Shortfin makos swim through the ocean like they own the place, moving swiftly and decisively below the surface, or cruising up on top displaying their distinctive blue-black dorsal fin, like a flag, to the sun. Along the northeast coast, they’re the shark most sought out by anglers, because they are a fish of superlatives. Shortfin […]
Now that H.R. 200, a bill that would amend and reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens), has passed the House of Representatives, it poses an even greater threat to the federal fishery management system. Much of that threat arises out of the uncertainty that would be introduced by many of the provisions […]
Atlantic bluefin tuna, photo courtesy of Wikipedia When I was a senior in high school, my German class trekked into Manhattan to attend a play based on the Franz Kafka novel, Der Prozess. I didn’t have a clue about what was going on. Kafka’s work can be difficult enough to understand, even in translation. I […]
Fisheries bill could pave the way for harmful reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act For well over a year, anglers and federal legislators have been the targets of a sophisticated and very well-funded public relations effort designed to convince them to support the so-called “Modern Fish Act,” a bill that would weaken key provisions of the […]
For many years, anglers and businesses critical of recreational fishing regulations have focused their ire on the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey (MRFSS) and on MRFSS’ successor, the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP), claiming that the landings estimates those surveys produced were very inaccurate and did not truly reflect recreational harvest. Their criticisms of MRFSS […]
My fishing seasons begin bright with hope and filled with expectations. Last year’s mistakes and missed opportunities have been recalled and dissected all winter; plans have been laid to assure better outcomes next time. And those next times are coming soon. The marina has promised that, sometime later this week, my boat will go into […]
Anglers and bluefish have a complicated relationship. We call them “yellow-eyed demons” when they show up in the surf, attacking lures meant for striped bass. And we call them worse things farther offshore, when they show up to ruin shark baits and mangle carefully-rigged—and expensive—ballyhoo intended for tuna. But when they burst through the surface […]
On March 28 and 29, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), with the cooperation of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Service (ASMFC), held the 2018 Recreational Fishing Summit in Alexandria, Virginia. Such summits have been held every four years or so. I’ve attended the last few, and in previous years was underwhelmed, as the programs […]
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