May kicks off the spring fishing season: inshore, nearshore and offshore. There really is no longer any offseason, but for my money, this is a great month to get on the water. Warmer weather is settling in, bait is arriving and fish are on the feed. Offshore experience tells me that the “window” for chasing pelagics is not much larger than the month of May. Fishing is still lots of fun; you just have to make the effort to get out on the water.
While fishing looks great for 2009, I have some concerns about 2010 and beyond. What I hear and see from the S.C. Department of Natural Resources’ marine division is that they are on the job and on the ball, but have endured severe budget cuts in 2009.
Scientists study fish continually, and they have long-term data tracks that bear out whether a fishery is healthy or declining. Too often, this science-based data is not considered when regulation changes are being considered in the General Assembly — because the buck stops with our elected officials. Educating elected officials is not the job of the scientists; it takes go-getters like the Camo Coalition who speak to legislators on behalf of anglers. So it’s a good time that the Camo Coalition up and running, but it’s a bad time because if the budget is broken, there’s nothing that can be done to restore funding via legislation anyway.
SCDNR’s ability to manage certain fisheries is limited in scope by federal management groups that trump their power. While migratory fish species that swim through South Carolina waters and along the entire East Coast does need to be managed as a “regional” fishery, the reality is that the regional fishery management process is too slow and sluggish as it relates to trends occurring in real time. So this is a good time for anglers, because SCDNR is committed to stewarding our marine resources, but it’s a bad time because so much of the management is out of their control.
It seems there are great programs out there everywhere, but the darker side is that they exist because there may be a problem to be reckoned with. Take the dolphin-tagging study for example. It’s a great program in which recreational fishermen partner with scientists to document and study the lives and patterns of the dolphin populations. The bad news is that a once seemingly-endless supply of dolphin is now in need of study, because too many offshore anglers are reporting fewer dolphins attacking their trolled baits.
The avid bottom fisherman is more unsure than ever about the status of red snapper stocks. The fishery was facing a closure, then when the deadline for closure passed and it seemed reason had been applied, another closure was ordered — and this time it’s for sure. If you are a commercial bottomfisherman, this has been hanging like a black cloud over your boat (and career) for too long. Fishermen report decent numbers of red snapper these days, but from the dire message that comes with an imminent fishery closure, who can be sure of anything?
I think back to when long-liners were ridiculed for their by-catch and how their commercial fishery was thinning ocean stocks. While there may have been some truth to it, I don’t think they deserved a bigger share of the blame then maybe a shrimp boat.
Swordfish were in decline at the time, and long-liners were made the focus for that decline, but today, regulations have helped swordfish make a strong comeback, with the proof being that the Sustainable Seafood Initiative is fine with swordfish on restaurant menus.
Shrimp boats drag huge nets along the bottom and take in all sorts of by-catch, and while they have TED’s for turtles and a pretty fast system of returning other by-catch to the sea — they still have much critter mortality.
The SCDNR is also concerned about development along the coast that is changing land into paved areas that produces non-point source runoff. SCDNR has a presentation that poses the question, “Why does storm water runoff matter to a red drum?” There is a link to this information available at
www.dnr.sc.gov/marine/NERR/present/WaterResources_SierraClub.pdf.
Water quality directly affects shellfish banks, shrimp populations and the health of red drum stocks. If an afternoon thunderstorm becomes a detriment to the coastal ecosystem because of all the untreated pollution it pulls into the estuary, then one can imagine how quick a downward spiral may develop.
One practice that will help with storm-water runoff is catching on: rain collection via rain barrels, often called rain gardens. So can rain gardens improve your fishing? The answer is yes, but the concept would only help on a landscape scale if more and more people are made aware of the potential pollution and want to make a difference.
With the southeast receiving less rain these days, saltwater intrusion into freshwater drinking water and ecosystems is also a concern, so a rain barrel of “free” and fresh water might make a lot of sense down the road. Freshwater runoff as it relates to a saltwater ecosystem, commercial fishing versus conservation practices, the value society places on a sustainable fishery, and what can one do to help educate others about the importance of our marine resources. There are more and more issues like these to consider in the future, and almost certainly their will be more regulations to follow, so for the time being remember to fish for some fun, and enjoy saltwater fishing like it’s the good ole days.
Just wild about Harry
The Harry Hampton Marine Banquet that was scheduled for May 2 at the SCDNR’s Fort Johnson facility in Charleston has been postponed until the fall because of scheduling conflicts. The banquet is a great fund-raiser for the marine division, so when a new date is set, it will be a great opportunity for the fishing public to come out for a nice evening beside Charleston Harbor and show financial support for our marine resources.
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