Paying the price for carbon impacts on the water

It is easy to provide an overview of fishing for the past year and used to be fairly easy to forecast what fishing might be like in the following year. But today, providing a forecast for the future is more difficult due to climate impacts on the water and fish. And, we are now starting to suffer the consequences for enhanced carbon and other greenhouse gases in our air and water.
To forecast what fishing might be like in the new year I would look at historical results, trends, fishing forecasts from industry experts, scientists and fish managers. I would then be able to take a shot at developing a forecast as to what might happen in the recreational fishing world in the following year.
However, for the past few years it has been more difficult to predict what will happen due to changing water conditions, habitat and available fish. In past years I would integrate what we were seeing on the water due to some of these impacts, but here is the catch. Not only are changes happening exponentially, but we are now starting to experience the consequences of the climate impacts we have seen on the water.
Impacts such as cold water fish like winter flounder and American lobster leaving our area and warm water fish arriving like black sea bass, abundant scup, and summer flounder moving further north. And, then there is the arrival of more exotic warm water fish like mahi, cobia, more tuna, wahoo and now this year tarpon was caught off Rhode Island and Cape Cod beaches.
These and other changes are now happening faster than ever before with robust and abundant bait profiles attracting larger animals closer to shore than we have seen in recent years like whales, sharks of all types, dolphins and tuna in big numbers.
Our failure to reduce carbon and other greenhouse gases has caused ocean sea level rise, warming water, acidification and other impacts. The consequences of these impacts are starting to pile up and will continue to do so as climate impacts grow exponentially.
Consequences such as enhanced whale strikes and entanglements, shark depredation (sharks eating an angler’s catch before they land the fish), and fish leaving our area as water warms to the point that we may not have much to fish in the future.
Other consequences we are now seeing include lower levels of striped bass, summer flounder and bluefish that could in part be attributed to climate impacts that change the food supply and have been proven to lower the spawning productivity of fish.
We also have not kept up with climate research to know where these fish are and how climate is impacting not only spawning productivity but find out if where they spawn is changing too, so we can plan to protect them.
With reduced fish to catch we are starting to see an erosion of recreational fishing, state by state and in Federal waters. These negative consequences to fishing have and will continue to create devastating impacts on our fishing economy locally, in our state and in the nation.
Billions of dollars have and will be lost. We are now paying the price for our inability to address the amount of carbon and other greenhouse gases we are producing.
So, when we look at a forecast on recreational fishing for 2025, all should know that all is not well on the water as we pay the price for our inability to reduce carbon and other greenhouse gases.

You can catch striped bass, but possibly not cod in 2025
This month we had two major recreational fishing regulation decisions that will take effect in 2025. One for Atlantic cod and one for striped bass.
Striped bass regulations will be the same for 2025 as they were in 2024. One fish/person/day in a slot limit of 28” to < 31” with an open season year round. As reported last week, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Striped Bass Board voted Monday, December 16 to keep striped bass regulations the same. Instead of more restrictive regulations to rebuild the stock by 2029, the Board committed to working on an Addendum to the Striped Bass Management Plan that will adjust 2026 regulations if needed.
However, in a “long in coming” regulation change, the recreational cod limit will be zero in some areas, cod fish will not be allowed to be taken in the new southern New England regional unit in 2025 if approved by NOAA Fisheries. This area covers waters south of Cape Cod and inland including parts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and parts of New York. Visit Groundfish Framework Adjustment 69 for maps that highlight the four new regional units.
Atlantic Cod is an iconic species (Cape Cod is named after the fish). They have been overfished, with overfishing continuing, for many years. Cod have been in rebuilding plans for years without success. The new farmwork adjustment approved brings significant changes to Atlantic cod management across New England waters. The action centers on four newly developed cod stock units, which plan to balance industry concerns while improving measures to rebuild this important fish stock.
Last week I managed to connect with the Rhode Island Division of Marine Fisheries to ask if the no cod regulation applies to state of RI waters. They shared that they will be exploring ways to allow incidental catch, much the way the state of Massachusetts has done in the past when faced with no cod fishing regulations North of Cape Cod in the past.
More to come on cod regulations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts State waters as the new Framework Adjustment 69 is interpreted with options for fishing (or not) in state waters.

Where’s the bite?
Tautog fishing and cod fishing. Call ahead to make a party boat reservation, vessels generally sail between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. and return in the afternoon. Visit www.islandcurrent.com and www.francesfleet.com. Full day rates for vessels are generally $130 to $135 per adult and around $80 for those under 12 years old.
Freshwater fishing. Anglers are fishing for largemouth bass weather permitting. And, for a complete list of trout stocked ponds in Massachusetts visit Mass Wildlife at Trout stocking report | Mass.gov, both Whiting and Falls Ponds in North Attleboro were stocked this fall. And, in Rhode Island visit www.dem.ri.gov/fishing, or call 401-789-0281 or 401-539-0019 for more information on trout stocking.

Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verison.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.