A long-term drop in Virginia’s commercial catch of bluefish has sparked a deep cut in the state’s share of the coastwide quota. The latest amendment to the fishery’s management plan cuts Virginia’s share of the Atlantic coast quota from 11.88% to 5.87% — the biggest reduction for any of the coastal states. New York and Massachusetts are the biggest gainers, with New York’s share rising from 10.39% to 19.76% and Massachusetts’ from 6.72% to 10.12%. In addition to the new state allocations, the total coastwide allocation for commercial fishermen is declining from 17% of all bluefish landed to 14%. The difference means an increased share for recreational fisherman, from 83% to 86%.
All those changes are to be phased in over seven years, according to the fishery plan managers, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The aim is to rebuild the total stock of bluefish. Bluefish have been overfished, but with the total catch down from a peak of about 180 million pounds in 1987 to just under 19 million pounds in 2019, they are not currently overfished.
On top of the allocation cut, Virginia has agreed to transfer 50,000 pounds of its bluefish quota to New York State — another sign of how much the state fishery has shrunk.
“The bluefish population does appear to be moving north as are other species,” said Patrick J. Geer, chief of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s Fisheries Management Division. “Warming water temperatures are part of the issue, but population density is higher” in the waters off New England, New York and New Jersey, he said.
Both factors are driving the shift in quotas, as well as a shift in commercial fishing operations. Virginia’s commercial catch has been sliding since around 2008, Geer said. The average over the past five years is about a quarter the typical catch from the first decade of the 21st century. Virginia’s commercial catch hit a high of about 800,000 pounds in 2001 but fell to just under 100,000 pounds last year.
Since the commercial fishery takes only about 13% of all bluefish landed, the quota shifts shouldn’t have an effect on recreational fishermen, Geer said. They landed nearly 3 million pounds in 2007, a recent peak. Last year’s landings fell to about 1.25 million pounds, from 2 million the year before.
I don't buy the "climate change" theory for affecting Bluefish abundance. Blues are plenty well adapted to live in warm water. When I moved to Florida from Oregon in 1983, blues were common there as well as in the Bay, and it was certainly warmer there then than it its in Virginia and Maryland now. What I believe drive the abundance of blues is food. A fast, migratory fish, with a voracious appetite, blues follow the big schools of bait. There's simply no doubt that the Menhaden reduction fishery in the Bay, and in the nearby coast has reduced the abundance of menhaden, quite probably reducing the food available to blues, and prompting them to seek it elsewhere. It is notable that the states to the north of us don't permit the vast commercial Menhaden fishery.
The Wombat has Rule 5 Sunday: Bunny Girl Senpai ready for your digital delight.
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