The old timers – it’s okay folks, I’m one of you – remember the winter when striped bass fishing was invaded.
The fishery for stripers had made a remarkable comeback and large fish topping 40 inches in length were thick as could be along the coastal waters of southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina.
Some fish were huge, easily surpassing 60 inches.
All were thick, fat fish that put up tremendous fights and provided gourmet meals.
Then something happened.
Hits on trolled plugs and drifted live eels turned into beaten up tackle and fishing line was spooled.
Yeah, there were whales in the area dolphins, too – but neither were the cause.
It didn’t take long for some to discover that the culprit was tuna – large, some extremely large bluefin tuna, that had invaded schools of menhaden and bluefish close to the beach.
Some bluefin were being hooked a half mile from the sand – the Oceanfront skyline clear as a bell in the background.
Well, those days are back in partial form.
Striped bass populations have been in trouble for years and their numbers have no resemblance to those days not too long ago. It’s rare to even see one caught along the beach.
Bluefin, however, have been abundant this year and a few weeks ago, they started acting like their brethren from times gone by.
Fish right around the 65- to 75-inch zone are being caught within easy sight of the coast.
And it’s not just boaters who are decking them.
Bluefins have been caught by anglers fishing on kayaks and some have been landed from the beach.
Unfortunately, recent battles and catches from Jennette’s Fishing Pier in Nags Head have drawn the attention of the feds.
It’s no surprise.
NOAA fisheries, for whatever reason, has always had a problem with the numbers of bluefin caught in the mid-Atlantic. The fact that the agency is basically ruled by northeast state managers easily could be the reason.
Pictures and videos on the internet are adding to the government uproar.
Lots of attention has been paid to recent catches and NOAA law enforcement has gotten into the mixture.
A recent Facebook post from Jennette’s pier stated that NOAA officials were on site to stop people from playing with the tuna.
“No more tuna fishing” was the start, continuing that is was “a violation to fish for, catch, possess, retain, or land Atlantic bluefin tuna, blue marlin, white marlin or a strain of spearfish without a valid permit or endorsement .”
The first violation could bring the angler a fine of $2,000The feds reminded everyone that permits for the species were issued to fishing vessels, not individual anglers.
Jennette’s officials were told to remove all references to the current bluefin bite from the pier’s social media platforms because “it is considered promoting an illegal activity.”
For goodness sake, it’s fishing.
And there is no way on the planet that the very few anglers able to hook a bluefin in this manner are doing any harm to the population.
But since bluefin are in the process of their annual migration to the north, the feds once again want to “protect” their numbers.
It’s never been a secret that bluefin populations are thought to belong to northeast states.
The feds allow us some, then keep a majority of the quota for themselves.
It is what it is.
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