January 2020

January 31, 2020: More on the Big New Menhaden Legislation, the Importance of Strong Management in Seafood, how Diversity of Seafood can Help, and the ASGA on the Sustainable Angler Podcast

  • We touched on this in yesterday’s WWRT, but it’s another monumental move towards more effective management of this keystone species, and something that a number of organizations have been working towards for years. Once again, what this means is that menhaden are now managed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and not the state legislature. It was the only fish to be managed by the legislature, and there really wasn’t any reason for it. As the ASGA points out in their entry on the development (to which they provided testimony at the hearing to decide on the bill on Wednesday), there is no surprise that donations were made to the legislature from menhaden industry members in the past. They also point to an important piece here, though, in that the VRMC needs to be monitored and handled diligently. There will be 12 members on the committee that decides how menhaden and other fish are managed, including one member from the industry, recreational angling community, charter community, industry labor, bait community, and several others.

  • Pew Charitable Trusts also weighed in on this decision, with the first of a three parts on the history of menhaden fishing and the important role they play in the ecosystem. This first piece shows some of the history behind the menhaden fishery, and then refers at the end to the Ecological Reference Points (ERPs) that the ASMFC is voting on implementing at their February 5th meeting. The importance of using ERPs, especially for a keystone forage fish like menhaden, is that they will theoretically result in management that takes the species’ importance and role it plays in the entire ecosystem into account when setting quotas and catch limits. The difference there is that if a fish is simply managed as a single-species without ERPs, we could fish menhaden down to a level without wiping them out, however doing so would severely impact the predators (striped bass, bluefish, whales, ospreys, sharks, dolphins, etc.) and the water quality (menhaden are filter feeders). It’s a big, big deal and could potentially have wide-ranging implications for other species down the line. With that, here’s a reminder to visit our Take Action page and write a letter to your commissioner in advance of that meeting urging them to use ERPs for management of menhaden and to NOT increase the quota for menhaden on the coast or in the Chesapeake Bay.

  • Two articles focused on seafood. The first, is a piece by Chef Kerry Heffernan in the Advocate in Louisiana that points to the importance of strong fishery management from the perspective of someone who makes a living cooking and eating seafood. In discussions around fishery management moving forward, it is important to understand that conservationists are not the only ones who support strong, effective management, and that we are not pushing for no fish to ever be removed from the ocean. We understand the necessity for fish as sustenance, but also understand how important it is to harvest seafood in a sustainable manner so that we have the fish we love to chase (and eat) in 50 years and for the generations that follow. Kerry’s perspective is a good one, as he strongly supports and points to the critical importance of effective management. He is also very actively involved in fishery management, and a regular participant in discussions and at meetings that are discussing management of local species. The second article points to expanded diversity in seafood offerings contributing to the sustainability of species moving forward. I think this may be an uncovered idea, but if we focus all harvest on just a few species, the impacts not only risk wiping them out, but also have ripple effects throughout the ecosystem. By expanding species we target to those that are lesser known, we can spread out the impact of harvest and manage with a more ecosystem-wide approach.

  • Lastly, when you’re driving around this weekend, take a listen to Captain John McMurray and Tony Friedrich - President and Vice President of the American Saltwater Guides Association - on the Sustainable Angler podcast. They do a good job reviewing the types of things the organization is focused on and some of the wins that we’ve had in the past year.

January 30, 2020: More Big News on Menhaden, Albatrosses (read this, it’s freaking cool), and a Pretty Egregious Omission in the Pebble EIS

  • This is big news, and there will be more coming from this, but a bill passed yesterday that will move management of menhaden from the Virginia Legislature and place it with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The VMRC is the body that manages all other fish in the state, and the fact that menhaden were not managed by them in the first thing shows how political the management of this critical, keystone species is. I’ve included two articles below about this. One reports on how this decision results in an old, arbitrary quota being stricken out of the Code of Virginia. In doing so, the ASMFC quota (the one that Omega willingly exceeded last year, resulting in the moratorium that the Secretary of Commerce implemented at the end of last year), is now positioned to be the standard moving forward. The other article (Undercurrent News), includes a statement from Omega where they emphasize the importance of the fishery to team members and employees, and claim to be ‘looking forward to working with the staff and commissioners at the VMRC to ensure that the menhaden fishery continues to be sustainable and productive.’ Pretty interesting perspective given that they willingly ignored the quota last year… Anyway, this is another big step forward in menhaden being managed more effectively as the keystone species they are. With the recent moratorium and this, hopefully we can build on the momentum and awareness that is being built around this fish and continue to see more conservative measures put in place to benefit all the species we chase on the East Coast.

  • I’m not sure how else to describe this than freaking cool. Apparently nearly 200 albatrosses have been outfitted with tiny GPS trackers that can detect radar from fishing boats. Given that these birds spend the VAST majority of their lives patrolling parts of the oceans that very few people ever see (and are very rarely monitored), the data that the GPS trackers collect can point enforcement agencies towards illegal fishing that is occurring in these areas. So far, the results seem to be pretty promising, and there’s some really interesting data on where fishing boats appear to turn their automatic identification systems off, and where they keep it on. Also, this ‘Over the course of six months, the team’s army of albatrosses surveyed over 20 million square miles of sea. Whenever the birds came within three or so miles of a boat, their trackers logged its coordinates, then beamed them via satellite to an online database that officials could access and cross-check with AIS data. Of the 353 fishing vessels detected, a whopping 28 percent had their AIS switched off—a finding that caught Weimerskirch totally off guard. “No one thought it would be so high,” he says.’ This suggests that a high percentage of fishing boats out there are attempting to fish secretly. Pretty crazy. Also… 20 MILLION SQUARE MILES in SIX MONTHS! Insane. Lastly, estimates apparently suggest that 20% of fish on the market may be a result of illegal, unreported and unregulated catches at sea. The article points to the financial impact there, but think about the conservation and sustainability implications of that as well. This is a creative, very cool way to patrol areas of the world that are way too expensive and dangerous to do otherwise.

  • More developments from the Pebble Mine project in Bristol Bay that need attention. Despite the EPA and other state and federal agencies requesting that the Army Corps of Engineers evaluate the impacts of a tailings dam (where leftover waste is stored after the stuff the mine is looking for is removed) failure, they recently stated that the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) will NOT include that analysis. This is pretty ridiculous, since failures of this type of facility are relatively common. The Army Corps is stating that it is incredible unlikely, and should be viewed as ‘worst case,’ which means they do not need to include analysis on it (from legislation passed in 1986). Given the potential impact of such a failure, and the seemingly higher likelihood than they are leading on, I find it hard to understand why there wouldn’t be that analysis included. Once again, please visit Save Bristol Bay and tell your congressional delegation to stop the project from moving forward. It’s too magical and important a place to risk.

January 29, 2020: More on Chesapeake Striped Bass, Pending Changes on Bluefin Protection, A Potential Lawsuit in the Chesapeake, Sawfish Action and a Fish Farm Invader

  • A similar article to the one yesterday providing feedback and commentary on the way Striped Bass are managed in the Chesapeake Bay. This one looks beyond Maryland, and also highlights the regulations being looked at in Virginia. In addition to being the most important nursery on the east coast - especially when talking about striped bass - the Chesapeake is a difficult area to manage given the different states that border it. This article does highlight, however, the different approaches the states are taking to managing the same waterway and same fish, specifically the large breeders during ‘trophy’ season. As you may know, VA closed that season last year and intends to do so again this year, whereas Maryland has not. Once again, hopefully Conservation Equivalency on these fish becomes a thing of the past soon and we can get some sort of accountability measures in place shortly that require payback for not meeting regulation targets.

  • Here’s a short report on some changes that appear to be coming to the way bluefin tuna are protected up and down the coast, specifically regarding closures and gear-restrictions for long-lining in specific areas, including off the Northeast / Mid-Atlantic, the Outer Banks and in the Gulf of Mexico. Bluefin Tuna are coming back and the population is growing, partly due to these restrictions, especially in the Gulf of Mexico where weaker hooks are required to avoid bluefin tuna bycatch during spawning season. While it doesn’t seem like a complete roll-back of these regulations, it is definitely a step to lessen efforts to protect these fish being caught as bycatch in certain areas. I haven’t done quite enough research to have a strong opinion, but will keep an eye on it. There’s a link in the article to the full Environmental Impact Statement as well, for more depth on these changes.

  • Here’s another report from the Baltimore Sun regarding the Chesapeake, this time regarding a potential lawsuit by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and Maryland against the EPA regarding pollution in Pennsylvania that is impacting the Bay. There’s reference in here to recent comments from an EPA official saying that Bay restoration blueprint was more aspirational than enforceable, which is pretty alarming when you think about what efforts to protect important habitat and environmental areas are meant to accomplish. It doesn’t look like action has been taken yet, but another example of groups stepping up to the plate on behalf of the environment when legislation is rolled back or not enforced.

  • A quick article about a commercial fisherman in Florida receiving two years probation, 80 hours of community service and a $2,000 fine for killing an endangered smalltooth sawfish. He was caught due to another angler witnessing the event and calling the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Once again, we’re never going to have enough enforcement for officers to catch every poacher, but if people speak up or call in when they witness violations, it can go a long way to deterring poaching and other violations from occurring.

January 28, 2020: Potential Aquaculture Precedent, Pushback From Within Maryland, the Everglades and More on Wild vs Hatchery

  • E&E News covers a potentially precedent-setting aquaculture project that has been proposed in the Gulf of Mexico. The project, an offshore farm for Almaco Jack, is currently being reviewed and could end up setting precedent on what organizations and people are in charge of permitting and oversight of offshore fish farms and aquaculture. As outlined in the article we posted a few weeks ago, NOAA currently oversees regulations on fisheries in federal waters, however it is limited to wild stocks and not aquaculture, which are still undetermined. Aquaculture is obviously a big part of the fishery picture, and will be moving forward, but the operations that have been established to date have introduced countless issues (waste, invasive species, etc.), so it will be very interesting to watch how this proceeds and how new technologies and farm operations are structured and permitted.

  • Some support for stricter regulations from Maryland, further highlighting the complete disregard Maryland DNR seems to have for the well being of striped bass. The author points out how the conservation equivalency proposal set forth by the state not only puts most of the burden on recreational anglers, but also claims unrealistic harvest reductions associated with things like a closed season during the spring, when the water is coldest and fish are most likely to survive release. It even provides testimony from long-time guides and anglers in the state who are beginning to look elsewhere (like Florida) to fish, because they have lost faith in the DNR to do the right thing and the viability of the fishery moving forward. Again, Maryland, and the Chesapeake Bay, is the nursery for the vast majority of striped bass on the East Coast, so these regulations (or lack thereof) will have a substantial impact on the fishery for all of us. While these CE proposals have passed the ASMFC Technical Committee, there’s hope that the full Commission denies the proposal at its February 5 meeting.

  • Articles like this one in the New York Times can be tough to read, as it outlines the many issues that are facing one of the most unique and important ecosystems in the United States, the Everglades. From invasive species, to development, to water diversion for sugar farming, the ‘River of Grass’ is approximately half the size it once was, and faces a barrage of threats to its native plants an animals. With all that being said, there are many people working hard to protect what we have left and rebuild some of what we’ve lost. There are efforts to slow the spread of invasive species, alligators have made a huge comeback and there’s more awareness about the importance of the Everglades and native environments than ever before. Once again, the more people that care, the more power we have and the more of an impact we can have in protecting it.

  • Lastly for today, here’s a quick article once again touching on the differences between hatchery fish and wild ones, this time focused on trout. Comes back again to the genetic differences between wild fish and stocked fish, and highlights how fish act differently to flies related to how they’ve been bred to grow as quickly as possible. Not a whole lot to add, but an interesting piece.

January 27, 2020: The Lawyers Fighting for the Environment, West Coast Outlook and More on the Effectiveness of Fishery Management

  • This article isn’t that recent, but in light of last week’s news regarding the Trump Administration’s rollback of protections on our waterways, it’s very relevant and offers hope moving forward. Since Trump was elected, there has been significant legal pushback to many of the environmental protections that his administration has tried to roll back or eliminate. To-date, the lawyers and organizations pushing that opposition are winning, preventing the majority of those rollbacks from occurring. As they say in the article, it’s a hard pill to swallow that these fights need to be fought, but it’s reassuring when looking at the track record so far. Hopefully they can keep up the good work and help keep our environment protected moving forward.

  • Here’s another post from the Marine Fish Conservation Network providing a recap / outlook, this time from Bob Rees on the West Coast. He touches on a number of species on the west coast, how they are managed, status of certain stocks, and an outlook on a number of them. In addition to those details, it discusses how there is hope and how fishery management has helped in the past. It then finishes up with questions that guide readers to ways to help. This is what we’re trying to do as well, and harps on the importance of education and engagement by anglers who care about the future of their fisheries. There are ways to make a difference, and every voice counts. Read or reach out to learn about issues facing your fisheries and speak up when there’s an opportunity to shape or voice your opinion.

  • Here are two more pieces that cover the study on the effectiveness of fishery management. In the latest entry of One Angler’s Voyage, Charles Witek jumps into some more details of the findings, including what condition fisheries that were able to recover were in before they were managed towards rebuilding versus those that were less successful. The other article finishes with an important quote that says we need to tailor management for regions and species specifically. At the end of the day, this study is important as it shows that managing fisheries is necessary and effective, and provides hope to those species that are currently overfished or pressured.

January 24, 2020: More Rollbacks to Laws Protecting our Waterways (big ones), How They Might Impact Stripers, Trout Unlimited’s Response and Some More on Menhaden

  • The Trump Administration has finalized a rule to strip away environmental protections for streams, wetlands and groundwater, handing a victory to farmers, fossil fuel producers and real estate developers who said Obama-era rules had shackled them with onerous and unnecessary burdens. This rollback of protections (some of which have been in place for decades) will have a significant impact on the viability of drinking water for millions of Americans and the health of some of the most critical waterways in the United States. Hopefully the end of this article, suggesting that there will be multiple, major lawsuits against this repeal and Trump’s new rule, will be successful and at least postpone this action until new protections can be put in place or a new administration can prevent them from taking place.

  • More on this from Charles Witek, who focuses mainly on how this will have an impact on the Chesapeake Bay and, in turn, striped bass. Specifically, striped bass need very specific environmental conditions in order to successfully spawn and reproduce. Included in those conditions are the ability for the eggs to float in clean, fresh water for a relatively long period of time, making major rivers like the Susqehanna (Chesapeake Bay) and the Hudson River two of very, very few places the fish can spawn effectively. Given how wide the area from which the Chesapeake Bay feeds is, the amount of pesticides and pollution that this new rule might result in could be devastating for striped bass spawning.

  • Trout Unlimited issued a press release in response to this announcement. The dive into this more deeply in terms of how many bodies of water, and resulting people and ecosystems, are vulnerable as a result of these new rules. Again, litigation comes up, and the organization suggests that it may have no choice but to join other environmental organizations in pursuing litigation to prevent it. In terms of national fishing organizations committed to conservation, TU is as big as it gets, so we’ll be following along and keeping you posted on the decisions and actions they take.

  • More activity around menhaden, this time in Maine. I wasn’t aware of it, but apparently there was a huge spike last year in menhaden (pogy, in this case) fishing in Maine. There’s demand in the state for menhaden for use as lobster bait, and with a tough herring season. Those looking for bait switched their focus to menhaden. Given that this is a relatively new fishery, Maine is taking steps to slow the fishery and ensure that it is being managed adequately. It’s a proactive step that I think, on the surface at east, represents responsible management of a fishery before things get out of hand.

January 23, 2020: Menhaden Action Items, Fishing Effort Related to Improved Data and Oyster Habitat Architecture

  • As we have discussed in the past, menhaden are arguably the most important forage fish on the east coast, and potentially more important than that. The management of this species is one of our focal points, and there are some important decisions coming up regarding the species that need attention and outreach. As the American Saltwater Guides Association outlines in their post from a couple days ago, first, at its upcoming meeting on February 5, the ASMFC is going to be discussing the use of Ecological Reference Points as a way of managing the fish in relation to its impact on the ecosystem rather than just based on the number of fish of that species there are out there. For menhaden, this could be a game-changer, and while early analysis of the ERPs that the Comission came up with might not be perfect, it’s a step in the right direction. Second, the reduction fishery driven by Omega Protein, was granted a “sustainability” rating by the Marine Stewardship Council (a classification that appears to be something anyone with enough money can get). That said, in light of Omega willingly blowing through the Chesapeake Bay cap this past year, SAI Global, the seafood certification body accredited for both the MSC Fishery Management Standards and Chain of Custody Standards, is conducting an audit on that certification. There’s actions to take on both these developments. 1) send a letter to your commissioners at the ASFMC urging them to use ERPs in their management going forward and to NOT increase the quota on menhaden, and 2) provide feedback to SAI Global on the audit. Take a look at the post from the ASGA or our take action page for more info on how to do both.

  • Here’s a piece from Dave Monti in Rhode Island covering something that has come up in a number of fishery management changes over the past several months - data collection and measuring impact. Generally, what we’re seeing is that as more data becomes available, the effort (in other words, how many people are fishing and how often) for target species (bluefish, porgies/scup, black sea bass, etc.) is often higher than we otherwise though it was. As a result, management has and will continue to be modified so it takes that increased effort into account. Again, it’s a recurring theme, the more we know about where the fish are, when they’re there and how they’re being targeted, the better we can manage them.

  • Here’s a quick read on how oyster-farming could be used to help restore natural barriers to the oceans, rebuilding and protecting marshes and habitat that have been exposed as a result of our over-harvesting and development of coastal land and habitat. It’s an interesting way to help slow or reverse human-driven erosion, something that will certainly be a big topic as sea levels rise and coastal ecosystems change.

January 22, 2020: New York and New Jersey Striped Bass Updates and Swordfishing in the ‘50s

  • Charles Witek takes some time going through the basics of CE in his latest post, but then gets to the meat of how it can go wrong, and exactly how it is going wrong with New Jersey’s proposal, which we referred to last week. The short of it is that New Jersey has proposed a smaller slot than the ASMFC 28”-35”, which focuses harvesting pressure on the smaller, abundant classes of fish that will not have spawned yet and are, if they are able to spawn at least once, our best shot at a recovery. In addition to that, the state has proposed using their bonus tag program (the same one CT discontinued recently) to target the largest, most fertile and viable spawning fish left. What this does is, combined with the 28”-35” slot on the rest of the coast, place every size fish in the ‘harvest’ zone at one time or another during their migration, compromising the intention of a slot to begin with. One thing that I think he could have pointed out further is that NJ doesn’t really have a big fish fishery in the summer, so by lowering the slot for the whole season, anglers will be able to target ‘keepers’ more easily year-round, likely increasing projected harvest by even more. Take a read, the second half of the post points out exactly what NJ’s proposal is intended to accomplish (hint, it’s kill as many fish as possible).

  • Here’s a post by John Papciak on Facebook that provides a recap of yesterday’s NY Department of Environmental Conservation meeting, that discussed striped bass regulations. Interesting things to note here is that the ASMFC-proposed 1 fish at 28”-35” was supported by the NY Marine Resources Advisory Council Members, which goes against rumors that CT, RI and NY were working together to implement a larger slot of 30”-40” or 32”-40”. It will be interesting to see what makes it through when the ASMFC reviews CE proposals in February. Another thing I think is important to point out here, is that the discussion focused on how the state could incorporate the needed cutback in harvest with the least economic damage to the commercial and for-hire fleet as possible, however there was essentially NO conversation around the impact on the light-tackle charter industry or general recreational benefit of having more fish in the water. There’s one comment that was made on this post that is also pretty interesting and relates back to the NJ proposals above. Apparently there was a unanimous agreement amongst Council Members to oppose any Conservation Equivalency measure with a lower limit less than 28”. Hopefully this opposition stands up in NY and other states when the ASMFC reviews CE proposals next month and NJ’s abomination is vetoed.

  • This article paints a picture that I think any angler would kill to see and experience today. A time when swordfish were regularly (in targetable numbers) found finning in just 25-35 fathoms of water (closer than where the ‘nearshore’ fleet usually chases bluefin nowadays). In addition to the swords, this line struck me ‘In a typical day, we’d see over a thousand sharks, as well as white marlin and bluefin tuna. In fact, sharks were so plentiful in some years that there would be at least one in sight at all times over the course of the day.’ I have spent some time in the areas - or those adjacent to - this article describes, and we sometimes see a shark or a white marlin when we cover 70-100 miles a day, and if we’re lucky, we run into tuna, but it’s not often (doesn’t stop me from trying, though). One other thing I want to point out is that the author points to migration patterns for swords changing and them being fished harder now than they were in the past as potential reasons for this fishery not being there anymore. While migrations may have changed, it’s pretty well documented that fish spread out when they are more abundant, so it’s likely the migration patterns of these fish change because of the pressure we put on them and reduced pressure they have from competition. While I’m afraid swords are too far gone to manage them back to a level of abundance that would have them return to the inshore grounds, this migration argument has been made against stricter regulations on striped bass as well, and I don’t think it should matter. We can’t fish for stripers in the EEZ, so we should want to manage stripers so they spread out and are again accessible to the surfcasters up and down the coast. Climate change needs to be addressed in management, but shouldn’t be used as a blanket excuse as to why we cannot have fish in places they have historically been. Take a read and imagine then what the oceans must have looked like 200 or 500 years ago. Must have been WILD.

January 21, 2020: Impact of Fishery Management, The Impact of Special Interests and Another Case Against Pebble

  • This article points to the need for, and success of, effective fishery management globally. Based on a study of more than 30 countries over decades, it shows that where there is intensive management of fisheries, there are more abundant and sustainable fish stocks. While I’m not sure that should come as much of a surprise, it does continually use the word ‘effective,’ in describing the management that seems to be working. Fishery management is an incredibly broad term, and figuring out what types of management work for each individual species (and ecosystem within the oceans) is critical, so just having ‘management’ in place (striped bass, for example) doesn’t mean that the fish populations are being handled appropriately. The quotes at the end that state the oceans are not dying, and that we do not need to sequester sections of the ocean from fishing, however, I think can be taken out of context. There are certain areas of the ocean that are clearly more important in regards to providing natural diversity or a nursery to critical forage fish or predators, that likely should be either shut off from fishing or have heavier restrictions imposed, and figuring out how to manage each fishery in regards to its overall impact is critical. That said, the rest of the article points to things we have covered here - more science and carefully determined regulations leading to fish populations that can support the ‘maximum sustainable yield’ (a term that again points back to this agricultural approach to fishing that I think we should try to move away from). Anyway, an interesting read that does, in the end, show how management can, and is working globally.

  • Here’s an opinion piece that highlights the cause of many of the issues we’re facing in fishery management - the influence of special interests on quotas and regulations. This focuses on Omega Protein’s political lobbying and influence over the reduction menhaden fishery, however this is an issue that has found its way into many species up and down the coast, including striped bass. It’s not always one party pushing for higher harvest against what science shows is in the best interests of the species, often it is many, and is something that needs to be addressed as we move forward with new policies. One thing I am not sure I agree with here, is that fish quotas should be placed in the hands of local management bodies. With many fish, especially on the east coast, the migratory nature of these species makes local regulation vey difficult and often ineffective, and regional regulations are much more impactful. This reduces competition between states and regions and works comprehensively to protect fish throughout their migration. Either way, reducing the impact of special interests and focusing on the science and the best path forward to manage for abundance are needed next steps.

  • Here’s another one on Bristol Bay and Pebble Mine. The author, Rich Borden, has decades of mining experience, and outlines the serious flaws and risks that the proposed project has on the critical environment around where it would be. Specifically, he highlights how the Environmental Impact Statement process has not been completed appropriately, and how difficult the location would be to successfully mine without a significant impact on the environment. Take a read and visit Save Bristol Bay to take action and write to your local representatives today, this project can not move forward as is currently proposed.

January 17, 2020: Enforcement Issues, Some Thoughts on 2019 & 2020, Sturgeon in the Chesapeake and Giant Squid

  • In One Angler’s Voyage’s most recent post, Charles Witek highlights an unintended consequence of the way striped bass violations are enforced up and down the coast. Using news that CT is considering lowering the penalty for poaching striped bass from a misdemeanor to an infraction (the equivalent of a ticket), he points out that while that punishment is less than a criminal offense, which a misdemeanor is, doing so may be more effective in deterring poaching. The reason for this is the way that it is prosecuted. Prosecutors in CT and other states are overrun with cases to hear, and generally do not view fish poaching as importantly as other crimes, including violent or drug related activities. As a result, they often throw out the fish poaching charges before the violator is handed a punishment. I think this could work, assuming that the fine for poaching striped bass is weighty enough to make the risk greater than the gain, but if it is small, I don’t see this having much of an impact. I also question whether many poachers - at least first timers - really think this far ahead, knowing they won’t get prosecuted for a misdemeanor if they’re caught in the first place. Anyway, it’s an interesting and counter-intuitive perspective on the heart of one of the biggest issues in management - enforcement.

  • Captain John McMurray wrote the following blog for the Marine Fish Conservation Network, which gives his year-in-review and what he sees moving forward. In addition to covering what being a guide means physically and mentally - and for anyone who has fished with him, the description of his 18 hour days and the beatings his body takes are very accurate - he writes about a couple things I think are especially relevant. First, no matter what side of fishery management you’re on, we all probably agree on more than you think. I haven’t been actively involved for nearly as long as John has, or others reading this have, but the animosity that you see between people fighting to keep more fish or release more fish can get crazy. The more I have learned, the more I think this comes back to the information people are presented with and digest. We all want more fish and we want more fish for longer (well, most of us, at least), but with inaccurate and misleading information all over the place, the ‘fight’ can get out of hand quickly. Science is important, and, like the next article and others we’ve posted, there’s a lot of important stuff going on to study habits, migrations and impacts of different areas have on different fish, so hopefully the more we learn, the better we can educate everyone, and the better we can manage our fisheries. Lastly, and critically, it can get dark really quickly when you start diving into the status of fish stocks, but there is hope and it’s worth fighting for. We’ve seen it before and we’ll see it again if we don’t give up, these fish can rebound and flourish, but we need to - and are able to - do better for them moving forward so we all have the resource in 10 years and our kids and grandkids have them in 50.

  • More scientific studies to help protect fish here, this time with Atlantic Sturgeon in the Chesapeake. These are a fish that used to be pretty prevalent from the Mid Atlantic through the Northeast, but have really fallen off people’s minds given the severe decline in population. There are signs of a comeback though, and, once again, science is being done to better understand what these fish need to survive, resulting in changes to how rivers are developed and treated. The more studies we have, the more we know, the better we manage. It would be pretty cool to have these giants back in numbers where you could see them relatively regularly.

  • Much less fishery-management oriented, but freaking cool. Scientists recently sequenced the Giant Squid’s entire genome and found some pretty crazy things. These animals grow to crazy sizes (30-42 feet! - maybe bigger, so few have ever been seen). In addition to that size, they also have huge brains, which I guess makes sense. What surprised me, however, is that there were more than 100 genes in a grouping known as protocadherins, which aren’t typically found in invertebrates. For a long-time, it was thought that these were only found in vertebrates, and while scientists are not sure yet what this means, it might be ‘clue for how you make a complicated brain.’ I’ve always been fascinated with these animals, generally because they’re so big and we, until very recently, had never seen one alive before. What else is down there that we haven’t run into yet?

January 16, 2020: More Striped Bass Conservation Equivalency (this time it’s bad), Caring for Stripers and Protecting the Everglades

  • More news from the American Saltwater Guides Association on the Conservation Equivalency proposals we highlighted yesterday along with information from other states (NJ and MD) that came out of yesterday’s ASMFC Technical Committee call.  High-level, while CT, RI and NY seem to be using CE to do the right thing, New Jersey and Maryland are doing the exact opposite.  Maryland spent an inordinate amount of time and money to put together a proposal that prohibits ‘targeting of striped bass,’ season closures and other things to piece together the target reduction.  New Jersey, on the other hand, is proposing a LOWER slot (24”-28”) to take advantage of the abundant 2015/2016 classes that fall in that size range while using their bonus tags (more in our blog here on what that is) to allow anglers to target and harvest the biggest fish that the slot is intended to protect anyway.  Hopefully the technical committee sees what Connecticut did in suspending its bonus tag program and rejects both NJ and MD, but even then, it sounds like MD would just plan on going out of compliance if that happens, and there’s not much of a track record of the ASFMC stepping up and enforcing any sort of punishment when that’s the case. 

 

  • Here is a quick read from On the Water magazine that is now more important than ever.  With large striped bass seemingly off limits on the entire coast (with the exception of maybe New Jersey’s bogus bonus tag proposal), how the bigger fish that are caught are handled and released will be a real factor in how successful the new regulations are.  Those larger fish do not do as well as smaller fish, especially in warmer water.  I have seen a material difference in how they respond in 68 degree water vs. 70 degree water, and it can be shocking.  In addition to the steps outlined in this article, I urge anyone who is fishing for or running into above slot fish to invest in a net or a sling so the fish are removed from the water with support under their bodies and not by their lower jaw.  If you want to weigh them, do it by measuring size or by weighing them in a net or a sling.  Hanging a fish by its lower jaw, especially a 30, 40 or 50 pounder, is damaging to the fish and possibly can be lethal. In this case, just because it swims away, does not mean it’s going to be make it long.  New regulations are meant to protect the big fish that are left, and there are not many of them, so let’s make sure those that we’re lucky enough to encounter make it through the interaction alive and well. 

  • Here’s a positive development in Florida, as the Governor announced that the Florida Department of Environment Protection has reached an agreement to purchase 20,000 acres of critical Everglades wetlands, permanently protecting that habitat from oil drilling.  As I am sure you know, the Everglades is an unbelievably unique and productive natural area, and efforts to protect and rebuild it are needed and applauded. 

January 15, 2020: State Collaboration on Conservation Equivalency, a Tarpon Migration Study and How Hatchery Fish Compare to Wild Ones

  • There was a Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management meeting a couple days ago at which the state’s Conservation Equivalency proposal for striped bass was discussed, and it suggested a pretty interesting development. While none of this is final, it appears as though Rhode Island, New York and Connecticut are collaborating in coming up with a joint Conservation Equivalency so that each state has the same regulations for striped bass moving forward. Additionally, the CE proposal appears to increase both the minimum and maximum size in the slot limit for striped bass, from the 28”-35” slot proposed by the ASMFC to 30”-40” or even 32”-40”. In my view, if either of those limits are implemented by those three states, it is a win for striped bass. As we outlined when the 28”-35” slot was chosen by the ASMFC in October, it is critical that the abundant 2015 and 2016 classes of fish (which are just starting to reach sexual maturity at around 28”) are protected so they can spawn at least once before being harvested. With this proposal, those fish would be protected in CT, RI and New York, and the area between Montauk and Block Island, which is known for its large population of cow stripers (40”+) will also hopefully feel less fishing pressure given that the majority of the fish in those areas would fall above the slot and not be legal to harvest. There will be more on Conservation Equivalency to come as more state options come in and the Technical Committee reviews them, but for now, this sounds like relatively good news out of CT, RI and NY.

  • Over the past 18 years, the University of Miami has conducted a tagging study on tarpon migration, and the findings show that, as many likely predicted, the fish make extensive annual seasonal migrations following ‘a warm, seasonally moving ocean-water feature known as the 26 degree isotherm.’ This study also showed that tarpon use both fresh and saltwater environments throughout their migration and lifespan. This is the third tagging program we’ve covered in WWRT, and hopefully there are many more to come. The more we know about migration patterns and how the fish interact with their environments and when they are in certain areas, the better we can manage them. One thing to note here is that shark predation is more prevalent than previously thought, and is something to think about when targeting and fighting these fish.

  • A recent study that was published in scientific journal PLOS ONE suggests that steelhead that are raised in fish hatcheries have smaller brains and other genetic differences from wild-raised fish, including a less-developed lateral line and SMALLER BRAINS. These deficiencies, as you might imagine, reduce the fish’s chances of survival in the wild. If you have not seen the movie Artifishal, which was produced by Patagonia, this should not come as a surprise. Whether hatchery fish are being raised to supplement or rebuild wild stocks, there is no way they will be as well-adapted for the wild as those born there. Fish have had thousands of years to evolve, and salmon, steelhead and other migrating fish have evolved specifically for the places they live and where they spawn. I’ll post a review of the movie shortly, but this highlights some of the issues with assuming we can rebuild stocks with hatchery fish. It really doesn’t work.

January 14, 2020: Highly Migratory Species Management, Discontinuation of Bonus Tags in CT & the Codfather

  • In light of new regulations and the decline in striped bass population, CT has decided to discontinue its bonus tag program, which is essentially a program allowing anglers to pay for additional harvest to make up for unused commercial quota. In the below notice to anglers, the state mentions low rates of participation as a contributing factor to the decision, in addition to the the status of the striped bass stock. Diving a bit deeper on that, lack of participation is simply the return of these bonus tags, which are meant to be sent back into DEEP once the extra fish is caught so they cannot be used again. I think it’s more likely that those who buy the tags just hold onto them until they get stopped with an extra fish (doesn’t happen). Either way, hopefully we see more states take similar action on this program.

  • An interesting recap from NOAA that highlights a few positive developments in how highly migratory species were regulated both in the US and abroad in 2020. High-level takeaways are that efforts to reduce bluefin tuna bycatch appear to be working and sharks are being better managed and more protected around the world. Hopefully these types of efforts continue moving forward.

  • While Carlos Rafael, also known as ‘the Codfather,’ is serving time for evading quotas, taxes and more, pieces of the settlement agreement he entered into with NOAA are being implemented, including the sale of his fleet and licenses. This is an interesting article from the Cape Cod Times that outlines some concerns around that agreement could lead to another, similar empire to that run by Rafael in the first place. Either way, this comes back to punishment for breaking quota or regulations on fisheries. Rafael, once done serving his time, will be financially well-off from the sale of his fleet, raising the question of whether punishments really deter poaching.

January 13, 2020: Take Action on Pebble to Save Bristol Bay, C&R World Record Striper and more Environmental Protection Rollbacks

  • If you’re not familiar with Pebble Partnership and its ongoing effort for approval for a pebble mine in Bristol Bay, it has been a years-long process that, if approved, would put the worlds largest remaining wild salmon runs at serious risk. When you’re done reading this, or now, please visit Save Bristol Bay now and write a letter to your representatives in Congress and the Senate and urge them to prevent this mine from moving forward. If you’ve never been to Alaska, or Bristol Bay, it’s simply a magical place, and all that magic, and all the life there, relies on the salmon that return to the rivers each year in the tens of millions to spawn. Currently, the first major federal permit application for the Pebble Mine to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently under review, which, if approved, would allow development of the first 1.5 billion tons of its nearly 11 billion-ton deposit and set the stage for future expansion and the construction of an industrial mining district in Bristol Bay. In addition to inaccuracies and misleading information in the permit, this article reports on a joint press release by the United Tribes of Bristol Bay and Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay about a CNN report about some alarming actions taken by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy suggesting he has beeb collaborating with Pebble Limited Partnership to lobby on the corporation’s behalf.  Please look at Save Bristol Bay’s website and contribute to the cause if you can. It’s as worthwhile a place to protect as there is left. Link to article and CNN report below.

  • While I do not think the slot limit of one fish between 28” and 35” proposed by the ASMFC for striped bass is the best path forward for the fish, there are certain areas that it will have a significant impact, and there are certainly benefits of it over the 1 fish at 28” that is currently in place. One of those benefits is that the largest, most viable fish will, theoretically, be released to continue spawning, and we will see more articles like the one below highlighting larger fish being put back. Now, the world record being described in this article is not the all-tackle world record that was broken a few years back in CT, but instead the C&R length record. Still an impressive feet and a beautiful fish, but this fish would not have qualified had it not been released. That said, there is something mentioned in this article that I think is especially important, and that is that it appears as though there are fewer boats and anglers targeting these large fish off the Virginia coast because they are no longer legal to keep. Hopefully the fact that large fish are no longer legal will result in far fewer boats fishing in areas where larger fish are more common (i.e. smaller fish are relatively scarce), like the Cape Cod Canal, Soutwest Ledge of Block Island and at the mouth of the Hudson River leading up to Spawn. Those large fish do not do as well when released as smaller fish might, so less effort to catch them would go much further in protecting them than simply having each one caught released.

  • This New York Times article reports on action taken last week by the Trump administration proposing stark changes to the nation’s oldest and most established environmental law that could exempt major infrastructure projects from environmental review. This is the latest in a series of rollbacks of established environmental protections, many of which have resulted in litigation.

January 10, 2020: Federal vs. State Management, a serious fine for ignoring regulations and the return of bald eagles

  • This entry from the Marine Fish Conservation Network uses recent regulatory actions taken by the ASMFC (stripers) and the NMFS (bluefish) to highlight how federal fishery management (Magnuson-Stevens) works and state-level management (ASMFC) does not. The writing has been on the wall that striped bass were going to be overfished for years, and it took until this winter for the ASMFC to implement regulations that 1) don’t attempt to rebuild the stock and 2) will most likely not be effective due to conservation equivalency. On the bluefish side, it took just a couple months after learning that the species was overfished for the NMFS to implement regulations that reduced daily limits to reduce mortality and immediately began working on a plan to rebuild the stock within 10-years. This topic is going to be a focal point moving forward, especially as an amendment to the ASMFC striped bass management plan is discussed starting this year. The ASMFC / state-level regulations that are put in place need to have teeth and accountability for them to work, and so far, that’s just not the case and is evidenced by their abysmal track record no species successfully rebuilt and maintained.

  • Here’s a story about a commercial fisherman in Florida who was found with 165 undersized lobsters. As a result, he was banned from commercial fishing for life, sentenced to one year in jail and prohibited from swimming, fishing or diving in the water of Monroe County for five years. One thing I hear all the time is that there is no enforcement of regulations, and no fishery officers patrolling. I don’t think there’s ever going to be adequate funding to support enough officers, however if the punishment for violating the regulations was high enough, I am confident that we’d see a significant drop in poaching. Instead of a few hundred dollars and the forfeiture of fishing rods, take the boat or make the financial fine really hurt.

  • Here’s some positive news heading into the weekend. The bald eagle population in Connecticut continues to grow, signaling the decades-long recovery from the impact of DDT. Seeing these birds circle bunker schools or hanging out in the Norwalk Islands or off Long Neck Point in Darien is becoming more and more commonplace, and really cool to see. Hopefully this population growth and successful breeding continues.

January 9, 2020: Fishery Disaster Relief, Mapping the EEZ and Brook Trout Habitat

  • Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA), Chair of the Water, Oceans and Wildlife subcommittee, and Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-MS) yesterday issued a press release announcing the introduction of a bipartisan bill to improve the federal fisheries disaster relief program. Rob Vandermark, Executive Director of the Marine Fish Conservation Network issued the following statement on the bill: “Chairman Huffman’s fishery disaster relief bill will greatly improve our fishery disaster response system, including needed safeguards from current and future impacts of climate change. This bill addresses the multitude of external challenges that fishing communities face while speeding up the process for getting necessary funding."

  • NOAA is in the process of mapping the country’s EEZ, an area of ocean floor that's larger than the combined land area of all 50 states. Included in this article is reference to the fact that we have only explored five percent of the ocean’s volume and 40% of the EEZ has been mapped in recent years. In that area, NOAA has discoveries include an 85-mile-long coral reef off the coast of South Carolina, a shipwreck and 25 new marine species. NOAA officials say more ocean exploration could lead to new cancer drugs, along with new sources of economic development and new ways to promote trade, fisheries, tourism and energy exploration. Looking forward to seeing what else this mapping uncovers.

  • This one relates to freshwater. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management came up with a creative way to help create and improve habitat for native Brook Trout in the state by using discarded Christmas trees to extend river bank and create shelter for fish in rivers that have been degraded over time. Pretty cool stuff to help protect the remaining populations of the native trout we have left.

Jan 8, 2020: Shark and Striped Bass Migrations & Fish Farming

  • This is a pretty deep / scientific read, but it’s an interesting report on the results of more than 50 years of shark shark tagging. If there’s a specific shark species you’re interested in (Mako, Blue, Hammerhead, etc.), the report breaks down the findings by species starting on page 11. One thing I constantly think about when I read studies like this is how much these animals see in their lifetimes 30+ years and thousands and thousands of miles covered. Combined that with the fact that we’ve only explored 5% of the ocean, and there has got to be so much that they know/have witnessed that we can only imagine. The more we learn about these migrations and habits of these fish, the better we can manage them.

  • Another tagging program here, but I’m pretty torn about this one. Despite what these first two tags claim, I’ve got a feeling that these fish may have been eaten by something before being dragged out to the Canyons. If there were tons of stripers moving out to the canyons every summer, I’ve got to believe that those chunking or jigging out there would run into one every once in a while, and I have not heard of that ever being the case. Even if these fish did spend some time far offshore during the summer, it’s especially important to remember and understand that two fish do not make a trend or anything scientific, it’s FAR too small of a sample set, so right now, this really means nothing other than being interesting. The study is going to expand this spring, though, so we’ll see more after this season. What are your thoughts?

  • Fish farming is, and will continue to be, a hot-topic in terms of conservation and the impact it has on the environment. We’ve all heard about the inshore salmon farms in the PNW and other areas globally, but as it spreads, how they’re regulated will be a bit discussion point.

Jan 7, 2020: What to Expect in ‘20, Why we Do This & Invasive Species

  • Charles Witek’s blog will likely be frequently highlighted in this section. In this entry, he looks ahead to 2020 and highlights some of the issues we’re focused on, including striped bass, bluefish, menhaden, mako sharks and federal management:

  • Here’s an important one, highlighting why we’re doing what we’re doing and why the fight’s worth it. It also highlights a bit what the American Saltwater Guides Association has accomplished in its first year, and why we were so proud to support them with the second annual Tightlined Slam in October. Take a read, follow their stuff, and we’ll keep sharing things from them moving forward:

  • This one focuses on the impact that non-native / invasive species are having on the Everglades. The Everglades is a pretty amazing place, and ‘the largest subtropical wilderness in the United States and the largest wilderness area east of the Mississippi River, according to the National Park Service.’ There will likely be more to come on the Everglades as the never-ending fight with the sugar manufacturers in Florida continues.