Striped bass have become the most sought after fish on Long Island. Not just here but everywhere that they exist they are the target; the one fish that can make or break your fishing session. Bluefish! Dam-it! Oh schoolie bass; break out the camera! I can understand why people love them so much, I do too. But the lack of understanding of the average and even seasoned angler about how to show respect for the fish they exclusively hunt is baffling…and it is going to lead to a disaster. We almost lost the striped bass once, it can happen again. While it is hard to judge, the bass stock assessments the past few years show serious declines. (Go to www.stripersforever.org for more info)
This is not a local problem only. It’s global. If things don’t change fish species all over the world will vanish. Fishing has gone corporate. One of the biggest fish conglomerates is the fish oil business. They use spotter planes to find giant bait balls roaming the world’s oceans and suck them all up. Their vital oils are processed in giant factories to be added to pills to make us feel great and avoid heart attacks. Figures from the Food and Agriculture Organization show that the small fish on which birds and marine mammals feed on, have become the main target of fishing fleets since stocks of bigger fish have become exhausted. Four times as much of these "prey fish" are now brought to shore as half a century ago, and seven of the world's largest 10 fisheries now go after them. 80% of those bait fish end up in fish oil pills or food meal for farmed raised salmon. A new report by the group, Hungry Oceans, writes that "scrawny predators – dolphins, sea bass and even whales – have turned up on coastlines all over the world," adding that scientists are finding them and seabirds "emaciated from lack of food, vulnerable to disease and without enough energy to reproduce". This is not even close to sustainable. There could be a complete breakdown in the food chain. Once it starts it can’t be stopped.
Locally, and by that I mean Long Island, there is so much that has to change. This change goes into just about every area of our lives, not just our fishing/recreation lives. When people complain about kill-offs in the Forge River or canals of Bay Shore do they ask why it happened? Cesspools and fertilizers are two big culprits. How about not using toxic lawn chemicals so you can be the pride of your block with your weed free lawn. What is more important to you: weeds or having your son/daughter catch a keeper bass? Few other places take such pride in their recreational opportunities yet refuse to allow native, wild grasses grow in their yards. And crab grass; don’t get me going on crab grass! ‘My lawn can’t have crab grass! Pour on the chemicals that’ll fix it.’ But where do those chemicals end up…you know the answer.
Now I know not all of us pollute but the problem is again global. Go to the beach and you’ll find garbage from all over the world. Many of us clean up occasionally at events. That’s great. But a few days a year is not enough. Imagine if each time we fished we picked up garbage, especially plastic. Why do it? Because…“One thousand miles off San Francisco, a three million ton floating patch of plastic, called, “The Great Pacific Garbage Patch” swirls around in an area twice the size of Texas.” What a legacy to leave. “Daddy what’s a striped bass look like? Don’t know, but check out that giant plastic island!” Plastic bags, balloons, bait bags, water bottles you name it. Plastic is now part of the food chain. We let this happen. “Those {plastic} containers, including, Styrofoam, stick in the stomachs of birds, whales, turtles, dolphins and other marine life—to kill by the millions. The problem remains: the death of those marine animals assures that the plastics will be recycled for more death and destruction of life in endless cycles.”(Source: http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=13286.)
What else. Let’s see…oh yeah our boats. Oh how clean we must keep them…especially after slaughtering the bass in the fall. What do we clean our boats with? How many of you think about that? For most of us, it’s the standard cleaning agent we use at home that is filled with chemicals that go straight into our bays. But others try to do right by buying products labeled biodegradable. Companies cleverly use this word because it’s true. Almost everything will break down over time. It makes no difference as far as the regulations go what form the broken down compounds take or even how long it takes. Try this: read the labels. If the product does not list its ingredients be suspicious. Check out my sponsor www.greenboatstuff.com
Practice catch and release. Stripersforever.org has a great catch and release video. Take pride in releasing a cow bass. Take only what you need. Honor the fish by thanking it. Show your gratitude by not even taking a striped bass out of the water if you can. Don't use treble hooks. Do your best to bring the bass in as fast as possible to help avoid stressing/exhausting the fish, therefore decreasing its chances of survival. Don't pose for pictures with your bass unless you're keeping it. Encourage your fishing buddies to do the same. Teach your children this way. All you can control is what you do.
