NPR - NOAA reports of yet another possible cause for decline of striped bass

http://www.npr.org/2011/01/25/133183300/atlantic-weather-may-be-key-culp...

This new "Theory" is only a small piece of a very complex puzzle. Yes, its very interesting and has merit but in my opinion, given the current declining state of the striped bass stocks should have been kept to themselves. For NOAA to come out publicly and suggest this will add unnecessary fuel to the already dismal public perception of NOAA and the way they handle the marine fishery. Sure you have the natural fluctuation of incorrect temperatures, poor PH levels in the spawning headwaters during some years, but it really comes down to how we, as humans, exploit nature with our endless greed.

Since the stripers have come back they have been slammed from many different directions worse than ever before. All of us on the water see that this fish stock is diminishing before our eyes.We have all seen it before and know exactly what is coming. Reckless commercial trawling, an unchallenged underground network of poachers, the senseless killing of breeding size bass by recreational fisherman, and quite possibly the worst issue of all, thousands of bass infected with and dying from mycobacteriosis in the number one striper nursery, The Chesapeake Bay.

As if this wasn’t enough, you have an entire species that simply can’t get enough food to survive. Key forage species like Menhaden, River Herring and Shad are being decimated, overfished and ground up into fish meal and fed back to us and our pets in the form of burgers, bacon, chicken wings, fish fillet and dog & cat foods. There are plenty of alternatives to using these fish for this purpose, but corporations are slow to do the right thing.

For the uninformed, but concerned people out there, understand that Striped Bass are like GOLD and worth ten times more alive as gamefish than dead on a plate in a restaurant. Anglers spend MILLIONS of dollars in pursuit of these hard fighting fish and keep thousands of struggling small businesses alive all along the coast. Google : Southwick study.

Make no mistake. An abundance of striped bass in our waters has a tremendous impact on our local economies. It is imperative that we all respect the future of the striped bass, the waters that they live in and the forage fish they depend upon for survival.