Mid-Atlantic Fisheries: Time To Abandon the Past, And Embrace the Future

Mid-Atlantic Fisheries:  Time To Abandon the Past, And Embrace the Future

“Them that’s got shall get Them that’s not shall lose…” Billie Holiday, from “God Bless the Child“ When jazz singer Billie Holiday belted out the words to “God Bless the Child” back in 1941, she certainly wasn’t thinking about fisheries. But some of the words of that song still apply, as fisheries managers, reflecting fishermen’s […]

“Recreational Reform” at the Mid-Atlantic Council

“Recreational Reform” at the Mid-Atlantic Council

Top photo: Charles Witek with black sea bass Since March 2019, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board (Management Board) have been quietly working on changing the way that some recreational fisheries are managed. The reform initiative […]

ASMFC Holds Eventful Summer Meeting

ASMFC Holds Eventful Summer Meeting

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) held its regular summer meeting on August 3-6, when it addressed a number of issues that will impact anglers in New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Big decision on Atlantic menhaden The biggest news to come out of the meeting was the Atlantic Menhaden Management Board’s (Menhaden Board) decision […]

Saltwater Fisheries Managers Ignore the Benefits of Catch and Release

Saltwater Fisheries Managers Ignore the Benefits of Catch and Release

Photo by John Papciak, North Bar Media An operational stock assessment, released in August 2019 (Bluefish Assessment) advised that bluefish are overfished. In response, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Bluefish Management Board (Bluefish Board), is preparing a Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment (Rebuilding Amendment). […]

Executive Order Could Impact Coastal Fisheries, Habitats: Part II

Executive Order Could Impact Coastal Fisheries, Habitats: Part II

Aquaculture Read the first installment of this two-part series, which covered International Fisheries, International Trade, and Commercial Fishing Regulations. President Trump’s “Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” (Executive Order) touched on a number of seafood-related topics, but the greatest part of the document was focused on offshore aquaculture. It’s easy to […]

Executive Order Could Impact Coastal Fisheries, Habitats: Part I

Executive Order Could Impact Coastal Fisheries, Habitats: Part I

International Fisheries, International Trade, and Commercial Fishing Regulations Read the second installment of this two-part series, which covers aquaculture. On May 7, 2020, President Donald Trump issued an “Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth” (Executive Order). Unlike many executive orders, which are relatively brief and limited in scope, the most recent […]

COVID-19 Impacts Fisheries Management

COVID-19 Impacts Fisheries Management

Photo by John McMurray COVID-19 has disrupted businesses, people’s lives, and government functions. The fisheries management system has not been immune to its effects. At the state, regional and national level, some fisheries management meetings have been postponed, while others have been converted from in-person meetings to webinars where only the most urgent matters are […]

Released Fish: Neither Discards Nor Bycatch

Released Fish: Neither Discards Nor Bycatch

Bluefish photo by John McMurray Language has power. Although words seem ephemeral, they have the ability to transform how we perceive every part of our world. Just consider the words “used car.” When you first hear them spoken, you might think of some hard-driven clunker sitting on a lot amid dozens of its kind, with […]