Chris Dollar: Management of Mid-Atlantic cobia stock a growing concern | Outdoors Commentary

It’s no secret that fishermen love to swap stories. It’s as big a part of the angling culture as debates over the best tactics and gear. And cold beer.

Before I took over this outdoors column from him 15 years ago, the late Bill Burton shared tales about his trips in the 1960s and 70s to Scheibel’s Fishing Center in Southern Maryland. They’d run out to the Tangier Island wrecks to target cobia, and whatever else that would bite.

I’m curious what he’d make of today’s 21st century Chesapeake Bay cobia fleet, resplendent with their slick center consoles powered by twin 300 horsepower outboards, half-towers to spot fish and side-scan sonar to pinpoint them yards away.

And no angler in today’s world would leave the dock without a contact list-text chain that’d rival one of a D.C. lobbyist.

Speaking of fishing tales, I recall a cobia trip years back with friends to the lower Bay. Of course, we had none of the aforementioned accessories. And neither did anyone else I knew. So, we did what was a common and effective method: set up a chunk slick on Latimer Shoals, drift eels under floats and soak bunker on huge hooks in a chunk slick with a rod loaded with a bucktail-teaser rig in the gunwale holder.

On that day, the “Man in the Brown Suit” was nowhere to be found. For all of our efforts we hooked and released a massive Southern stingray that trashed our spread and broke my rod. But we had a heck of a good time trying. And that’s all she wrote, so we went flounder fishing.

And dig this: as we tossed bunker chunks into the bay to attract game fish, steaming toward us was the massive, industrialized menhaden fleet — six large vessels, four tenders and two spotter planes. Ironic, huh? Whether that operation sucking up an unfathomable amount of this important forage fish impacted our fishing success is unknowable, but it was coincidental and sticks in my craw to this day.

That was at least a dozen years ago and the impacts of industrial menhaden fishery still reverberate on the bay even today. I’m no world-beating angler, nor do I actively fish just to register PBs, an acronym for personal best used by today’s younger angler. Sue me, I got old.

But I admit that I’m moderately satisfied that I’ve caught a 57-pound cobia, a fish both revered for its powerful aversion to being hooked as well as its tastiness. Which makes it all the more important that fishery managers from New York through Georgia get a better handle on how best to oversee the stock.

On the table before the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) cobia board is Addendum II, an addition to the current fishery management plan. Board members will consider recreational allocation, harvest target evaluation, and the timeline for setting management specifications.

In the past decade, recreational landings have increased in some Mid-Atlantic states, especially Virginia, while remaining relatively stable in southern states like South Carolina and Georgia. Rhode Island and New York recently declared they officially want a part of the Atlantic cobia fishery due to the increasing presence of cobia in state waters.

Managers are calling this a possible “range expansion” as opposed to a stock shift. In 2017, the ASMFC’s fishery management plan (FMP) established state-by-state allocations of the coastwide recreational harvest quota based on harvest data from 2006-2015.

The coastwide recreational harvest target for 2024 season is 76,908 fish with these State-specific soft targets. Virginia (30,302 fish) and North Carolina (29,302 fish) far outpace other coastal states. A thorough stock assessment is planned for 2026 at the earliest.

Without question, this is a growing fishery. Maryland and other States to the north operate under what’s called de minimis status, the literal definition of which is “too trivial or minor to merit consideration.”

ASMFC estimates that these state’s anglers land an average of 769 fish. There is no way that’s accurate, and as such over the past several years I’ve encouraged biologists with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources to get ahead of it. Now’s their chance.

Because bag limits are already tight, that likely means biologists and managers could decide whether to manage cobia by state or region. Complicating things is uncertainty related to the catch estimates provided by the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP).

States are rightly concerned about their ability to react to harvest changes due to the lag created by MRIP. Add low recruitment and increased targeting pressure and you can see what I mean about challenges.

Although some cobia board members wanted to wait before taking the addendum document public — arguing that it wasn’t ready and was too confusing, while also citing a lack of confidence in MRIP — conservation prevailed and the board voted to move forward. Hearings began June 5 and will run through June 25.

There are several sub-options being considered: Option A) Status Quo State-By-State Harvest Allocations; Option B) Updated State-By-State Harvest Allocations; Option C) Two Regional allocations.

Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Virginia Marine Resources Commission and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality will hold a joint webinar hearing on June 24 (6-8 p.m.) to discuss, then the cobia board will evaluate the public’s feedback on Addendum II as well as review 2024 harvest data.

If they determine a reduction is needed, new measures will be proposed for 2025 and discussed at the October meeting.

I wish I could see around corners, but I cannot. Therefore, I have no clue what the ASMFC may decide. I’m cautiously optimistic, however, that managers will not repeat the foot-dragging and half-measures that delayed efforts to stem the decline of the Chesapeake’s Bay native rockfish. All a guy can do is hope.

Calendar

Through July: Resident striper season in Maryland is open. Restrictions apply. Check Maryland DNR regulations for specifics.

Through March 25, 2025: Great Invasive Species Count. Help collect important data while competing for great prizes. Register at ccamd.org/the-great-chesapeake-invasives-count.

June 16: Maryland DNR Fishing Rodeo at 10 a.m. Cypress Branch State Park in Kent County. Sponsor: Maryland Park Service. Ages 3-15. Contact Erin Gale, 410-820-1668.

June 27: Combo for Kids, presented by Anglers Sport Center. Provides fun opportunities to celebrate and enrich the lives of children and their families through fishing. At Mike’s Beach: Voices for Children (Boats needed – crabbing). Contact EJ Harman, (410) 299-2693.

July 13-14: CCA Maryland partners with Defensores de la Cuenca to host a two-day artificial reef ball building project at Sandy Point State Park.

July 16-July 31: All areas of the Chesapeake Bay will be closed to any targeting of striped bass (rockfish). Season reopens Aug. 1 to Dec. 10.

July 25: Combo for Kids, presented by Anglers Sport Center, provides fun opportunities to celebrate and enrich the lives of children and their families through fishing. Presented by Anglers Sport Center. At Mike’s Beach: Baltimore County Police youth outreach. Contact EJ Harman, (410) 299-2693.

Aug. 1 to Dec. 10: Striper season in Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries, including Maryland’s side of the Potomac River. Creel is one rockfish per day per angler. Slot size is 19 inches to a maximum length of 24 inches. See Maryland DRN website for more details.

Aug. 6: At Mike’s Beach. S.A.F.E./KPIPP Kids Play in Patterson Park. Bob’s Kids (boats needed – crabbing).

August 6: Combo for Kids, presented by Anglers Sport Center, provides fun opportunities to celebrate and enrich the lives of children and their families through fishing. Presented by Anglers Sport Center. S.A.F.E./KPIPP Kids Play in Patterson Park. Contact EJ Harman, (410) 299-2693.

Send outdoors calendar listings and photos to cdollarchesapeake@gmail.com.