Posted on 06/14/2020 7:15:42 PM PDT by Capt. Tom
Since he started tagging great whites 11 years ago, DMF shark researcher Gregory Skomal has gradually filled in gaps in buoy coverage and this summer will have 100 buoys, encircling the Cape and extending north to Cape Ann, most of them within a quarter-mile of the beach. Over 200 sharks already have been tagged. “The larger ones show up first and stay the longest,” Skomal said, as their body mass and ability to regulate their body temperature allows them to endure the cooler extremes of the seasons.
The season typically starts at the end of May, with detections focused on Monomoy off Chatham, with sharks moving north as the water warms in August and September
Even without the population study, there’s already enough evidence that Cape Cod has a lot of white sharks. Acoustic tags, fixed to the base of the shark’s dorsal fin using the detachable head of a harpoon, transmit a signal unique to each shark. These are picked up and recorded by receivers on those buoys moored within a quarter-mile of the Cape’s most popular beaches.
Buoy data from last summer and fall showed the top 10 receivers averaged 61 individual sharks and over 7,000 detections per receiver.
The Peaked Hill Bar receiver closest to shore off North Truro detected 70 individual tagged sharks and over 14,500 signals detected over an eight-month period, equaling 60 detections a day on average. Nauset Beach in Orleans had 69 sharks swim by its buoy, and Coast Guard Beach in Eastham had 62. .
(Excerpt) Read more at capecodtimes.com ...
Tom,
How is the striper fishing down your way.
They have been catching mostly schoolees in the Merrimack and as far north as Hampton Beach harbor this past weekend.
It is about average and if you use live mackerel you will have hookups.
The problem is stripers near or over 40 inches are being caught on live mackerel, and have to be released because of the new Mass. slot limit of only taking fish between 28-35 inches.
The longer ones are being released. -Tom
“The problem is stripers near or over 40 inches are being caught on live mackerel, and have to be released because of the new Mass. slot limit of only taking fish between 28-35 inches.
The longer ones are being released. -Tom”
So if you hook up with a world record Striper and keep it, you’re in violation. I wonder if the media income from their payment for the story would offset the fine?
My buddies typically use sluggos. Does the length limit still apply if you are not using live bait?
Last Thursday JOSIAH was off of Rhode Island and is now in Mass. waters
If you can get the sharktivity app you can track it. -Tom
Yes-The regulations can be found at the link below. -Tom
https://www.mass.gov/service-details/recreational-saltwater-fishing-regulations#recreational-finfish-regulations
Is there NO “trophy striper” (often called “Rocks’ or “Rockfish”, elsewhere) law there??
Even in MD there is such a law that allows ONE huge striper of ANY size to be taken per licensed angler each calendar year.
(I landed, weighed, measured, photographed & released my “BIG Cow Rock”, as she was full of eggs in 2006.- I doubt that I will ever land another Rock anywhere near that size. = I fought her for over 30 minutes on a light, 7 foot, popping rod & 20# test mono, before we got her into the net.)
The “BIG Rock” on the “den wall” (next to the framed MD “Governor’s Citation” certificate) at our beach-house is a carefully made fiberglass & hand-painted replica of my “Big Girl”.
yours, satx
FWIW, a tourist from Columbus, OH claimed about 45 days ago that he SAW a GW, while fishing, about a half-mile off the beach SE of Rockport, TX.
I can neither confirm nor deny what he SAYS that he saw that Spring afternoon.
(Being a tourist from a landlocked state, I don’t know if he would recognize a GW if it was in the boat with him.)
Yours, TMN78247
The State has adopted a slot limit and no trophy catch is allowed -Tom
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