Renewing the Magnuson Act, Part 1
Keep the nation on the Path to Sustainable Fisheries One of the issues getting a lot of attention in the run-up to another reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (along with ecosystem-based management, upcoming in Renewing the Magnuson Act, Part 2) is adding “flexibility” to federal requirements ...
NOAA Ponders Seafood Certification
“SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT GET INTO THE BUSINESS OF CERTIFYING FISHERIES?” By Ken Hinman The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is seeking public input on a proposal to certify United States seafood as “sustainable.” The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which sets the standards for federally-managed fisheries, would provide the basis ...
Pacific Council Makes Plans to Phase-Out Drift Nets
Pacific Council Makes Plans to Phase-Out Drift Nets The Pacific Fishery Management Council, at its March meeting in Sacramento, Calif., took several steps toward developing a “comprehensive plan” for moving away from the use of drift gill nets to catch swordfish in favor of more “environmentally and economically sustainable” types ...
Get Rid of Drift Nets, Bring in Safer, “Greener” Gears
It’s Time to Remove Mile-Long Entanglement Nets from the California Coast Wild Oceans is urging the Pacific Fishery Management Council to phase-out the use of drift gill nets in the west coast swordfish fisheries and begin phasing-in more sustainable alternative gears demonstrated to have minimal bycatch of non-target billfish, sharks, sea ...
250 Million More Menhaden In 2014
MENHADEN CONSERVATION MEASURES LEAVE MORE PREY IN THE WATER TO SUSTAIN PREDATORS 250 million menhaden! That’s the estimated number of these vital forage fish left in the water in 2013 to feed Atlantic striped bass, bluefin tuna, osprey, whales and myriad other marine animals, because of a new east coast ...
“End the Wasteful Bycatch of Bluefin”, Public Tells NMFS
Fishermen and Conservationists Call on NMFS to Enact Tough New Rules to Limit Indiscriminate Longlines The people have spoken. On January 10, 2014, the public comment period on new measures to reduce the number of Atlantic bluefin tuna hooked and killed by pelagic longliners came to an end. By all accounts, thousands of ...
Support Measures to Limit Longlining to Protect Bluefin Tuna and Other Big Fish
The National Marine Fisheries Service has proposed new measures to protect one of the ocean’s most threatened species of fish, the Atlantic bluefin tuna, from one of the most lethally indiscriminate types of fishing gear, the pelagic longline. Longliners fishing for swordfish and yellowfin tuna typically hang hundreds of hooks ...
Commission Votes for More Striped Bass Conservation
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted this week to develop management options for reducing fishing pressure on striped bass beginning with the 2015 season. The action by the 15-state commission came in response to a new assessment of the coastal striper stock, presented at the ASMFC’s Annual Meeting October ...
Coming Together: Striped Bass and Menhaden
By Ken Hinman Two iconic fish – the striped bass, perhaps the most popular game fish on the east coast, and menhaden, the prey of choice for stripers and dozens of other coastal Atlantic predators – will be the topic of discussions at the upcoming Annual Meeting of the Atlantic States Marine ...
BCA Closer to Complete Ban on US Mainland Billfish Sales
When the Billfish Conservation Act (BCA) was signed into US law nearly a year ago, conservationists worldwide cheered that the globe’s largest market for imported marlin, sailfish, and spearfish would soon be closed. Although the challenge of getting a bill passed through the legislative process was won, there is still work to ...
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