Top Photo: Gulf of Maine Atlantic Cod, by Joachim S. Mueller One of the most frustrating aspects of fisheries management is the fact that two people—or, more often, two groups of people—can look at the same set of facts and come to two very different conclusions. It’s not unusual for scientists who manage fish stocks […]
Category Archives: Commercial Fishing
Safeguarding Forage: New Action Underway in New England to Protect Critical Forage Fish Species
This article is reprinted with permission from the latest edition of the Wild Oceans Horizon newsletter. For the past year, Wild Oceans and a core group of partners built a coalition of more than thirty recreational fishing, watershed, and environmental organizations to bring about a new action to develop near-shore protections for Atlantic herring, river […]
Striped Bass: Lessons from the Last Stock Collapse Could Help Prevent the Next One
When the Chesapeake Bay striped bass stock collapsed in the late 1970s, people tried to figure out why. Recreational fishermen were quick to point fingers at the commercial sector, which was not yet burdened by significant regulation. There were no gear restrictions and no annual quotas, and the fishery accounted for a larger share of […]
The Science is the Science
Is the Science Perfect? No, But Without It, We Got Noth’n’ Hey, man… I’m gonna admit here that sometimes I have a real hard time understanding the science behind fisheries management decisions. What I mean really is not just the nuts and bolts on how fisheries scientists get to the numbers that they do, but […]
Salmon, Subsistence, Pebble Mine & More: Watch the Waterside Chat with SalmonState’s Melanie Brown
SalmonState’s Melanie Brown joined the Marine Fish Conservation Network for an online Waterside Chat on January 23rd, 2024. Melanie fishes commercially in Bristol Bay in Alaska, the fourth generation of her family to make a living on the water. In her role as outreach director at SalmonState, Melanie builds spheres of influence to address marine […]
Join Our January Waterside Chat with Melanie Brown; Watch our December Chat with Kevin Scribner
Join us on January 23rd for the Marine Fish Conservation Network’s next online Waterside Chat, featuring Alaska’s Melanie Brown, outreach director at SalmonState. Besides her work with Salmon State, Melanie also fishes commercially in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Her children are now following in her footsteps as fifth-generation fishermen. Melanie and host Tom Sadler will talk […]
Mid-Atlantic ‘Harvest Control Rule’: One Year Later
At its June 2022 meeting, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) adopted the so-called “Percent Change Approach” (PCA) for managing the recreational summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries; the PCA will also be used to manage the recreational bluefish fishery, once the bluefish stock is no longer subject to its current rebuilding plan. […]
Reintroduced: The Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act
U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Rob Wittman (R-Va.) have reintroduced the bipartisan Keep America’s Waterfronts Working Act, H.R. 6641. The legislation establishes a Working Waterfront Grant Program to help preserve and expand access to coastal waters for water-dependent businesses, create a Working Waterfronts Preservation Loan Fund to make funds available through state governments for […]