THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 16, 1996 TAG: 9606160162
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: 121 lines
The federal government has announced a relaxation of the bluefin tuna regulations that basically would have limited Virginia fishermen to one fish per boat per day.
The decision was finalized Thursday, when the plan was approved by the Department of Commerce, which regulates all U.S. tuna fishing. It becomes effective Tuesday.
Under the revision, rod-and-reel fishermen will be able to keep one bluefin between 27 and 59 inches, curved fork length, per angler, per day. In addition, each boat will be allowed one bluefin between 59 and 73 inches per day.
The curved-fork-length measurement is from the tip of the nose to the fork of the tail, down the fish's curved length.
Fish less than 27 inches long will still be illegal, as will bluefins from 73 inches up.
The bluefin, which ranges throughout the North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico, is the world's most tightly regulated fish. Its harvest is regulated under a treaty of the world's tuna-fishing nations. However, regulations have failed to halt a decline that scientists say has been caused by excessive catches. At best, the regulations have merely slowed the decline.
For a while, it looked as though East Coast recreational fishermen were going to be limited to one tuna per boat, per day, once the spring/ summer season started.
For Virginia anglers, the change comes just in time. Bluefins debuted in the ocean off Virginia Beach on Thursday, and by Friday several boats from the charter fleet at Rudee Inlet reported steady action on the Southeast Lumps, about 30 miles southeast of the inlet. Several groups of anglers were planning offshore tuna-fishing excursions this weekend.
The basic bag limit was dropped to one fish following an explosive winter/early spring bluefin season off Hatteras, N.C., this year. That fishery, developed only in recent years, resulted in hundreds of tuna being boated.
The bottom line is that the Commerce Department has granted recreational fishermen an additional 95 metric tons - about 210,000 pounds - of bluefins from its ``reserve,'' an amount held just for such purposes.
NOW THE BAD: That's the good news for East Coast fishermen. Now the bad. The daily bag limit on king mackerel is being lowered from five to three fish.
The rule applies only to federal waters, between 3 and 200 miles of the coast. Unfortunately, that's where most king mackerel are caught.
Also, the decrease covers only the area from the Georgia-Florida border north to New York. Along the coast of Florida, the bag limit will remain at but two fish a day.
The reduction was announced by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, responsible to the Department of Commerce.
Dave Cupka, council chairman, said the reduction was necessary because ``the abundance of king mackerel is lower than that of previous years.'' He said the change was needed ``to curb any further decline.''
The decision will have little impact on most Virginia fishermen. But it could have serious effects in North Carolina, where the fall king mackerel fishery attracts legions of anglers and has a tremendous economic impact.
In the past, North Carolina and Virginia have paralleled federal regulations for their state waters. It's going to be interesting to see if they follow along this time.
FIRSTS FOILED: It seems as though the season's first two Virginia white marlin were not ``firsts'' after all.
The fish, registered for citation awards from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament last weekend, have been rejected by the contest because of a rule infraction.
The fish were released off Hatteras by anglers on the boat Off Call, which is based at Little Creek Marina but was sailing temporarily from the North Carolina port. The fish were caught and released the day the boat left Hatteras and returned to the Norfolk marina. And that's against the rules.
Contest regulations stipulate that to qualify for the state-sponsored awards, anglers must ``leave from and return to'' Virginia without going into port in another state.
You can leave from Chincoteague and come into Virginia Beach. But you can't leave from Hatteras and come into Norfolk.
Claude Bain, director of the tournament, said he had talked with the anglers and was certain they merely did not understand the rules.
``They also had a dolphin which we had to reject,'' Bain said. ``I certainly don't think they were trying to circumvent the rules. And they did catch the fish. But our rules are explicit.''
So the season's real ``first Virginia white marlin'' is still out there, waiting to be caught.
TURKEY RECORD: Virginia hunters bagged a record 12,895 turkeys during this year's spring season.
That's a 10.3 percent increase over last year's previous record of 11,694, according to Gary Norman, turkey specialist with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, which compiles the figures.
Bedford County was the best place to bag a bird this year, producing 383 kills and displacing Franklin County, last year's leader. Franklin County had 348 kills this year, followed by Buchanan County with 291.
Others in the top 10: 4. Scott 282; 5. Allegheny 255; 6. Amherst 253; 7. Grayson 247; 8. Pittsylvania 241; 9. Bath 223; 10. Rockbridge 221.
NICE CATCH: Recreational fishermen between Maine and North Carolina caught 10.8 million striped bass in 1995, according to figures released by the National Marine Fisheries Service.
That's a 27 percent increase from 1994. It's also further evidence that the once-beleaguered striper has recovered from almost being wiped out less than 20 years ago.
But of those 10.8 million, only 1.1 million were kept, which represents a release rate of 90 percent, the survey said.
Massachusetts produced the top striper fishing, accounting for 3.3 million fish. Maryland was second at 2.6 million, while Virginia, with fewer than 1 million, trailed both New Jersey and New York.
SHORT CASTS: Some 20 people have been arrested in Virginia and West Virginia on a variety of charges involving wildlife, narcotics and firearms. Wildlife infractions included the illegal taking and selling of deer, bear, turkey, grouse and wild trout. . . . The Back Bay Restoration Foundation will hold its 11th annual Flyway Feast and fund-raiser Saturday in the orchard of the historic Flyway Hunt Club. The site is on Route 615 just south of the North Carolina border on the way to Knotts Island. For details, contact Steve Vinson, 412-4240. . . . A top prize of $100,000 will be up for grabs in the Forrest Wood Open largemouth bass tournament, which starts Tuesday on Buggs Island Lake. . . . Retired Army Maj. Michael G. Buhl of Fayetteville has been named deputy director of the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, at $57,000 a year. . . . The Eastern Shore Marlin Club will stage its 15th annual Billfish Release Tournament July 13-14, with headquarters at Wachapreague Marina. For details, contact the marina at 1-804-787-4110. . . . Honors for catching the season's first citation-winning croaker in Virginia waters go to Peter L. Carrasco of Gum Spring. Boated at West Point on the York River, it weighed 3 pounds, 1 ounce.
KEYWORDS: BLUEFISH RULES by CNB