Black sea bass fishing halted

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The hammer has dropped on recreational fishing for black sea bass, the popular winter catch offshore. Federal regulators will close the fishery on Oct. 17 until June.

The announcement has been expected for weeks and has outraged anglers, who say there are plenty of the bass out there and that federal survey counts have been incomplete and spotty. It comes just four months after the season opened, following an earlier four-month closure. It comes despite a substantial reduction in the bag limit that was supposed to stave off another early closure.

The black sea bass is the go-to offshore catch — tasty, always around and easy enough to hook that it routinely fills coolers.

The closure is mandated partly by federal law designed to end overfishing and partly by a management plan put in place to meet that law.

The stoppage was forced partly by a provision in the management plan that says when a season’s catch exceeds the annual allowance, the allowance is reduced for the following year. The 2010-11 catch exceeded the allowance by more than 67,000 pounds, after surveys were completed.

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Saturday, Oct. 08, 2011

Saturday, Oct. 08, 2011

-- The (Charleston) Post and Courier

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Saturday, Oct. 08, 2011

Saturday, Oct. 08, 2011

Black sea bass fishing halted

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-- The (Charleston) Post and Courier

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