Rep. Huffman Reintroduces Salmon Habitat Restoration Legislation

Rep. Huffman Reintroduces Salmon Habitat Restoration Legislation

Rep. Huffman is no stranger to the importance of salmon to the Pacific Northwest or the challenges these iconic fish face, as stated in his press release for the reintroduction of the Salmon FISH Act (H.R. 649): “The ecological, cultural, and economic importance of salmon is hard to overstate; they support tens of thousands of […]

Mid-Atlantic Council’s Unmanaged Forage Fish Protections Put to the Test

Mid-Atlantic Council’s Unmanaged Forage Fish Protections Put to the Test

This article originally appeared in the Wild Oceans Horizon newsletter. Meeting the Challenge of a Shifting Prey Base The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Unmanaged Forage Omnibus Amendment (UFOA) stands as a testament to the value of stakeholder engagement in our fishery management process. The amendment “prohibits the development of new and expansion of existing directed […]

Mid-Atlantic Black Sea Bass: “Is The Magnuson Act Optional?”

Mid-Atlantic Black Sea Bass: “Is The Magnuson Act Optional?”

Of all the fisheries on the East Coast, the mid-Atlantic black sea bass stock may present the most challenging management issues. The fish aren’t in immediate peril; the most recent stock assessment update indicated that spawning stock biomass was more than twice the target level. Overfishing is not taking place, and young fish continue to […]

The Wild Steelhead Coalition’s Call to Arms

The Wild Steelhead Coalition’s Call to Arms

“As fish runs have fallen year after year, we all crowd onto the few rivers that still remain open and pointlessly argue online about who is to blame for the situation. The baseline has kept shifting downward until today when we have reached an undeniable inflection point where hype has finally run up against heartbreaking, […]

Because It’s Always Easier to Conserve Someone Else’s Fish

Because It’s Always Easier to Conserve Someone Else’s Fish

Top photo by by Mark Conlin, SWFSC Large Pelagics Program In September 2021, at a meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO), the United States, supported by the European Union and other nations, proposed that NAFO ban the retention of Greenland sharks accidentally caught in the Arctic and western Atlantic waters that fall under […]

The Pendulum Swings for Bristol Bay

The Pendulum Swings for Bristol Bay

Top photo: Bristol Bay sockeye salmon, via Earthjustice and courtesy Of Fish Eye Guy Photography The fight to protect Bristol Bay’s still near-pristine ecosystem, which includes the world’s largest run of wild salmon, untainted by hatchery fish—or, if you’re on the other side of the issue, the fight to develop the Pebble Mine and its […]

Recreational Fishery Reform in the Mid-Atlantic: Sidestepping Magnuson-Stevens?

Recreational Fishery Reform in the Mid-Atlantic: Sidestepping Magnuson-Stevens?

Since March 2019, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council), in conjunction with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), has been working on what they call the “Recreational Reform Initiative,” (Initiative) a project that could completely change the way recreational fisheries are managed in the mid-Atlantic region. The Council describes the Initiative this way: The […]