"RSA" Fluke comes to the Babara Anne Family in 2010:

As a follow up to the announcements portion of our 2009 newsletter, the following is a more in depth explanation of what RSA (research set-aside) means and what it means to you concerning requirements, cost, and finally, season openings and closings.


What is a RSA (Research Set Aside) Fluke permit?

The National Marine Fisheries Service sets annual quotas for most popular fish species. Up to 3% of the quota is allocated for research. This research set-aside is either used directly for research or auctioned off to finance research.

The Barbara Anne is a participant in the RSA (Research Set Aside) Permit program. The Barbara Anne will successfully bid on a portion of the Fluke quota which is set aside for research purposes. We will then have a permit from the New York State DEC to “collect and possess” Fluke. Under this permit we are allowed to fish for “RSA” Fluke outside the published Fluke Season in New York State with a different size and bag limit (We can’t use the permit during the open season). We are required to weigh the fish, clean the fish at the dock and report our catch to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and National Marine Fisheries Service. Our season will end when our portion of the quota we bid on is met

The Research Set-Aside (RSA) program is utilized to encourage cooperative research between commercial fishing vessels and scientific researchers to further the understanding of our nation’s fisheries. Different fishery management plans implement this program differently. Most fisheries, like Summer flounder, Scup, Black sea bass, Tilefish, Spiny dogfish, Illex squid, Loligo squid, butterfish, Atlantic mackerel, and bluefish, set aside portions of the annual fishery-wide quota to research. Other fisheries, like Atlantic Sea Scallop and Monkfish, set aside days-at-sea from the annual pool of days for research. Researchers and commercial fishing vessels participating in RSA activities often require special exempted fishing permits (EFPs) or other authorizations for scientific research.

****Please review the following table concerning all open and closed season RSA Fluke fishing:(reflects 2009 limits)

May 15 to June 15 2009
Regular Season 21 inches Total Length 2 fish Daily Possession Limit
June 16, 2009 to July 2, 2009
RSA 20 inches Total Length 4 Fish Daily Possession Limit
July 3 to August 17, 2009
Regular Season 21 inches Total Length 2 fish Daily Possession Limit
August 18 to End of Year RSA
20 inches Total Length 4 Fish Daily Possession Limit

What does this mean to you as our customer in the way of fishing and cost?

As a result of this permit, you will now be able to legally harvest fluke until portion of quota is used up. Very simply, you will be fishing when everyone else is at the dock.
As a result of this permit, we, the Barbara Anne, have incurred operational costs that will be subsidized in part by you and me.
The following is 2010 fluke charters prices reflective of RSA expense:

Full day fluke charters(1-4 passengers) will go from $525.00 to $565.00
Open boat pricing will go from $125.00 pp to $135.00 pp for full day

Time for independent fishermen to start rebuilding their role in management?

Then please invest two or three minutes in visiting the Fix Magnuson Now website. Read the linked letter, supporting Congressman Pallone's and Senator Schumer's Flexibility in Magnuson

Management legislation, and sign on to the petition. It's at http://fs16.formsite.com/FixMagnusonNow/form793561462/ .

This legislation isn't going to fix all of our problems, but it's a good start. If we can't get behind this as fishermen - whether commercial, recreational or party/charter - the foundation funded ENGOs and the people they control are going to remain in charge and strengthen their hold on fisheries management and ocean policy.

Thanks for your attention:

Capt. Anthony Belisario
Barbara Anne Fishing Charters

NEWSLETTER 09' A YEAR IN REVIEW!

Recap of Fishing on the Barbara Anne 2009

As you know another great fishing season on the Barbara Anne has passed and because of YOU it was most successful. Well another fishing season is upon us. We are hoping to make this year an even more successful one than last. Our season started with the opening of the winter flounder. We experienced a somewhat normal winter regarding the cold temps in January and February. We also experienced an excessive amount of rain in all three months. The winter flounder fishing wasn’t the banner fishing we experienced in 08’ with catches of 70-90 fish not uncommon. In contrast, flounder fishing seemed to be much tougher with conditions consistently against you. With all else being equal, the Barbara Anne Crew still managed to stay ahead of the pack with 30-35 fish days. The best day experienced was 40 fish with 15 fish being the worst. Again, the fish proved to be in the 2-2 ½ lb ranges with some fish pushing 3 ½ lbs on the scale. We found ourselves really beating the mud for a successful day of winter flounder fishing. By the end of April, the fishing started to really taper off, with the flounders never really taking a foothold in their usual late April and early May haunts.

As we were winding down on the winter flounder fishing, the bluefish made their appearance with a vengeance only speeding up the exodus of these tasty flatties. We then started to pursue the Striped Bass on a regular basis with the bunker making a slow showing and the bass following suit. Raritan Bay, as it turned out proved to be a tough place to catch a bass in 09, but we managed to put it together with some real nice catches in the breezy point area on live bait. Although a struggle in Raritan Bay, it was not a total bust with some trips seeing upwards of 12 bass to 20lbs. As the month of May progressed, we started to concentrate our efforts on the ocean side with the spring bass migration underway. And as promised, we commissioned our 26 ft. center console Regulator outfitted with twin 250hp engines to pursue these fish in the ocean more effectively. Some real banner days and some not so banner days were experienced throughout the journey. We managed to bring many fish in the upper 30’s to the scale with the many fish averaging 22-27lbs. Most fish were caught using live bait.

The striped bass fishing seemed to last well into July with our last trips completed by the first week of July. As the striped Bass fishing was winding down the long awaited fluke season was upon us. And I must admit, it was long awaited, as this season proved to be the best fluke fishing I have ever experienced with both quantity and quality. With the fishing last year being excellent with quantity and some quality, this year dwarfed it by light years. The Barbara Anne saw some real nice flatties making it to the scale with the largest going 11 lbs and many fish in the 7-9lb class.

With the fishing very close to home, it made for a real treat for the remainder of the fluke season. Unfortunately, the phenomenal fluke fishing had to come to an end with the insensible closing of the season on August 17th. The clients of the Barbara Anne caught and released over 1300 fluke during the open season. With the month of September upon us, we had to switch gears to sea bass fishing. Normally, the month of September is a real good month to target both sea bass and fluke with migrations taking place within both species. The sea bass fishing was steady with many nice sized scup showing up to spice up the catches. Finally, as October approached we made the steady switch to sea bass and blackfish with eventually switching over to blackfish entirely. As the waters cooled the fishing got hotter with quantity and quality as well. The crew of the Barbara Anne and its customers saw fish up to 14lbs through the end of the season.

Regulations of 2009 and Announcements for 2010.

As the 2009 season progressed, there was talk of a saltwater fishing license on the horizon. Well, this talk became a reality and a saltwater fishing license is now needed to fish, along with a blanket license for the vessel of the Barbara Anne and its customers. As stated in a previous email, the Barbara Anne would not be purchasing the license for the remainder of the 2009 season but would be in effect covered for the 2010 season. As promised, I began the process of filing for the saltwater license to cover the Barbara Anne Crew and its customers.

During the 2009 fluke season, we experienced some phenomenal fishing. As a result, we saw a spike in customer bookings with most of the second half of the fluke season booked on an open boat basis. For this reason, I have decided to apply for an RSA(research set aside) quota for the benefit of our customers. In short and without having to get into technical jargon, this RSA quota will allow the Barbara Anne to sail daily for fluke during the closed part of the season. This will affect both NY and NJ customers. We can fish throughout the season until our quota is met. This means very simply that when NY and NJ close their season, we can continue to fish especially during the time of the year when these fish start heading offshore. If you have any questions regarding this quota just call me and I will explain this program in more depth and detail.

What’s new on the Barbara Anne during the 2010 season?

I’m glad to announce that currently, the Barbara Anne is up for sale and we are looking to get larger. We are looking for a larger vessel between 32-34 ft. This process can be very consuming because its not about any boat but more about the right boat and hopefully, we will have her in place by the fall if all the stars align correctly.

As for the center console that was in use last season, this addition seemed to go over very nicely, with most customers enjoying a short ride to the striped bass grounds.

In reflection, this year was a great success in every way. We developed many new relationships throughout the year. And the existing relationships grew stronger. While most charter boats experienced a decline in business, we managed to have our best year yet. This by itself is a real testament to level of service and fishing experienced by all customers.

“It is our mission to build long lasting relationships with our clients based on trust, service and an overall positive charter boat experience.”

We, the Barbara Anne Family would like to take the time to thank all of you for making this a great year and hope that next year will be even more promising in every way. We look forward to sailing with all of you in the 2010 season.

As a reminder, please select any choice dates for the upcoming season, as they will be booked the closer we get to the season opener. We will be sailing in March for spring ling and blackfish.

Tight Lines and good fishing,

Capt. Anthony Belisario

Barbara Anne Fishing Charters