Excused Absence

Excused Absence

Top photo: Malheur National Forest Recently, I made a much-anticipated return to Malheur National Forest to hunt for elk. Maybe I was forecasting my own fate, but I prefaced my excitement internally and externally with the statement, “I don’t even care if I harvest an elk, I just really enjoy walking through the woods this […]

Working Waterfront Preservation Act Would Provide Needed Funding to Coastal Businesses

Working Waterfront Preservation Act Would Provide Needed Funding to Coastal Businesses

Earlier this month, U.S. Senator Susan Collins of Maine introduced S. 3180, the “Working Waterfront Preservation Act,” which would establish a grant program to help preserve waterfronts in coastal communities. Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island cosponsored the legislation, and it was referred to the Senate Energy and Public Works Committee. The Network’s support for […]

The Changing Face of Sportfishing

The Changing Face of Sportfishing

When I first started my guide business over 27 years ago, I knew switching professions from a field biologist that strived to conserve salmon, to becoming reliant on the health of a natural resource for consumptive use, was a risk. I was willing to accept that risk because, hey, I was skipping out of work […]

Poor Striped Bass Recruitment Continues to Threaten Stock

Poor Striped Bass Recruitment Continues to Threaten Stock

Top photo by Capt. Dave Monti The Chesapeake Bay produces most of the migratory striped bass on the Atlantic Coast, and about two-thirds of those Chesapeake bass are spawned in Maryland’s waters. Maryland spawning success is so important to the overall health of the striped bass stock that, at the November 2022 meeting of the […]

Watch: Waterside Chat with Joel Johnson of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Watch: Waterside Chat with Joel Johnson of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation

Joel Johnson, the President and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation, joined the Marine Fish Conservation Network and host Tom Sadler for an online Waterside Chat on September 22, 2023. The foundation is a leading voice for U.S. protected waters, working with communities to conserve and expand those special places for a healthy ocean, […]

Pacific Council Decisions to Include Climate Science

Pacific Council Decisions to Include Climate Science

This piece is reprinted with permission from the latest edition of the Wild Oceans Horizon newsletter. Last year, the Pacific Fishery Management Council recognized that increasing climate variability and changing ocean conditions could adversely affect West Coast fisheries and communities and began Fishery Ecosystem Plan Initiative 4 to incorporate ecosystem information into council decision-making. A […]