This was written in 2004 by our Fly Fishing columnist John Papciak. Seven years later not much has changed. In a lot of ways , that is why we are posting this. Becouse of the video, talk on gamefish is all the rage…yet not much has changed
Zeno
By John Papciak
Written Nov 2004
Visions of the Pre-Moratorium Days “ The Nets Are Back”
Saturday November 19. I set out to introduce a couple of guys to surfcasting on the east end of Long Island. We did some boat fishing earlier in the day, but they really were more interested in seeing what the striper surf was all about. It’s been a tough fall, the slowest in years, but on this day they got their wish, and then some. That afternoon, just west of Indian Wells Beach in Amagansett, juvenile “peanut” bunker were being chased by schoolie bass into the shallows. A day in surfcasting heaven – a beautiful day, miles of pristine beaches, gulls and gannets diving, fish breaking, peanuts in the trough, and tight lines for all.
They actually got to see more of the east end’s fishing culture than most surfcasters trekking to Montauk ever do. On this day, an East Hampton “haul seine” crew was in operation. The crew – looking like they had stepped right out of John Cole’s book Striper – consisted of about 6 trucks, 8 men, a dory, and a gill net that stretched at least a half mile out into the Atlantic.
We were just in time to see the nets coming in. On the sand lay hundreds of fish. There were bass, many much larger than anything we had caught and released in the blitz. There were many shorts. Next were bluefish by the dozens. There were also fish that I never thought would be out there chasing peanuts in the surf at this time of year, including fluke. Everything, regardless of size, looked dead or close to it. As the net came in (pulled by a winch on a trailer) the fish were sorted into piles. The total haul looked impressive. I stopped the truck to get a first-hand look, a sort of a morbid fascination with what was taking place.
“Is this legal?” my companions asked in a doubting voice. I just shrugged my shoulders. It would have taken me hours to try to explain the politics of it all, and this was not the time, nor the place. I have witnessed beach gillnetting for a couple of years now. I get the “How could this be legal?” question often these days, but I continue to struggle with the answer.
“Haul Seines,” which are launched from the beach, were banned in New York during the moratorium, though they are still used to conduct the annual striped bass stock assessments for the NY DEC. “Gill nets,” on the other hand, are legal.
Never mind the definition, the nets are back.
After years of glowing stock assessments and steady increases in quotas on both the recreational and commercial sides, I suppose it was only a matter of time before some altered version of beach netting was attempted. Perhaps the politics of the “haul seine” was too much of an obstacle. It was probably easier to simply find a way to launch a gill net from the beach. Well, kudos, they figured it out. The genie is out of the bottle.
A couple of surfcasting buddies, offended by the kill, offered to take pictures. “Who are you going to send the pictures to?” I asked. “Who is in a position to do something about it?”
To be fair, I suggested to one buddy that he could get the same image by emptying a dumpster at one of the big Montauk sport fishing marinas after a good day. A picture of a huge pile of dead fish looks the same, no matter who did it.
In fact, these boats target larger fish, prime breeders in many cases, whereas the netters target fish in the 24 to 36 inch slot. You can debate yourself silly over which sector is doing more damage. Both are doing plenty.
The most recent stock assessment, issued earlier this month, had recreational and commercial sectors combining to produce a kill way above a pre-agreed “target,” and just a hair under an absolute ceiling known as “overfishing.” Overfishing indicates we are at greater risk of a collapse. Where were the calls for caution? Not a word from most of the recreational advocates. Many were too busy with their slice, with not a word of concern over what might be happening to the size of the overall pie.
What’s next? Bigger nets? A more favorable allocation, which might make beach netting more economically viable? This, in turn, might mean more crews launching nets from the beach?
My biggest concern of all – Who has the credibility to raise an opposition?
NY officials, no doubt influenced by recreational special interests, by-passed the public this spring and put in “emergency regulations,” giving recreational fishermen a second bass (despite years of overwhelming public opposition expressed at various hearings). To the south, NJ advocates are busy with a law to allow 3 @ 28, and they justify this legislation by saying they feel the stocks are in good shape. To the north, Mass is still fixated with opening the EEZ.
I hate to say it, but based on all this gluttony and self-interest, you can hardly blame the East Hampton Baymen (who have reportedly been at this for generations) for finding a way to get their nets back in the water.
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