WGMD Fishing Report 6-16-22
Thursday was a lousy day at the beach.
All of my reporting stations had nothing to report.
There have been some major changes in the way NOAA, the Mid-Atlantic Marine Fisheries Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission set regulations for recreational fishermen in the future.
All of us who thought we had been screaming into a dark hole about the way our fisheries were managed have finally been heard. In the future, the managers will look at the biomass level of the species as compared to the target level needed to maintain a healthy stock. This is then compared to the Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL) and a percent either plus, minus or equal is determined. If plus, we get more liberal regulations. If minus, we get more restrictive regulations and if equal, we get the same regulations. These calculations will happen every two years, so that will save us from yearly changes.
This is Eric Burnley with your WGMD fishing report.
