Have not read the book but I know a number of both commercial, recreational fishermen as well as natural resource enforcment officials. The Ches is the nursery for Strippers. The cows come up the bay to the shoals at the Susquehanna Flats and spawn, they are doing that right now. Then they will return down the bay where they will be subject to “trophy” fishing. That starts in about 14 days. Catch and release is going on now. Those fish that make it out will show up off Long Island in a few weeks!
Strippers were overfished for many years, most recently in the early 2000s when Maryland shut down the fishery for several years. The watermen were livid. Some went rogue and in the last year of the moratorium some jacklegs set gill nets off the Choptank in an illegal attempt to catch spawning Strippers. Some boaters saw the submerged netting and the DNR came in. By the time they pulled it all out they found that the toll on Strippers was so great that it rivaled the entire catch estimate for the year. The DNR delayed the start of the reopening of Stripper season and put a bounty on the outlaw fishermen. Somebody went down, not sure the details. Everyone knows everyone in the business and the scoundrels screwed over a lot of head boat captains. Stripper fishing draws lots of tourist fishermen.
Strippers are back through care catch management, cleaner Bay waters, and law enforcement on the herring fishery out of Reedsville, VA. These industrial fisheries were sweeping the bay of the herring food source for Strippers and lots of other marine life. They would case the herring schools out the bay and into the ocean where they would mop up what was left. The herring were squeezed for fish oil and the meal was turned into pet food. Citizen oversight documented that the herring industry was grossly under representing their impact, and over representing the herring population. The national marine fisheries board reminded the ability of the herring industry to self report and self police and our Bay herring fishery has rebounded in an astounding manner. Herring like clean brackish water. We have that now.
For the first time in years we see season long strippers, red drum (redfish to you Cajuns) are back too. We see pods of dolphin working the herring all season long. Oysters are making a comeback. Crabs are making a come back, although the puppy drum got fat on the crabs when they first show back up in the Bay. Thanks to all Americans for your support of the Chesapeake Bay restoration. Come visit, sail and fish this great national treasure.