STRIPED BASS WIN BIG AT ASMFC

Written for the Surfcaster’s Journal Blog readers by a special Guest

Charles A. Witek, III, Chairman

  Coastal Conservation Association Atlantic States Committee   

STRIPED BASS WIN BIG AT ASMFC

            Last February, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Committee began to consider the possibility of increasing the commercial striped bass quota, a measure that was being advanced primarily by Pat Augustine, the Governor’s Appointee from New York and Michael Johnson, who holds a proxy from the Legislative Appointee from North Carolina.

            Despite strong opposition, a draft Addendum to the Interstate Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass, which proposed a commercial increase, was approved at ASMFC’s May meeting, and public hearings were held over the summer.  Over 2,000 comments opposing the increase were received, as opposed to just 60 comments in favor (the official ASMFC estimate was that 97% of all comments received were in opposition to the increase).  However, when dealing with ASMFC, there is always a concern that the personal opinions (and, in some cases, the personal financial and/or business interests) of the governors’ and legislative appointees could override the desires of their constituencies.  Thus, there was a real chance that the commercial increase would go through.

            After all, the May vote to move ahead with the Addendum was a fairly lopsided 10 to 6.  If folks wanted to prevent a bigger commercial bass kill, they had a lot of work to do.

            As Chairman of the Coastal Conservation Association’s Atlantic States Committee, which coordinates fisheries advocacy for all of the CCA member states between Maine and Florida, I helped spearhead the advocacy efforts for one of the organizations which set out to defeat the commercial increase.

            The first step was to marshal our arguments.  On paper, the commercial increase didn’t look too significant, and we were concerned that managers wouldn’t appreciate its potential impact.  That is because all of the estimates of the effects of increased commercial harvest were based on today’s bass population (or, more precisely, the population for the years 2004-2008, when it was at its peak).  What was left out of the equation was the impact on a population that is expected to decline through at least 2015—and, given poor recruitment in Maryland, perhaps well beyond that date.  That potential threat to the future of the stock is what had to be brought to the fore.

            The next step was getting the members involved.  Those reading this who have ever been a part of a real grassroots organization know what it is like when volunteers communicate with other volunteers, so that in each state the membership opens like a blossoming flower to turn out at meetings and, if they can’t attend, to put their comments on the public record.  With the help of Dick Brame, CCA’s Atlantic States Coordinator (a paid staff member with a graduate degree in wildlife management), we made sure that each volunteer presented a consistent message—that the bass population appeared to be in decline, and that this was not a time to increase anyone’s quota.  That this was a time for caution.

            Still, the outcome was in doubt, and after ASMFC’s comment period was over, attention turned to each state’s commissioners, with volunteers again being asked to make their preference known.  Some feedback started coming back to the CCA volunteers in a few states that made us believe that commissioners’ minds were changing.  Still, as the time drew clear for this morning’s vote, we were still concerned that the commercial increase would go through.  Some states, we knew, were firmly opposed, while others were firmly in support.  But there were a handful of swing states that could vote either way, and at ASMFC, commissioners have a way of doing unexpected things that introduce wild cards into what at first appears to be a cut-and-dried situation.

            So I sat by the phone and waited to hear from Dick, who was in South Carolina attending the meeting.  11:00, the time that the meeting was scheduled to end, had passed, and there was still no news.  That could not be good.  Then, around 11:15, I got a message.  Terry Stockwell of Maine had made a motion to defeat the commercial increase, which was seconded by Ritchie White of New Hampshire.  However, Pat Augustine immediately made a substitute motion to increase commercial quota by 30%.  His motion was seconded by William McElroy of Rhode Island.  In many ways, this was the key vote of the meeting.  If the motion passed, the commercial sector would obviously have triumphed, while if it failed, no commercial increase would likely be approved. 

When the votes were finally tallied, they totaled 6 in favor, 9 opposed.  So far, no commercial increase would take place.

            Then came one of those wild cards that we were worried about.  Roy Miller of Delaware attempted to keep the door to a bigger commercial kill open by proposing a compromise, consisting of a small, 10% increase of limited duration, which would “sunset” after either the interim stock assessment next year or the more comprehensive “baseline” assessment in 2013.  We were afraid that this one might appeal to commissioners who wanted to appear “reasonable” with an alternative to a straight yes-or-no vote.  I held my breath awaiting the outcome.

            However, the next message that I got from Dick contained nothing but good news.  The 10% increase had failed by the same 6-9 margin, and a vote on the main motion—no increase—was finally held.  And that vote represented an unqualified win for conservation-minded anglers.  By a margin of 10-4, with one abstention, the decision not to increase the commercial quota was made.  The striped bass, and all of us who care about its future, had won.

            Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, the National Marine Fisheries Service and the US Fish & Wildlife Service all voted against the commercial increase.  Rhode Island, New York, Delaware and North Carolina supported the increase, and opposed the motion for status quo.  The Potomac River Fisheries Commission abstained, and the District of Columbia was absent.

            As the meeting ended, Pat Augustine railed against the result, saying that fisheries management was not a democracy, and so implying that public comment should not have affected the outcome.  He compared the 2,000 people who opposed the increase to Obama voters in 2008, and it was not a favorable comparison.  But the public had clearly told the commissioners how the public striped bass resource should be managed, and most of their representatives had listened.

            And every person and organization who took the trouble to contact ASMFC and their state commissioners over this issue should be proud of the result.  ###

                        Charles A. Witek, III, Chairman

                        Coastal Conservation Association Atlantic States Committee