Voices Opposing H.R. 3094, the ‘Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act’

Voices Opposing H.R. 3094, the ‘Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act’

Learn more about red snapper and what you can do to oppose H.R. 3094. H.R. 3094 is the latest attempt to disrupt a fisheries management process that puts science and stakeholders first. We should be striving to improve the solid procedural foundation established by the Magnuson-Stevens Act, rather than undermining it with piecemeal exemptions. — […]

Who Gets The Fish?

Who Gets The Fish?

Summer Flounder, photo via NOAA Of all the issues that face fisheries managers, probably none are as controversial as reallocating harvest. It’s a no-win issue for regulators. The need to establish annual catch limits makes fisheries management a zero-sum game. The only way to increase the landings of one group of fishermen is to decrease […]

Salmon are Forest Products, Too

Salmon are Forest Products, Too

Photo: three nice ocean-caught hatchery coho from 9/7/16. Hatchery coho don’t exhibit the same fitness level as wild coho, but they aren’t as susceptible to natural disasters that effect wild coho return rates either. It’s not often that I stray from the salt in this blog, but Judge Daniel Murphy of Linn County has been […]

The Fishing Season is A-Changin’

The Fishing Season is A-Changin’

Breaching humpback whale in front of the Hammond Boat Basin in mid-August of 2016. How ironic is it that this was the site where Free Willy was filmed, jumping over the very jetty seen in the background here? It’s been over a year now since the Marine Fish Conservation Network began broadcasting our blog posts […]

Gulf States Fisheries Managers Fail Speckled Trout

Gulf States Fisheries Managers Fail Speckled Trout

As part of the ongoing red snapper debate, various “anglers’ rights” organizations frequently tout the superiority of state fisheries managers, when compared to their counterparts at the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). One such organization, the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), has frequently expressed its support for H.R. 3094, legislation that would strip NMFS of all […]

The Future of Our Fisheries is Us

The Future of Our Fisheries is Us

Photo: Melissa Peterson & Bob Rees with a Chinook salmon Soon after I started guiding professionally, I noticed a new level of consciousness come over me, particularly about what was going on around me in the natural world, where I suddenly became a much bigger player in the direct interaction with and impact on the […]