Victories

  • December 26, 2022

    CONGRESS FINALIZES THE END OF DRIFT GILLNETS IN U.S. OCEANS

    December 26, 2022 In the final days of 2022, Congress sunsetted the last remaining large mesh drift gillnet fishery in the United States.  At a time when few issues find consensus, the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act found support from a diverse coalition of sport fishermen, recreational fishing businesses, ocean conservationists and wildlife advocates....
  • February 25, 2022

    A Respite for Mako

    February 24, 2022 A Respite for Mako ICCAT INITIATES 2-YEAR RETENTION BAN In November, after more than a decade of warning about the vulnerability and decline of North Atlantic shortfin mako shark, international managers banned the retention of all shortfin mako sharks for two years. International scientists have advised that a moratorium is the most...
  • December 12, 2020

    Bipartisan Bill Phases Out Drift Gillnets

    Update: You might have heard that the federal legislation to end the use of drift gillnets in US waters received a Presidential Veto on New Year’s Day. But, Senator Feinstein, the lead sponsor of the legislation, has promised to have the final word and reintroduce this legislation on the first day of the new Congress!…

  • August 08, 2020

    We’ve Moved the Line for Menhaden

    08/08/2020 On August 5th, Atlantic menhaden management reached a critical milestone.  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted unanimously to adopt ecological reference points (ERPs) that will be used to set annual catch levels for the Atlantic coast.  With so many predators – from bluefish and striped bass to ospreys...
  • February 10, 2020

    2019: An Extraordinary Year

    Our Year in Review by Pam Lyons Gromen, Executive Director 2019 was an extraordinary year for Wild Oceans. Our long-time leader Ken Hinman stepped down after 41 years serving as our organization president and joined our Board of Directors. Rob Kramer, the former President of the International Game Fish Association, stepped in and hit the…

  • January 10, 2020

    Commerce Secretary Upholds Chesapeake Bay Menhaden Cap

    by Pam Lyons Gromen, Wild Oceans Executive Director Virginia's Menhaden Fishery to Shut Down in June 2020 if it Doesn't Take Action to Comply with the Bay Cap December 20, 2019 The U.S. Department of Commerce is standing by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's (ASMFC) decision to find the Commonwealth of Virginia out of...
  • December 06, 2019

    Press Release: Sportfishing Community Successfully Halts Expanding Longlines On The West Coast

    For Immediate Release: Sportfishing Community Successfully Halts Expanding Longlines On The West Coast November 22, 2019 – This week, in a win for the sportfishing community, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council voted to not proceed with consideration of an amendment that would authorize shallow-set longline gear in West Coast highly migratory species. “As leaders in…

  • April 22, 2019

    Mid-Atlantic Council Takes on Management of Emerging Chub Mackerel Fishery

    Mid-Atlantic Council Takes on Management of Emerging Fishery On March 7th, The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted to bring chub mackerel into the existing fishery management plan (FMP) for Atlantic mackerel, longfin squid, shortfin squid and butterfish.  Wild Oceans supported the Council’s decision, emphasizing that chub mackerel, like the other species in the FMP, are...
  • October 01, 2018

    Victory for Atlantic Herring

    Fed upon by a long list of ocean wildlife from whales to seabirds to tuna, Atlantic herring is the linchpin holding together the food web in New England waters.  On September 25th at its meeting in Plymouth, Massachusetts, the New England Fishery Management Council took groundbreaking action to better manage Atlantic sea herring and to...
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