“Silent Spring” was the name of the book by Rachel Carson that identified the natural apocalypse which the pesticide DDT was creating. The title itself, “Silent Spring” alludes to a natural world missing the “voices” of its normal inhabitants due to the acts of man. Anyone who hunts turkeys should try to imagine never hearing another turkey gobble as the sun rises. On a bad day in the woods, I have felt the “Silent Spring” feeling, making me wonder what it would be like if the turkeys disappeared from the Earth. Thankfully, our Mississippi woods are not silent in the Spring, but we should never forget that it is only because of a successful restoration effort.
The fact that Rachel Carson’s book was able to change our direction and save us from ourselves was very apparent to me as I fished in the Grand Bay Nerr this weekend. The evidence of the positive change encouraged by her book sat in a pine tree near me, watching me as I fished. It was a bald eagle. It is fairly common to see them now when fishing our coast. Having that eagle watching me fish made me feel like at least some things were right in the world. Yet, even with one success story watching me, I had that “Silent Spring” feeling overwhelm me when I could not find a single red fish to sight cast to even though the conditions were very good. The water was very clear for Mississippi Sound water, the temperature was good, dissolved oxygen was good, the current was moving just enough but not too much, yet the fish were nowhere to be found. Fishermen returning to the ramp were reporting great catches of white trout. The fish were tiny. There is no limit on white trout which is apparently a reason to catch and keep every single one, regardless of size. I didn’t hear about any redfish or specks in the boxes. Up in the morning I received a phone call and was glad to hear that a fellow fisherman had in fact caught a redfish. One.
Pushing my kayak around in clear water, the sun shining all the way to the bottom revealing nothing but shells and grass, I couldn’t help but wonder if there were any underlying reasons. Was the BP oil spill the reason the redfish were absent? Was it the commercial fishing that only occurs in Mississippi? Was it just my imagination?
Redfish were in big trouble back in the 80′s. The reason for their decline was, fishing. Before 1977 there weren’t any limits on redfish. Back then a few commercial fishermen could catch as many as all of the recreational fishermen together. After establishing bag limits and slots, eliminating numerous bad practices, and MOST commercial fishing, the redfish were brought back. Currently there remains only one state that allows commercial fishing for redfish, Mississippi.
In more recent years the redfish have been doing pretty good. But what about the BP oil spill in 2010? What was the effect of the spawn on subsequent year classes of fish? There is a great deal of concern about the health of the entire Gulf but it is hard to get accurate information on the situation. BP hired most of the labs that did research on the effects, but that has backfired because the labs that accepted funding from BP have had their voices quieted by lawsuits. The guides tend to always be having a “good day”, but I always take that with a grain of salt. Guides don’t make money by discouraging people about the fishing. The government folks seem to be afraid of saying too much for fear of the political effect. In the current political environment it is hard to catch any government official in a “truth”.
As I pushed my kayak around in the flats, straining my eyes for redfish, I started thinking about recent events in Mississippi. The Department of Marine Resources scandal is one topic that has gotten little attention because, it happened on the coast. For some reason even though the money squandered came from all over, the topic seems to be only newsworthy along highway 90. All that money for conservation efforts here in Mississippi was just stolen and what wasn’t stolen was wasted. But the bigger problem is not the scandal and the corruption that occurred, but the reason it happened in the first place. The DMR exists for the purpose of political control. If you go back before 1994, the coastal resources used to be under control of the MDWFP, but for some reason some folks just had to have a separate agency. By the way, the last time I checked, the coast was part of Mississippi. I know coastal folks love to hunt deer in the Delta and they don’t expect to pay for an out-of-state license.
Let’s take a look at what is going on without going into details of the scandal, let’s just say it was bad, real bad. Very soon the DMR will be reorganized, when Senate Bill 2579 passes. Of course the Commission of Marine Resources, which the DMR answers to is still meeting with most of its same members. One has to wonder how so much illegal activity could go on by the director of the DMR and his accomplices without members of the commission being aware. Even just the appearance should be enough to have them all replaced. Apparently I am not the only one who thinks that way as one commissioner was just asked to resign from the commission by his employer for those very fears. I am pleased with the replacement, but honestly, all of the members should have already resigned or been asked to resign. For example, the commissioner representing the seafood processing on the coast, his cousin is a state senator and is also on the committee submitting the DMR reorganization bill.
To give you an example of my concern that the agency and its commission cannot or should not be trusted, the CMR in its March 2014 meeting voted to increase the commercial quota of 35,000 lbs of redfish to 50,000 lbs. Based on what scientific recommendation? After all, the scientists have to report to the commission, how about a little explanation of how the Gulf oil spill was of no consequence and the Mississippi redfish population is doing so well we can keep commercial fishing and even increase our quotas with no effect.
Many of us had the same concerns when the speckled trout slot size was reduced to 13 inches from 14 inches in 2009. When a spotted sea trout task-force was suggested by a non-profit conservation organization, the commission representing the seafood industry responded with “I think you already have a task force. It is called the Commission on Marine Resources.” Oh yes, and I am sure he had our best interests at heart then just like he does now.
I would simply encourage everyone to please take the words of Rachel Carson to heart and consider the welfare of the “fish as well as that of the fisherman.” Sportsmen should not accept fish hatcheries and “put and take” fishing for our future. Its just a replacement for a healthy gulf and healthy streams, which should be the goal. Sportsmen should not accept ballparks being built with $35 million dollars of money from BP intended for coastal restoration. The first project to help recover the ecosystem from the oil spill is a baseball park. Really? Sportsmen and commercial fishermen alike are being written off like Romans, with “bread and circuses”.
I heard it suggested that the ballpark might be a cure for “Biloxi’s Blues”, referring I guess to a possible malaise left by Katrina and the BP oil spill. I’m sure it will make somebody rich, but it won’t cure my case of redfish blues.
My favorite outdoor writer, Zane Grey, said it best in the short story “Byme-by Tarpon”. After losing a great fish when the leader broke just as his Indian guide reached for it, ZG said “Is it not the loss of things which makes life bitter? What we have gained is ours; what is lost is gone, whether fish or use or love or name, or fame.”
That sums it up pretty well for me.
Tight loops,
Glen
