fish in recent weeks notwithstanding, the striper may be making the last gasp of the dying swan. Maryland's Chesapeake

bay breeds and delivers to us the biggest percentage of the stripers we catch all along the East Coast, according to the best information available. SOME CONTEND that New Jersey's stripers come from the Hudson River, the Muilica River and the Maurice River. £ few are supposed to come from the Delaware River. There may well be breeding in all of these places. But it is still the Chesapeake Bay that produces the quality fishing we get in peak years. When the striper cycle is down in the Chesapeake, the number of stripers on the Jersey Coast is down. Sure, some stripers will be caught in the down cycles, but not in big numbers. Maryland anglers deluded themselves for years that the striper was not actually in trouble. They continued to pound away at the fish until it was apparent even to them that the striper was not recovering. As a result, Maryland instituted a striper moratorium last year. THERE IS NO commercial or rod and reel catching of striped bass permitted and there will not be in the Chesapeake for three years. At the end of three years, the striper will be reexamined and a decision to open the season again or keep it closed will be based on biologists' assessments as to the condition of the striper stock in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Virginia has also acted. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has implemented a six-month ban on the possession of striped bass. Virginia Marine enforcement officers are to write citations for anyone having a striped bass in posssession even if the fish have been in storage for months. THE LAW WENT into effect Dec. 1. Some are in complete accord and want the moratorium enforced and extended. Others are upset because they cannot legally keep a striper It goes even further. Anyone selling out of state stripers will be charged with a violation under the Lacy Act, which makes it illegal to sell something in a state which makes that item illegal even if it is legal in the selling state. Delaware has also acted to make'it illegal to fish for stripers in any fashion — sports or commercial. Up until a few years ago ( 1970 ), the striped bass was the Chesapeake Bay's most important food fish and the most important recreational fish. In 1970, Virginia commercial men docked 2.8 million pounds of

stripers. By 1984, the poundage had dropped to around 50,000 pounds of rockfish. HERE IN New Jersey, the state reacted to the mandate to reduce striper catches by 55 percent. A 10-fish limit and a minimum size of 18 inches was replaced with a fivefish limit and a 24-inch minimum. The latter has a lot of people upset. The 24-inch minimum was designed to help return more mature fish to the spawning grounds to reproduce one or two times before being caught. Because there have been pockets of good striper fishing from time to time and from place to place, lots of anglers refuse to believe the striper is in trouble. And when the new regulations that will come down in 1986 are aired, they and lots of others are going to be even more upset. THE ONLY GOOD breeding year in the past five was the 1982 class. While the spawning results were good, they were not spectacular. But if there is to be a hope for the striper, it has to lie with keeping enough of the 1982 rock around to spawn. That's where the 1986 regulations appear to be heading. All effort will be made to preserve the 1982 year class fish. Here are the proposals being discussed: If New Jersey does nothing to cut the catch of female striped bass from the 1982 ydhr class by 95 per cent soon, the state may be put under a moratorium by the Studds Amendment at the federal level. If a moratorium is put into effect, no striper fishing — commercial or sports — will be permitted in New Jersey. A state (Page 29 Please)

Cape May County — ALMANAC I JANUARY. 1986

MOON PHASES/POSITIONS The Moon's effect on (he Tide is greatest when closest to Earth tin perigee/ and when in direct alignment with Sun A Earth I full A new moon phases/ On and about these dates, lowpressure systems and/or strong winds (depending upon direc (I o>f) may result in flooding and/or extremely low tides Moon Phases l.asl Quarter 3 \r» Moon I* Eirsl Quarter .11 Full Moon 25 Apogee IS Perigee 8 TIDE TABLE Computed for Cape May City beaehfront. for other areas, see Correction Times DA TV. Hltill LOW j a.m. pm a.m. p.ni 1 Wfed 10:59—11:44 4:27- 5:10 2 Thu 11 50— 5:23- 6:00 3 Fn 12:35-12:45 6 29- 7:01 4 Sat I 34- 1:45 7 42- 8 04 5 Sun 2:36- 2:53 8:51— 9:04 6 Mbn 3 41 4:05 9:54-10 00 7 TAie 4:44- 5:09 10:53-10:57 8 Wed 5:43 -4 09 11:51-11 54 9 Thu 6:34- 7:02 -12:47 10 Fri 7:25- 7:52 12:51- 1 40 11 Sal 8:14- 8.41 1:46- 2:28 12 Sim 9:00- 9:29 2:36- 3:14 13 Mon 9 48- 10 20 3:23- 3 58 14 Tbe 10:37— II 07 4 09- 4:41 15 Wed 11:23-11:55 4:58- 5:23 16 Thu - 12:08 5:49- 6:06 17 Pri 12:40-12:53 6:42- 7:00 18 Sot 1:27- 1:43 7 42- 7:51 19 Sun 2:16- 2 38 8 41— 8 42 20 Mon 3:12- 3 38 9:35- 9:33 21 Tue 4 10- 4:39 10:27-10:23 22 Wed 5:03— 5:32 11:16— 11 10 23 Thu 5:51 6 20 -12:06 24 Fri 6:33- 7:02 11:58- 12 53 25 Sal 7:13- 7:42 12:43- 1:35 26 Sun 7:52 8:22 1:30- 2:16 27 M«n 8 31- 9:03 2:11— 2:53 28 Toe 9:13- 9:45 2:52 3:29 29 Wed 9:55- 10:31 3:34- 4:06 30 Thu 10:41- 11 18 4:17 4:45 31 FVt 11 30 5 10* 5:31 A ■

CORRECTION TIMES Compute approximate time* of high A low water for your area by adding or subtracting the following number of minutes for each tide phase in the Tide Table I.OW HIGH Great Egg Harbor Inlet Plus 12 pluslO Ocean City t9th St Bridge > plus 35 plus 22 Corson Inlet i bridge > plus 21 plus 7 Sea Isle City i Ludlam Thoro Bridge i . plus 66 plus 43 Sea Isle City Beach minus 2 . \ minus 21 Townserid Inlet plus 21 q plus 4 Seven Mile Beach ' plus IS 0 Stone Harbor , (Great Channel Bridge) I plus 43 plus 40 t Hereford Inlet ( Anglesea > ) plus 19 0 Wildwood Beach * Minus 2 minus 17 West Wildwood s i Grassy Channel bridge > 4 plus 46 plus 43 r Cape May Harbor 1 plus I minus 4 3 Five Fathom Bank 8 plus II plusl ' Cape May Point 2 plus 46 plus 34 McCrie Shoal 3 plus 28 plus 22 0 Delaware Bay 6 Bayshore Channel 3 (Bay -Canal Junction) j! plus 47 plus 36 Miami Beach 9 plus 75 plus 61 6 Dennis Creek Entrance 5 plus 114 plus 97 1 Brand ywine Shoal Light plus 77 plus 52

Some dealers offer great prices. Some dealers offer great service. WHY SETTLE FOR ONE OR THE OTHER? Special 7.9% GMAC Financing Available

Urges! Selection 01 Feeds In The Area • Rabbit • Cat • Dog • Guinea Pig • Horse • Bird • Goat • Chicken • Pig • Cat Fish \ • Cow • Turkey • Trout Purina Dealers Pride 50 lb. >10" Carnation Classic 40 lb. '8°° chunk

\^BBMHpV/\MonPr 6am 9pm \^al 6am6pm