On the long road to change, we encounter twists and turns, roadblocks and detours. Right now, on the way to changing the way we allocate Atlantic menhaden among fishermen and other predators in the ocean (e.g., striped bass), we are at a crossroads. For well over a decade, the ASMFC’s Menhaden Management Board has been […]
There’s been a dramatic shift in fisheries lately, and folks should be aware of how the changes could alter the future of our public resource. Namely, the word “economics” slowly started to creep into the fisheries management conversation several years ago. The concept of economics is covered in the National Standard 8: Conservation and management […]
Amy Baird with a 21-pound lower Columbia River Chinook caught on 8/10/16 with pro guide Bob Rees It’s smoldering hot in my hometown near Portland, OR right now. I’m chomping at the bit to head back to the coast, where cooler breezes and biting salmon are about to grace my vessel, to ply the lower […]
Photo by John McMurray From the outside looking in, fisheries management can appear complicated and frustrating. There are many sectors with different agendas. Each sector wants rules that are friendly to their position relative to the best available science and their opinions. I’ve sat in countless council meetings, commissions, and workgroups over the years. It […]
Photo: Atlantic Cod, by Joachim S. Mueller It’s the middle of summer. Forty years ago, I would have been fishing for cod southeast of Rhode Island. That might catch some people by surprise, because they think of cod as a cold-water species that only appears off New York and southern New England during the dead […]
Photo by John McMurray When fisheries close abruptly, the questions come a-lobbin’. Most of my fellow fishermen get rather anxious, questioning whether our fishery managers are accurate in their assessments of the harvest. Although I will claim a bias, since I worked for both state and federal fisheries agencies, I certainly subscribed to the statistical […]
Youth fishing camp participants caught on quickly. By day three, they were casting from shore like pros. “Catching fish is a blast… I caught eight fish today and four yesterday,” said Aiden Plante, a 10-year-old who attended the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association’s (RISAA) Youth Fishing Camp last month. Aiden was one of fifty children […]
Some may be cheering the Secretary of Commerce’s decision to overrule ASMFC on summer flounder, but in the end, Jersey may have really screwed us If you are a regular reader, you likely know the controversy surrounding summer flounder (aka fluke). And I’m guessing you’re probably up to speed on the striped bass situation, too […]
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