CHINCOTEAGUE, Va. (WFXR) — Captain Matt Mason looked across Curtis Merritt Harbor and reflected: “Fishing is something I’ve done my whole life.”
Mason, a charter fishing guide, has worked the sea for more than four decades, much of that guiding trips for summer flounder operating his business, Marshland Charters.
Summer flounder is a species of fish native to the mid-Atlantic. Historically, their biomass was centered off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts. A study done by Virginia Tech researchers has found that biomass is shifting north because of warming ocean temperatures.
While there is still a strong population of summer flounder, the migration has forced commercial fishermen and recreational guides to change.
“We’ll fish for flounder right on up to mid-June, even late June sometimes,” said Mason. “Then we get the whiting, kingfish we call them, they move in. Of course, the croakers and small blues, they move in also.”
Sportfishing guides like Mason have adapted by targeting other species, or by fishing for flounder earlier.
“We start earlier in the year, fishing the colder waters while the flounder are moving in,” Mason said.
Commercial harvesters have changed by running further north. Ocean harvest numbers are set at the federal level and come under the guidance of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Because historically, the bulk of the summer flounder biomass was off the Virginia and North Carolina coasts, commercial fishermen from both states had the highest harvest quotas. They still do, and many flounder are still commercially harvested from the waters of both states, but to fill the quotas, commercial netters are traveling waters off of New York and New Jersey. Though the fish are caught elsewhere, because they are brought to port in Virginia or North Carolina, they are counted as part of the Virginia or North Carolina quota.
“They’ve either migrated or the center of their biomass has shifted northward,” said Virginia Tech researcher Dr. Holly Kindsvater. “Whereas historically, most flounder were off of Virginia and North Carolina, now they’re up off of Long Island and New Jersey, and even moving north toward Nantucket and Massachusetts.”
What that could mean is fisheries managers could shift flounder harvest quotas to fishermen in those states, as well.
Commercial anglers are already adapting. Many have already fished for other species like black drum, croaker, and sea bass. Warming water temperatures have meant fish found further south are now showing up in Virginia waters.
“We used to catch no red snapper here, now we catch red snapper here,” said commercial fisherman and restaurant owner Ray Twiford. “The weather’s changed. It’s got warmer; more fish or different species showing up here all the time.”
Twiford owns Ray’s Shanty Restaurant near Chincoteague. He serves customers the fish and seafood he catches in his restaurant and at a seafood market he operates.
“I enjoy it, it gives me peace to go out on the water to catch fish,” Twiford said. “It gives me something that I can serve to people that I can catch myself and know how fresh it is.”
On the Chesapeake Bay, there is a similar scenario playing out. Striped bass (striper) is a primary target for commercial and sport anglers there, and though striper numbers have dropped in recent years, the population remains strong. The weather has played a role in the drop. As harvest limits have changed, recreational guides have adapted by targeting other species along with striped bass.
“My bookings this spring are about 50 percent down, but we’re making it,” said Captain Ray Carver of Loosen Up Charters in Deale, Maryland. “We’re trying to catch other species like blue catfish and cobia.”
Carver fishes the Chesapeake where emergency regulations have been placed on striped bass to ensure larger fish have a chance to spawn because larger females generally produce more eggs. Carver says catching other species will provide income and provide recreational anglers the chance to experience fishing on the Chesapeake Bay.
As for commercial harvest, Virginia is one of the top seafood producers in the country. The seafood industry accounts for a billion dollars a year in Virginia and produces thousands of jobs directly and indirectly. Virginia is the top oyster producer on the East Coast.
Virginia producers supply many local seafood restaurants that have staked their reputations and their success on access to fresh seafood.
Lisa MacGarvey is a manager at the Great Machipongo Clam Shack in Nassawadox. She says she has not seen a drop in local seafood availability, yet.
“The watermen culture here has a very rich and long history,” said MacGarvey. “We have amazing blue crabs, oysters, clams, all of that resource here fresh and local.”
Oysters and clams make up a good part of what MacGarvey serves. While warming ocean temperatures could have an impact on them in the future, so far it has been minimal.
Warmer temperatures have also created some opportunities. Until recently, there was no food-quality shrimp harvest in Virginia. That has changed, and for the past few years, a fledgling shrimping industry has sprouted in the Virginia Beach area. It is anticipated to grow.
While shrimp are good news, it does little to offset what is happening in towns along the Chesapeake and the Atlantic where commercial and recreational fishing have provided the backbone of the local economy.
While numbers and biomass are shifting, species like flounder are still there, just not in the way they were before.
“I always try to emphasize this is a productive stock; that the fish grows incredibly fast, it should be able to be fished sustainably,” Kindsvater said.”
“We have a lot of people come from out of town because the eastern shore is usually where we catch the first flounder,” said Jimmy Vasiliou of Captain Steve’s Bait and Tackle in Chincoteague.
While people in places like Chincoteague are still having to adapt by targeting other species and changing the time of year they fish, they are also embracing tourism, especially eco-tourism. Chincoteague is connected to Assateague Island and the Atlantic seashore by a causeway. Assateague is known around the world for its herd of wild ponies.
There is no development on the beach. It is natural and pristine and sits within the Assateague Island National Seashore, part of the U.S. National Park Service.
Dozens of hotels have been built on Chincoteague in the past decade, and much of the tourism is directed at the eco-tourism opportunities on Assateague, as well as the wild horses. For a village once known for only its fishing, survival has meant a shift to tourism.
“They are smart people that live here and have worked on the water for generations,” said Cindy Faith.
Faith is the Executive Director of the Museum of Chincoteague Island and it is her job to chronicle and preserve the history of the island. She says change is inevitable and Chincoteague will evolve to meet the challenge.
“They know how to pivot, and I think that’s what’s happening here.”
