The Past and Future of Menhaden

Author: Wild Ocean Team Posted Under: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Menhaden, Blog, Prey Base

ASMFC INITIATES AMENDMENT 3 TO PROTECT ATLANTIC MENHADEN AS FORAGE On May 5th, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission had one foot in the past and one in the future. At the same meeting where it approved a modest increase in the coast-wide quota based on an out-moded single-species stock assessment, the Menhaden ...

Budget Dumpster Shines Spotlight on Wild Oceans Accomplishments

Author: Wild Ocean Team Posted Under: Blog, Wild Oceans, Our News

Budget Dumpster, a nationally renowned dumpster rental company with a strong commitment to sustainability, profiles “the best cities, companies, organizations and individuals who go above and beyond to improve the environment.”  Wild Oceans is proud to be featured in the company’s latest Profiles in Environmentalism, a regular segment in their blog The Fill.

Menhaden Bait and Switch

Author: Ken Hinman Posted Under: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Menhaden, Blog, Prey Base

WILL THE ASMFC SNATCH DEFEAT FROM THE JAWS OF VICTORY?” By Ken Hinman On Tuesday, May 5, a 15-state ASMFC Menhaden Management Board will decide the next steps in conserving “the most important fish in the sea,” based on the latest stock assessment; that is, whether to continue toward an ...

A Gift to the Sea

Author: Wild Ocean Team Posted Under: Blog, Wild Oceans, Our News

Stephanie Choate, winner of the 2014 Fishing World Cup, donated $100,000 from her tournament winnings to Wild Oceans, a conservation group dedicated to the future of ocean fishing. She is pictured here with Wild Oceans president Ken Hinman, Wild Oceans Board Chairman Tim Choate, Vice Chairman Rick Weber, and Board ...

Sharks, Rays Win New Trade Protections

Author: Wild Ocean Team Posted Under: Blog, Sharks, Big Fish

Five species of sharks and two types of manta rays won new safeguards Monday, as delegates to a global wildlife summit voted to limit the trade of species that have been overharvested for decades. http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/sharks-rays-win-new-trade-protections/2013/03/11/c4f8997e-8a7a-11e2-8d72-dc76641cb8d4_story.html

Marking Time On Menhaden

Author: Ken Hinman Posted Under: Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, Menhaden, Blog, Prey Base

New Menhaden Stock Assessment Highlights, Yet Again, the Need for Ecosystem Goals By Ken Hinman “We have all been here before.” – David Crosby, Déjà Vu The just-published 2015 Atlantic menhaden stock assessment says the species is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring. Okay, we’ve heard that before. But what does ...

Protecting the Mid-Atlantic’s Coral Canyons

Author: Pam Lyons Gromen Posted Under: Blog, Habitat, Ecosystems

by Pam Lyons Gromen In the Summer 2014 issue of the Wild Oceans Horizon, we reported on recent discoveries of coral communities in the cold, dark waters of the Atlantic’s offshore canyons, and the efforts of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to protect these unique and important habitats. Packaged as Amendment ...

Lines Out for Bluefin

Author: Wild Ocean Team Posted Under: Blog, Sustainable Fishing Practices, Big Fish

NOAA CLOSES MORE WATERS TO LONGLINING, WILL CLOSE FISHERY IF IT REACHES BYCATCH CAP October 2014 Five years ago, when NOAA Fisheries announced they were looking for ways to limit the longline bycatch and discard of Atlantic bluefin tuna, we had some suggestions. In August 2009, Wild Oceans (then NCMC)recommended a comprehensive conservation program ...

The Other World Cup

Author: Stephanie Choate Posted Under: Blog, Billfish, Marlin, Big Fish

STEPHANIE CHOATE CELEBRATES HER INDEPENDENCE BY WINNING THE WORLD BLUE MARLIN CHAMPIONSHIP By Stephanie Choate I came to Kona, Hawaii with the understanding that it had fish – and big fish at that. I had previously fished the World Cup in Cape Verde and Madeira, but I never saw a ...

Mid-Atlantic Council Strengthens River Herring & Shad Protections for 2015

Author: Pam Lyons Gromen Posted Under: Herring, Councils, Blog

By Pam Lyons Gromen – I have good news from Freehold, New Jersey where the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met last week from June 10-12. The Council’s newly-formed River Herring & Shad Committee significantly reduced the allowable bycatch of imperiled blueback herring, alewives and shad for the 2015 Atlantic mackerel ...