H.R. 3094, the so-called “Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act,” has been one of the most controversial fishery management bills introduced in the current session of Congress. Sponsored by Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana), H.R. 3094 would strip the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) of all authority to manage red snapper in the Gulf of […]
To date, salt water fishery management is largely about dead fish. We worry about fishing mortality. We try to figure out how many fish can be landed without doing long-term harm to the stock. What we don’t think about very often is how many fish we should leave alive in the water to make the […]
Louisiana Congressman Garret Graves is the primary sponsor of H.R. 3094, legislation that would strip the National Marine Fisheries Service of its authority to manage red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, and to turn that authority over to the five Gulf states. Rep. Graves has provided a number of justifications in support of such […]
Sunset over Stellwagen Sanctuary. Photo courtesy of Anne Smrcina, NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary When various conservation organizations began pushing the concept of marine protected areas (MPAs) back in the late 1990s, I didn’t like the idea at all. Back then, the MPAs being proposed were, with few if any exceptions, so-called “ocean wilderness […]
For many years, reducing or eliminating “bycatch,” unwanted fish or other creatures incidentally caught by fishermen while seeking other species, has been a goal of fisheries managers. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens), defines “bycatch” as “fish which are harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or kept for personal use, […]
Photo: Black sea bass caught off a wreck near Fire Island Last October, I was trolling east off New York’s Fire Island when I happened to glance out to sea. Off in the distance, perhaps two or three miles south of where I was fishing, I noticed a party boat anchored up over an inshore […]
Today, red snapper management in the Gulf of Mexico may be the most bitterly debated issue in fisheries management. By 1990, the stock was badly overfished. Abundance had fallen so low that the population retained only 2.6% of its spawning potential. Since then, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) implemented a successful recovery plan. Spawning […]
Summer Flounder photo courtesy of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation When there are lots of fish, they’re easy to manage. The best example might be scup in the northeast. Abundance is twice the biomass target; in recent years, neither the recreational nor the commercial landings have approached the annual catch limit. Badly depleted stocks can also […]
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