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Winter Bassin’ Tradition was out on a half-day fi shing expedition, Jan. 31, with 15 anglers aboard. Bass was defi nitely the theme of the day, what with anglers catching eight barred sand bass, 20 kelp bass and fi ve giant sea bass (released). Also caught by anglers on this half-day excursion were seven blacksmith and fi ve California scorpionfi sh.
Southern California fi shing news
Trade commission initiates investigation on “IUU” caught seafood U.S. agency will hold a public hearing on seafood obtained via illegal, unreported and unregulated fi shing in May; report on fi ndings will be released in December.
BY PARIMAL M. ROHIT
NATIONWIDE—The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means has directed the U.S. International Trade Commission to initiate an investigation on seafood obtained through illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fi shing. Offi cials with the International Trade Commission announced the planned investigation – and associated timeline – on Jan. 31.
A report on the commission’s fi ndings will be submitted to the House of Representatives later this year.
The commission’s investigation is entitled, “Seafood Obtained via Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing: U.S. Imports and Economic Impact on U.S. Commercial Fisheries.”
Members of the Committee on Ways and Means hope to fi nd out to what extent seafood is caught from IUU fi shing and the economic effect such catches have on U.S. anglers.
“The investigation will cover the extent to which seafood products obtained from illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fi shing are imported into the United States and the potential economic effects on U.S. fi shermen of competition with such imports,” International Trade Commission staff said in its Federal Register announcement. “IUU seafood includes products obtained in contravention of fi sheries management regulations or in violation of labor laws.”
The commission will review existing data and literature to determine the extent of IUU products entering into the U.S. market, as well as the international mechanisms in place to monitor IUU fi shing and implement enforcement.
Also to be reviewed by the commission: a qualitative analysis of the economic effects of IUU seafood imported into the United States and a review of the major producers of illegal, unreported and unregulated products.
The public hearing on the investigation is set for May 12. All requests to appear at the May 12 public hearing on the investigation must be made by April 21; pre-hearing briefs and statements must be fi led by April 30.
The U.S. International Trade Commission is launching an investigation into seafood obtain by illegal, unreported or unregulated means (or IUU fi shing). A report on the commission’s fi ndings will be released on Dec. 21.
Post-hearing briefs and statements must be fi led by May 22; all other written submissions must be fi led by June 26.
The commission will submit its report to the Ways and Means committee on Dec. 21.
Contact project leaders Renee Berry (202-205-3498, renee.berry@usitc.gov) or Daniel Matthews (202-205-5991, Daniel.matthews@usitc.gov) for more information about the hearing, investigation and ways to submit comments. Written statements should be submitted to the commission via snail mail: Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, D.C. 20436.
The public hearing will be held at the same address. The Log and FishRapNews will track this investigation and report on its fi ndings as soon as the commission makes its report available.
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NOAA announces 2020 bluefin tuna catch limit
The commercial catch limit for Pacific bluefin will be 356 metric tons, based upon 274-metricton estimate for 2019.
BY PARIMAL M. ROHIT
WEST COAST—Commercial fishers will be allowed to catch a decent amount of Pacific bluefin tuna in 2020, as federal officials formally announced the limits for this year’s haul. The federal catch limit for Pacific bluefin, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is 356 metric tons – which is higher than the 274 metric tons caught by commercial boats in 2019.
The catch limit is actually based on a two-year total, set by NOAA and NMFS biennially. Commercial fishers were limited to 630 metric tons of Pacific bluefin catches for 2019 and 2020, combined. Since commercial fishing boats hauled in 274 metric tons of Pacific bluefin in 2019, the quota for 2020 was set at 356 metric tons.
“On May 1, 2019, NMFS published a final rule establishing trip and catch limits for the commercial Pacific bluefin tuna fishery. The rule established a 630 [metric tons] biennial limit for 2019 and 2020, combined, not to exceed 425 mt in a single year,” the NOAA and NMFS Federal Register statement said. “NMFS estimates that 274 mt was caught in 2019; consequently, the commercial Pacific bluefin tuna catch limit for 2020 is 356 mt.”
NOAA and NMFS also established a per-trip limit of 15 metric tons.
“The rule also established a 15-mt trip limit until catch was within or expected to be within 50 mt of the annual limit, at which time the trip limit would be reduced, through in-season action, to two mt,” NOAA and NMFS staff said. “In other words, the trip limit is reduced to two mt when NMFS anticipates that the Pacific bluefin tuna harvest level reaches 375 mt (based on rules and assumptions set forth in the final rulemaking, including pre-trip notifications and catch information).”
The first in-season action was made on Aug. 4, 2019, when federal officials anticipated the Pacific bluefin harvest level approaching 375 metric tons. A second in-season action was made on Aug. 11, 2019, re-establishing the 15-metric-ton-per-trip limit.
“NMFS evaluated all available information on catches and estimated that 236 mt of commercially-caught Pacific bluefin tuna had been caught to date; consequently, NMFS determined In-season Action #1 to reduce the trip limit was premature. In accordance with the 2019-2020 regulations, NMFS increased the trip limit again,” NOAA and NMFS staff said in the Federal Register document.
NOAA issued the catch limit update on Feb. 4.
TIGHT LINES – BY PARIMAL M. ROHIT
Pacific leatherback sea turtle to be considered as endangered in California
FEATURED CATCH A Weekend of Sand Dabs and Bass OXNARD — Anglers aboard The Gentlemen ended January right, catching a mix of bass and sculpin. The 18 anglers aboard a Jan. 31 fishing expedition aboard The Gentlemen (out of Channel Islands Sportfishing Co. in Oxnard) came back home with 49 Calico bass, five sand bass and one sculpin.
CISCO sta wrote about the Jan. 31 trip on its Facebook page: “The bass were biting today! The Gentleman fished the coast and stayed busy reelin’ in some feisty ones! The Skipper reported nearly 200 released short Bass on top of their ocial count of keepers.” Sand dabs were the theme of The Gentlemen’s Feb. 1 trip. The 21 anglers aboard the Saturday fishing trip returned with 2,000 sand dabs. “ The Gentlemen was out on a sand dab trip with a modest 21 anglers aboard. Captain Adam Rowell was at the helm and put together some great drifts in the deep water,” CISCO sta stated on Facebook.
BY PARIMAL M. ROHIT
SACRAMENTO — The Pacific leatherback sea turtle already receives protection under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA). The sea turtle species could soon be protected under California’s ESA, as well. The California Fish and Game Commission meets in Sacramento on Feb. 21 and will be considering a Consent Calendar item on a petition to consider the Pacific leatherback sea turtle as endangered under the state’s ESA. A decision might not be made on Feb. 21, however, the Consent Calendar item includes the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s request for a 30-day extension to review the petition.
Leatherback sea turtles, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), are the “largest turtle in the world.” “They are the only species of sea turtle that lack scales and a hard shell and are named for their tough rubbery skin,” NOAA staff stated in an informational piece about leatherback sea turtles. “They have existed in their current form since the age of the dinosaurs. Leatherbacks are highly migratory, some swimming [more than] 10,000 miles a year between nesting and foraging grounds.”
The leatherback sea turtle is also an avid diver; NOAA says one leatherback sea turtle is on record as diving 4,000 feet deep.
“All leatherback turtle populations are listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act,” according to NOAA staff. “They face threats on both nesting beaches and in the marine environment. The greatest of these threats worldwide are incidental capture in fishing gear and harvest of leatherback eggs and adults.” The Log and FishRap will follow up with the commission’s deliberation and address who brought the petition (and why).
Christmas Swordfish – Jim Drayton submits this photo of one of two swordfish caught (and kissed) during the evening of the Balboa Angling Club Christmas party.
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Winter season continues to provide lots of fun fishing
BY BOB VANIAN
SAN DIEGO — The winter fishing season has been providing Southern California anglers with quite a few days of nice and fishable weather. Those anglers who are watching the weather forecasts and choosing the nice weather days to go out on the water and do some fishing have often been rewarded with some fun action on what are good eating fish for the dinner table. In addition to the nice weather days, there have also been some days that bring strong winds and high seas. Anglers and skippers are advised to always check the latest marine weather forecast before going boating or fishing.
There has been an oshore area producing mixed catches of bluefin tuna, thresher sharks, swordfish and mako sharks for drift net swordfish boats. These fish have been found while working in an area around the upper part of the Ridge ranging between 32 and 50 miles from Point Loma. The fish have been caught while fishing in the region of the 138 Spot and the end of the Ridge above the 181 Spot. The fish have been located in 61.3- to 61.8-degree water temperature and there have also been some yellowtail reported to be holding around kelp paddies in this same zone. All the reports from out at the upper part of the Ridge come from commercial drift net boats with no sportfishing boats that I know of having given it a try. I do not know if any more reports will be coming from the area as the commercial drift net boats had their drift netting season come to an end on Jan. 31.
The bluefin tuna being caught by the drift net boats were in the 60- to 90-pound class and some of the yellowtail being seen under the kelp paddies were up in the 20-pound class.
The drift net boats set their nets to fish during the dark. During daylight hours there were bluefin tuna meter marks being found and there were bluefin hooked on Flat Fall jigs. During daylight hours there were also some yellowtail found around kelp paddies found in this same area that were hooked on iron. An ongoing reminder to anglers: the annual two-month rockfish/groundfish closure on the U.S. side of the Mexico border went into eect on Jan. 1. The closure remains in eect until March 1. With the ongoing rockfish/groundfish closure, Southern California anglers fishing in U.S. waters continue to focus their eorts on species still open to fishing. There has been good action for a mix of sand bass, calico bass, perch and sculpin along with an occasional bonus halibut and an occasional flurry of yellowtail action. Productive areas for bass and sculpin have been the Imperial Beach Pipeline, the hard bottom areas to the southeast of the Whistler Buoy at Point Loma, the hard bottom to the north and northwest of Buoy #5 at Point Loma, the Point Loma Pipeline, the Jetty Kelp outside of Mission Bay, the Variety Kelp while fishing below the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla, the upper end of La Jolla, the Anderson and Buccaneer Pipelines, the artificial reefs outside of Oceanside and Box Canyon. There have been a few halibut biting out in 30 fathoms of water outside of the Yukon shipwreck o Mission Beach and in the area of the sunken NEL Tower outside of Mission Beach. There have also been reports of halibut biting in San Diego Bay. The showings of yellowtail along the San Diego County coast remain unpredictable and recent days have seen schools of yellowtail di¡cult to locate. The most recent showings of yellowtail have been found in an area ranging from outside of Mission Bay on up to Torrey Pines with the area outside of Mission Bay, the area below the MLPA closure zone at the lower end of La Jolla and the area outside of Torrey Pines being spots where the yellows have had a tendency to show. A good depth range to try and locate yellowtail has been in 18 to 30 fathoms of water.
The coastal yellowtail have been mostly 18- to 25-pound fish. They have been located by finding sonar marks, meter marks and spots of working birds. Once located, yo-yo iron, surface iron, mackerel and sardines have all been working for the yellowtail with surface iron working the best. Good choices for yo-yo iron include Salas 6X and 6X Jr. jigs in blue and white and scrambled egg colors. Good choices for surface iron include Salas 7X lights and Tady 45’s in blue and white, mint and sardine colors. The sardines and mackerel have worked while slow trolled, flylined and fished deep with a dropper loop rig. There are reports of mackerel being caught for bait in about 40-50 feet of water o the Mission Bay jetties. If you watch the weather forecasts and pick the good weather days, year round ocean fishing is one of the nice benefits of living or vacationing in Southern California. I hope you get a chance to get out on one of the nice weather days and enjoy the fun fishing being found during this winter season. Keep on fishing and I hope to see you out on the water!
San Mateo County and closed a gate, put up a no-access sign and painted over a billboard at the entrance that had advertised access to the beach.
The previous owners had allowed public access to the beach for a fee. Khosla’s attorneys said the cost to maintain the beach and other facilities far exceeded the money the fees brought in. The nonprofit Surfrider Foundation sued, and a state appeals court ruled that Khosla needed to apply for a coastal development permit before closing o the main road.
After the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his appeal in 2018, Khosla continued to sue over what he considers to be interference with his property rights. In the meantime, his lawyer said he has kept the road open during daylight hours to paying visitors. State o cials say the gate to the road has not been consistently open.
NATION/WORLD Greece: fines for sea rescues if bad weather warning ignored ATHENS, Greece (AP) — Greek authorities are putting into eect a law, where people using recreational watercraft at sea who disregard severe weather warnings and then trigger search and rescue operations will be liable for incurred costs and a fine.
Greece’s coast guard made the announcement after a spate of incidents in which coast guard and navy helicopters and vessels were scrambled to rescue people who had headed out to sea for fun despite very strong winds and rough seas, and after days of public severe weather warnings.
In January, a rescue operation was launched for a 52-year-old windsurfer that had been swept out to sea in a gale, where winds were blowing at around 40-46 miles per hour. In another January incident, a navy helicopter was scrambled in a severe gale, with winds at 47-63 miles per hour to search for a 35-yearold on a stand-up paddle board o the eastern coast of Athens. Both men were successfully rescued.
Other similar incidents have occurred with people in sea kayaks and sailboats, among others. The coast guard noted the search and rescue operations put rescuers’ lives at risk. Costs and fines are to be determined on a case-by-case basis depending on the resources used. drifted further away from the land.
According to some of the Russian fishermen, by the time they had been rescued the frigid water rift between the ice floe and the coast was already 200 meters (660 feet) wide.
It’s the third time in a week that emergency services in the Sakhalin region had to rescue ice fishermen stuck on drifting glacial masses. On Jan. 22, around 300 people got stranded on an ice floe and on Jan. 26, 600 others did. Local authorities blamed the fishermen for ignoring safety warnings and going ice fishing despite the danger of being stranded on ice floes. The Log • Feb. 7 - Feb. 20, 2020 • 23
Ranger Boats founder Forrest L. Wood dies at 87 MOUNTAIN HOME, Arkansas (AP)—Forrest L. Wood, who created one of the top brands in the boating industry and was a pioneer of bass tournament fishing, has died at age 87.
Wood, who was born in Flippin, Ark., founded with his wife Nina the company Ranger Boats in 1968. The business quickly grew and became a household name among fisherman around the U.S. He sold the company in 1987.
Wood was known as the “father of the modern bass boat.”
Keith Daron, his grandson, said in a Facebook post Wood died on Jan. 25 and was surrounded by his family. He died after a brief illness.
In a statement, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wood’s death “is a deeply sad moment for our entire state.”
“His contributions to the world of fishing and recreation have made Arkansas a destination point for fishermen from all over the world,” Hutchinson said.
Former President Bill Clinton said in a statement that Wood was “ambitious and determined and Arkansas is a better place because he fully invested his time and his talents right here.”
Wood was inducted into the Arkansas Business Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.
We make the world smaller
Russia rescues 536 fishermen stranded on giant ice floe MOSCOW (AP) —In a nearly seven-hour operation, Russia’s emergency services rescued 536 ice fishermen on Jan. 29 after they got stranded on a giant ice floe that broke o the island of Sakhalin in eastern Siberia, o cials said.
Around 60 more people were able to get back onto the shore on their own on Jan. 28 emergency o cials said.
Footage of the incident showed groups of people using smaller pieces of ice as rafts and trying to row to the Russian coast on them as the giant ice floe with the stranded fishermen slowly
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