FROM THE FACEBOOK PAGES OF FISHERIES AND OCEANS CANADA:
On September 18/23, fishery officers from Prince Edward Island’s Alberton detachment seized 177 striped bass, stating the majority were below the 50 cm minimum legal size.
An investigation is ongoing.
The local possession limit is 3 striped bass, measuring between 50 and 65 cm.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t find much else on this story, but if you have any more info, please let us know. As well, we’ll stay tuned for more info as the investigation unfolds.
Also of interest in this story was the always-colourful comment section of this post. To our surprise, and counter to most of the poaching stories we see, there seemed to be quite a bit of support for this illegal haul of Striped Bass.
As heard on Episode 90 of the Outdoor Journal Radio podcast (or “soon to be heard” if you’re reading this on October 25th), the notion that Striped Bass are invasive has been thrown around for quite some time with no evidence supporting the claim.
As heard on the show, and directly from the Government of Canada, the Striped Bass is not an invasive species, but rather a moving one, as our warming oceans are now pushing these fish farther and farther north in search of their ideal spawning and feeding temperatures.
The natural range of the striped bass (excluding areas where it was introduced by humans) extends along the Atlantic coast of North America, from the St. Lawrence River to the St. Johns River in northeast Florida.
Government of Canada
If you want to hear more about this gradual movement, straight from a guy who has chased Striped Bass all the way up the slowly warming coast, check out our podcast with Joe Cermele!
