I T IS ironic that a highly toxic substance, which shielded Hudson River bass from commercial exploitation, proved to be the salvation for the fishery and allowed it to grow to healthy levels.
Recently, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation released a study indicating that PCB levels in Hudson River striped bass have fallen low enough to permit commercial fishing.
For 23 years, commercial fishing for stripers in the Hudson had been prohibited due to high levels of PCBs in the fish’s flesh. Strict regulations, including stringent controls on commercial harvest, helped the coastal stock to recover, and now both the Hudson and marine waters around New York have a healthy fishery.
Commercial anglers are now pushing the state to reopen the striped bass fishery, a move that many recreational anglers, as well as conservationists, see as a step back.
One group, which represents both anglers and conservationists, the Coastal Conservation Association of New York, opposes any change to the current regulations governing bass fishing on the Hudson. It believes the current management regimen, including the commercial ban, is in the best interests of the fish and provides the optimum economic benefit to the mid-Hudson region.
The CCA is also concerned that a reopened commercial fishery will threaten uniformed consumers. Despite the findings contained in the DEC report, the state will continue to issue health advisories warning women of childbearing age to eat no fish taken from the river, and recommending that all others eat no more than one meal per month of fish taken from the Hudson south of Catskill, N.Y., and no fish taken above that point.
It is also believed the state is planning to post 3,000 signs along the river warning of the hazards of eating Hudson River fish, and will also add a group of “health rangers” who will patrol the Hudson to reinforce the signs’ message with verbal warnings.
Does any of this sound like PCB levels have fallen low enough to open a commercial fishery for stripers on the Hudson?
With the state so obviously concerned for the dangers of eating these fish, it makes no sense for the DEC to even consider opening the bass fishery to benefit the few commercial fishermen left on the Hudson.
The CCA, as well as local recreational fishing groups and conservationists, are asking legislators to introduce a bill that would prohibit the sale of striped bass taken in inland waters of New York, including the Hudson River.
Recreational anglers should contact their local legislators and make them aware of their concerns as voters and residents of New York State of the hypocrisy of reopening the striped bass fishery in the Hudson to commercial fishing.
To help make New Yorkers better aware of the situation, the Manhattan Chapter of the CCA will host its first annual “catch-and-release” striped bass tournament May 21.
To register, or if your company would like to sponsor a boat, call John McMurray at the CCA, NYS office: (516) 422-4162, e-mail at director@ccany.org. You can also contact tournament coordinator Ed Schwarzer days at (212) 370-2424 or evenings at (212) 877-4048.
