Be Heard

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council is accepting comments until October 3 on its new striped bass management plan. As our fishing columnist, Mike Wright, urged last week: Every angler, both commercial and recreational, should take a few minutes to be heard about the future management of this crucial species. There might never be a more important time to speak up.

Among the options on the table is “no targeting closures,” which means a complete ban on fishing for striped bass among recreational anglers, and potentially a complete ban, period, if the only fishing in the area is deemed to be for striped bass. As Wright noted, this is already being instituted in the Chesapeake Bay fishery, so it’s not far-fetched to think it could arrive in the waters here at some point.

Any attempt to curtail the mortality of the species — a 12 percent reduction is being considered — should be shared among recreational and commercial fishermen, and for-hire charter boats. But the ASMFC will need to hear from fishermen if that’s to be the case.

There are other measures on the survey, and, as Wright noted, these are questions that will have an outsized impact on the East End: “Striped bass are probably the most socially and economically important fish we have in our waters.” Reasonable restrictions are necessary to help the striped bass recover, but as always the devil is in the details.

Every man or woman who loves to fish, or lives to fish, should send an email to comment@asmfc.org, or go to ASMFC.org to fill out the public comment form. Don’t wait and grouse after decisions are made that you don’t like — now is the time to be heard and to influence those decisions before they’re made.