by: Joe Macaluso
posted in: TRCP Marine
Red snapper battle lines in the "Sportsman's Paradise"
Photo courtesy of rongcheek.com.
You'd think that somebody living in Louisiana, the self-proclaimed "'Sportsman's Paradise," would learn through the years that the word "sportsman" didn't arrive in a dictionary because man was spearing fish or entrapping them with any ancient or modern device.
Yet, every time there's a chance to comment publicly about the ongoing battle between recreational and commercial fishing in the Gulf of Mexico, especially when it comes to red snapper, the Louisiana Restaurant Association lines up squarely against recreational fishermen – the sportsmen living, working and spending money, sometimes in the restaurants that open their doors daily in the Sportsman's Paradise.
The LRA is a powerful organization in Louisiana. It should be. Some of Louisiana's restaurants are renowned worldwide: Chefs working in them produce culinary masterpieces mostly because of the rich blending that brought together so many unique ethnic cultures in one place – and also because our waters yield such a variety of marine creatures those ethnic groups could adapt for their tables.
How odd that, given Louisiana's freshwater, brackish-water and saltwater bounty, battle lines have been drawn over one species – red snapper.
Yet that's where the lines are drawn today.
Photo courtesy of shopsportsmanstore.com.
And it's why I, someone who has for more than 60 years breathed our humid air, lived through dozens of hurricanes, watched millions of gallons of oil gush from an underwater well, and witnessed the greatest wetlands loss in our nation's history, despise the more than 20-year fight over this one species, the red snapper.
I grew up during the years when recreational and commercial fishermen drew on our bountiful waters with a certain respect for each other.
That's not the case today – not with the recent attacks on the allocation and re-allocation of Gulf of Mexico red snapper.
Most years the annual Gulf red snapper quota is 9.12 million pounds, divided 51 percent for commercial anglers and 49 percent for the tens of thousands of recreational anglers living in the five Gulf states.
For the last five or six years, the commercials and the LRA decried data that show the recreational take has exceeded its 49 percent.
But the question today is "How factual is that data?" The question arises because, by its own admission, National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, cannot accurately count the recreational take.
You don't have to be a theoretical mathematician to look at the statistical model used to quantify the recreational take to know it's flawed.
For instance, Louisiana's estimated annual recreational catch is somewhere in the 600,000-pound neighborhood, according to the NMFS, but the model used to produce that number has a wide variation – one that would result in the recreational estimate being as low as 300,000 pounds or closer to 900,000 pounds.
You see the problem. This is why recreationals here, especially with more and more red snapper showing up off the Louisiana coast, don't understand why the LRA's comments in Gulf Council hearings call for more recreational restrictions, that any increase in recreational catch puts severe limitations on members' ability to make money in their establishments.
In those meetings, I've heard on three occasions that as much as 80 percent of the commercial red snapper harvest is shipped out of the country. Those comments, too, leave the recreational side scratching its head over the LRA claim that more fish would help their bottom line and provide fish to Midwest markets.
Photo courtesy of John L.H./Yelp.com.
There is some truth in the LRA protest: Red snapper is a wonderful fish to eat, but in Louisiana there's so much more than red snapper, and because there is so much more, we don't have to worry about the downward spiral of blue crabs closing the doors of diners in Maryland or the collapse of the cod stocks shutting down Northeast fish-n-chips shops.
Our state's epicurean history has drawn on so much more that we don't need to fight about one species, not when it's selling in our local fish markets for more than $20 a pound, a price that's too rich for my blood.
Tags: fisheries management, Gulf Fishing, marine fisheries, Red Snapper
1. Red snapper battle lines in the "Sportsman's Paradise"
2. As marine fisheries legislation heats up, it's time to revamp the federal management system
3. Toxin talk
4. Rules clarified for Florida snapper and tilefish take
5. A busy fishing February in the Gulf
As marine fisheries legislation heats up, it's time to revamp the federal management system
Congress is moving forward quickly to revise the federal act that governs our nation's marine resources. The sportfishing and boating industries, along with recreational saltwater anglers, are stepping up efforts to ensure that their economic, social and conservation priorities are well represented.
As the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act reauthorization advances on Capitol Hill, Bass Pro Shops Founder Johnny Morris and Maverick Boats President Scott Deal, leaders in the recreational angling industry and co-chairmen of the Commission on Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Management, will present A Vision for Managing America's Saltwater Recreational Fisheries at the National Press Club on March 26, 2014, from 9:30–10:30 a.m.
The report, introduced to fishing and boating industry stakeholders on Feb. 13, 2014, at the Progressive Miami International Boat Show, is receiving critical acclaim as an important step toward commonsense saltwater fisheries management. Now, with strong support from the boating and fishing community, the commission is taking the report to the Hill to work with Congress as the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization proceeds.
The Morris-Deal Commission assembled an expert panel of state and federal agency administrators, researchers, industry representatives and economists to promote a proactive vision for saltwater fisheries management. The current Magnuson-Stevens Act does not sufficiently address this important use of our nation's public fishery resources. The commission's report addresses recreational fishing specifically and differentiates the economic, social and conservation needs from those of commercial fishing.
According to NOAA Fisheries, 11 million Americans recreationally fish in saltwater each year. These sportsmen and -women contribute more than $70 billion to the nation's economy and $1.5 billion for on-the-ground conservation of aquatic resources and habitats.
Who: Johnny Morris, founder and CEO, Bass Pro Shops
Scott Deal, president, Maverick Boats
When: Wednesday, March 26, 9:30–10:30 a.m. EDT
Where: Fourth Estate Room, The National Press Club
529 14th St. N.W., Washington, DC 20045
RSVP to Lauren Dunn, National Marine Manufacturers Association, at ldunn@nmma.org; or Mary Jane Williamson, American Sportfishing Association, at mjwilliamson@asafishing.org.
Tags: #MarineVision2014, Magnuson-Stevens Act, partners, press, report
by: Rip Cunningham
Toxin talk
Mercury in seafood food chain. Image courtesy of Bretwood Higman, Ground Truth Trekking/Wikimedia Commons.
Yesterday morning, I happened to be talking with another avid recreational fisherman about the presence of toxic elements and chemicals in some of the fish that anglers like to catch and a lot of people like to eat. The discussion centered on striped bass and the health warning posted in just about every Atlantic coastal state, with the exception of Massachusetts, where migratory striped bass and bluefish are caught.
Then, out of the blue, comes an email press release that the Food & Drug Administration is being sued because it has failed to respond to a petition filed in 2011 that requested (1) informational labeling on packaged seafood that reflects the joint recommendations of the FDA and the Environmental Protection Agency in their online advisory; (2) consumption recommendations at the point of sale of unpackaged, fresh seafood, presented in a user friendly format; and (3) informational mercury level and consumption limit labeling on packaging or at the point of sale for seafood species with moderate or high mercury content that are not otherwise listed in the online advisory.
Bingo! So the two of us having the discussion are not the only ones wondering why there is not more public awareness of this problem and why there are not more comprehensive requirements for making the public aware.
In my case, it is probably too late to worry about this problem. But I have four grandchildren, and they are likely to be impacted by their consumption of some fish. My children should be given the information that will allow them to make the right decisions for their children. Studies have shown that methylmercury, which occurs when airborne mercury is saturated in water, is a neurotoxin that leads to learning disabilities, lowered IQ, and impaired cognitive and nervous system functioning. Studies also have shown that PCBs have a known neuropsychological effect in children and can cause an elevated risk of cancer. Both of these contaminants bio-accumulate, primarily in fatty tissue. A copy of the study can be found here and Maine's recommendations for stripped bass and bluefish consumption from the Atlantic coastal states are found below.
Figure from the Interstate Workgroup report indicating recommendations for striped bass and bluefish consumption. Figure courtesy of Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
So, here we have a fairly comprehensive study of contaminants in fish and the potential hazards to the sensitive group, which consists of women of child-bearing age as well as young women and children. That group is advised by this study to consume from one meal a month to zero consumption. Others are advised to consume no more than one meal a month – not exactly an endorsement for eating seafood.
Virtually every state from the Mid-Atlantic to Maine has posted these warnings except for the state of Massachusetts. Why, I cannot find out. It may have to do as much with the workings of state bureaucracy as any other possibility. Some think that this has been done to protect the commercial striped bass fishery. I don't know, but I do know is that it is not protecting the general public. There may be some reasoning by state health officials that they do not post the health warning. That has to do with the testing methodology. Methylmercury bio-accumulates in the fatty tissue. In some testing methods the entire fish is ground up, and the testing is done on that. This gives a lower reading of the toxic contaminants than if the test had been done solely on the part of the fish normally consumed.
It still seems strange to me that almost all the coastal Atlantic states have some level of warning about consumption of bluefish and striped bass. Most of the states in the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission took part in the study workgroup, in which Massachusetts had three participants. All of the New England states except Massachusetts since have posted health warnings about consumption of these fish. It seems odd to me that when fish cross the imaginary state line into Massachusetts waters they somehow become cleansed. Could be, ya know! There have been other Massachusetts Miracles. And if you believe that…!
Tags: Bluefin tuna, marine fisheries, striped bass, TRCP Marine
by: Steve Waters
Rules clarified for Florida snapper and tilefish take
Vermillion snapper. Photo courtesy of Steve Waters.
You gotta love it when fishery managers admit they messed up and go back to doing the right thing.
That's why, as of March 13, charter captains and crews in Florida will be allowed to keep their recreational bag limits of vermilion snapper, groupers and golden tilefish in state waters of the Atlantic, including all of the Florida Keys.
Here's the back story: In 2009, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council wanted to reduce the number of gag groupers and vermilion snappers kept by recreational anglers in federal and state waters of the Atlantic Ocean to help increase those fish populations. In addition to closed seasons, the council prohibited captains and crews of charter boats from keeping their recreational limits of vermilions. They also weren't allowed to keep any groupers and tilefish, in the hopes of preventing bycatch of gag groupers. But captains and crew could keep their recreational limits of fish such as dolphin and other snappers, which led to confusion.
A year ago, the council voted to get rid of the rule. As of this past Jan. 27, captains and crew could keep their limits of vermilion snappers, groupers and tilefish in Atlantic federal waters. At its meeting last month in Tampa, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission voted to eliminate the rule in Atlantic state waters, which means captains and crew can keep the recreational bag limit of all species of reef fish caught in those waters.
The reason for the change? The council said the decrease in the harvest of those species because of the rule was minimal. Plus, doing away with the rule eliminates confusion and will have a negligible effect on the populations of those species. More helpful was a five-month closed season for vermilion snapper. And there continues to be a four-month closed season for shallow water groupers, including gags, reds and blacks, the three most popular grouper species in Florida.
The vermilion snapper closure in Atlantic state and federal waters was Nov. 1-March 31. That closed season was eliminated because the closure worked and vermilion snapper populations had significantly increased. Lately, fishing for vermilion snappers and tilefish has been the best bet for South Florida anglers seeking to bring home fish for dinner. Fishing for sought-after species such as kingfish, cobia, wahoo, dolphin and tuna has been inconsistent at best.
Golden tilefish. Photo courtesy of Steve Waters.
Being deepwater fish, golden tilefish are quite tasty, and they are fairly easy to catch. They are typically targeted in 600-700 feet of water by dropping bait to the bottom using an electric fishing reel. When you get a bite, you flip the reel's switch, and up comes the tilefish. Captains I know regretted not being able to provide their customers with more golden tilefish than their allotted one per person. Now they can make additional drops and provide one or two more fish to take home.
The vermilion snapper change definitely won't make much of a difference, as the fish are almost exclusively caught by drift boats in 160-300 feet of water. The limit on vermilions is five per person, and allowing the captain and the mate to keep their 10 fish on a drift boat with 15 or more anglers would not be significant except, perhaps, to those anglers who didn't catch anything and would like to go home with a couple of snapper fillets.
Tags: florida, marine conservation, marine fisheries, TRCP Marine
A busy fishing February in the Gulf
Garret Graves. Photo courtesy of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Wow! It's difficult to believe that so much fishing news could be crammed into the year's shortest month.
Let's start at the beginning.
Louisiana was dealt a blow when Garret Graves, the top man in the state's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, tendered his resignation to make a run for Congress.
Graves' experience in D.C. gave him a good start into such a volatile position in Louisiana government, and his energy in jump-starting several long-delayed coastal restoration projects was a welcome change from past administrations.
His six-year tenure was highlighted by the state's 2012 Coastal Master Plan, a course for prioritizing work estimated to run as high as $50 billion. The problem in past years was that the mountain was too high to climb, especially considering Louisiana has lost a couple-thousand square miles of coastal marshlands during the last 70 years.
Louisiana' s Comprehensive Master Plan for a Sustainable Coast. Image Courtesy of Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Somebody had to take the first giant step on that climb, and Graves did that.
As if anyone with that much to tackle needed more on his plate, 2010's BP-Deepwater Horizon oil disaster was akin to adding an elephant's weight on top of the monkey already on his back.
While Graves' second-in-command, Jerome Zeringue, has taken this lead role, it's sure that Graves' command of Louisiana's coastal problems, its solutions, the battles over freshwater diversions contained in the Coastal Master Plan and his stature gained in the BP multi-layered settlement plan will be missed.
So what does that have to do with fishing?
It's acknowledged that Louisiana coastal marshes mean more than terrific redfish, speckled trout and flounder among other near-coast species as well as crabs and shrimp. They are also a vital nursery ground for a host of offshore species, including several snapper species.
Back in the late 1980s, when Louisiana was battling low redfish recruitment and the first inkling of the state's gill-net war that would come years later, just a handful of marine biologists talked about the decline of the coastal marshes.
They mentioned the decline of the marsh habitat was productive in the short term because the decay and erosion added nutrients to the system, but they added that there was a point of no return when the habitat reached a critical point where its productivity would rapidly decline. The word "collapse" was used often when it comes to the marshes' ability to provide and sustain so many coastal and offshore species.
From what's happened on the west side of the Mississippi River, from Buras south and west through Yellow Cotton Bay and to the Gulf of Mexico, it appears the decline in speckled trout catches in the last three years is proving the biologists' prediction made nearly 30 years ago. Yellow Cotton Bay, once a place unrivaled in the Gulf for its fall speckled trout run, isn't even on the map anymore after being totally wiped away by Hurricane Katrina.
So, restoring the marshes and the Louisiana coastline has more plusses than saving homes, communities, the oil and gas production and supply chain for the country that starts along the state's coast, and vital overwintering waterfowl habitat. These projects can go a long way to providing food for U.S. tables.
Need more about February?
Image courtesy of GMFMC.
When the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council talked about reallocation of the red snapper resources, who could've figured Amendment 28 would give recreational fishermen across the Gulf a chance to take an increased share of red snapper from a stock that's recovered more quickly than anyone, even marine scientists, could have imagined?
A series of public hearings throughout the five Gulf States in March will be held to get comments about a change that would grant recreational anglers a 75-percent share (commercials would get 25 percent) of any annual quota approved by the GMFMC more than 9.12 million pounds. At 9.12 million pounds or less, the allocation continues to be split 51-49 percent respectively between commercials and recreationals.
A list of the hearings can be found on the GMFMC website: http://gulfcouncil.org.
If you can't attend one of the hearings, comments will be accepted at: http://bit.ly/MS14U0.
What's grand about February and leading into March is that redfish are biting darned near everywhere on the coast. It's a transition time for speckled trout, but we're closing in on the time when giant trout will begin blasting artificial baits in Calcasieu Lake, and the trout will move to the bridges in Lake Pontchartrain.
The bonus is that all the frigid conditions up north have lowered the Mississippi and Atchafalaya River (all the while knowing that the melt-off will run our rivers high in April, May and even June) and bass fishing is terrific in the cane-lined runs off the Mississippi and in the lakes, bayous and canals in the Atchafalaya Basin, the country's largest overflow swamp.
Tags: Gulf Fishing, marine conservation, marine fisheries, TRCP Marine