Thursday, March 16, 2006
Chesapeake Bay stripers in trouble
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Anglers were shocked the past weekend when news reports quoted Maryland officials who said that 75 percent of the striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay are infected with a wasting disease that can kill this popular fish and even cause a severe skin infection in humans.
The epidemic is called mycobacteriosis and is the result of pollution, the officials said. The striped bass population has made a miraculous recovery, but scientists say the Bay is too polluted to support the level of life it once did.
What does all this mean? Scientists also say there is a lot they don’t understand about the disease and its impact on fish and humans.
BILL
ADJUSTMENTS MADE TO TROUT STOCKING
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has made several adjustments to its put-and-take trout stocking program.
>Cripple Creek in Wythe County at Virginia 94 has been returned to the stocking program as a Category A stream. It has not been stocked the past two years because of posting of private property.
>Back Creek in Bath County has been upgraded from B to A Category.
>Goose Creek in Floyd County and Pads Creek in Bath County have been upgraded to B streams.
>Upper Sherando Lake in Augusta County has been downgraded to a B stream because of a new entry fee imposed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Streams classified as “A” are stocked more frequently than “B” streams, and “B” streams get more fish than “C” streams. Trout stream categories can be found on the DGIF website: www.dgif.virginia.gov.
The above adjustments now are in place; even though, new fishing regulations don’t become law until July 1.
BILL
STRIPERS AND MENHADEN
Driver by warmer weather, striped bass are beginning to return to the Chesapeake Bay from their wintering grounds. Some didn’t bother to leave.
The question on the minds of many anglers: Will there be enough food to keep these popular sport fish robust?
One thing for certain, the 2006 General Assembly did nothing to assure a food supply in the form of menhaden. Three bills failed that would have put a cap on the number of tons of menhaden taken from Virginia’s portion of the Bay by commercial fishermen. An editorial in the Virginia-Pilot said “The House should be ashamed.”
The cap had been recommended by the Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission. Commercial fishing interests in the bay say that the Commission’s recommendations are toothless in Virginia.
That’s yet to be seen. Some say that the Commission has the authority to shut down menhaden fishing in the bay if the state doesn’t come up with a plan to comply with its recommended cap of 105,783 metric tons a year.
BILL
BOATING BILLS
After July 1, if you are charged with certain boating law violation in Virginia, such as reckless operation of a craft, chances are you won’t just get a fine but also you will be required to complete a boating safety course.
This is the impact of a bill, HB 870, which flew through the General Assembly and already has been approved by the governor. It was introduced by Kathy Byron, R-Campbell County as part of a package of bills advocated by the Smith Mountain Lake Association.
The other boating measure faced rougher sailing. They included bills that would have established speed limits on Smith Mountain Lake and would have mandated boater safety education for all boat operators across the state. Most of these were carried over until the 2007 General Assembly.
That’s not all bad. It will give the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries a chance to examine the importance and impact of these issues away from the emotions of a twin-fatality boat crash on Smith Mountain Lake that resulted in demands for more boating regulations.
BILL
MUSICAL CHAIRS FOR DGIF CHAIRMEN
The chairmanship of the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has become more of a musical chairs affair. No one person will inhabit the seat of leadership for long, thanks to legislation in the General Assembly that gives board procedures new direction and scrutiny.
Several bills introduced to address infractions at the DGIF were incorporated into a lead bill, HB 362, introduced by Scot Lingamfelter, R-Woodbridge. HB 362 passed the House and Senate without a negative vote.
It ushers in a new system that limits the time that any of the 11 board members can serve as chairman and vice-chairman to one year during a four year term. Members can serve for two terms, at the pleasure of the governor, thus getting two cracks and the chairman position. There is no change in the procedure of the governor appointing all of the 11 board members.
The purpose of the HB 362 is to prohibit any single board member from dominating the chairmanship, as has been the case in recent years.
HB 362 also limits the powers of the board chairman. No longer is that person seen as some kind of CEO.
The board is allowed to choose a department director, but the General Assembly must confirmed the choice, then reconfirm it every four years, which means legislators will be looking over the shoulder of the agency more than in the past.
Lingamfelter’s bill also calls for the agency to develop a governance manual, which it has completed, and be subject to an annual audit. The agency recently has been under the scrutiny the State Auditor and the State Police. The State Auditor uncovered numerous infractions and the State Police investigation is ongoing.
In the meanwhile, board members and staff have been working to get the agency back on track.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Signs of an early spring? Commercial fishermen are seeing schools of croaker swarming in the Chesapeake Bay and the most flounder, up to 9 pounds, they have seen in recent years.
>The Future Fisherman Foundation, headquartered in Northern Virginia, has $200,000 available in grant funding for physical education teachers who incorporate fishing and boating education into their curricula. The foundation is offering individual grants up to $5,000 to help foster active leisure lifestyles and ethical attitudes about the outdoors. The contact is Jesse Graytock at jgraytock@asafishing.org.
>The recent Dixie Deer Classic in Raleigh, N.C., placed lots of emphasis on food plots, nutrients and quality deer management, according to Penn Riggs, who visited the event.
>You get an idea of how well organized and well funded the National Wild Turkey Federation is when you see its list of spring banquets in Virginia. There are 35 of them.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament standings:
FLOUNDER: 9 pounds, caught by David Butler, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Steve Harding, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 1 ounce, Barclay Shepard, Poquoson, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 68 pounds, 1 ounce, Clay Armstrong, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 14 pounds, 8 ounces, Justin Wilson, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Wilderness First Aid Class, March 25-26, Blacksburg, two-days of classroom study, hands-on practice that results in a two-year certification, $160. For additional information and to register, phone 703 836-8905 or visit wfa.net.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, March 21, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series tournament, March 26, Lake Gaston, Americamps in South Hill , Bassmaster.com for registration and details.
Wal-Mart BFL bass tournament, Smith Mountain Lake, April 1, information from flwoutdoors.com.
Spring gobbler season, April 8-May. 13.
Virginia Ducks Unlimited State Convention, April 21-22, DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville, information from Tom Colligan, TColligan@verizon.net.
Sixth annual Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and Wine Tasting, Waynesboro, April 22-23, vaflyfishingfestival.org.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, April 25, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Annual Downing Ruritan Club David H. Horne Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Hunters for the Hungry, Richmond, information from Braxton Bell, 804-739-3010.
Annual Bluefish Derby, June 9-10, sponsored by Smith Point Sea Rescue, $5,000 prize for the largest bluefish and largest striped bass; $250 for largest croaker, information from Jett Hardware in Reedville, 804-453-5325.
NRA Whittingon Adventure Camp for youngsters, June 11 for two weeks, teaches shooting and traditional outdoor sports, information from info@nrawc.org.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, June 20, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Hunters for the Hungry Sporting Clays Benefit Shoot, Edmunds Farms Sporting Clays, Halifax, June 24-25, information from Clarence Morris, 434-572-6986.
NRA Whittingon Adventure Camp for youngsters, July 25, for two weeks, teaches shooting and traditional outdoor sports, information from info@nrawc.org.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, Aug. 11-13, Mechanicsville, information from sportsmanshow.com.
Smith Mountain Lake Classic and Antique Boat Society Show, The Point at Mariners Landing, Aug. 11-12, woodenboats.net.
Belvoir Bowhunters 3D Tournament to benefit Hunters for the Hungry, Aug. 13, information from Bob Foster, 703-758-5540.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 22, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 17, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Bassmaster tour event, Smith Mountain Lake, Oct. 26-28, information on Bassmaster.com.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Dec. 12, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
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