Manayunk Jake
10-05-2003, 04:28 PM
Looks like everybody's out fishing (I'm still nursing my knee from last week on the 'tank!) Started looking through some old pics and came across this black & white polaroid. Its from a charter out of Fortescue NJ, the "weakfish capitol of the world" (but not lately!) The year is 1976, and it was back in the day when big weaks came into the bay to spawn, and big blues came in to fatten up on abundant baitfish. From left to right, we have Dave Shepherdson with a 10 lb bluefish, Bill Patete with a 12 lb bluefish, Ray Rouse with a 12 lb weakie, and me (kneeling) with 8 and 10 pound weakies. We had to come in early because of the weather, and the captain apologized for the "poor catch" (probably due to the Memorial Day weekend boat traffic.) The weakies were considered small, since many of the fish being caught that year topped out at 14 to 16 pounds. Weakfish populations declined in the 1980s, then began to rebound in the 1990s (although few fish over the ten pound mark were caught.)
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife Digest reported in its 2003 Marine Issue that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Weakfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which called for a 32% reduction in commercial and recreational harvest, apparently failed to provide adequate protection for the rebounding weakies. Although the bulk of weakfish mortality can be attributed to commercial fisheries, the 14 fish, 14 inch minimum for recreational fishermen was judged (in hindsight) to be too generous.
A new plan was developed to cut the recreational harvest bag limit by 71%. Extensive lobbying from fishermen and businesses in the Deleware Bay Area managed to get the 5 fish at 14 inches increased to 8 fish at 13 inches. Whether this is enough to help the distressed weakfish populations remains to be seen. But after this years dismal showing, I expect to see further cuts in recreational take. Of course, commercial restrictions, which for the most part consisted of changes to equipment, were hardly touched.
My personal opinion is that the Delaware Bay is to weakfish what the Chesapeake Bay is to striped bass, and that there are environmental factors at work. Only time will tell... But I'd sure like to see those double digit weakies again!
The NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife Digest reported in its 2003 Marine Issue that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Weakfish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), which called for a 32% reduction in commercial and recreational harvest, apparently failed to provide adequate protection for the rebounding weakies. Although the bulk of weakfish mortality can be attributed to commercial fisheries, the 14 fish, 14 inch minimum for recreational fishermen was judged (in hindsight) to be too generous.
A new plan was developed to cut the recreational harvest bag limit by 71%. Extensive lobbying from fishermen and businesses in the Deleware Bay Area managed to get the 5 fish at 14 inches increased to 8 fish at 13 inches. Whether this is enough to help the distressed weakfish populations remains to be seen. But after this years dismal showing, I expect to see further cuts in recreational take. Of course, commercial restrictions, which for the most part consisted of changes to equipment, were hardly touched.
My personal opinion is that the Delaware Bay is to weakfish what the Chesapeake Bay is to striped bass, and that there are environmental factors at work. Only time will tell... But I'd sure like to see those double digit weakies again!