It’s impossible to count every fish caught by recreational fishermen, yet accurate recreational catch and landings data are an essential part of the fisheries management process. Thus, saltwater fisheries managers are constantly seeking better estimates of anglers catch, landings, and effort. Currently, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) employs the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) […]
Category Archives: Recreational Fishing
Striped Bass Addendum II Will Promote Rebuilding
Top photo by John McMurray At its May 2023 meeting, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC’s) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (Management Board) learned that recreational striped bass landings had nearly doubled in 2022 and that, unless fishing mortality was reduced, there was little chance that the striped bass stock would be rebuilt by […]
Whistling Past the Graveyard
Fisheries don’t collapse all at once. Instead, they telegraph their distress with signals that may be subtle at the start, but grow more insistent as stocks decline. Often, at least in the case of migratory stocks, the first sign of trouble might be a contraction of the fish’s range. On the East Coast of the […]
JUST GO!
Get Out from Behind Your Computer, and You’ll Find That the Glass Ain’t Half Empty… Man… I hate social media, and…I love it. If you are in the charter fishing business, one-hundred-percent, you get what I’m say’n’. Folks see you’re catching fish, they book charters. I mean, the truth is that I built a business, […]
The Gulf Council Needs a Balance of Voices
The Gulf of Mexico’s most valuable fish stocks are under threat as years of conservation and fishery success are quickly becoming unraveled. Gag grouper and greater amberjack face 70-80% quota reductions. As of 2017, red grouper spawning biomass is the lowest it has ever been. Even the celebrated red snapper fishery is in decline. This […]
Recreational Fishing Economics is All About the Data
Spud Woodward, member of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, said managing maximum sustainable yield does not work for catch & release fisheries. NMFS Holds First Recreational Fishing Economic Workshop in Nine Years Why is fishing catch and effort data so important to recreational fishing economics? First the obvious, […]
Thoughts on a 28 To 31″ Slot Limit for Stripers
In a Move that Caught Many in the Fishing Business Off-Guard, ASMFC Takes Emergency Action I run a light-tackle charter-fishing operation in New York, so let me start by saying that the striped bass fishing right now is good… I mean, really good! As is generally the case with recreational fisheries, abundance drives participation… and […]
ASMFC Acts to Rebuild Striped Bass
On May 2, 2023, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board (Board) took two decisive actions that will hopefully ensure that the currently overfished striped bass stock will be fully rebuilt by 2029. Six months ago, such actions didn’t appear to be needed. The ASMFC’s Atlantic Striped Bass Technical Committee […]