PFBC Looks to EPA to Help Save Susquehanna Smallmouth Fishery

 

A “perfect storm” of stressors is destroying one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the nation. Algae blooms, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and pollutants annually decimate young-of-the year bass, leaving the Susquehanna River with a steadily declining number of big fish and little recruitment to replace them.

Since the first disease outbreak in 2005, biologists with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) have been studying the problem on the river that flows from Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, N.Y., to Chesapeake Bay, draining about half of the state’s land area. Their conclusion: The problem is too complex for them to solve without additional help.

“That’s why we’re trying to convince the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to put the Susquehanna on the (impaired waters) list,” said John Arway, PFBC executive director.

Despite the Susquehanna’s biological and recreation impairment, the state Department of Environmental Protection decided not to include the river on the list, forcing the PFBC to look elsewhere for help.

 “We’ve also had meetings with our members of Congress,” Arway said. “This is extremely important. If the river goes on the impaired list, then there’s a time clock to fix it. But that clock doesn’t start until the problem is formally recognized.

"Putting it on the 303D list would mean that there’s a plan and we’d be eligible for grant money and we could prioritize how to spend it.”

The PFBC has support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its campaign. In a letter to the EPA, Region 5 Director Wendi Weber wrote the following:

“We concur with recent scientific assessments that indicate a chronic problem exists with recruitment of smallmouth bass in the river.

 “We are also concerned with the recent rise in reported skin lesions on bass, as well as emerging evidence of inter-sex, possibly caused by endocrine disruption compounds in the water. The Service believes the suite of warning signs exhibited by the smallmouth bass population is cause for careful and thorough assessment of environmental conditions in the river. While exact linkages and root causes seem to remain unclear, we believe the evidence suggests that environmental stressors are affecting the biota in the river.”

And just how much have those environmental stressors impacted smallmouth bass? “We’d typically get 1 ½ to 2 good years for every 1 bad year (of reproduction). Now, we will be lucky if we get 1 out of 8,” said Geoff Smith, a biologist who has studied the river.

He added that the number of adult fish in the river “has plateaued to low densities historically.”

 “As the older fish die of old age, we’re not seeing the recruitment we need to replace them,” Arway said

He points to dissolved phosphorus in the river as a “principal stressor.” Right at the time bass are born, he added, “We’re seeing blooms of nuisance algae from the west shore to the east shore.”

That results in low dissolved oxygen, which in turn, compromises the immune system of young bass.

“We need to trace it (phosphorus) to the source,” Arway said. “We need to know where it comes from. That’s why we need to be on the 303D list.”

Additionally, biologists have identified these contaminants in the river that could cause endocrine disruption:

Thirteen flame retardant compounds, 2 personal care products (triclosan), 14 organochlorine pesticides, and 9 other pesticides.

They’ve also confirmed Largemouth Bass Virus.

“That’s not likely a factor (for abundance). But just carrying that virus might add to the stress,” Smith said.

Possibly most disturbing, though, is that similar problems with smallmouth recruitment now have spread into the Susquehanna’s tributaries and even outside of the basin, to the Allegheny and Delaware.

Anglers, meanwhile, “were madder than a hornet’s nest for a time,” Arway said. That’s because the PFBC implemented mandatory catch-and-release for the middle 98 miles of the Susquehanna and prohibited targeting of bass on nests from May 1 to June 15.

“But now they understand and they’re behind us. They’re working with us,” the PFBC executive director added.

Better Water Quality Not Yet Evident From Conservation Practices

No consistently detectable reductions in nutrient pollution are being found in bass fisheries and other waters across the country, despite conservation practices.

That’s the conclusion of a recent U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) study that analyzed 133 large agricultural watersheds associated with conservation tillage and the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Researchers discovered no significant improvements in water quality from common practices designed to reduce soil runoff and nutrient loss.

"When you look at it on a large watershed scale, we clearly are not seeing the effects of conservation practices yet," said Lori Sprague, the lead author of the report, which was recently published in the Journal of Environmental Quality.

One possible explanation is that improvements in water quality could lag significantly behind implementation of conservation practices.

"Current nutrient conditions in streams may still be reflecting agricultural practices that were in place prior to the implementation of the conservation practices,” she said.

If improvements do lag the implementation of conservation practices, nutrient levels may be reduced in years beyond the scope of the study. Consequently, the agency plans to continue to monitor watersheds to see if that's the case, Sprague added.

Meanwhile, the Farm Service Agency, which administers the CRP program for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, insists that practices do reduce sediment, nitrogen, and phosphorus runoff.

“At the surface, we know we’ve succeeded,” said spokesman Kent Politsch.

"We can extrapolate that eventually the evidence will show up at the (stream level). It does take time for that evidence to show up."

(This article appeared originally in B.A.S.S. Times.)

Ethical Behavior Important on the Water

(Author's note: This article was written awhile back for young anglers. But the same advice also is applicable to adult fishermen.)

You and your partner are having little luck and time is running out in the bass tournament. But as you pass a point at the mouth of a cove, you notice anglers in another boat are catching fish.

There seems to be plenty of room, and they are fishing public water. You have as much right to be there as they do. Why not join them?

You know why. It wouldn’t be ethical.

“All of us who fish competitively have had experience with ethics on the water,” says a long-time bass pro from Arkansas. “And the first rule is the Golden Rule. You don’t move onto another person’s water.”

The second ethics rule among tournament anglers, she adds, is a variation of the first. “You don’t go to that spot the next day either, if the tournament is still going on. That is someone else’s water. Find your own fish.”

Sometimes you can do that, she continues, simply by noting what makes this honey hole special and then looking for similar places that are not occupied.

An angler who wants to claim a hole, meanwhile, should practice good angling etiquette. He can do that by moving back and forth to signal that this is his water. Otherwise, some might mistakenly believe that he is fishing down a bank, instead of working a specific area.

In general, angling etiquette is a code of courtesy that shows consideration for others and, in doing so, encourages ethical behavior. Angling etiquette is visible, such as yielding to the boat on the right or to a smaller, slower craft cutting across your bow.

But what, exactly, is ethical behavior, aside from not crowding into another’s fishing spot?

 “Your ethics are the rules or values you use to help choose behavior that is fair to others and to yourself,” says Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). “We practice ethical behavior when we ‘do the right thing’ even when we think we won’t be caught or punished for our behavior.”

When trying to decide whether your behavior will be ethical, says TPWD, consider these questions: Is it legal? Would it be good if everybody did it? Would it make you proud?

Also, don’t allow someone’s questionable behavior to influence your judgment. In other words, two wrongs don’t make a right.

Sometimes, too, what you perceive as “wrong” isn’t seen that way by others.

“Especially in tournaments, we (bass anglers) are so intent, so focused,” says the pro. “Others, like water skiers and jet skiers, don’t understand that. And it’s not their mission to pay attention to things like the fact that they’re going between us and the shore. We have to understand that.

“And we shouldn’t get mad if we decide to fish a good spot where there’s going to be a lot of traffic. We have to accept the fact that people are going to go by.”

As a fisherman, however, you do know that motoring between an angler and a nearby shoreline is not good etiquette and possibly even unethical if it harms his fishing.

Here are some other actions that reflect good etiquette and ethical behavior by anglers: 

• Honor another’s trust. If someone shares with you his “secret spot,” don’t tell anyone about it, no matter how tempted you may be.
• Whether in a boat or on shore, don’t cast your line across another’s or into “his water.” Doing so not only is unethical but could result in a tangled mess that keeps both of you from fishing.
• Understand and follow fishing and boating regulations. Obeying the law is not only ethical; it also keeps you from paying fines and possibly even going to jail and/or having your fishing privileges revoked.
• Handle fish gently. Don’t suspend them out of the water with fishing line. Don’t touch the gills. After you net or lip them, don’t allow them to flop around on shore or in the bottom of the boat. If a fish “swallows” the hook, cut off the line at the eye and leave it in.
• Never keep fish just to “show off.” You should be prepared to clean and eat any that you take home.
• Have your boat ready to go before you back it down the ramp. When you take it out, move it quickly out of the way so that others can use the launch area.
• Help with loading, unloading, and cleaning the boat.
• Take live bait home with you or dispose of it well away from the water instead of dumping it into the lake. Be certain that your boat and trailer don’t carry any uninvited hitchhikers, such as nuisance plants or zebra mussels.
• Don’t move fish of any kind from one water body to another. In addition to being unethical and illegal, it could do irreversible damage to a fishery that you were trying to improve.
• Always ask permission before crossing private property or fishing a pond or stream on private property.
• If you are wading, try to avoid trampling aquatic vegetation. Enter and leave the water at places where the banks are low or at gravel bars, so you will do less damage to the shorelines.
• If you are fishing on private land and keeping fish, offer to share your catch with the landowner.
• Leave an area just as clean as you found it. And especially never discard line or soft plastic baits. Even better, pick up the trash left behind by others. Littering, of course, is against the law. Picking it up shows respect for the resource.
• Avoid spills and never dump pollutants, such as gas and oil, into the water.
• Share your knowledge and enjoyment of the sport by taking others fishing.
• Through your own behavior, promote angling ethics and etiquette.

 Sometimes when you are on the water, you will run into situations that do not fit into any of the above and you will be forced to make decisions with little time to think. In such cases, listen to your conscience, make the ethical choice, and you never will go wrong.

B.A.S.S. Missing Spiritual Leader

As a newspaper outdoors editor, Gene Mueller has a longer history with B.A.S.S. than I do. I first met him at one of the many Bassmaster Classics that we attended, along with dozens of other journalists from across the country --- and even around the world --- back in the glory days of the 1980s and early 1990s.

 In an opinion piece on his website, Gene Mueller’s World of Fishing & Hunting, he laments the loss of passion that founder Ray Scott brought to the organization.

 Here’s an excerpt:

 “These days, B.A.S.S. for the most part has become a fishing tournament group. When was the last time you heard of B.A.S.S. fighting the good fight, taking on polluters or dictatorial government regulators the way Scott and his company did on a regular basis. When was the last time B.A.S.S. has supported a bass-boater in court after he was threatened with bodily harm by an angry shoreline owner who figured that he not only owned the land but also free-flowing water, or perhaps arrange to study the piscatorial inhabitants of a large reservoir so his company could learn about the health of the fish?”

 As the first and still the only Senior Writer/Conservation for B.A.S.S., I will say that many in the organization still care about such issues as pollution, invasive species, and access threats. That concern is evident in the coverage that B.A.S.S. Times provides for these topics and in the work that National Conservation Director Noreen Clough does behind the scenes with government agencies and other conservation organizations. It’s also exhibited in the many good works performed by the conservation programs of state Federation Nation chapters.

But Gene is right in that B.A.S.S. certainly isn’t the same without a Ray Scott to fire up the constituency and lead the way on issues of concern to anglers. And, while former owner ESPN glamorized tournament fishing with its glitzy coverage of the Classic, it possibly did more harm than good among rank and file B.A.S.S. members.

I’m hopeful that the new owners, all of whom are anglers, are remaking B.A.S.S. in the organizational image that Ray Scott brought to bass fishing. 

Chinese Want Their Carp Back

Not only is the grass greener on the other side, but the carp are more abundant.

Bloomberg offers interesting insight into how the Chinese view our war with Asian carp. Here are a couple of excerpts:

To understand why Chinese netizens have taken such an interest in the story, it’s absolutely essential to know that the most popular dinner-table fish in seafood-crazy China is carp, bar none. Thus, news of America’s carp problem doesn’t set off alarm -- it makes Chinese mouths water. Add the fact that Chinese covet wild carp -- an expensive treat compared to cheaper, more common farmed carp -- and poetry ensues.

A Bunch of Beautiful Flowers, the handle of a young microblogger in Shandong Province, summarized the feelings of many when she offered up this wistful tweet on Sina Weibo, China's most popular microblog:

“We can eat your carp if you have too much: braised carp in brown sauce, roast carp with scallions … Sweet and sour carp is great and it’s a famous dish in Shandong cuisine, though I haven’t eaten sweet and sour carp in a long time.”

********

For some Chinese netizens, there’s a much deeper issue at stake. Namely, why do Asian carp thrive in the U.S., but not in China?

Last month, China’s Ministry of Water Resources conceded that 40 percent of the nation’s rivers failed to meet its minimum quality standards. Fish don’t thrive in polluted waters, and those that survive aren’t the ones that you’d want to eat.

Wang Yuezheng, a Sina Weibo user in Sichuan Province, mixed in some black humor to express much the same idea:

“I never thought that carp would have an easy time surviving over there. So can this prove that the quality of water in America is great? If Americans transport and pour our water into the Great Lakes, I suspect that all of their fish would then be barren. Rest assured, American people and people of the world, this measure will work.”