Author Archives: Charles Witek

Does New Jersey Noncompliance Threaten Interstate Fisheries Management?

Posted by Jun 12, 2017 Featured, Policy 2 Comments
Does New Jersey Noncompliance Threaten Interstate Fisheries Management?

Fluke photo by John McMurray. Managing federal fisheries is a relatively simple process, thanks to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens). Pursuant to Magnuson-Stevens, “Conservation and management measures shall be based on the best scientific information available.” Such “Conservation and management measures shall prevent overfishing.” To better assure that overfishing doesn’t occur, each […]

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‘Alternative Management’ of Fisheries: Can It Work?

Posted by May 23, 2017 Featured, Policy 2 Comments
‘Alternative Management’ of Fisheries: Can It Work?

On May 1, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) released a request for proposals “to evaluate the feasibility of developing a fishing mortality (F) based management approach to the recreational summer flounder fishery.” Currently, summer flounder are managed with a combination of bag limits, size limits and seasons intended to constrain recreational harvest to, or […]

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The Modern Fish Act…Or The Modern OVERFISHED Act?

Posted by May 3, 2017 Uncategorized 3 Comments
The Modern Fish Act…Or The Modern OVERFISHED Act?

Photo: river herring, courtesy of Patrick Paquette On April 6, 2017, Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) introduced H.R. 2023, the so-called “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act.” Rep. Graves is the same congressman who, in the last session of Congress, introduced H.R. 3094, the “Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act,” which attempted to strip the National […]

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Sadly, NMFS’ Assessment Was Right

Posted by Apr 18, 2017 Featured, Policy 1 Comment
Sadly, NMFS’ Assessment Was Right

Photo: Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod, by Joachim S. Mueller Counting fish is a difficult job, and even the best stock assessment contains its share of uncertainty. The 2014 stock assessment update for Gulf of Maine cod found that, depending on the model used, the current spawning stock biomass might be as low as 2,100 […]

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What Do Anglers Want?

Posted by Apr 5, 2017 Featured, Policy 1 Comment
What Do Anglers Want?

Photo by John McMurray Every now and then, my wife and I will be talking to someone who doesn’t fish. Upon learning that we do, and that we own a boat, a typical reaction is something like “That’s really nice. You don’t have to go to the store to buy fish.” And one of us […]

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Bad Legislation Threatens Good Fisheries Management

Posted by Mar 9, 2017 Featured, Policy Leave a Comment
Bad Legislation Threatens Good Fisheries Management

Top Photo: Striped Bass, by John McMurray Fisheries management is a complicated endeavor. Before issuing regulations that will prevent overfishing and maintain healthy fish populations, managers need to consider multiple factors. They must estimate the size of fish populations, and decide whether such populations must be rebuilt. They must determine how many fish are lost […]

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Will “Steepness” Stymie Opponents of Fluke Regulations?

Posted by Feb 13, 2017 Featured, Policy 1 Comment
Will “Steepness” Stymie Opponents of Fluke Regulations?

If there is one constant in mid-Atlantic fisheries management, it is that restrictions on the recreational summer flounder harvest will always be controversial. That is particularly true in 2017, after six years of below-average recruitment—the number of young fish entering the population—has caused the population to decline to just 58% of the target level, forcing […]

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