Capt. John McMurray of One More Cast Charters, NY testified last Wednesday before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife. Anglers, guides, charter captains and fishing industry leaders met in Washington, DC recently to push to maintain strong conservation measures in our national fishing law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). Provisions such as […]
Category Archives: Recreational Fishing
House Starts Dialogue to Build on Magnuson-Stevens Act Success
Water, Oceans & Wildlife Subcommittee Hearing Recap On Wednesday, May 1, 2019, Chairman Jared Huffman (D-CA) called the Water, Oceans and Wildlife subcommittee to order for a two-panel, educational hearing on “The State of Fisheries.” The first panel focused on illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing – often referred to as IUU fishing. The second panel […]
The ASMFC’s Big Mistake
Striped Bass Photo by John McMurray The 1980s and early 1990s were a bad time for Atlantic Coast fisheries. While the Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 1976 had successfully pushed most foreign fishing vessels out of U.S. waters, it failed to protect fish populations from overharvest by the United States’ fleet, while providing domestic […]
Many Hands Benefit from Bristol Bay
Photo by Joanne Teasdale I am fairly certain that my ancestors found a home in Bristol Bay because of the salmon. It is hard to say exactly when they arrived, but I know that it is the Naknek River salmon that sustained them. There are many waves of peopling that have occurred in Bristol Bay […]
A View from the Hill: April 2019
Capitol Hill has been abuzz with its annual spending deliberations as the appropriations season has started full tilt over the last several weeks. The House Appropriations Committee alone has held nearly 50 subcommittee budget hearings, including one with Dr. Neil Jacobs, acting administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, discussing and defending the NOAA […]
ASMFC: A Matter Of Priorities
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon. Matthew 6:24 The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has been maddeningly ineffective when it comes to rebuilding fish stocks […]
Florida’s ‘Oceans Day’ Priorities
Each Florida legislative session, the Florida Ocean Alliance, a coalition of research institutions, coastal and marine business interests, and conservation groups, organizes “Oceans Day” in the state capitol building in Tallahassee, Florida. If you happen to be in Tallahassee next week, the event will take place on April 2nd. Oceans Day has always been an […]
We Must Choose Fish
Photo: Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, via NOAA Authors who contribute to this blog — including myself — are fond of stating that because of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the United States has the best fisheries management system in the world. It’s hard to argue with the results. 45 stocks have been rebuilt and the […]