Laura Greenback, The Examiner
2007-01-30 08:00:00.0
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Annapolis -

Striped Bass Spring Trophy Season will not face decimation now that anglers are permitted to take at least 30,000 of the fish from the Chesapeake Bay.

“It’s a default, so that Maryland is not penalized so severely that the fisheries would be too damaged,” Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission striped bass coordinator Nichola Meserve said.

The commission’s Striped Bass Management Board, which sets the caps in Maryland, decided not to mandate a much smaller season during a Monday meeting in Alexandria, Va.

The board could have greatly limited the season because Maryland fishermen over-harvested striped bass — also known as rockfish — by about 60 percent last year during the Spring Trophy Season.

The monthlong season, which begins in mid-April, represents Maryland’s most popular fishing event. There is a limit of one fish per person, per day.

In 2006, fishermen caught 67,000 rockfish, well over the 41,000 limit, according to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Web site. Fishermen also exceeded the cap during the 2005 season.

The cap can be no lower than 30,000, Meserve said. DNR will decide on an official number in the next couple of months after a population study is completed.

However, Maryland should not have any cap at all, and if it ends up being lower than last year, it will harm the recreational fishing industry, Maryland Watermen’s Association President Larry Simns said. The Maryland Watermen’s Association represents the commercial fish industry.

“I don’t think it’s fair because none of the other states have any cap,” Simns said. Those who run charter boat services, which take fishermen out on the Bay, will suffer the most, Maryland Charter Boat Association Inc. board member Buddy Harrison Jr. said.

“If the charter boat industry is required to take only 30,000 fish, the business will take a 50 percent hit from last year,” he said. “There is not a problem with the striped bass population in the Chesapeake Bay.”

lgreenback@baltimoreexaminer.com