With National Safe Boating Week starting this Saturday, it’s a great time to consider some important steps to assure a safe outing while chasing fish or having a family day on the water. Captain Dennis Fleming, a light tackle charter captain on “Fishamajig,” offers some important tips.

Dennis rescued three anglers Feb. 10, 2011 when their boat overturned at the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant rips in 38 degree water and 20 MPH northeast winds. For this, he and his fishing guest, Terry Warhurst, were awarded the Carnegie Medal of Honor. In March 30, 2013 he did the same at ”The Rips” with a kayaker whose boat flipped but in much milder conditions.

By Captain Dennis Fleming

You never think it will happen to you or one of your guests, but there it is, man overboard! You have 16 lines out trolling for trophy rockfish. What’s your plan and how will you react? With some forethought and planning, you have all the potential to get them back, safely and alive in your boat.

Let us never forget that the Chesapeake Bay is a dangerous environment with lots of current and that unique short wave chop, so different than the ocean. North and south winds against opposite tides can whip up a chop in short order. The Chesapeake Bay is where we fish, some of us 12 months a year, so we best think ahead.

The Plan

Prudent mariners have a plan, and it starts before you leave the dock. Discuss with your crew before taking off what the plan is, assuring them that if they fall into the water, you have a plan to get them back. This can go a long way to avoid them panicking if it does occur.

Inversely, have a plan if YOU fall off the boat. Assign a captain based on level of experience, and review with him the program to get you back in the boat! Discuss the marine VHF radio operation; a MAYDAY may be warranted. Teach him how to determine GPS coordinates on the depth finder and how to initiate the MOB function of the GPS.

Review with your crew where safety gear is located— things like flares, first aid kits even a knife if you have to cut tangled rope in the prop, planer board or fishing lines. And make sure they know how to start and stop the engine. What is simple to you may not be to them.

The Equipment

PFD’s – Does everyone have a PFD on, especially during the cold weather months when we anglers take to the water? Modern technology has brought us in-expensive inflatable PFD’s that are safe, comfortable and effective. You don’t even know you are wearing them. Type III PFD’s are bulkier but offer another layer of insulation in cold weather. Neither one does you any good if you are not wearing them.

Throw Rings – Do you have a throw ring at the ready or is it “somewhere” in the boat? Is it a real ring or a cushion? Commercial fishing vessels are required to have the ring, and on deck for a good reason— they are the best. Do the same. Some prefer to have them attached to a rope, but there are pros and cons to that program. If it is a rope, the best ropes in this application float. If you throw the ring and miss your target, you can bring the boat around the victim and he/she can grab onto the floating rope and then let the ring be towed to them.

The Ladder – Does your boat have a ladder? If not, what is the plan? It is amazing how hard it is to get back in the boat— even a low sided jon boat— especially since you are now heavier and much weaker in cold water. Some people suffering from shock and hypothermia do not have the strength to help themselves. Everyone rushing to help the victim on one corner of the boat can lead to other issues such as taking on water or even flipping a small boat in rough seas! You can use the tilt/trim function of the motor to help get the victim in. By standing on the planing fin and tilting the motor up, you can get the person that much closer to pull into the boat.

Got them back – now what?

Just getting your MOB is one thing. How do you treat your victim now is just as important— the big issues being shock and hypothermia. If it is cold, you need to change the victim into warm clothes or a blanket. They may resist getting undressed in frigid weather, be ready to deal with that. Make sure you have towels on hand to dry them off and some type of clothing that will fit all ages and sizes of your guests. Extra hats, gloves and big warm socks are a must. Store this gear in quality waterproof bags so it is dry and not damp & moldy when you need it. Check it throughout the season.

The victim may need medical care despite what he or she tells you about “being alright”. There is a large amount of embarrassment that goes along with the situation.  Pull the plug on the fishing trip and go back to the dock. If you know you are going to need medical assistance, radio ahead on Channel 16 to have EMS personnel at the dock when you get there.

With a little planning ahead of time, you, the captain, can boat with more confidence knowing that “you have a plan” if the worst occurs. All it takes is a little time.

All this data is available to you at no charge via the CBIBS website, www.buoybay.noaa.gov; a toll-free phone number, 877-BUOY-BAY (877-286-9229); and free apps for Android and iPhone smartphones (visit the website for easy links to these apps).

The ten CBIBS buoys are relatively new—the first was put on station in 2007. Buoys are located:

TOURNAMENT RULES

BOUNDARIES ARE FROM THE SASSAFRAS RIVER TO CEDAR POINT. LINES IN NO EARLIER THAN 5:30 AM

GEAR RESTRICTED TO FLY AND LIGHT TACKLE

PRIZES WILL BE AWARDED ON PHOTO SUMISSIONS ONLY. PHOTO MUST INCLUDE THE TOURNAMENT RULER IN THE PICTURE SO THAT ACCURATE LENGTH CAN BE DETERMINED BY THE JUDGES.

YOU MUST BE IN THE JUDGES QUARTERS AT THE JETTY WITH YOUR CAMERA OR CAMERA CHIP NO LATER THAN 3:30 PM.

PICTURE WILL BE VIEWED ON THE COMPUTOR SCREEN BY ANGLER AND JUDGES. LENGTH AND TIME OF PHOTO SUBMISSION WILL BE RECORDED

IN CASE OF TIES THE EARLIEST RECORDED SUBMISSION TIME WILL BE THE TIE BREAKER

NO MORE THAN ONE PRIZE PER INDIVIDUAL

THREE PRIZES BY DIVISION – FLY, LIGHT TACKLE & KAYAK

ANGLER THAT CATCHES THE LARGEST STRIPER BY LENGTH WILL BE DECLARED THE OVERALL CHAMPION AND HIS CCA CHAPTER WILL BE DECLARED THE CCA MD CHALLENGE CUP VICTOR FOR 2013

ALL PRIZE WINNING FISH MUST BE CAUGHT ACCORDING TO MARYLAND FISHING REGULATIONS

SPECIFICS

ENTRY FEE IS $40 PER ANGLER AND INCLUDES TOURNAMENT SHIRT, ADMISSION TO TOURNAMENT PARTY AT THE JETTY, CCA MD MEMBERSHIP OR RENEWAL OF MEMBERSHIP. COST TO ATTEND THE TOURNAMENT PARTY ONLY IS $15. KIDS UNDER 12 ARE FREE.

CAPTAIN’S MEETING WILL BE HELD AT SHORE TACKLE (AT KENT NARROWS NEXT TO THE FISHERMAN’S INN) AT 5:00 PM ON THURSDAY MAY 30 WHERE RULERS WILL BE DISTRIBUTED

FOR THOSE INDIVIDUALS THAT CAN’T MAKE THE CAPTAIN’S MEETING, RULERS MAY BE PICKED UP AT ANGLER’S SPORTS CENTER, ALL TACKLE OR AT SHORE TACKLE THE WEEK 0F MAY 27. IF YOU CANNOT PICK THE RULERS UP PLEASE CONTACT CCA MD BEFORE MAY 30 AND WE WILL MAKE ARRANGEMENTS FOR YOU TO GET YOUR STICK. RULERS WILL BE THE SAME AS USED IN PREVIOUS TOURNAMENTS.

Commercial fisheries are managed for yield.  They are prosecuted by relatively few fishers, all with the same goal – to catch as many fish as possible as efficiently as possible, in order to maximize profit from the sale of whatever species they pursue. Commercial landings can usually be counted or weighed in real time, thus quotas can be enforced in real time.   This allows managers to close a fishery before the allowable catch is exceeded.  In short, a commercial fishery’s catch can be managed in real time, based on verified landings.

Recreational fisheries, on the other hand, are dynamic in nature, prosecuted by millions of individuals with diverse goals; some try to catch fish for food, some like to catch and release fish, some just fish in order to enjoy the outdoors.  They are responding to stock abundance, weather, the economy or any of a myriad of factors.  Catch is estimated, not counted, with a significant time lag for producing such estimates.  Landings estimates, at best, are compiled 45 days after the end of each two‐month sampling wave; thus 2 months pass before any real knowledge of what anglers are catching in a particular fishery can be developed.

Real‐time quota management under the current recreational harvest information system is, as

a practical matter, impractical.  In reality, managers actually manage the catch of recreational fishermen by managing anglers’ behavior.

It is telling that poundage-based management is not contemplated when managing upland game, waterfowl or most inland fisheries, where similar challenges to developing accurate data exist.

Though recreational fishermen do not directly value fish caught in dollars per pound, they do produce a lot of economic activity and value, which is often far in excess of that generated by competing commercial fisheries.

Such recreational fisheries should be managed for expectation as opposed to yield.  Anglers need to believe they will have opportunity to encounter fish, with the hopes they may catch some, possibly including some large enough to take home, and perhaps even catch a trophy sized fish. Instead of yield, abundance and age structure are key elements to recreational fisheries, since those factors govern both the rate of encounters and the size of the fish caught. Maximizing yield has little meaning in most recreational fisheries; since more conservative fishing mortality targets

produce increased abundance and a better age structure, they actually lead to a greater number of satisfied anglers.

Current law includes the requirement of calculating, where possible, and managing towards Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY).  The concept of producing the most yield in pounds is antithetical to managing for most recreational fisheries.  MSY‐based management is a risk‐prone management strategy, and is inappropriate for a fishery which emphasizes encounters over yield.  An angler who manages to land a limit of fish over the course of a day, and releases a dozen others, will be far more satisfied than an angler who bags a limit, but catches nothing more.  In general, the recreational fishery should be managed for abundance and age structure, which maximizes encounters, not yield. This dictates an approach that sets mortality targets below F_msy, sometimes far below.  Such a concept is embodied in the definition of “Optimum,” which is already a part of federal fisheries law but, unfortunately, is seldom employed effectively in practice.

The MSY approach, and particularly the practice of setting ACLs just below MSY, arises largely

from the commercial sector’s desire to efficiently remove fish from a population.  MSY

management, by definition, attenuates the age structure and produces a population dominated by younger fish, so that a fishing rate set slightly below F_msy will result in a large stock of young fish and nearly the same yield as a population with more larger fish which, by definition, must be left in the water longer before being harvested from the larger stock.  It is analogous to

management for a high‐yield pine forest as opposed to a mature oak/hickory forest. One is

purely for yield and the other incorporates other values: aesthetics, wildlife, etc

Recreational fisheries respond to population abundance. As populations increase, and fish become easier to catch, they draw more anglers into the fishery and drive up recreational effort and catch; as populations decrease, effort and catch decline.   In the example below, angler effort (in catch/day) and the estimated abundance of fully recruited (age 4+) South Atlantic black sea bass are illustrated from 1981 – 2011.  In this example, there is a very good relationship between abundance and angler effort.  It is worth noting that the fishing season was 365 days until 2011, when it was reduced to 180 and 95 days in 2012

The Eastern Bay, in the report for the first year, had some of the better grades and underscored a key fact—“the excess of nutrients and sentiments that degrade our rivers comes from the surrounding land, not the Chesapeake or Susquehanna.”

Waters were evaluated based on clarity, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and chlorophyll a. Creeks in each of the three major river systems were also given grades. More than 500 samples were collected at a total of 122 sites.

The Choptank, one of only two rivers in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed with increasing nutrient loads, was given a C+; the Eastern Bay, a B; the Miles, a C; and the Wye, a C.

The report, which can be found on the Conservancy’s new website (www.midshoreriverkeeper.org), also provides recommendations of steps citizens can take to improve the waterways. The website includes newsletters, upcoming events, a film, and an interactive section where you can check out water quality in local waterways.

This spring, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will begin work on the 2014 benchmark stock assessment for Atlantic sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrhinchus) to evaluate the health of the stock and inform the management of this species.

The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public, with the exception of discussions of confidential data, when the public will be asked to leave the room. The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will improve the accuracy of the assessment, including, but not limited to, data on catch per unit effort, bycatch interactions, biological samples (length, age, frequency), life history information (growth, maturity, fecundity, spawning stock biomass weights, natural mortality), and tagging data. For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format, with accompanying description of methods, to the commission by July 1, 2013.

The Data Workshop date and location have yet to be determined, but it is anticipated it will take place during the late summer. This workshop will review all available data sources for Atlantic sturgeon and identify data sets that will be incorporated in the stock assessment. For those interested in submitting data and/or attending the Atlantic Sturgeon Data Workshop (space is limited), please contact Dr. Katie Drew, ASMFC Stock Assessment Scientist, at kdrew@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

More information about ASMFC can be found on its website, www.asmfc.org. (Adapted from an ASMFC news release.

While there’s nothing wrong with taking home the evening’s meal when fishing, there’s always times when anglers put fish back in the water. That may occur when you’re fishing in a catch and release area such as the Susquehanna Flats now, when the fish is undersized, or when you simply have caught more fish that you’ll eat. In those circumstances, it’s essential to release the fish appropriately so that it has the best chance to survive, grow, and reproduce.

Did you know that research shows when using conventional hooks and releasing fish, 9.1 percent of them die? But when using circle hooks, only 0.8 percent of released fish die. Employing that simple strategy will result in many more fish becoming part of the stock that reproduces and assures the fishing future for recreational anglers.

This information and much more can be found on the Careful Catch website, which was developed by CCA Maryland and the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF). Kent Narrows Chapter President Shawn Kimbro is a leader in designing and maintaining the website.

The website includes “best practices” tips for releasing fish, science that shows the importance of catch and release, videos that demonstrate techniques, and more. Go to “media” to download the Careful Catch brochure developed by CBF.

This is a great resource to review at the start of the 2013 fishing season. Check out Careful Catch at www.carefulcatch.com, and urge your friends to take a look.