The Bluefish Conundrum

The Bluefish Conundrum

It’s difficult to describe what fishing for bluefish was like in Long Island Sound forty or fifty years ago. Back in the ‘70s and ‘80s, and for a while after that, bluefish defined the summer fishery along the Connecticut shore. Every morning, in at least one local harbor, untold hundreds of bluefish, many of them […]

Gulf of Mexico Port Ambassador Program: Peer-to-Peer Networks Can Ease Implementation of New Data Collection Systems

Gulf of Mexico Port Ambassador Program: Peer-to-Peer Networks Can Ease Implementation of New Data Collection Systems

This article first appeared on EM4Fish and is reprinted with permission. Top photo: Port Ambassador meets with a group of local charter for-hire captains to walk through the ELB program and system requirements. Photo Credit: Bobby Kelly Industry Takes Initiative to Improve Data Collection and their Fishery The Port Ambassador program is a peer-to-peer industry-led […]

Why Do We Need a Crisis to ‘Organize?’

Why Do We Need a Crisis to ‘Organize?’

I’ve spent a fair amount of my adult life organizing anglers to do good for fish. It seems that unless there’s a crisis (i.e. hatcheries closing) most anglers are content just going about their business, taking advantage of the good times, and critiquing agency policy during the bad times. I think it may stem from […]

Bristol Bay Update: Your Chance to Help Protect the Bay Today

Bristol Bay Update: Your Chance to Help Protect the Bay Today

Top photo: Brown bear fishing in the Bristol Bay watershed, just one of the countless animals that depend on the bounty of the bay At the Marine Fish Conservation Network, we’ve advocated for protecting Bristol Bay in Alaska for many years. Today we have news to share and an opportunity for you to take action […]

Happy World Ocean Day 2022

Happy World Ocean Day 2022

In celebration of World Ocean Day, the Marine Fish Conservation Network and our partners are reflecting on what the ocean means to our planet, our communities and our way of life. “Since time immemorial, fisheries have supported diverse indigenous cultures. For centuries, small-scale fisheries have been the economic engine of coastal communities. In return, fishermen […]

Council Staff, Scientists Caution Against Mid-Atlantic “Harvest Control Rule”

Council Staff, Scientists Caution Against Mid-Atlantic “Harvest Control Rule”

Top photo by John McMurray For more than two years, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Interstate Fishery Management Program Policy Board (Policy Board) have been working on something they call a “Harvest Control Rule” (Control Rule), which could make very significant changes to the way that the […]