Fisheries Management: The Problem of Perception

Fisheries Management:  The Problem of Perception

Top Photo: Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod, by Joachim S. Mueller One of the most frustrating aspects of fisheries management is the fact that two people—or, more often, two groups of people—can look at the same set of facts and come to two very different conclusions. It’s not unusual for scientists who manage fish stocks […]

What Does Recreational Fishing Really Mean?

What Does Recreational Fishing Really Mean?

Is “Limiting Out” Becoming Passé? Top photo: Releasing a bluefin tuna I’m not gonna lie, man. I kinda dislike the term “limiting out”… Actually, I hate it. Mostly because it implies a certain, perhaps outdated, way of thinking – that your fishing trip wasn’t really successful unless you killed the maximum allowed under the current […]

Watch: Social Media for Fisheries Advocacy

Watch: Social Media for Fisheries Advocacy

In the first of a new series of deeper dives into topics related to fisheries advocacy, on February 1, 2024, the Marine Fish Conservation Network shined a light on the complicated social-media landscape for communicators in the fisheries world. This wide-ranging discussion, hosted by Network Digital Consultant Colin Delany with color commentary from Network Deputy […]

Safeguarding Forage: New Action Underway in New England to Protect Critical Forage Fish Species

Safeguarding Forage: New Action Underway in New England to Protect Critical Forage Fish Species

This article is reprinted with permission from the latest edition of the Wild Oceans Horizon newsletter. For the past year, Wild Oceans and a core group of partners built a coalition of more than thirty recreational fishing, watershed, and environmental organizations to bring about a new action to develop near-shore protections for Atlantic herring, river […]

ASMFC Management Authority Challenged by Maryland Lawsuit

ASMFC Management Authority Challenged by Maryland Lawsuit

After the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC’s) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board adopted Addendum II to Amendment 7 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass (Addendum II) in January 2024, it was generally assumed that striped bass management issues would be put on a back burner until a new stock assessment […]

Marine Sanctuary Proposed for Hawai’i’s Globally Significant Marine Monument

Marine Sanctuary Proposed for Hawai’i’s Globally Significant Marine Monument

One of the things I talked with Joel R. Johnson, president and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, during our recent Waterside Chat was the potential for a national marine sanctuary in the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. On February 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released for public comment draft […]