Category: Blog
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 ...
Mid-Atlantic Council to Make Critical Decision for Future of River Herrings
By Pam Lyons Gromen – In 2009, Wild Oceans brought attention to the plight of the Atlantic’s river-spawning herrings in an article entitled Out of Bounds. Coastwide, populations of alewives, blueback herring and American shad had plummeted to record lows. We argued that saving these critical forage fish required conservation ...
Pacific Council on the Right Path to Safeguard Forage
By Theresa Labriola – Thanks to everyone who signed our petition asking the Pacific Fishery Management Council to initiate a process for developing a forage status indicator. In June, I traveled to the Council meeting in Garden Grove, California to hand deliver your petition to the Council. While there, I ...
5-Year Plan Offers Promising Future for Mid-Atlantic Fisheries
Tell the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council that You Support Their Commitment to Ocean Stewardship! The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is seeking public comment on a draft strategic plan that outlines the Council’s vision, mission and strategic goals for 5 years spanning 2014 through 2018. Developed from extensive stakeholder outreach and ...
Subscribe to Wild Oceans Horizons
Share Your Email to Receive Our Newsletter