The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) recently announced the 2017 Gulf of Mexico three-day federal-water season. It’s disappointing. My Louisiana roots go back to the Colonial French and many generations strong. Though my pride for the state runs deep, I find myself disheartened that my state and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fish (LDWF) […]
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 […]
It is said that if someone is completely happy at the end of a compromise, then there truly was never a compromise at all. This is as evident as ever at any Gulf Council meeting, which often is a frustrating week that leads to a lot of postponed decision making and plenty of hard feelings. […]
Photo: David Appolonia of South Kingstown, Rhode Island with a school bluefin tuna It’s 2017 and the fish are on the run. They’re actually under attack. They have always been running from other fish that seek them out as prey and mankind that catches them to eat. This is only natural. However, today the fish […]
Guide Chris Vertopoulos (left) and client Jim Lorenz with a wild-released Sandy River steelhead from April 10, 2017 No 26-year fishing guide should be expected to don a three-piece suit more than a few times over his or her career. When said 26-year fishing guide does don a three-piece suit seven times in just two […]
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 […]
Young fishermen advocate for fisheries access in Washington, DC. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. To many Alaskans, it is not news that it is becoming increasingly difficult for new entrants to join the commercial fishing fleet. Fishery access permits and quota are being lost from rural Alaska communities. Studies show that the […]
Top photo: Linda Behnken, Kent Barkhau and canine friend on the water Fishery managers and fishermen recognize that good catch accounting is essential to sustainable fisheries. Collecting data on fish delivered to the dock presents one set of challenges; collecting data on fish captured at sea but then released or discarded for regulatory or market […]
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