Administrative glitch keeps some fishermen out of striped bass fishery

Dozens of commercial fishermen have been locked out of the state's striped bass fishery for weeks after the season opened because of a glitch in the production of special tags required to sell the fish, fishermen and the state said.

The commercial season for striped bass officially opened on May 15, but tags required by the state to control how many stripers each fisherman can land, and identify who caught them, have been weeks late in arriving.

Stripers migrate to local waters in the spring, and May is a vital month when the price for the fish tends to be higher than in the summer and fall, said John German of Brookhaven, who fishes from Mount Sinai Harbor. He missed the first two weeks of the season waiting for his stripped bass tags, which are affixed to the fish through the mouth and gill, with a number that identifies the fisherman. Fishermen get about 200 of the tags each year and can be fined for having untagged stripers on their boats.

“I’m not very happy about the whole thing,” said German, who is also president of the Long Island Sound Lobsterman’s Association, which has seen such a drastic decline in lobsters over the past decade that it meets more to talk about whelk and fin fish, he said.

And while German finally received his tags three days ago, about a month late, “I know guys who still don’t have them,” he said Tuesday.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation, which regulates the fishery and administers the tagging program, said in a statement the problem was with the manufacturer of the tags.

DEC is “deeply concerned with the delays in the production and shipment of New York’s commercial striped bass tags as a result of supply chain deficiencies experienced by the tag manufacturer and is closely monitoring the situation for impacts on New York’s fishing industry," the agency said. DEC is continuing to communicate “directly with impacted stakeholders and will provide any additional updates as they are received from the manufacturer.”

As of May 31, DEC was able to get tags to 288 commercial striped bass license holders while another 67 still had not received them, but the tags are on the way, DEC said.

DEC said the tag manufacturer “is responsible for processing and distributing all of New York’s striped bass commercial tag orders. DEC has a limited role in these transactions and continues to review all options to consider improvements to the commercial striped bass tag ordering process to ensure delays are not experienced in the future.”

Elisha Tropper, chief executive officer of Cambridge Security Seals, the manufacturer, said supply-chain problems and labor issues were partly to blame for the delays. But he also noted that DEC forms promise fishermen four- to six-week lead times from the time they apply for tags to expect delivery, while Cambridge's contract with the National Marine Fisheries Service lists an eight- to 10-week expected lead time.

"We don't even start seeing orders picking up for tags until around four weeks before" the season opens May 15. 

Despite such issues, he said, "We have been delivering within the contracted and appropriate time lines with very rare exceptions. We understand the frustration for those who may not be getting tags as quickly as they'd like to. We're all trying to do the best we can." 

German said he has pushed for years for DEC to open the commercial fishery on May 15, after years of opening in June. He estimated that the late tags cost him upward of $9,000 because the price of striped bass has dropped $3 a pound between May 15 and May 28, when he finally received his 193 tags and caught enough fish to fill his annual quota.

“I like to have them in the bank, not swimming,” he said of the fish. “We used to get them in the fall, but you’d miss them sometime if they go wide of the beach. This is the best time to market them. “

Lack of tags does not impact the recreational striped bass fishery, which opened April 15 and allows licensed fishers to catch one striper a day of between 28 and 35 inches.

By Mark Harrington

mark.harrington@newsday.comMHarringtonNews

Mark Harrington, a Newsday reporter since 1999, covers energy, wineries, Indian affairs and fisheries.