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Amount and Disposition of Striped Bass Discarded in Delaware's Spring Striped Bass Gill-Net Fishery

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#1 ·
Amount and Disposition of Striped Bass Discarded in Delaware's Spring Striped Bass Gill-Net Fishery during 2002 and 2003: Effects of Regulations and Fishing Strategies
Author(s)

CLARK John H. ; KAHN Desmond M. ;
Abstract

The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife allocated 95% of the 87,748-kg annual commercial quota for striped bass Morone saxatilis to the spring gill-net fishery. Many striped bass were discarded during the fishery for regulatory and market reasons. The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife conducted 45 onboard samples with 10 cooperating netters during the 2002 and 2003 spring gill-net seasons to determine the discard rate and discard mortality rate in this fishery to compare with the 1988 discard and discard mortality rates. Discarded striped bass constituted 29% of the cooperators' total striped bass catch in 2002 and 31 % in 2003. Dead discards were 55% of the total discarded striped bass in 2002 and 36% in 2003. Striped bass catch per unit effort, adjusted for the gill-net meters fished, was significantly higher in 2002-2003 than in 1988, but the discard mortality rate was lower than the earlier figure (47% versus 41%). Females comprised almost 60% of dead discards, and many of the discarded females were mature. Eighty-four percent of the discards were above the minimum legal length. The number of sublegal striped bass caught increased as net mesh size decreased. Most discards and all dead discards came from anchor nets. As derived from the discard catch per unit effort of the onboard samples, the estimated number of striped bass discarded dead by Delaware Bay anchor gillnetters was 3,577 during the 2002 season and 4,120 during the 2003 season. The management response by the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife to discarding in the spring striped bass gill-net fishery included attempts to curtail anchor netting and encourage drift netting.
Journal Title

North American journal of fisheries management ISSN 0275-5947 CODEN NAJMDP
Source

2009, vol. 29, no3, pp. 576-585 [10 page(s) (article)]
 
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#3 ·
Yes And NO!! but -anchor gill nets are outlawed during the spawn

1.0 The spawning season for striped bass (Morone saxatilis) in Delaware shall begin at 12:01 A.M. on April 1 and continue through midnight on May 31 of each calendar year.
2.0 It shall be unlawful for any person to take and retain any striped bass during the striped bass spawning season from the Nanticoke River or its tributaries, the Delaware River and its tributaries to the north of a line extending due east beginning at and including the south jetty at the mouth of the C & D Canal, or the C & D Canal or its tributaries.
3.0 It shall be unlawful for any person to fish a fixed gill net in the Nanticoke River or its tributaries or the C & D Canal or its tributaries during the striped bass spawning season.
4.0 It shall be unlawful for any person to fish during the striped bass spawning season in the Nanticoke River or its tributaries or the C & D Canal or its tributaries with a draft gill net of multi- or mono-filament twine larger than 0.28 millimeters in diameter (size #69) or a stretched mesh size larger than five and one-half (5 1/2) inches.
5.0 It shall be unlawful for any person to fish any fixed gill net in the Delaware River north of a line beginning at Liston Point (River Mile 48.06) and continuing due east to the boundary with New Jersey during January, February, March, April or May.

Regulations state of delaware
Delaware General Assembly : Delaware Regulations : Administrative Code : Title 7 : 3000 : 3500 Tidal Finfish

A commercial food fisherman may use a gill net to take and reduce to possession striped bass during the period beginning at 12:01 A.M. on February 15 and ending at 4:00 P.M. on May 31 next ensuing. It shall be unlawful to use any gill net having a stretched-mesh size greater than four (4) inches to take striped bass during the period February 15 until and including the last day in February unless the net is drifted. A commercial food fisherman may use a gill net to take and reduce to possession striped bass during the period beginning at 12:01 A.M. on November 15 and ending at 4:00 P.M. on December 31 next ensuing provided at least two (2) percent of the commercial allocation of striped bass for the gill net fishery, as determined by the Department, was not landed in the February - May gill net fishery. In order for a commercial food fisherman to be authorized by the Department to participate in a commercial gill net fishery, said commercial food fisherman shall have a valid food fishing equipment permit for a gill net and shall register in writing with the Department to participate in said fishery by February 1 for the February 15 - May 31 gill net fishery and by November 1 for the December gill net fishery.
 
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