Written by 5th Coast Guard District public affairs.
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he pre-dawn January morning was chilled with a light breeze while wisps of fog clung to the distant skylines of Portsmouth and Norfolk. Slowly, a golden-red sun climbed the horizon, painting the white hull of the 87-foot Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater with a soft light as the crew pulled the ship away from the pier.
Seaman Casey Coyne, a crew member aboard Coast Guard Cutter Shearwater, watches the Shearwater’s boarding team perform a vessel inspection. U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class David Weydert.
The crew of Shearwater was underway for Operation Striper Swiper, a federal and state initiative to preserve the striped bass population in federal waters — three nautical miles out from the shore and beyond to 200 nautical miles.
The Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act was passed by congress in 1984 with amendments in 1986 and 1991 to counteract the severe population drop of striped bass. Overfishing, pollution and loss of habitat had caused the decline of the striped bass harvest. The conservation act made it illegal to fish in federal waters, yet some fishermen choose to ignore the law.
“The goal is to enforce the striper regulations,” said Master Chief Petty Officer Stephen Atchley, the officer-in-charge of Shearwater. “Depending on the time of year, there are a lot of striped bass here in the bay that fishermen catch. It’s at the point where [the striped bass] move off shore to do their breeding, that is what we are trying to protect. To give them a chance to survive.”
