Posts by jhodnett

  • April 01, 2013

    Fishery Council Adopts A New Plan for a Fish-Eat-Fish World

    Little fish took center stage at the Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, Oregon on April 9th, when the Council voted to take fisheries management in a new direction – one that takes into account the overall health of the California Current ecosystem, starting with protection of the small bait fish that are fed...
  • March 11, 2013

    Plan eyes new way to manage fisheries

    It would boost salmon by protecting fish they eat A draft ecological plan now under review could mark a subtle but significant shift in the way policymakers manage West Coast fisheries. The Fisheries Ecosystem Plan also highlights an often overlooked path to boosting the populations of salmon and other marine wildlife: protecting the small forage...
  • March 03, 2013

    Entangled: Swordfish, Turtles & More

    by Ken Hinman The Pacific Fishery Management Council recently took a pass on proposals to expand the use of drift entanglement nets off the west coast, opting instead for another year of study. I went to meetings of the federal council in Tacoma, Washington last weekend to testify in favor of phasing-out the nets entirely…

  • February 10, 2013

    Protecting the Prey Base

    Protecting the prey fish, the predator fish and fisheries that depend on them, as well as the survival of marine mammals and seabirds, is sound environmental and economic policy. It’s a win for all of us. For wild oceans and the future of fishing.

  • February 07, 2013

    Wild Oceans Receives Prestigious Conservation Award for Billfish Work

    Wild Oceans received the International Game Fish Association’s Conservation Award for 2013 at IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum in Dania Beach, Florida on January 25th. Wild Oceans was recognized for its work in passing The Billfish Conservation Act of 2012, according to IGFA president Rob Kramer. Tim Choate, Wild Oceans chair, also received...
  • January 17, 2013

    NOAA Fisheries Implements International Provisions of the Shark Conservation Act

    NOAA Fisheries has stepped up measures to protect sharks from the lucrative shark fin trade. New regulations issued on January 16th to implement international provisions of the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 require the United States to identify nations whose fishing vessels catch sharks on the high seas but whose regulations are not up to...
  • January 17, 2013

    NOAA Fisheries Implements International Provisions of the Shark Conservation Act

    NOAA Fisheries has stepped up measures to protect sharks from the lucrative shark fin trade. New regulations issued on January 16th to implement international provisions of the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 require the United States to identify nations whose fishing vessels catch sharks on the high seas but whose regulations are not up to...
  • January 02, 2013

    Bring back the big fish

    By removing too many of the sea’s keystone predators. We weaken an entire tier at the top of the food chain. This may have dire biological consequences throughout the ecosystem far beyond the social. Economic and moral costs of depleted ocean fisheries

  • December 12, 2012

    Protecting West Coast Forage Fish

    The Pacific Fishery Management Council moved forward with an historic Fishery Ecosystem Plan for the West Coast. The council regulates fishing in federal waters off California, Oregon and Washington, including key forage species such as sardine, mackerel, anchovy and squid. “The new plan will give greater protection to forage fish by prohibiting new fisheries for...