We’re always reading up on things taking place in fishery management and ocean conservation. Whether it be a press release, letter or blog post, we’ll look to post a couple items a day here (sometimes more, sometimes less) with a brief synopsis. These articles may not be as focused as the rest of the site, and could cover initiatives or issues that aren’t found on the rest of the site, but we found interesting.

We’ll promote these on our Facebook and Instagram, so be sure to follow us there to receive all the updates.

Other Months:

January, 2020

February, 2020

March, 2020

April 29, 2020: Impact of COVID-19 on Fisheries Management, A Long-Standing Study on Blue Crabs is at Risk in the Chesapeake and a Closure of the Dungeness Crab Season to Protect Humpback Whales in California

  • The Marine Fish Conservation Network posted an entry by Charles Witek yesterday outlining how COVID-19 is impacting fisheries management. Like most / all industries, there is a significant impact, and it varies between species, regions and regulatory bodies. From a new regulations perspective, things are being delayed and deferred until in-person meetings can resume. While there are virtual meetings and webinars scheduled, including an ASFMC meeting on May 5 and 6, many of them are only covering pressing issues. For example, the discussion of a striped bass management plan amendment, which was scheduled to begin in April, has been pushed back to the fall, at the earliest. This will likely end up being a multi-year process once it begins, and the ASMFC was waiting to implement the required 10-year rebuilding plan under that amendment, so the more it is delayed, the longer we will have to wait for regulations to be put in place that are intended to rebuild the stock rather than just halt overfishing. The big, immediate impact, however, comes in data collection, where in-person surveys of recreational anglers are not happening up and down the coast and on-board monitors are not required on commercial boats. With some for-hire fishing banned in certain states and a lack of access in others, I’m hopeful there is reduced effort and impact on populations this year, but we will not know without that data collection. I have said it here a lot, the more we know about effort and catch data, the better we can manage, and for now, it looks like we’ll be acting in a void for the forseeable future. On the recreational side, at least, electronic submission, like what is being pushed by NY, should be accelerated so that recreational anglers can voluntarily submit their catch data.

  • More impact of Coronavirus, this time on research on natural resources and crab populations in the Chesapeake Bay. One of the longest-running scientific investigations of the Chesapeake is in danger of shutting down permanently, after running annually for more than 50 years, due to lack of funding. The study, which uses baited traps to track crab populations in different areas of the bay during different times of the year, has uncovered behavioral patterns and population trends across decades, significantly enhancing our understanding of the species. These types are studies are critical to understanding not only individual species behaviors, but how they interact with their ecosystems and in reaction to man-made and natural environmental factors. Hopefully this study can resume, if not this year, in the next year or two so that the data that has been collected for years continues to be relevant in relation to the new data collected in the future.

  • The California Department of Fish and Wildlife recently announced that it would be closing the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishing season on May 15 in an effort to reduce whale entanglements. While entanglements are relatively rare, the CDFW are taking a proactive approach, viewing the loss of even one whale as a violation of the Engangered Species Act. There were 46 whales entangled on the Pacific Coast in 2018, up from an average of less than 10 prior to 2014. This might be a result of rising whale populations or increased gear amounts, but it’s a positive to see this type of proactive action taken by regulatory bodies.

April 28, 2020: Good News from the Chesapeake on Menhaden, An Overview of Striped Bass Lifespan and Migratory Behavior, Virtually Counting Herring and Suspension of For-Hire Fishing in Massachusetts

  • As we have covered, this is the first year that menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay are managed under the Virginia Marine Resources Commission rather than the state legislature. With a pending, federally implemented moratorium on the menhaden fishery in the Chesapeake, the VA MRC Just announced that, instead of lowering the quota to 51,000 tons to return to compliance, it will lower the quota for 2020 to 36,192 tons. This represents a reduction of more than 80% to what was harvested from the Bay last year. This article, covering that decision, includes comments from both conservation groups and Omega Protein. It’s no surprise that Omega points to menhaden are not overfished, and, as a single-species, they are not, but when you take their role in the ecosystem into account, then the ‘overfished’ discussion changes quickly. The ASMFC has recently been proactive with menhaden, finding VA out of compliance when Omega willingly overfished last year and not increasing the quota to ‘make up for not filling it in previous years.’ Pairing that with the moratorium imposed federally and the shift to the VA MRC, and we’re moving in the right direction with these fish, which fuel everything we fish for on the east coast.

  • The Coastal Review Online has recently completed a two part series on Striped Bass, with the second one examining the life-cycle of the fish (part one is also below, and covers pollution and overfishing on a basic level), the different spawning stocks and how each group of fish act throughout their lifespan. It’s relatively basic, but it gives a good overview of how complex the species is, exposing some of the issues that regulators face in managing and implementing quotas for the species. Take a read through, it highlights fecundity, how eggs hatch, migrations, sexual maturity ages and how it differs from body to body ranging from North Carolina to Canada. All of this comes into play when managing a species, and the more we continue to learn about these through reporting, tagging and other efforts, the better we’ll be able to manage them moving forward.

  • Here’s a quick story / overview on how an underwater camera can be accessed online to allow anyone to help scientists count herring as they migrate up Town Brook in Plymouth Massachusetts. Obviously, this is especially relevant now, with social distancing and lockdowns in place, but something that can be done in the future and utilized at harder to reach and monitor brooks, creeks and rivers up and down the coast. Herring are on the rebound, and monitoring for and understanding how many fish are returning to rivers allows managers, regulators and anglers to get a stronger grasp on their migrations and population rebounds, and where more protections need to be put in place around resurgent populations. Take a look and count a few fish from home, if you have a few minutes!

  • Massachusetts has shut down for-hire fishing for the forseeable future as Coronavirus-related travel and work restrictions remain in place nationally and globally. I am fully supportive of the measures being taken to protect public health, and see the potential issues with bringing relative strangers on a boat to fish for a day, but am hopeful that studies about the virus being hard to catch outdoors and the continued downward trend in new cases continues and allows charter captains to take people out as soon as possible. We’re entering a time in the Northeast that each captain relies on to pay bills and keep the business running, and our guides are critical advocates for conservation and for spreading the joy and passion for the support. We’re working on a few ways to try and help captains up and down the coast get through these tough times, and will share them as soon as we have some more of the details hashed out. In the meantime, reach out and ask how they’re doing, book a trip for a future date and order something from a local shop. Hopefully we’ll all be able to fish safely together this summer.

April 27, 2020: What Will Fish Populations Look Like After COVID?, A Joint WorkGroup on Alternative Management and Lake Trout Spawning in Tributaries of Lake Superior

  • Earlier this month Smithsonian Magazine wrote an article about the potential impact on fish populations that the global slowdown associated with Coronavirus might have. It’s something I think a lot of us have thought about, and it will be really interesting to see what fishing pressure and fish populations look like once things begin to start back up again. There are a few things this article covers and a few things that need to be evaluated when thinking about this. While pressure will almost certainly decrease as demand has fallen and restrictions are put in place, the regulations and enforcement efforts are likely way down too. Separately, the data collection processes that have been put in place to track effort and catch data have been disrupted, so we really don’t know what’s happening out there as far as harvest.

  • The Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regional fishery management councils are going to hold a join council worksgroup in May to discuss fishery management measures of the Modernizing Fishery Management Act of 2018 (“the Modern Fish Act”). Charles Witek goes into some detail about what was originally included in that Act, and also what remained in it once it was passed through the House and the Senate, but generally it was a push away from the science-based management (i.e. successful) we use in federal fishery management now and more towards something that resembles the ASMFC (i.e. unsuccessful). Anyway, he then discusses a few other aspects of the bill and what ‘modernizing’ management or using ‘alternative management practices,’ that could be beneficial to fish populations moving forward. The big one here is one that we have covered before, and that is that managers could begin to take the value of fish left in the water into account, instead of relying and focusing entirely on the value of a fish that has been harvested. Hopefully the discussion at this workgroup focuses in on those measures, rather than moving away from or providing flexibility around the science that has been successful in rebuilding and maintaining healthy fish stocks in our federal waters.

  • Some positive news out of the Great Lakes, as lake trout have been found to be spawning in at least one river tributary of Lake Superior. The article goes through the historic collapse of the lake trout population in Lake Superior - a result of both overfishing and the introduction of lampreys to the water - and how it was thought, for decades, that the only fish left in the lake spawned in the lake. This is similar to the Brook Trout article we covered a few weeks back (Feb 20/21), and is positive news for the survival and ongoing restoration of the Lake Trout population. The more diversity you have within a species, the better that fish is positioned to weather adversity and shifts in environment or its ecosystem. Additionally, with an actively spawning body of fish in rivers, scientists and restoration efforts can study where and why fish choose certain areas to try and help return spawning populations to other tributaries as well.

April 24, 2020: Positive News on Mako Sharks, A Win for Clean Water, Scoping Webinars for Black Sea Bass Management, The Continued Silver Lining to the Coronavirus Lockdown and a Brief Escape to the Flats

  • Charles Witek covers a positive development in the conservation of mako sharks. This is an issue that we covered last summer when Makos were classified on Appendix II of CITES, which put regulations around the harvest of these incredible animals, and one that continues to be an important battle. To put it bluntly, Mako sharks are in a LOT of trouble. They take more than 20 years, on average, to mature, so are incredibly vulnerable to fishing pressure. Charlie outlines some data about studies done on the potential recovery, but essentially if there’s NO fishing, the spawning stock fecundity will continue to decline through 2035, and if there is some harvest, there’s only a 50% chance of recovery in the next 50 years. It’s a pretty dire situation, and one that needs real action globally to address. The news he covers here, is that Canada has prohibited any harvest of mako sharks. This is a big deal for a few reasons. First, just last summer, Canada opposed protecting Makos under CITES, and now they’re taking the lead on conservation. Second, they’re the fifth highest harvester of Makos globally, so this will make an impact. There’s an ICCAT meeting later this year to discuss Mako regulations, so hopefully some more decisions can be made and more countries will follow Canada’s lead to protect these fish.

  • A win for clean water yesterday, as the Supreme Court rejected the Trump Administration’s interpretation of the Clean Water Act, which argued that disposing of wastewater into the ground was legal without a permit, as long as the wastewater was not disposed of directly into the ocean or another body of water. It was closely watched in Hawaii, where wastewater that was disposed of deep in the ground quickly found its way into the Pacific and damaged a coral reef off Maui. It’s another example of the Administration trying to roll back protections, and another example of organizations standing up for the environment and preventing some of these actions from being implemented.

  • The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is holding two scoping webinars to gather public input on a proposed management plan for black sea bass. It will be interesting to see what happens with the allocation - both commercially and recreationally - in the next few years for a few reasons. First, black sea bass are a species that’s geographic range has shifted noticeably north, and allocations of the fish are still based on their historic range rather than where they live now. There used to be very few black seabass off Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, but now they’re abundant in those areas. The results of climate change on fish populations and geographic ranges is a major issue that fishery managers are trying to get a grasp on, so the way black sea bass are managed could end up becoming precedent over the next few years in that regard.

  • One positive result of the coronavirus lockdown is a reduction of pollutants and the return of wildlife to areas tehy haven’t been seen recently. It’s worth a read to see how drastic the reduction in pollutants has been in cities around the world, but the big takeaway for me here is how quickly mother nature can rebound if we give her a chance. We’ve covered that idea a bunch in terms of fisheries, but it doesn’t take much - or long - for the world to help correct our mistakes. Hopefully we can all learn from this and use the forced reduced activity as a way to show how we can slow down and treat our home better than we have historically. First things first, though - stay safe and let’s get the spread of the virus under control in a smart way.

  • And, the new Friday tradition of a video to take us into the weekend. Here’s another from Orvis’s Moment of Chill archive (take a look at their website for more, they’re short and they’re effective). This one of a bonefish release on a beautiful flat, something I think we would all love to be doing right now. The fish will be there when this is over, so take a deep breath, relax and enjoy your weekend.

April 23, 2020: Oregon Steelhead and Universal Fishery Management Issues, A Breakthrough in Coral Reef Restoration and the American Saltwater Guides Association in Fly Lords

  • We’ll start today with a great piece from Patagonia that gets to the root of a lot of the issues we face in fishery management across the country, but focusing in on wild steelhead in the Pacific Northwest. It follows Jeff Hickman, a steelhead guide in Oregon, and discusses the state of the wild steelhead fishery, the issues it is facing and the way it is being managed. There are a few takeaways here that I think ring universally true.

    First, in the world of fishery management, the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Accordingly, it’s imperative that we speak up to protect the resource we have and the fish we target. Whether you’re speaking up for more conservative regulations or not, there will be someone pushing and speaking up for higher harvests. Look at Maryland, where the state has, against all logic, outlawed recreational catch & release fishing during COVID-19 but is allowing fishing ‘for sustenance’ and charter fishing for boats with up to ten people. Makes no sense, but obviously those putting those regulations in place heard from someone.

    Second, shifting baselines and the reduction in wild steelhead population in Oregon. Despite being down 90% in the last 100 years, Oregon views the population as healthy. This is a result of the definition of a healthy population changing over time. We’re entering a time now with striped bass that the ASMFC is going to explore an amendment to the striped bass management plan. I promise you that there is going to be a push to lower the definition of a rebuilt, healthy population. Make no mistake, if that effort is successful, there will be fewer striped bass in the water… forever… just like there are fewer steelhead in the PNW. It’s critical we push back on this and push for an even healthier definition of rebuilt stock.

    Third, the agricultural approach to fisheries is an issue. The bodies that implement fishery regulations have historically, and continue to, approach fisheries through an agricultural lens. Fish are a crop, and we should manage them for maximum harvest without depleting the population. This is a topic that was brought up in our review of Artifishal as well. Again, let’s look at striped bass. North of 90% of striped bass caught are released, yet regulations are still being designed to maximize harvest without depleting the species. It’s time that we start taking the value of fish in the water into account and what they mean to the catch and release contingent that makes up a majority of most fisheries.

    Lastly, a quote from Hickman from the article that we can all leave with - “It’s our responsibility to protect this for future generations—for my son and his kids. You know,” he pauses, “if we screw things up right now, it’s going to be forever.” He’s right, it’s our responsibility to be stewards of the resource, to speak up, to educate and to spread our passion so it is protected and handed down to the next generation.

  • Some positive news from Florida, as the Florida Aquarium has successfully spawned ridged coral for the first time. As a disease outbreak emerged in ‘America’s Great Barrier Reef,’ the third largest coral reef in the world, in 2014, samples of healthy coral were harvested to protect them and to study. This is the first time that ridged coral has reproduced in captivity, and in addition to resulting in more coral to repopulate the reefs, it provides insights into how corals reproduce and to the structure of reefs generally. Coral reefs are some of the most productive and unique ecosystems on the planet, and this research can help restore what’s being impacted by pollution, disease and climate change.

  • We frequently include material and information from the American Saltwater Guides Association, and they’re on the front lines working with regulators, politicians and anglers to help protect our resources and conserve our fisheries. Tony Friedrich spoke with Fly Lords for this article, which includes some good color on what we’re facing with fisheries now and what next steps might look like. Tony also appeared on their instagram (@flylords) last night for a live discussion, which is available until tonight at 8pm ET.

April 22, 2020: Evolution of Electronic Reporting, A Very Cool Study on Menhaden from LSU, The Alaskan Salmon Fishery, Strong Herring Runs in Massachusetts and Potential Fallout from the EPA Rollbacks

  • Late last week NOAA announced the appointment of an 11 member Recreational Electronic Reporting Task Force. Tapping into effort and catch data from the private angling community has always been difficult, and the recent implementation of electronic monitoring and reporting could go a long way to getting a better grasp on the health of fish stocks and better manage them moving forward. Would be great for more states to start using electronic reporting to gather data from more and more anglers on the water, hopefully this is a step in that direction.

  • Here’s a synopsis on a very cool study from LSU on what impacts menhaden growth and populations, and how they differ in the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic. The study goes into everything from anthropogenic influences to wind direction. What it found is that human activity - fishing, pollution, etc. - impacted menhaden growth and abundance in the Atlantic more than environmental factors did, whereas environmental factors had a larger impact in the Gulf of Mexico. The thought of wind direction impacting the number of menhaden and how they grow is pretty crazy, but the theory is that northerly winds in the Gulf of Mexico push freshwater further out into Gulf and negatively impact the species’ growth. They take a minute to discuss the importance of menhaden and their role in the ecosystem as a critical forage fish.

  • Pretty interesting article last week in the National Fisherman about the potential impact of COVID-19 on the salmon fishery in Alaska, and discussions around shutting the fishery down due to the inability to get seasonal anglers to the remote areas where salmon are fished commercially. The most interesting discussion in this article to me was pointing to the historical population of salmon dating back to before commercial fishing began in the late 1800s based on nitrogen isotopes in lake sediments. The data shows that the returning numbers of fish in recent years is similar to that before commercial fishing, and growing lately, which is all good. The rest of the article talks about, and essentially debunks, the idea that letting all returning fish back into the rivers would overwhelm the ecosystem and result in lower reproduction. I am glad the article debunks that idea. I’ve generally thought that nature is the best at regulating populations, and the more we think we know and can help, the more damage we end up doing. Having a reduced harvest for a year might not improve the recruitment in future years, but it’s hard for me to believe it will damage or hurt recruitment going forward. Again, hopefully we get Coronavirus under control and the fishery, which, looking at this data, is quite sustainable, can take place this summer and provide the economic benefit it does for the state of Alaska.

  • More positive news on herring, with an article on how the fish have showed up early in Cape Cod Bay and that the run has been consistently stronger since efforts were made to clear the way back to the spawning grounds and more protections have been put in place. Since Bill Boulter, who serves as Secretary-Treasurer for the Pembroke Fisheries Commission, started counting herring seven years ago, the run has increased from 20,000-30,000 per year to an estimated 500,000+ this year. Hopefully we can keep building on this and see further increases in fish populations and big stripers hot on their tails each spring.

  • Last week we covered the latest in a line of environmental protection regulations, this time by reducing restrictions on mercury emissions, and over the weekend Charles Witek covered some of the implications of this in terms of fishing and seafood. As you likely know, apex predators (sharks, tuna, swordfish, etc.) all have high-levels of mercury in their bodies from years of consuming prey that have ingested the element. He points to the fact that we had been making progress on reducing the levels of mercury - the vast majority of which is directly related to human activity - in these fish, and that this could reverse that progress. I’m hopeful this latest rollback doesn’t last too long and is reversed or blocked, since the only group I see benefitting is fossil fuel companies at the detriment of our environment and health.

April 17, 2020: Even MORE Environmental Protection Rollbacks, Inside Perspective on the Coronavirus Impact on the Guiding Industry, The Importance of Abundance, Shifting Seafood Markets, New Coastal Regulations and a Savage GT Feed

  • The Trump Administration continues to roll back environmental regulations and the latest efforts weaken regulations on the release of mercury and other toxic metals from oil and coal-fired power plants. While this does not eliminate the restrictions on the release of mercury, it changes the way the impact of mercury emissions are calculated, and sets the table for future efforts to implement pollution controls to be diminished. It’s the latest in a series of steps that the Administration appears to be taking to implement more lax regulations on pollution quickly so those rules would not be easily rescinded should Republicans lose control of Congress and the White House in November. This isn’t just the environment we’re talking about, it’s public health, and this article highlights the potential impacts and repercussions of increased mercury and other pollutants in the air.

  • In an entry for the Marine Fish Conservation Network, Captain John McMurray voices the impact that Coronavirus is having on the guiding and fishing industry. The guide community has been on my mind and I have found myself asking the same questions: will people still want to fish and spend a day on a boat with strangers? Will fishing tackle stores have people in them? I’ve seen encouraging signs when grabbing curbside orders at local tackle shops, but the guides that John talks about here are definitely in a challenging position, especially those in states that have outlawed for-hire fishing. His takeaway for how you can help is different than I would have expected. The ASGA, and guides in general, have become a loud voice for the conservation-minded angler out there and it’s important that that organization gets the support it needs to keep doing its work. When thinking about how you can help, keep the fisheries and the ASGA in mind - they need our continued help and they need the continued power of the guides behind them. Even in the face of the pandemic, environmental protections are being rolled back (see previous article), so keeping those fighting back engaged will be critical. Hopefully we can get through this sooner rather than later.

  • The latest from One Angler’s Voyage uses the health crisis and resulting travel restrictions we are all facing right now to show why fisheries should be managed for abundance and not for maximum harvest. As Charlie points out, when fish are abundant, their range increases and they spread out. Right now, fish are not abundant and are found only in concentrated areas of abundance. I spent several days last spring running 50+ miles round trip looking for bunker schools that had fish on them, only to find happy bait and no predators. There were certain, small areas that seemed to hold fish, but a LOT of bait did not. I am fortunate to have access to boats that allow me to search a lot of water, if needed. There’s a real possibility that people who have had access to boats, guides and other means of covering water will be land-based for at least part of the season. If that does take place, it will be interesting to see if the narrative changes about abundance. When fish are abundant and their range spreads out, they’re accessible to everyone, and that drives fishing trips and the economy that many on the pro-harvest side claim will be killed with stricter regulations.

  • Another article on the way the seafood industry and supply change has been disrupted by Coronavirus. It goes into detail on how commercial anglers are trying to reach and serve the retail market as restaurant demand has dried up overnight. The takeaway that I think might be a positive here, assuming that the commercial fishing industry in the US can survive and continues to operate sustainably, is that the supply and demand chain that we have been relying on might change permanently here, and more local, less mainstream species may be served in grocery stores and at restaurants rather than them relying so heavily on imported seafood.

  • Thank you to On the Water Magazine for posting this easy-to-read overview of the new striped bass regulations heading into 2020. This is different, in every state, than it has been. We’ve covered this heavily, and it’s great that there is relative consistency up and down the coast, but it’s nice to have it out there and the more times this is promoted and posted, the less likely people will be to take home large fish ‘without knowing’ the regulations.

  • And, here’s another video for Friday, and another bucket-list item for me. A ridiculous approach and feed by a big GT in the Seychelles. Enjoy!

April 16, 2020: The Proliferation of Oil in the Gulf of Mexico, a Potential Increase in Funds for Climate Projects, Wildlife Reclaims Yosemite and an Opinion Piece on Maryland’s Baffling Decision to Shut Down All Recreational Fishing

  • An article from the Gulf of Mexico covers a study that was released yesterday by the University of South Florida exploring the proliferation and impact of oil on fish species in the Gulf of Mexico. The findings, to me at least, are pretty staggering. Of the 2,503 fish the group examined, every single one of them showed traces of oil. Unfortunately, there’s no data from before this study, so it’s hard to tell how much of that is a result of natural seepage of oil into the Gulf and how much of it is a direct result of spills (like Deepwater), drilling or runoff from land. There are a few things in here though, that I found shocking. First, before this project, there was almost no research on oil’s effect on fish. There was / is a belief that fish can filter this stuff through like we filter alcohol or other toxins. That said, the evidence of oil substances in every fish raises concerns. Second, and this suggest that maybe more of this is a result of human activity, is that yellowfin tuna were the most contaminated species that were studied. This was unexpected since tuna generally are not bottom feeders, where oil tends to seep from and settle over time. The likely culprit here is that yellowfin congregate around the offshore oil rigs, which attract food and provide structure not found elsewhere offshore. It ends by talking about implications moving forward. Will Florida extend its ban on drilling off its coast? Have we learned from Deepwater to prevent another major spill like that? This is an interesting read, hopefully the studies continue, we can get more clarity on where much of this exposure is coming from and make changes to help address the issue.

  • In addition to pollution levels falling and wildlife returning to areas due to the decrease in human activity (see below), here’s another pretty unexpected consequence of the national lockdown. I think I’m summarizing this right by saying that, since the Trump Administration has declared every state an emergency, there will be substantially more funding to prevent and address emergencies, and parts of that will be able to, and will be, allocated to projects designed to protect against or prevent climate change moving forward. There are some potential issues that could be associated with the amount of funding available at the state level, but overall this seems like a pretty positive side-effect to a political declaration.

  • A cool article about how megafauna and other animals are reclaiming areas of Yosemite National Park that they are usually not seen in as the number of visitors falls to nearly zero. It is always incredible to me how quickly nature reacts to things like this, and for those working within the park to see a 4x increase in bear sightings in the course of weeks is pretty incredible. Take a read, it’s pretty good story and once again points to the ability of nature to rebound if we give it a chance. In terms of fisheries, take care of the fish you target and they can flourish to support the fisheries we all would like to see.

  • We’ll finish today with an opinion piece that appeared today in the New York Times about the ridiculous restrictions on recreational, catch and release fishing that Maryland put in place. I know boat ramps have been closed in New York and Rhode Island has put pretty heavy restrictions on non-resident access to boat ramps, marinas and state waters, but I am hopeful that simply being on a boat and fishing does not get shut down in any of these states, because it really doesn’t make sense. Get outside, get on the water and go fishing, it will help keep us all sane.

April 15, 2020: Poachers Caught in NJ, Tiger Sharks Eating Songbirds, Factors Impacting the Herring Fishery and the Changing Culture of the Striped Bass Fishery

  • Bittersweet story here, as a couple poachers in New Jersey were caught with 66 undersized striped bass. They face fines of potentially $12,800 per angler and have had their gear taken (potentially forfeited permanently). Enforcement has always been, and likely always will be, an issue in fishery management. In this case, the fines associated with the crime seem like they are likely high enough to deter the perpetrators from trying it again. That said, it’s unknown how many times they had done this in the past without getting caught, and that would be needed to understand the pros / cons in terms of value from trying it again. I feel as though boats should be at risk if you’re caught poaching, and if there’s no boat, start with gear and add to it from there. Suspensions from being able to fish (like a DUI), etc. I think if the punishment is high enough, people would not risk it. With all that said, there’s more to it than just that, and Charles Witek weighed in on one major issue - how the courts receive and process fishery-related crimes - in this entry from January. Anyway, I view this as a positive that enforcement was out and doing their job during the lockdown, and hopefully it continues as we move forward into the season. I also thought it was a positive that the article took a second to outline the new regulations. Whenever things like that change, the more times the regulations can be repeated, the better people will know them and hopefully adhere to them.

  • Pretty cool finding here that juvenile tiger sharks are not only eating songbirds in the Gulf of Mexico, but that songbirds make up a not-insignificant portion of their diets. Every year, the birds that we see in our backyards, doves, swallows, etc. migrate from Central and South America back to North America, many across the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a long flight, and some of them don’t make it the entire way. While it makes sense that those don’t make it are eaten by something in the ocean, the fact that 41 of the 105 juvenile tiger sharks that were examined had feathers in their stomachs shows that this is not a one-off situation. Pretty cool to think about how different ecosystems interact in ways you might not expect.

  • This article covers the state of the commercial fishery for Atlantic Herring. There’s a lot that plays into this, but the main takeaway is covered in the headline - low quotas will continue for the species, and as a result, prices will likely remain high. This is impacted by poor recruitment and lower biomass (2016 was the lowest recruitment year on record). Another positive development in the management of this important species was a ban on netting them in the nearshore waters, between 3-12 miles of the shore from Rhode Island to Maine (20 miles off Eastern-end of Massachusetts). I had seen reports of the herring trawlers coming in very close to shore in Rhode Island over the past few years, so I view this as a positive. Another thing that is weighing on the herring demand is the rising menhaden fishery in Maine. A large portion of the herring quota is used for lobster bait, but with prices high for herring and more menhaden showing up locally, some of the Maine lobster fleet is turning to the cheaper alternative. It will be interesting to see how this plays out given the different constituents that are involved.

  • The headline of this raises an interesting question (I think the answer is yes) in the way that it addresses the way the culture around striped bass fishing is changing - hopefully for the better. Like the author, I was supportive of the new regulations being 1 fish at 35” or larger rather than a slot for a number of reasons, including those he lists. With that in mind, after thinking about it for a while and reading this article, I think that the drastic change from a minimum size to a slot might help shift the culture more rapidly than a different minimum size would have. Hopefully it does and causes people to consider the importance of larger fish when they are caught and revisit their catch & release practices to help make sure fish are released alive and well. C&R practices for the larger fish are critical for the new regulations to be effective.

April 14, 2020: Ecosystem Studies and Ecosystem-based Management, Focusing on What we Can Control, Early Migrations and Mark your Calendars

  • NOAA recently completed and released two studies on the the Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem, looking at everything from phytoplankton production at the bottom of the food web to the fishery harvests at the top. One report focuses on Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine the other on the waters of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. These are the three major regions within the Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. These studies look also at fishing effort and impact in each region, as well as specific species that might be impacted by removals or installations of proposed offshore windfarms. This is all moving towards ecosystem-based management, which we support in theory and think would allow for more effective management of species, ranging from forage fish to large predators. It also tracks things like the stability of the Gulf Stream, and the impact that increased eddies and spinoffs of the warm, salty water onto the Continental Shelf has on species abundance and range. There are some interesting stats highlighted in this writeup about the effort, removals and production of each of these ecosystems that appear to be, at least on their surface, encouraging.

  • A video, instead of an article, from Captain Rhett Morris and Captains for Clean Water commenting on Coronavirus and the need to continue to focus on the efforts we have all worked hard on over the past months and years. His comment in the video about not being able to control hurricanes or this pandemic, but being able to control how we treat the ecosystem and our waterways rings true across all conservation efforts. There is a lot in the world that we cannot control right now, but with striped bass and bluefish well on their way to their spring and summer grounds, we can all remain focused on taking care of our fisheries, starting with every fish we hook and release this year. Looking further down the road, when the AMSFC gets back to discussing regulations and an amendment to the striped bass management plan, we can control the way we all speak up. This is not only the Everglades, and not only the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Stay focused on taking care of our resources, spreading the word about how to do so and educating others can go a long way and is firmly in our control.

  • As an early push of holdover, and even some migratory, stripers start moving into the area, the river herring migration is starting early as well. A report from Weymouth that the first wave of herring are there a couple weeks ahead of when they usually show up. A warm winter this year, and resulting warmer waters are driving the earlier return of fish, however there has been a trend of fish showing earlier over the past few years as ocean temps warm up.

  • Speaking of focusing on things we can control, Defend Bristol Bay is hosting a Virtual Townhall this upcoming Thursday April 16th at 12pm Alaska Standard Time (4pm ET), where they will provide updates on all of the latest happenings regarding Pebble Mine. It will include local voices and leaders, a recap the last year of work, and highlight how you can help out from home. This is a great chance to get a refresher on the issue and to learn how we can put a stop to Pebble Mine. As they noted in their email to supporters, ‘despite the changes to our lives, Pebble insists they will keep the foot on the gas pedal, we need your help to make sure they don’t succeed.’

April 10, 2020: Commercial Boat Monitoring Program, What’s Next for Striped Bass in Light of COVID-19, MORE Maryland Nonsense, Herring Recovery in LI, MFCN on The Sustainable Angler Podcast, and a Weekend Video

  • This article, reporting on commercial boat observers during the pandemic, provides some pretty interesting insight and detail into how the observer program works, what they’re looking for and how they make sense / don’t make sense during the COVID-19 crisis. As with a lot of other industries, I think one thing that will come out of this is an accelerated adoption of technology in the commercial fishing world. We included an article a few days ago about the herring fishery testing electronic monitoring, so it will be interesting to see how effective that is and how it is applied to other fisheries. It sounds like there may be ways to keep the observer program safe from a public health point of view, by having only local observers service certain boats and remain with the crews, but not sure how practical or viable that is economically, especially given the uncertainty on how long this will go. The commercial fishing industry is important, not only in providing food to restaurants and the US population, but also in driving conservation, since the US has some of the most sustainable fisheries on earth.

  • Charles Witek’s latest entry in One Angler’s Journey points to a few ways the Coronavirus disruption might impact striped bass this season. Since he wrote this, New York has closed marinas and boat ramps, making it more difficult for anglers in New York to access the fish in the Raritan and other staging areas as they prepare to spawn. If that continues, and spreads to other states (I’m hoping it does not, because I see very little harm in fishing on a boat with one other person or alone), it’s hard for me to believe that we’ll have substantially less effort this spring than we have had in the past. That said, as long as boats and fishing is allowed in other states, people will likely have more time at home to get on the water than they have had in the past. The big takeaway here, however, is that there is likely no way that the data collection practices used by MRIP are not disrupted over the next few months, so effort and catch results will be tracked less well than they have in the past. He brings up an interesting point at the end - that there’s a chance there is a push to loosen regulations to encourage a rebound in the economy that fishing supports. Hopefully we can fight that urge and keep a long-term view on things once the ASMFC gets to discussing its amendment to the striped bass management plan.

  • Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources posted an update on the state’s proposed regulations for the 2020 Summer-Fall Striped Bass Season, and oddly failed to include the fact that for-hire boats will be allowed to keep two fish per person per day, instead only listing the private boat / recreational limit of 1 fish per person per day. This has been covered previously, but it’s really unfortunate that the state that has potential to make the biggest impact on the abundance of the fishery continue to act against the best interest of the species and the vast majority of those who target them.

  • Herring are returning to rivers throughout the Northeast. The population has made a comeback, which hopefully continues, in large part due to efforts made by towns and conservation groups up and down the coast to remove dams or build fish ladders or other passages to allow for these fish to reach their spawning grounds each spring. Here’s an article from Long Island talking about how a fish lift is being used until a more permanent structure can be built, and how the efforts are continuing through the COVID-19 lockdown.

  • Here’s a listen for the weekend - Marine Fish Conservation Network Deputy Director Tom Sadler on the Sustainable Angler Podcast.

  • Friday Video: Maybe this will start being a Friday thing, but a video to keep you going. This one from Aardvark McLeod & Sweetwater Travel Company about fly fishing for Taimen in Mongolia. A bucket-list trip for sure. Enjoy!

 
 

April 9, 2020: More on the Bluefin Rollbacks, Another Maryland Head-scratcher and Simply Broadcasting the New Striped Bass Regulations

  • On Monday, we included Charles Witek’s recent entry on his perspectives on the recent changes in bluefin tuna protections on the east coast and in the Gulf of Mexico. Here’s a writeup, from last week, from NOAA on these decisions and what they mean. Generally, Charlie covered most of it, but when I read through this writeup, the main reasoning - to allow US anglers to more effectively target swordfish and other tunas - appears to be wildly misguided. As NOAA outlines in this writeup, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) gives the US an annual quota that is set ‘at a level to ensure nations don’t harvest swordfish faster than the population can be replenished.’ It then goes on to say that the baseline quota for the US is 2,937 metric tons of swordfish a year, but the actual harvest has been far below that, and decreased almost every year since 2012. While I don’t know enough about the swordfish population to say for certain, it sure seems to me that maybe these quotas aren’t that sustainable after-all. Think back to the article earlier this year about what the NE fishery used to be like, including the harpoon swordfishery in nearshore waters off Block Island, and what we’ve got now in terms of swordfish certainly doesn’t seem sustainable to me. Anyway, all this supports Charlie’s perception as well, that there really isn’t much sense in relaxing protections for bluefin.

  • Here’s some more nonsense out of Maryland, this time in regards to the state’s approach to social distancing and fishing. Instead of allowing recreational anglers to continue fishing under the social distancing guidelines, the state has prohibited all recreational fishing, whether on a boat or on land, however continues to allow fishing for sustenance, and has declared charter boats and head boats part of the food supply chain, allowing them to continue taking guests out. Beyond being entirely illogical and irrational to think that up to 10 people can be on a boat, fishing together, and remain 6 feet apart, this is just another decision in a long-line of decisions by Maryland that favor the for-hire fleet above all other anglers in the state. Their 2020 striped bass regulations allow for-hire boats to keep and kill more striped bass than private boats, and now they’re the only ones who are allowed to fish in the state. I, like the ASGA, fully support the social distancing guidelines, and think the safer we can be now, the better for both us as individuals and as a society, but cannot find any reason that fishing recreationally, often alone or with family members who you are all already seeing, puts anyone at increased danger of infection or of spreading the infection.

  • I thought the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation did a pretty good job with this entry in On the Water Magazine. It simply outlines the new regulations, encourages circle hooks and provides imagery about different types of hooks, and asks anglers to report recreational striped bass fishing using the Striped Bass Cooperative Angler Program. I am going to do some research on this to see what other states have similar programs. We’ve said it MANY times here, the more data we have on effort and catches, the better these fish can be managed. There have been a few issues with the rollout of the new regulations (CT’s 2020 regulations pamphlet had last year’s 28” limit), so any sort of simple demonstration of what the rules are is helpful in keeping people on track entering the 2020 season. And, just for reference, striped bass limits are 1 fish between 28” and 35” in the ocean (or Long Island Sound) for every state other than New Jersey (1 fish between 28” and 38”) and Virginia (1 fish between 28”-36”).

April 7, 2020: Whale Resurgence in NYC, Court Victory on Emissions Restrictions, Fishing Industry Stepping Up to Fight Coronavirus and What we Might Expect in 2020

  • A bit of an unexpected source, but this article from American Way Magazine (yes, American Airlines) highlights the importance of menhaden and how they drive the entire ecosystem, from clean water up to humpback whales. With mentions of the ASMFC, the ecosystem-based management approach, and how Omega Protein has spread its operations and impacts species and businesses relying on menhaden playing their role in the ecosystem, the article provides a pretty good snapshot of why whales have returned and how important strong management is. I am always encouraged when publications like this cover this stuff, since it likely brings some of the issues to people who generally aren’t keeping up with it.

  • We’ve covered efforts by the current Administration to rollback environmental protections, as well as the efforts made by environmental groups to fight those rollbacks and keep regulations in place. Here’s a positive story from today about the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has determined that Trump’s EPA overstepped in 2018 when it completely set aside a 2015 rule blocking the use of hydroflourocarbons (HFCs) as replacements for ozone-depleting substances. With the recent announcements that enforcement of many pollution regulations will be suspended as a result of Coronovirus, this is a positive development.

  • Simms is one of the companies leading the way to support conservation nationally, and they make great stuff as well. It’s incredible to see the way that companies, in the fishing industry and others, are stepping up to repurpose their capabilities to support the fight against COVID-19, and Simms is no exception. Using some of their proprietary materials and their staff of expert sewers, they’re providing gowns to local hospital systems to help address pending shortages of supplies that many hospitals in the country are facing.

  • As we face uncertainty in every aspect of our lives, Charles Witek uses his most recent entry to outline the uncertainty we face as we enter every fishing season, highlighting the added uncertainty of this year. He does so by running through how the fisheries off New York and in the Northeast are situated entering 2020, and how they might be impacted by the shutdown of COVID-19. Hopefully we can stem the growth and spread of the virus soon, so we don’t need to speculate on the impacts for too long, but it will be interesting to see what the resulting change in effort might be (both recreationally and commercially), and how that could impact the species we target this season.

April 6, 2020: Bluefin Regulations, Catching Fewer Stripers, Electronic Monitoring in Herring Fishery and Horseshoe Crabs

  • We included coverage of proposed rollbacks to longlining restrictions that were put in place to protect bluefin tuna at critical points in their life cycle and migration patterns - specifically off LI / NJ, the Outer Banks and in the Gulf of Mexico. In a recent entry of One Angler’s Voyage, Charles Witek outlines the decision to roll back those protections, highlighting how the decision seems to have been made without much scientific backing or reasoning, and in spite of the fact that those protections were working on a population that is still not recovered. There are accountability measures built in that could result in the areas being closed again, however generally the rationale behind this doesn’t seem sound. Hopefully it doesn’t put us back much and bluefin continue to recover and expand their range and availability.

  • Here’s something we can all take a page from this upcoming season - catch fewer small stripers. I’m not suggesting we avoid catching fish, and either is Steve Culton, but we’ve all found ourselves in a situation where you get into an area that is loaded with very small fish that seem to eat on every cast. No matter how careful you are with caring for and releasing your fish, some of those fish will not make it. It’s a blast catching schoolies, and it keeps me going during the summer, but for those times when you run into a swarm of dinks, there’s some real benefit to the species to reel up and move on. Striped bass are in trouble, and while the new regulations might hopefully help, taking care of the resource and ensuring that those fish we catch are released to survive is going to be especially critical in giving stripers a chance. Take this into account with big fish too. If you catch a couple big striped bass on a bunker school or other situation where they are plentiful, and you notice they aren’t doing great on release due to water temperature or something else, have your fun but keep the species in mind. We can all make a difference.

  • It’s unclear to me whether this is a response to Covid-19 and social distancing requirements, but NOAA is looking to test electronic monitoring in the herring fishery. Monitoring of commercial boats continues to be a big topic of discussion, and being able to accomplish effective monitoring electronically would solve some of the expense and availability issues associated with bringing a human monitor along.

  • A good piece from Save the Sound about horseshoe crabs in Long Island Sound. Horseshoe crabs have been around for about as long as any animals on earth, but their populations have been declining quickly in the Sound due to a number of factors, including human harvest for bait and medical purposes. The same issues are at play here than those in fishery management, and the value of horseshoe crabs in the ecosystem are highlighted. I remember looking for and finding horseshoe crabs at the beach as a kid, and would love for my boys to do the same. Hopefully new regulations on harvest are put in place and the population can stabilize.