04-11-2016, 09:47 PM
[#0000FF]Got some more feedback from Chris on the size and harvest questions for the wipers. I told him I had proposed that it was a younger year class predominate over an earlier year class of larger fish size.
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Indeed I saw the thread about wiper size. You're right on all accounts. The 2014 year class of wipers is very strong in terms of numbers, so they are going to be well represented in the catch. There are certainly still plenty of the larger 20"+ wipers out there, the portion of the population they make up has just decreased by about 5%, mainly because of the abundance of fish from the 2014 year class that are between 13-18 inches. Last fall the percent of wipers in the nets that exceeded 20 inches in length was 30%, as opposed to 35% and 36% in 2014 and 2013, respectively; not that big of a difference when you look at the numbers, but with such a big wiper population that difference is certainly being seen and felt by anglers. And yes, looks like the shore catch has definitely picked up the last few years. I'll be interested to see what we find in our nets as well this fall. While I don't think it's likely that increased shore harvest during the spring will result in population level overharvest for the wipers, its one of the easier things to fix when it comes to fishery management. We can either stock more fish or put more restrictive regulations on the fishery, or both. Each comes with its pros and cons.
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[/#0000FF]
Indeed I saw the thread about wiper size. You're right on all accounts. The 2014 year class of wipers is very strong in terms of numbers, so they are going to be well represented in the catch. There are certainly still plenty of the larger 20"+ wipers out there, the portion of the population they make up has just decreased by about 5%, mainly because of the abundance of fish from the 2014 year class that are between 13-18 inches. Last fall the percent of wipers in the nets that exceeded 20 inches in length was 30%, as opposed to 35% and 36% in 2014 and 2013, respectively; not that big of a difference when you look at the numbers, but with such a big wiper population that difference is certainly being seen and felt by anglers. And yes, looks like the shore catch has definitely picked up the last few years. I'll be interested to see what we find in our nets as well this fall. While I don't think it's likely that increased shore harvest during the spring will result in population level overharvest for the wipers, its one of the easier things to fix when it comes to fishery management. We can either stock more fish or put more restrictive regulations on the fishery, or both. Each comes with its pros and cons.
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