New Virginia Striper Regs Hurting Business

New striped bass regulations prove costly to Virginia’s fishing businesses

New striped bass regulations adopted by Virginia this fall aren't just hurting charter captains. Marinas, bait and tackle shops, gas stations, and restaurants all are reporting lower than usual sales. Two of the three hotels around Cape Charles shut down weeks ago because of a lack of customers.

Federal fisheries managers earlier this year issued statements saying the population of striped bass along the East Coast and in the Chesapeake Bay had been declining for several years because of overfishing, and that drastic measures needed to be taken to prevent a total crash of the stock.

For Lessard, who usually has trips scheduled for every fishable day this time of year, the measures have been costly. He has had only one trip this year as opposed to dozens. And at $650 for a half-day charter or $850 for a full day, that's a lot of lost income.

"People start calling in early November, and when they hear they can only keep one fish and they can't keep any trophy fish, they say they'll get back to you and they never do," said Lessard, who has put his 45-foot sport-fishing boat up for sale. "People that had already booked called and asked for their deposits back."

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission in October cut the number of fish an angler can take each day from two to one. And that fish has to fit in a 20- to 36-inch slot – with the longer fish equating to anywhere from 25 to 35 pounds, depending on how fat they are.

The effects of the changes are easy to see.

On what would have been a busy Friday morning in this sleepy little fishing town, the boat ramp parking lot had fewer than 20 truck-and-trailer rigs.

"You shouldn't be able to get anywhere near the place right now," Lessard said. "It's sad."

While anglers can still earn an award from the state-sponsored Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament for a released fish longer than 44 inches, they won't be able to keep a 40-pound trophy because of the size restrictions.

"People want to be able to catch a big fish," said Chris Snook of Chris' Bait and Tackle in Capeville. "And they're not going to come here from other states to keep one fish.

"We might never get these customers back."

The state enacted the new regulations ahead of ones that will be handed down in 2020 by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which is looking for a nearly one-fifth reduction in the amount of fish taken. The commission cites continued overfishing by recreational and commercial fishermen as the reason.

Eastern Shore business owners like Snook say there was no need for Virginia to act until all East Coast states were required to.

"They didn't enact this stuff until October," she said of Virginia's choice to be proactive. "We'd already ordered all of our fall supplies by then."

Snook said she is down 73% from last year on her sale of live eels, the predominate bait used by striper anglers this time of year. Last fall, she sold $13,748 worth of terminal tackle – things like hooks, weights and fishing line. Her sales so far this fall are just shy of $8,000. She said she's had to cut the price of fishing rods and reels nearly in half to get them to move. Customers who normally would come into the shop to buy something also would purchase Christmas gifts.

"We're not getting any of that traffic this year," she said. "We're going to lose a quarter of our business this year, and that's our profits. We've been here almost 30 years, and this is going to be the worst year ever.

"If they would have waited until next year, we could have been better prepared."

Virginia has really done the right thing here. It's pretty clear the fishery has taken a severe hit, and won't return to anything like it's former glory until we have one or more very strong recruitment years (which we haven't had in several years) and those fish get a chance to grow to catchable size, so any recovery is three or more years in the future. Putting off restrictions for another season just puts off the recovery that much longer. Maybe if the charter and tackles businesses had not fought restrictions as long as they have, they would not be in this situation now. I say this, even though the situation is worse in my state of Maryland, where charter and tackle stores are part of the coalition stopping needed restrictions, and promulgating unnecessary ones.

The Wombat is back in action with a double stuffed Rule 5 Sunday: New Year Double Scoop Delight!