BY JOHN RICHARDSON

Portland Press Herald

A proposal to expand the commercial catch of striped bass in the Chesapeake Bay region could threaten Maine's most valuable coastal sport fish, say anglers, fishing guides and state officials.

Striper fishing along the Maine coast was off this summer for a second straight year, they say, and concerns are growing that the recreational fishery could face a painful decline.

"I'm worried," said Doug Jowett, a guide who takes customers fishing in Casco Bay and off Cape Cod. "It's going to be declining steadily because nothing is being done to improve it."

Maine is one of several states that prohibit commercial fishing for stripers as they migrate up and down the East Coast. Here, the fish is the primary attraction for coastal anglers, who spend $25 million to $30 million in a typical summer on everything from gasoline to bait and artificial lures, according to the state.

Under a rule change proposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, commercial fishing operations in other states would be allowed to carry over some of their quota from one year to the next. If boats didn't catch the full quota one year, under the rule change, they would be allowed to add to their quota for the next year.

The commission is scheduled to vote on the proposal Nov. 2 in Newport, R.I., after reviewing a yet-to-be released report on the health of the striper population.

Fishermen in Maine may see a decline related to spawning in Chesapeake Bay, but the striper population is not considered to be in immediate trouble, said Nichola Meserve, a fishery management coordinator for the multistate fisheries commission. "The stock is not overfished," she said.

A subcommittee of the commission concluded that the rule change would increase the overall annual catch only about 1.7 percent. That's because most stripers are caught and killed by recreational anglers, who aren't limited by annual quotas, Meserve said.

In 2006, for example, recreational fishermen landed about 29 million pounds of striped bass and commercial boats landed about 7 million pounds. The numbers do not include fish caught and thrown back.

The numbers have not reassured Maine anglers or state officials, who say there are clear warning signs that it is the wrong time to expand the commercial catch, especially in Chesapeake Bay.

"The stock assessment is not showing us doom and gloom, but the anecdotal information from fishermen is showing us otherwise," said Patrick Keliher, director of sea-run fisheries and habitat for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

In Maine, anglers caught about 49,000 stripers -- 238,000 pounds -- in 2008. It was the second-smallest catch in Maine in the decade, and a 31 percent drop from the year before.

Guides and fishermen say the fishing this summer was somewhat better, but still much slower than in previous years. Business has dropped so much as a result, Jowett said, that several guides have gone out of business.

What worries people most is that the number of young fish has dropped fastest. That suggests catches will continue to shrink.

"That seems to be a consensus up and down the whole coast. There just aren't that many little fish around," Jowett said.

The drop in younger fish is believed to be tied to reduced production in Chesapeake Bay, the primary spawning and nursery area for the fish.

There is growing concern in the Chesapeake Bay region about a deadly fish disease called mycobacteriosis, although its effects on the population are still not clear.

The Chesapeake is one of the areas where commercial fishermen would be able to carry over their unused quotas under the proposed rule change.

"We'll certainly be voting against" the proposal, said Terry Stockwell, director of external affairs for the Maine Department of Marine Resources and a member of the regional fisheries commission. The proposal is the latest in a series of incremental increases in fishing pressure, he said.

"Now is not the time, when it seems that there's something wrong," he said.

The Maine catch is considered a bellweather for the health of the striped bass population, Stockwell said, "and we don't have a robust fishery anymore."