Making Waves - Winter 2018

M A K I N G

Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Winter 2018

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The Official Publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

Striped Bass Special Section RFA Opposes Wind Farms

A Yankee in Hong Kong Summer Founder Research & More

Winter 2018

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Making Waves Winter 2018

PROUD SPONSOR

M A K I N G

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Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Winter 2018

The Official Publication of the Recreational Fishing Alliance

FROM THE PUBLISHER’S DESK

By Gary Caputi Greetings and best wishes for a Happy Holiday Season from everyone at the RFA. Another year goes by in a very uncertain political climate. MSA reform still hangs in the balance as Congress continues to shirk its responsibilities. Is it any wonder their approval ratings remains at an all time low.

There's lots to catch up on in this issue. Executive Director, Jim Donofrio, says hell no to the major push for wind farms up and down the coast. He points out the problems with putting thousands of these megaliths offshore, from being hazards to navigation and aviation, to the many serious concerns about loss of fishing grounds, the unintended consequences of EMFs, and the simple fact that they will raise rates and taxes. He calls it "an environmental scam of epic proportions."

On the lighter side check out the story of Carmine Vestola who went from fishing off the Jersey coast starting the first charter and headboat business in Hong Kong. The special report on Striped Bass delves into the numbers behind the fish and fishery, and don't miss reading about the discovery of a spawning stock of stripers in the St. John River in Canada.

A big thank you to Savio Mizzi, artist extraordinaire. His work appears on the cover of this issue and also on page 14. He is currently working on an extensive new website showcasing his work and he is available for private commissions. He will also be opening an art studio and holding art classes at his home on the east end of Long Island, near his favorite fishing hole-Montauk, New York.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE From the Publisher’s Desk;

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Exec. Director's Report: RFA Says No to Wind Farms

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Solar & Wind Really do Increase Electricity Prices

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Breaking News: Atlantic Sturgeon Number Increase

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Striped Bass Special Section

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Spawning Striped Bass in Canadas St. John River

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ICCAT Report from John Henderschedt

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A Yankee in Hong Kong US Fisherman starts first charter fleet in China.

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Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund - Independent Expert Review

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RFA News & Views

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About the Cover From our favorite artist, Savio Mizzi, who also happens to be an accomplished striped bass fisherman, conservationist and amazing talent. Also see his sketch on page 14.

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Executive Director’s Report

By Jim Donofrio

RFA SAYS NO TO WIND FARMS An Environmental Scam of Epic Proportions

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t’s sad to say that many of us who live along the Atlantic seaboard will buy into almost anything that sounds “green.” And it’s no surprise that the leading proponents of the buy-in crowd are the most progressive elected officials at the State level, and entrenched bureaucrats at the Federal level. Ocean wind farms are proving to be the latest cause celeb in the green revolution, and the same politicians who have resisted any and all offshore development for gas and oil exploration are pushing the construction of thousands of these offshore megaliths without taking a serious look at the negative implications that are being exposed on an increasingly frequent basis. Yes, there are real problems with offshore wind generation, yet those who pray at the altar of manmade climate change are ready to turn a blind eye in their headlong rush to litter the ocean with them.

the downside later.

Let’s look at just a few of the problems that are being uncovered with offshore wind farms in other areas of the world and how they could impact us here at home.

1 – Data clearly shows that generating electric power through wind, just like solar, is anything but a winner for the little people who will have to pay the bill. Electric rate payers are in for a rude awakening because studies show that electricity costs will increase substantially with the introduction of wind generated power. (See: “Solar & Wind Really Do Increase Electricity Prices” in this issue).

2 – Wind farms are a band aid approach to power generation. Wind turbines simply do not have the generating capacity, even in vast numbers, to compete with clean fossil fuel and nuclear powThe latest to push his state into wind farm develered generating stations, both of which produce opment, jumping in with both feet, is Phil Murmore power with a significantly smaller environphy, newly elected super-liberal governor of New mental footprint, and they do so far more ecoJersey. He has been spending jetting to Europe in nomically. an attempt to drum up buyers for the proposed extensive wind farm lease areas off the coast of 3 – The United States Coast Guard has recoghis state. I fact, he is making his push at a pace nized that wind farms create hazards to navigaheretofore unmatched by any other state govern- tion, especially in times of limited visibility and in ment. high traffic areas like the Continental Shelf off the East Coast of the United States. The massive towIf Governor Murphy and other self-proclaimed ers and spinning blades that are now approachchampions of the environment were to stop and ing lengths twice the size of a Boeing 777-200, take a serious look at the real cost to tax payers mask radar signatures and impair target identifiand the negative impacts to the marine habitat cations both for vessels and aircraft. The areas wind farms represent, they might just take pause. slated for wind farms on the Eastern seaboard But wind farms are the latest race down the road include some of the busiest areas for commercial to a green revolution and we can worry about maritime traffic in the world with more

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Making Waves Winter 2018

than156,000 vessels transits occurring in a year.

(Read more here)

6 – Similarly, wind turbines create hazardous conditions for birds of all types. While exact numbers of bird deaths by existing turbines are estimates, 4 – The military has cautioned the Bureau of En- the numbers are expected to increase dramaticalergy Management about the potential impacts of ly as more of the latest generation larger, taller placing thousands of wind turbines that extend turbines are put in place. (Read More Here) hundreds of feet above the ocean surface to military aircraft operation and interactions with com- So who benefits from wind farms? It appears the mercial and general aviation aircraft. Wind farms big winners are foreign energy companies vying also create unintended hazards for military airfor lease rights to set up shop off our shores. craft involved in low-level training exercises.

Cheered on by showroom environmentalists, (Read more here) these corporations stand to reap huge monetary benefits through a mix of taxpayer subsidies and 5 – Wind turbine proponents are quick to claim selling power generated by the wind farms into wind turbines will have little or no impact on the US coastal power grids at inflated rates. marine habitat in areas where farms are to be placed. Some go so far as to claim the massive Certainly, construction jobs will be created in the towers, turbines and thousands of miles of cables short term, but after the bulk of the structures are that will be laid under the sea bed will act as fish built, the majority of those jobs will disappear, attracting devices; structure for a host of marine and utility customers will be stuck paying a significreatures. But a growing number of scientists in cant premium for electricity so that politicians can Europe actively studying existing wind farms say boast about their stellar green record. their research suggests that ground fish have actually moved out of areas where wind farms are The RFA is opposed to ocean wind farm developin operation. The current hypothesis is it’s the re- ment, especially at the levels currently being prosult of electromagnetic fields (EMF) created by the posed, and will be taking this issue to the highest levels in our Nation’s Capital. The goal will be to transmission cables. Very little study has been done of the effects of EMF in fish or on the sound work toward revocation of permits and putting a pollution created through vibrations passed from halt to the construction of the hundreds, if not the turbine into the surrounding waters. (See the thousands, of massive wind turbines being slated for the east coast Continental Shelf in the coming Fall Issue of Making Waves for a short article on years. increased whale deaths around wind farms.)

Wind turbine size is increasing exponentially with blades surpassing 750 feet currently under construction.

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Solar and Wind Really Do Increase Electricity Prices

by Michael Shellenberger Reprinted from Forbes

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Michael Shellenberger is a Time Magazine “Hero of the Environment,� Green Book Award Winner, and President of Environmental Progress, a research and policy organization. His writings have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post and Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Nature Energy, and PLOS Biology. His TED talks have been viewed over 1.5 million times.

(Read more by Shellenberger - Why Solar and Wind are making electricity so expensive.)

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Executive Director's Report continued

Young Atlantic Sturgeon Numbers Surge in the James River in Virginia Recent discoveries of juveniles stir hope for a species’ comeback

By Sarah Vogelsong on December 03, 2018 - Courtesy Bay Journal

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bumper crop of juvenile Atlantic sturgeon in the James River this fall is raising some environmentalists’ hopes that the endangered fish may be staging a steady comeback in Virginia’s largest river.

which sits just west of the Fort Pocahontas historical site in Charles City County. The five juveniles turned up by the James River Association were found in mid-October during an education program at Presquile National Wildlife Refuge.

While the finds have sparked excitement among environmental advocates and researchers — All of the juvenile sturgeon found in the James Riv- Brunkow called the discoveries “extraordinary” er this year were in the 6–11 centimeter range and even when the count sat at nine — some are urgclassified as “age 0,” meaning they were likely just ing caution in claiming a restoration success.

“It is exciting, but it’s still too early to call it for me,” a few weeks old. (Matt Balazik) “We’re starting to see real momentum to see a spe- said Matt Balazik, a scientist with Rice Rivers and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers who specializes cies come back, but also a river come back,” said in Atlantic sturgeon in the James. “These guys Jamie Brunkow, riverkeeper for the James River have a long way to go before I’m comfortable with Association. [the rate of juvenile] recruitment.”

This fall, as of Nov. 12, 153 juvenile sturgeon had been discovered in the James during routine trawl- Overfished in the Chesapeake region almost to the point of collapse in the 1800s, Atlantic sturgeon ing surveys — a staggering increase over last fall’s (Acipenser oxyrinchus) have been slowly returning yield of just two. to the Bay watershed over the last decade. But in Of those, 148 have been caught by Virginia Com- the James River, where researchers have identified monwealth University’s Rice Rivers Center; 40 of and tagged more than 700 adults, juveniles have them captured on Nov. 5 alone. All of the center’s largely been absent until recent years. catches were made between the Benjamin Harri“We seem to have a recruitment problem in the son Bridge near Hopewell and Sturgeon Point,

Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Winter 2018

James River of fish surviving when they’re young,” Balazik said.

Researchers aren’t quite sure why juveniles have been so scarce in the James. Some suspect predation by other fish, such as the nonnative blue catfish, may be decimating the ranks of the young. Disappearing habitat may also play a role: For spawning to occur successfully, sturgeon need a hard, rocky river bottom for eggs to adhere to, as well as water with low levels of sediment and high dissolved oxygen content.

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Juveniles ages one to two years “are the ones I really love catching, because those are pretty much safe at that point,” Balazik said.

Mere weeks old at the time of discovery, the 153 juveniles are not assured of reaching maturity, and they are too small to be equipped with tracking devices that could help researchers learn more about how the fish live and grow in the James.

Both Brunkow and Balazik speculated that the high incidence of juveniles this year may be due to the heavy rains that affected the entire James River waOther risks include vessel collisions, the dredging of tershed this summer and fall. Sturgeon move uprivspawning areas and water intakes at industrial er to spawn, and the juveniles move slowly downriver as they grow. Researchers at the Rice Rivers plants.

Center no longer conduct trawls above the fall line, Although it was clear that juveniles must exist though, because of the high incidence of snags somewhere in the James, none were found by eitheir equipment encounters upstream. ther fishermen or research trawls until November 2016, when three turned up. The next year, two “It’s a good chance in a normal year they’re up there, but maybe with the stronger flows, maybe more emerged. they came downstream a little more quickly,” BalaAll five of the earlier juveniles, though, were older zik said. than this year’s discoveries. The two 2017 finds

were 47 and 52 centimeters in length, respectively, While Balazik is tempering his excitement until next while the 2016 juveniles were all less than 43 centi- year, when researchers can get a sense of meters in length. Based on their measurements, Balazik estimated them to be about a year old.

In comparison, all of this year’s finds were in the 6– 11 centimeter range and classified as “age 0,” meaning they were likely born within the last few weeks around Osborne Landing, where a number of tagged female sturgeon have been detected.

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STRIPED BASS The Fish, the Management, and the Future This iconic species, perhaps the most valuable on the Eastern Seaboard, is intensely studied, monitored, and managed so that it will provide sustainable recreational and commercial fishing well into the future.

Compiled by Barry Gibson, New England Regional Director

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he Atlantic striped bass doesn’t need much of an introduction. It’s one of the most popular food and sport fish in the United States, and the species – all by itself – supports a recreational industry along the East Coast worth over a billion dollars. As such, stripers are among the most intensely studied and managed fish stocks in the world, and management over the past three or four decades has been reasonably successful. What follows is a brief rundown on the fish, its life cycle,

and how we monitor and manage this iconic species.

Striped bass are spawned and live the early part of their lives in brackish rivers and estuaries from Florida to Canada, although the stocks that the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (the group of states responsible for striper management) manages range from Maine to North Carolina. A longlived species of up to 30 years, striped bass typically spend the majority of their adult life in coastal estu-

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aries or the ocean, migrating north and south seasonally and ascending to rivers to spawn in the spring.

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na. With warming water temperatures in the spring, the mature adult fish migrate to river and estuary spawning areas to complete their life cycle.

The majority of the coastal migratory stock origiMature female stripers (age six and older) produce nates in the Chesapeake Bay spawning areas, with large quantities of eggs, which are fertilized by ma- significant contributions from the spawning ture males (age two and older) as they are released grounds of the Hudson and Delaware Rivers. into spawning areas in rivers. While developing, the fertilized eggs drift with the downstream curStriper Harvest Ups and Downs rents and eventually hatch into larvae. After their As mentioned, striped bass have for centuries arrival in the nursery areas, located in river deltas and the inland portions of coastal sounds and estu- formed the basis of one of the most important fisheries on the Atlantic coast. Early records recount aries, they mature into juveniles. They remain in coastal sounds and estuaries for two to four years their abundance as being so great at one time they were used to fertilize fields. However, overfishing and then join the coastal migratory population in and poor environmental conditions lead to the colthe Atlantic Ocean. lapse of the fishery in the 1980s. Through the hardIn the ocean, the fish tend to move north during ship and dedication of both commercial and recrethe summer and south during the winter. Imational fishermen, the stock was rebuilt. portant wintering grounds for the mixed stocks are located from offshore New Jersey to North Caroli- From 2007 to 2014, total recreational landings

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along the coast have averaged just over 25 million pounds annually. In 2015, recreational anglers harvested an estimated 18.2 million pounds, mainly due to more restrictive regulations that were put into effect. Of those - recreational landings, Maryland landed the largest percent in numbers of fish (30%), followed by New Jersey (21%), New York (20%), Massachusetts (13%) and Virginia (7%).

Maine, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Delaware accounted for the remaining harvest (9%). Anglers continue to release the vast majority of striped bass they catch, 73% to 90%. The number of released fish peaked in 2006 at 23.3 million fish. Total numbers of releases have declined since then, averaging 8.7 million fish annually since 2007. An estimated 8.4 million fish were caught and released in 2015.

The striped bass harvest grew from 3.4 million pounds in 1995 to 6 million pounds in 2002. Since the passage of a modification to the management

Making Waves Winter 2018

plan in 2003, commercial harvest has been managed through a quota system, with landings averaging just shy of 7 million pounds annually from 2003 to 2014. In 2015, the commercial quota was reduced further. Chesapeake Bay jurisdictions accounted for approximately 64% (3.1 million pounds) of the total commercial landings in 2015 (4.8 million pounds). Other primary contributors to coast-wide commercial landings in 2015 include Massachusetts (18%) and New York (11%). In 2015, commercial harvest in the Albemarle Sound/ Roanoke River (A/R) management area was estimated at 113,475 pounds and recreational harvest estimated at 126,970 pounds.

The 2016 Atlantic Striped Bass Stock Assessment indicates the resource is not overfished nor experiencing overfishing. Although the stock is not overfished, female spawning stock biomass (SSB), the number of sexually mature female stripers, has continued to decline since 2004, and in 2015 was esti-

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mated at 129 million pounds, just above the “benchmark” striper stock assessment, which management threshold of 127 million pounds, started with an Assessment Workshop this past and below the SSB target of 159 million pounds.. September. The final step in the assessment process is a formal peer review. This will be conductDespite recent declines in SSB, the stock is still ed at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s well above the level during the moratorium on 66th Stock Assessment Workshop (SAW/SARC) striper fishing that was in place in the mid to late on November 27-30, 2018. The ASMFC’s Striped 1980s. Striped bass experienced a period of Bass Management Board will be presented with strong recruitment (the number of age-1 fish en- the findings of the assessment and peer review tering the population) from 1993 to 2004, folat the Commission’s Winter Meeting in February, lowed by a period of lower recruitment from 2019.

2005 to 2011 (although not as low as the 1980's stock collapse). Recruitment of the 2011 yearHow They’re Managed class was high, but was followed by the second Striped bass are managed through a plan called lowest recruitment estimate on record going back to 1982. However, in 2015, recruitment was “Amendment 6 to the Interstate Fishery Manageagain high and estimated at 122.8 million age-1 ment Plan for Atlantic Striped Bass” (February fish (the 2014 year class), the 7th highest on rec- 2003) and its subsequent addenda (Addendum IIV), which are basically modifications that have ord. been made to the plan. The management proWork is currently well underway for a gram includes target and threshold biological reference points and sets regulations aimed at achieving the targets. Required regulatory measures include recreational and commercial minimum size limits, recreational creel limits, and commercial quotas. States can implement alternative management measures that are deemed to be equivalent to the preferred measures in Amendment 6 through what’s called a “conservation equivalency” process.

In response to the 2013 benchmark assessment results, which indicated a steady decline in SSB, the Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board approved Addendum IV in October 2014 to establish new fishing mortality reference points. In order to reduce fishing mortality to a level at or below the new tar-

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get, the coastal states were required to implement a 25% harvest reduction in 2015 from 2013 levels, while Chesapeake Bay states/jurisdictions were required to implement a 20.5% harvest reduction from 2012 levels. To reduce recreational harvest, states implemented a one fish bag limit while keeping a 28” size limit. Eight states and jurisdictions submitted conservation equivalency proposals for at least one of their commercial and recreational fisheries (alternative measures that achieve the same reduction but are designed to better meet the state’s fishery needs). These regulations are still in effect today.

Current Striper Spawning Encouraging As mentioned above, the majority of the striped bass that migrate up along the East Coast each season spawn in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries in the early spring. Maryland and Virginia conducted annual surveys to track the reproductive success of stripers, which helps predict future abundance.

Making Waves Winter 2018

Maryland’s Dept. of Natural Resources has posted their 2018 young-of-the-year (YOY) index for striped bass, and it appears that the fish are reproducing in strong numbers. The 2018 survey index is 14.8, again above the 65-year average of 11.8 (Maryland’s 2017 YOY was 13.2). The index represents the average number of young-of-the-year bass (those less than one year old) captured in 132 netting samples.

During the 2018 survey, department biologists collected more than 36,000 fish of 55 species, including 1,951 young-of-year striped bass. Results show that white perch and American shad also experienced above-average spawning success this spring.

“Consecutive years of healthy reproduction is a great sign for the future of this iconic species,” Maryland DNR Fishing and Boating Services Director David Blazer said. “The survey results are encouraging and complement our efforts to conserve and protect the striped bass fishery for the

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the numbers of juvenile striped bass. Preliminary results from their survey, conducted by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), suggest an average year class of young-of -year striped bass was produced in Virginia tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay in 2018. The 2018 year class represents the group of fish hatched this spring that could grow to fishable sizes in three to four years.

The program recorded a mean value of 10.72 fish per seine haul in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, which is similar to the state’s historic average of 7.77 fish per seine haul. The 2018 value suggests that abundance of juvenile striped bass has been stable.

Professor Mary Fabrizio, who directs the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey at VIMS, notes that the economic and ecological value of striped bass lends significant interest to the year-to-year status of their population. "By estimating the relative number of young-of-year striped bass," she says, "our survey provides an important measure of annual and long-term trends in the striper population."

The VIMS survey samples 18 stations in the Rappahannock, York, and James River watersheds.

Biologists sampled each site five times from late June to early September in 2018, deploying a 100 benefit of anglers, commercial watermen and the -foot seine net from the shore. Each fish captured species.� in the net is counted, measured, and returned to the water. These young striped bass usually measThe department has monitored the reproductive ure between 1.5 to 4 inches long. Survey sciensuccess of striped bass and other fish species in tists in measured 1,875 juvenile bass at these staMaryland’s portion of Chesapeake Bay annually tions in 2018. since 1954, making it one of the oldest fish community surveys in the nation. Twenty-two survey The 2018 Young-of-the-Year Surveys provide welsites are located in the four major spawning sys- come news for those of us who chase striped tems: Choptank, Potomac and Nanticoke rivers bass. We needs as many consecutive years of sucand Upper Chesapeake Bay. Biologists visit each cessful spawning in Chesapeake Bay as possible site three times during the summer, collecting fish so that the bass caught all along the East Coast with two sweeps of a 100-foot beach seine net. are continually replenished.

The fish are evaluated for age, size and other facThe RFA wishes to thank the Atlantic States Mators, and then returned to the water.

Virginia Survey Shows Stability Virginia also has a similar process for sampling

rine Fisheries Commission, The Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science for providing the information for this article.

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'Long lost' population of St. John River striped bass may have been discovered Genetic tests reveal unique DNA from a 'longestablished population'

Nathalie LeBlanc, a PhD candidate at UNB is also the lead author of a joint Canada-U.S. study that found a unique and long-established population of striped bass still survives in the St. John River. (Brian Chisholm/CBC)

F

or more than four decades it was believed native striped bass in the St. John River had been lost forever. The population crashed over a short period following the opening of the Mactaquac Dam in 1968. Sporadic searches since then for evidence of stripers spawning in the river had brought up nothing.

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The only fish found were visitors from U.S. rivers or from the Shubenacadie in Nova Scotia, but a new study by scientists from Canada and the U.S. shows the St. John's native striped bass population has very likely managed to survive.

A fish believed to be a native St. John River striped bass. The population was thought to have vanished more than 40 years ago. (Canadian Rivers Institute) "It's pretty exciting," said lead author Nathalie LeBlanc of the Canadian Rivers Institute at the University of New Brunswick. "It would be very exciting if we could some day in the future bring that population up to the numbers that it used to be."

The river's native striped bass were once a major attraction for anglers. A 63-pound striped bass — the all-time Canadian record for striped bass — was captured at Reversing Falls.

The first clues a population of the native fish was hanging on came in a 2008 study that identified not just visiting bass from the U.S. and the Shubenacadie, but also a third group of fish. The genetics didn't match anything on record. The fish were tentatively labelled "native" but further research was needed and that research has just been concluded.

The verdict: There is a unique group of striped bass in the river, and its genetic signature points to a very distinct and long-established population. The breakthrough began in 2014 with the discovery of one-year-old stripers in the St. John and Kennebecasis Rivers by Samuel Andrews of the Rivers Institute.

The fish were captured, clips were taken from the fins, and they were released back into the river. All

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the fish dated from the same year, 2013 and are today about 60 centimeters (24 inches) long. The next step was not so easy.

LeBlanc, a geneticist and PhD candidate, found there are no known samples from the pre-crash population to compare to. There are some mounted trophy fish, but LeBlanc learned getting a DNA sample from a mounted fish would cost tens of thousands of dollars, while offering only the slightest chance of success.

She nonetheless ground up the new fin clips, extracted DNA, and assembled a panel of several thousand DNA markers to compare the native fish with those from elsewhere, a process of elimination. The results are conclusive.

"This study firmly establishes that there is also a St. John River striped bass with a unique genetic signature," said Canadian Rivers Institute biologist Scott Pavey of UNB, who oversaw LeBlanc's research.

So where has this native population been hiding all these years?

"The population crash in the St. John River was less than 50 years ago," said LeBlanc.

"Striped bass live about 30 years. So if there were striped bass existing in small numbers in the St. John River, which is very possible because it's a huge river, then theoretically they would only have had to spawn once between 1970 and now in order to keep the population going."

The challenge now is to find ways to ensure this native population survives. The fish found so far date from just two spawning years. A next step is to determine if there was something unique about water flow timing or volumes through the Mactaquac Dam during those two years.

The area below the Mactaquac Dam had been a traditional spawning ground for striped bass.

The research team is now recommending steps to protect those St. John River striped bass that spawned in 2013.

Work done in the northeast of the U.S. has shown that allowing anglers to keep only fish that are larger or smaller than the protected population can work.

LeBlanc suggests that could offer a solution here.

About the Author

Connell Smith is a reporter with Canadian Broadcasting Company in Saint John. He can be reached at 632-7726 Connell.smith@cbc.ca

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Statement by John Henderschedt, United States Commissioner to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas November 21, 2018 School of Atlantic bluefin tuna.

Atlantic bigeye tuna is overfished and subject to overfishing. The United States advocated strongly for the adoption of measures that would end overfishing immediately, rebuild the stock within 10 years, establish greater accountability to catch limits, and take appropriate account of the relative impact of various fisheries by reducing the catch of small bigeye tuna in purse seine fisheries. The United States is disappointed that ICCAT failed to adopt measures that will ensure the long-term sustainability of the bigeye tuna stock. The current management measures in place for tropical tunas, including bigeye tuna, were extended for 1 year.

The annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), held in Dubrovnik, Croatia, concluded this week. U.S. goals for the ICCAT meeting were focused primarily on adoption of critical conservation measures while maintaining U.S. recreational and commercial fishermen's access to ICCAT-managed fisheries. While the United States commends ICCAT’s progress at this meeting on efforts to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing, the Commission’s lack of progress on The United States also sought to advance measures for key conservation measures is disappointing. overfished blue marlin and white marlin stocks to increase post-release survivability and strengthen data Earlier this year, a stock assessment confirmed that collection, such as the use of circle hooks and electron-

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ic monitoring on pelagic longline vessels coupled with a requirement to release live marlins in these fisheries. These measures, and other measures to advance conservation of billfish, are already in effect in the United States but did not gain broad international support. ICCAT extended the current management measures for marlins for 1 year.

gram will help build capacity by providing direct experience in at-sea boarding and inspections and in post -inspection follow-up. Second is a measure that strengthens the mechanism for combating IUU fishing by requiring ICCAT members to restrict port entry and access to port services in defined circumstances, consistent with the 2009 Port State Measures Agreement. Third, ICCAT also strengthened its minimum The United States and cosponsors proposed several standards for VMS on longline and purse seine veskey measures at this meeting to ensure sustainable sels, increasing the frequency of data transmission and management of ICCAT fisheries and protected living expanding the measure’s application to smaller commarine resources. The United States, along with 25 mercial vessels that are authorized to fish in waters cosponsors, proposed measures requiring fins natural- beyond their country’s jurisdiction. This measure will ly attached to sharks at the first point of landing. The result in more precise information on fishing and fishUnited States and Canada proposed measures to pro- ing-related activities such as transshipment, which hibit intentional encirclement of cetaceans in purse will support ICCAT members’ enforcement and scienseine fisheries. The United States, Panama, Cape tific initiatives. Fourth, ICCAT adopted a measure to Verde, Nicaragua, and Guatemala proposed measures clarify and streamline the process to list and delist to reduce the bycatch of sea turtles in longline fisher- vessels as participating in IUU activities. ies. Unfortunately, there was no consensus among ICCAT members on these proposals. ICCAT's contin- Finally, under the leadership of the U.S. Chair of ICued failure to adopt measures that are critical to the CAT’s Compliance Committee, ICCAT took steps to sustainable management and sound conservation of continue improving its compliance review process.

ICCAT-managed fisheries and protected living marine resources is of great concern to the United States.

Progress was made on several fronts. Under the leadership of the U.S. Chair of ICCAT’s Convention Amendment Working Group, and following a 10-year negotiation process, ICCAT took the significant step of endorsing the text of proposed amendments to the 1969 ICCAT Convention to reflect a precautionary and ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management; clarify the scope of the Commission’s management authority, particularly for sharks; and allow greater participation of Taiwan in ICCAT’s deliberations. After undergoing a legal review, the amendments are expected to be adopted and opened for ratification in late 2019.

Concrete progress was also achieved in U.S. efforts to combat IUU fishing through port inspections, at-sea boarding, strengthened vessel monitoring systems (VMS), and IUU vessel listings. Several measures originally proposed by the United States were agreed to at this meeting after many years of development and collaboration with international partners. First, ICCAT adopted a framework for the bilateral exchange of at-sea inspectors that will help to familiarize inspectors with the boarding and inspection procedures of other ICCAT members. This voluntary pro-

John Henderschedt, Director of NOAA Fisheries' Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, heads the U.S. delegation to ICCAT.

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A Yankee in Hong Kong

By Gary Caputi

The story of a saltwater fishing nut from Jersey who started the first recreational charter and party boat fishing operation China.

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orty nine-year-old Carmine Vastola grew up in Metuchin, New Jersey, the son of a successful businessman who was also a died-in-the-wool saltwater fisherman, who was also the son of a life-long saltwater fisherman.

“My family always had a summer home at the Jersey shore,” he told us during a long distance phone call from Hong Kong. “Our first one was in Ocean Beach, New Jersey and later on we moved into one in Lavalette just down the road, 6 houses from the ocean.” Being the son of the son of a fisherman, fishing was in his blood from an early age and his love of it has never faded.

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me to go fishing as much as I could with my grandfather on summer weekdays so he would know where the fish were when he came down on Friday night, after his workweek was done.

Talk about living the dream, I was a kid in seventh heaven.”

Even when boating season was over and the boat was stored on dry land for the winter, Carmine and his elders would board the Jamaica out of Bogan’s Brielle Landing in Brielle, New Jersey to fish for sea bass, codfish, ling and whiting, whatever was available during the winter. He was a canyon rat before he could drive a car and attuned to the ways of offshore fishing from a young age.

“We always had a boat, first a cartopper, then a 16-foot wood boat with an outboard that we would surf launch to fish along the beaches.

In 1993, a then 23-year old Carmine was working When I was in my early teens my dad purchased for a toy company in New York City, and still fisha 27’ Boston Whaler, gave me a gas card and told ing every chance he could, when he accepted an

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offer from the company to move to Hong Kong to open up a purchasing office there. Seeing it as a chance to see another part of the world he packed his bags and away he went. He still managed to return home whenever he could to get his fishing fix. Over the years he put down roots in the massive city of 8 million, married a lovely Thai woman and started a family. As his success in business grew so did his desire to get a boat and fish the local waters. He tried to purchase a Boston Whaler from their dealer in Hong Kong, but as he began explaining what he wanted it was like they were speaking different languages. Well maybe they were. The dealer kept throwing one road block after another in the way of the purchase. There was a lot of miscommunication having the boat built in the states, getting it rigged the way Carmine wanted it, and then having it

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shipped to China. The time from order to delivery was growing into a year or more when he took another tack, called his father back in Jersey and told him what he wanted. Dad went to Ocean Beach Marina, a short drive from the family summer house, bought the boat off the lot and arranged for shipping. Carmine offloaded his brand new Boston Whaler 305 cuddy from a container ship in Hong Kong harbor three months later and put it in a slip in the country club/marina where he was a member. The boat was named the Thai Lady in honor of his wife.

He began exploring the local waters and found that the inshore grounds had been raved by decades of the commercial bottom trawl fleet sweeping the bottom for prawns. Not much to catch there, but about 70 miles offshore were dozens of oil platforms where commercial fishing was diffi-

Fishing the rigs on the Thai Lady produced a lot of fish that were familiar from the canyons back home like the mahi caught by these charter clients, a quite a few that were new to Carmine.

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A lot of the best action around the rigs is at night with fish like this big amberjack and dozens of species of snappers and groupers bite best on jigs and bait.

The boat was equipped with all the require safety equipment and Carmine had the proper license “The fishing out of Hong Kong is very much like and registration to take fares, other than that the Gulf of Mexico where the best action is found there are few other requirements to operate a around the rigs,” Carmine said. “There are tuna, boat for hire up to 50 feet. That said, he ran a some sailfish, barracuda, a seasonal migration of tight, safe vessel. While this was going on Carkingfish, mahi and dozens of species of snappers mine started playing around with a business plan and groupers. There are even cuberas and giant to start a real commercial venture based on taking trevally. Since the run offshore is relatively long, people fishing for hire and in 2013 it became a we approached it like we did canyon fishing back reality. The Thai Lady was his first charter boat in home. We would leave in the afternoon, arrive Hong Kong and business got off to a good start. around dark, fish all night with bait and jigs and Not long after, he moved the boat from the counthen maybe do a little daytime trolling before try club environment to a location in the heart of we’d head back in. No one, and I mean no one, Hong Kong proper and started making plans for was out there but us and the fishing was really acquiring a larger headboat type vessel to service good. We would do this on a regular basis and the large number of blue collar folks in the city eventually I had people who wanted to come who wanted to enjoy the fishing. along so it became a loosely run charter busiHe started his search for a candidate in the United ness.” cult to do and frowned upon.

What Do They Catch Off Hong Kong?

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States and eventually found a former oil field work boat in Boston, had it checked out and made the purchase. It was converted into a headboat with comfortable accommodations for up to 30 passengers for overnighters to the rigs, and after a long hassle getting it to Hong Kong took delivery in 2015. The Fortuna went into service from the docks on the Hong Kong waterfront making regular runs to the oil rigs almost immediately.

Most recently, the Thai Lady was sold to a new sportfishing operation in Maylasia since the price of gasoline had become prohibitive in Hong Kong, and Carmine took delivery of a new Chinese built 38-foot, twin-diesel walkaround cabin boat they named Cougar. This takes smaller group charters while the Fortuna is for large groups and open boat trips.

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“The bottom line is fish stocks in some areas are healthy and they are dramatically overfished in others. They can vary from country to country, but things are changing, slowly.”

Some of the commercial boat captains bought out during the closure of the prawn fishery are purchasing fiberglass boats from Japan that are capable of making the run to the rigs and are taking locals recreational fishing. Competition is the sincerest form of flattery, I guess, but Carmine is still plugging along as the granddaddy of charter and headboat fishing in Hong Kong.

“I still love to come home and fish Jersey and my old stomping grounds with my dad,” Carmine said. “I’ve got other plans in the works for sportfishing in other areas of southeast Asia and hope to start putting them into practice soon. In the meantime, if you’re in Hong Kong and you’d like “Our typical trips to the rigs target the many spe- to hop on board and experience the fishing you cies of snappers and groupers found there. We can find us at www.hkdeepseafishing.com. do get some foreign clients, but most of our pas- About 10% of our clients are foreign visitors and sengers are Chinese from Hong Kong or the sur- we always enjoy having folks from back home rounding provinces. Most come with the latest in aboard. rods, reels and clothes, and the fishing techniques they use are heavily influenced by the Japanese recreational fishing market. Jigging is the preferred method of catching fish, but we also fish with bait quite a bit at night. The charter boat does some trolling, but most anglers prefer to feel the bite and hook the fish so jigging and casting are preferred.

“Many of our passengers are regulars, guys who come out 15 to 25 times a season with us.” Carmine explained. “They are very much like the party boat regulars back home in Jersey and man, do they love to fish.”

In recent years the government bought out the prawn trawl fleet and put an end to the practice.

As a result, the inshore fishing is showing rapid signs of coming back. As Carmine knows, a little conservation can go a long way as it has back home.

“People don’t realize that in the States our fisheries are managed almost like the entire coast is a Marine Protected Area, but that is not the case in many areas of Southeast Asia,” he proclaimed.

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We seek to safeguard and improve fishing access to summer flounder, for those who enjoy it and to ensure the survival of those who depend on it, through scientific and legislative means.

The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund was started seven years ago by a group of concerned East Coast anglers and is governed by a board of directors comprised of recreational fisherman, Captains of for-hire fishing boats, and members of the fishing tackle industry. The SSFFF has no political affiliations and is neither a recreational nor commercial fishing lobbying group. Our Mission Statement was and continues to be, non-political.The main focus is the simple premise that improved fisheries science funded by SSFFF will ultimately lead to better management decisions and more equitable access to the stock for all user groups. To date, SSFFF has spent in excess of $130,000 of donations and grants to fund research and to influence the creation of more refined stock assessment models specific to Summer Flounder.

SSFFF-funded research was responsible for sex-specific mortality being included into the last stock assessment. This revealing information was submitted by renowned stock model scientist Dr. Mark Maunder in a white paper that was exclusively commissioned and funded by SSFFF. Additionally, SSFFF was instrumental in preventing the potential closure of the Summer Flounder fishery six years ago.

T

he SSFFF is a grass roots effort to get better research and data for the management of summer flounder stocks and the fishery that so many people anglers and companies depend on. The following documents are verbal and written testimony provided to the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council's stock assessment workshop. It revolved around exploring problems related to managing the stocks by size limits that increase the harvest mortality of larger female fish, the very fish the stock depends on to replenish itself.

RFA has provided funding and research assistance to the SSFFF since it's inception six year ago. RFA Board of Director member Nick Cicero has been one of the driving forces behind the organization and getting funding for their work.

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Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund P.O. Box 86, Brielle, NJ 08730

Www.ssfff.net

November 15, 2018 Mr. Jim Weinberg NEFSC SAW Chair Mr. Weinberg: Thank you for taking the time to hear more about our plans for the Summer Flounder management model. This letter intends to summarize the plans that SSFFF and our team of scientists are building to create a sex-structured model for the NMFS review in the future.

I have attached a public testimony document for your review. It provides an overview of our outlook and its components. The principal mission at this time is to obtain two years funding for a postdoc.

The postdoc would work closely with both the SSFFF team and NEFSC to investigate a range of aspects of the summer flounder assessment and management and provide a candidate stock assessment model based on the Stock Synthesis program.

We would like individuals from the NEFSC to be part of the project, joining our group of well-known experts that are already interested in participating: Dr. Mark Maunder, who has been involved with the summer flounder assessment for over a decade.

Steven Cadrin, who currently has a student working on MSE of the Mid-Atlantic ABC control rule based on surf clam and summer flounder.

Andre Punt, who is a world leader in stock assessment.

Rick Methot, who is the developer of Stock Synthesis.

Pat Sullivan, who has been involved in the summer flounder stock assessment working group.

The work will predominantly be carried out using Stock Synthesis. The model will be sex-structured, but simulations will be conducted to determine the benefit of including sex-structure and alternative assumptions about sex-specific selectivity to account for lack of sex-specific data. The project will also investigate using the Rutgers sex composition data. The analysis and simulations will investigate both the stock assessment results and management implications (e.g. reference points, including dynamic reference points, and ABC calculations).

It is essential that the postdoc has access to the NEFSC databases, preferably with assistance from NMFS staff to help interpret the data, to ensure that all the desirable investigations can be carried out with the appropriate model and data specifications. I also spoke with Adam Nowalsky about funding for the first year of the project, and he intends to work with the ASMFC Executive Committee to build a request to obtain that funding, which would be enormously beneficial to the undertaking.

Thank you again for your time. If you would like to speak with me directly, I would welcome the chance to discuss this further. I can be reached at (732) 492-6936. I look forward to hearing from you.

Greg Hueth, Chairman

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Public Testimony for the Summer Flounder Independent Expert Review Introduction The Save the Summer Flounder Fishery Fund (SSFFF) continues to support research on the summer flounder.

This research has ranged from data collection to full stock assessments. SSFFF has contracted and engaged internationally-renowned scientists, whose research has been published in well-respected scientific journals.

We believe that their research and findings are vital and should be considered in the development of the summer flounder stock assessment and in the subsequent management advice.

Numerous improvements are still needed in the summer flounder stock assessment and the SSFFF has funded the creation of several scientific documents that provide advice and recommendations to foster improvement. In particular, we believe the scientific evidence suggests that a sex-structured model should be implemented that uses the coast-wide survey data collected on the sex ratio and the limited sampling on the fisheries. We believe that this sex-specific information should be developed for both the commercial and recreational fisheries. Historically, a major concern for us with the management advice of summer flounder is related to the conservative nature of the assumptions used in the stock assessment model and the generated reference points. We believe that the setting of the ABC incurs penalty due both to low recruitment as well as to conservative reference points. An assessment model that takes into account the sex-specific dynamics as well as the current environmental regime should be considered, and dynamic reference points should be used as recommended in journal articles and reports that have been provided previously.

Stock assessment model Numerous improvements can be made to the current assessment structure including model development and expanded data acquisition. Some of the biological processes (e.g. natural mortality and recruitment) have been extensively reviewed, but improvements in understanding are not yet fully reflected in the assessment.

Other factors (e.g. growth, fishery structure and selectivity) still need thorough review. Sex structure is obviously an important component of this sexually dimorphic species. Several articles and reports provided advice on improving the summer flounder assessment in this regard. Some recommendations are summarized in Table 1 at the end of this document.

Sex Structure The development of a sex-structured model for summer flounder is practical, has been available in several forms for over a decade, and despite the need for some assumptions about the sex structure of the catch or selectivity, would be expected to be a more appropriate modeling approach to use than using a single sex model that assumes that males and females have the same characteristics. A sex- structured model should be used when data is available on processes (e.g. growth) that differ among males and females. We believe that such a model would reflect the best available science. Future analysis may require the evaluation of the sensitivity of management advice to different assumptions, including those about the difference between male and female selectivity.

Other data In 2010, Rutgers University and Cornell University collected coast-wide data on the sex ratio of summer flounder landed in both the commercial and recreational fisheries. They also evaluated the adequacy of summer flounder sex-at-age and sex-at-length keys developed from NMFS-NEFSC ocean trawl surveys in describing the sex ratio in recreational and commercial landings. The study concluded that the sex-at-length and sex -at-age keys developed from NMFS-NEFSC ocean trawl data would not be appropriate for describing sex ratio of recreational landings. NMFS should consider using the currently available data in the assessment model and developing methods for ongoing collection of sex specific information from the recreational landings to provide information on differences in selectivity and reproductive contributions of males and females.

Management

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Reference points As mentioned above, a major concern for us with the management advice on summer flounder is related to the conservative nature of the assumptions used in the stock assessment model and the reference points. We do not believe it is appropriate to include additional conservation measures when calculating the Annual Catch Limit due to uncertainties that have already been taken into consideration. Specifically, the reference points imply a low value for steepness of the stock-recruitment relationship. However, there is substantial evidence that steepness is higher for summer flounder. If reference points are developed for summer flounder by selecting an appropriate proxy for steepness of the stock-recruitment relationship and are designed to maximize yield, both the target and threshold fishing mortality reference points should be based on lower SPRMSY/SPR0.

A conservative 0.8 value of steepness suggests a maximum SPRMSY/SPR0 = 30% target proxy and accordingly a lower SPRMSY/SPR0 threshold proxy. If the environment is driving recruitment, then dynamic reference points that take the current levels of recruitment into consideration should be used. If the stock assessment and reference points cannot be recalculated based on the best available scientific information rather than using overly conservative values, then no additional precautionary measures are needed and thus the P* should be higher.

Dynamic reference points Finally, we wish to emphasize that the ABC is over penalized due to the recent low recruitment for summer flounder, the harvestable biomass is low and P* is reduced. Fishing at FMSY should move the stock to BMSY on average and biomass is expected to fluctuate around a target, so there is no need to reduce catch from B*FMSY unless the biomass has been substantially reduced. This is the purpose of the threshold and not the target. The use of dynamic biomass targets that take recruitment fluctuations into consideration are more consistent with fishing mortality targets. The difference between static and dynamic reference points can be consequential. Using the average of recent recruitment in reference point calculations can serve as a proxy for developing dynamic reference points. The current ABC for summer flounder could potentially be higher if dynamic reference points are used. Care should be taken when using dynamic reference points for stocks that show a strong relationship between stock size and recruitment, which is not the case for summer flounder, because reference points and management may follow the recruitment down as biomass decreases.

Other documents This assessment Maunder, M.N. 2018. A concise guide to developing fishery stock assessment models.

Maunder, M.N. 2018. The importance of sex structure in fisheries stock assessment models.

Maunder, M.N. 2018. Reference points and management for summer flounder.

Maunder, M.N. 2018. Dynamic reference points for summer flounder.

Maunder, M.N. 2018. Stock Synthesis Implementation of a Sex-Structured Virtual Population Analysis Applied to Summer Flounder Maunder, M.N. 2018. Updated Stock Synthesis Implementation of a Sex-Structured Virtual Population Analysis Applied to Summer Flounder

Journal publications Maunder, M.N. 2012. Evaluating the stock-recruitment relationship and management reference points: application to summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in the U.S. mid-Atlantic. Fisheries Research, 125–126: 20– 26.

Maunder, M.N., and Wong, R. A. 2011. Approaches for estimating natural mortality: application to summer flounder (Paralichthys dentatus) in the U.S. mid-Atlantic. Fisheries Research, 111: 92–99.

See Table 1. Summer flounder recommendations

TABLE 1 - Summer Flounder Recommendations

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Category

Recommendation

Model structure

Use an age- and sex- structured integrated model

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Use a seasonal time step Start the model in 1976, but consider 1982 and 1994 Stock Structure

Model a single stock and use the areas as fisheries approach

Recruitment

Assume recruitment is independent of stock size

Model random variation in recruitment Model autocorrelation Natural Mortality

Estimate separate natural mortality rates for males and females inside the stock assessment model Estimate a separate M for ages 0 and 1

Growth

A thorough evaluation of growth is needed Growth should be estimated inside the model using a Richards growth curve while integrating the age-length data into the model.

Consider modelling temporal variation in growth

Fishery definitions

A comprehensive evaluation of fishery structure is needed Fishery structure should consider: commercial, recreational, scallop discards, commercial and recreational discards, season, north, central, and south area structures, North Carolina as a separate commercial fishery, inshore and offshore commercial fisheries.

Selectivity

Use flexible selectivity curves Assume the commercial offshore fishery has asymptotic selectivity and the other fishery and surveys are dome shaped.

Maintain current time blocks in selectivity Allow fishery selectivity to change over time Use length based selectivities

Data weighting

Conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the options to model differences in the sex specific selectivity Only use the NMFS surveys in the assessment Integrate the surveys as aggregated catch and catch composition data

Compute the composition sample size from the sampling design if possible Include an aging error matrix Use sex-structured data where available Process variability

Model process variability for recruitment and fishery selectivity. Process variability should also be considered for growth and for natural mortality of the younger fish.

Diagnostics

Apply all the diagnostics and the accepted model should satisfy all diagnostics tests

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NEWS & VIEWS NOAA Seeks Input on Northeast Recreational Groundfish Fisheries

and provide other opportunities for recreational anglers.

In the short term, regulators are seeking potential new management measures to achieve, but not exceed, recreational catch limits in the upcoming 2019 fishing season, including Gulf of Maine cod and haddock.

FishSmart Initiative Engages Florida Anglers (Alexandria, VA.) – State fish and wildlife agencies throughout the Southeast, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), are joining together in the FishSmart Red Snapper Conservation Project (FishSmart), supporting recreational anglers in their conservation efforts. Nearly 2,000 recreational anglers .NOAA Fisheries is ramping up its plans to devel- from Florida to North Carolina will be participatop management strategies for the Northeast rec- ing in the project by reporting their experiences reational groundfish fishery for 2019, beginning while using FishSmart’s recommendations, inwith three January workshops for stakeholder cluding the use of descending devices for deep input. water fish.

The agency’s Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office has scheduled the work- In addition, FWC is sharing FishSmart’s catchshops for Jan. 8 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and-release “best practices” techniques with anglers throughout the state, such as choosing the Jan. 10 in Narragansett, Rhode Island; and Jan. 12 in Plymouth. Times still are to be determined. right tackle for the fish you are targeting, taking the correct steps when landing and releasing The workshops, beyond soliciting stakeholder fish, and demonstrating the best methods to recomment, also will jump-start the campaign to lease fish in deep water to maximize their chance develop new short-term and long-term manage- of survival. ment measures for the recreational fishing industry “that balance the need to prevent overfishing “FishSmart plays a critical role in supporting conwith enabling profitability in the for-hire fleet” servation in the South Atlantic. The project’s goal

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is to improve the survival of released fish while enhancing anglers’ fishing experience through better fishing practices and release,” said Andrew Loftus, FishSmart Coordinator.

"We are proud to participate in FishSmart. We believe educating anglers on best fishing practices and techniques ultimately improves survival rates and helps protect the future of fishing," said Richard Abrams, Biological Administrator at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissio .

“Yamaha Marine is committed to long term sustainability of our fishery resources, and this project helps anglers to build upon their established conservation ethic by directly helping them to preserve our fisheries to ensure that fish populations continue to thrive and remain accessible for generations to come,” said Martin Peters, Senior Manager, Government Relations at Yamaha Marine.

Gulf Council to Hold Public Hearings on State Management of Red Snapper

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is considering six amendments that would allow the individual Gulf states to set their own seasons and potentially other management measures for the recreational red snapper fisheries in both state and federal waters off their coasts. The Gulf Council will be holding several public hearings across the Gulf coast to solicit public comments on these amendments, includRecreational anglers catch nearly 350 million fish ing: each year in the South Atlantic, and of those, ap• Monday, December 10, 2018 at 6 pm CST at proximately 60 percent are released. If anglers the Embassy Suites on 4914 Constitution Avenue improved the survival rate of these fish even in Baton Rouge slightly by using best release practices and tools, millions of fish could be saved.

Thursday, January 17, 2019 at 5 pm CST via webinar .

About FishSmart: FishSmart is an innovative project that encourages anglers to use a scienceOther hearing locations and dates are listed on based, proactive approach to protect the future the Gulf Council’s website . You can also submit of fishing by educating and demonstrating “Best written comments via the Gulf Council’s website Practices” to use when out on the water. This or email to gulfcouncil@gulfcouncil.org . Written South Atlantic project is coordinated through the comments must be received on or before 5 pm FishAmerica Foundation and in collaboration Eastern (4 pm Central) on Tuesday, January 22, with the following: Yamaha Marine, American 2019.

Sportfishing Association, Georgia Department of Recreational offshore anglers and charter capNatural Resources Coastal Resources Division, tains have a vested interest in the Gulf Council’s Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commisdecision on these amendments. We encourage sion, Gray’s Reef Marine Sanctuary Foundation, NOAA Fisheries, North Carolina Marine Fisheries, you to participate in the amendment’s development—it is important that the Gulf Council hears Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and and considers your preferences. The final amendSouth Carolina Department of Natural Resources. ments will set the framework within which the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission will Learn more aboutFishSmart by visiting work to establish rules for the state’s recreational FishSmart.org.

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red snapper fishery. If the final amendments reflect your preferences, the Commission will have a better foundation for addressing the desires of Louisiana’s recreational fishing community. The Gulf Council is expected to make a final decision on these amendments at their January 28-31, 2019 meeting in Orange Beach, Alabama.

For the second time in as many months a local South Carolina fisherman reported finding an endangered Atlantic sturgeon dead in the middle of Cooper River channel off Charleston.

He was able to help us by collecting photos and GPS coordinates. Getting a chance to see the fish, learn where it was found, and determine its For more information on these amendments, see size and body condition provides valuable inforour Louisiana Recreational Reef Fish Managemation to biologists. ment Plan page . You can also contact Chris According to NOAA biologists it's likely the sturSchieble at cschieble@wlf.la.gov or 504-284geon was hit by a boat at some point (looking at 2035. the condition of the tail), but it's unclear if it was The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisher- hit before or after it died. Data the fisherman provided will be put into a newly developed dataies is charged with managing and protecting base.

Louisiana’s abundant natural resources. For more information, visit us at www.wlf.la.gov. To Data collection can help biologists look at trends receive email alerts, signup at over time which in turn can lead to necessary http://www.wlf.la.gov/signup. protections for an endangered species like this one. We are anxious to learn more about where sturgeon live, their daily movements, and threats they face.

If you encounter a sturgeon please contact us at 1-844-STURG 911, (1-844-788-7491) or via email NOAA.Sturg911@noaa.gov .

Photos are very helpful. Also, if you can report where you saw the fish, how big it was and what condition it was in - this is all helpful information.

Help and information from citizen scientists is critical to our success in recovering endangered sturgeon.

Nomination Deadline: December 24 NOAA Fisheries is seeking nominations to fill vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, also known as MAFAC. The deadline for nominations is December 24, 2018.

Reporting encounters with sturgeon provides valuable information

Nomination instructions and guidelines are detailed in the Federal Register and on the MAFAC webpage.

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MAFAC advises the Secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce.

MAFAC draws on its members’ expertise and other sources to evaluate and make recommendations to the Secretary and NOAA on the development and implementation of Department regulations, policies, and programs critical to the mission and goals of the agency. MAFAC members represent a wide spectrum of fisheries, protected resources, and marine habitat interests, including tribal, seafood, environmental, academic, consumer, and other related national interests.

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tional fishermen will be able to keep a single cod in the Gulf of Maine– again --in 2019.

Although preliminary data (May through August) indicate that the recreational sector might have “removed” (almost entirely via the 15% mortality rate assigned to released cod) around 142 metric tons (mt) of cod out of the 220 mt annual recreational quota. The 142 mt may get bumped up somewhat when the final data for the fall comes in, but we will likely still be well below our quota.

However, there may not be enough “cushion” to allow any possession at all in 2019.

Haddock? It looks like the recreational sector will have taken only 600-700 mt of its huge 3,358 mt quota for 2018, but there’s doubt that the bag limit will increase much, if at all, from the 12-fish-per-person limit we had in 2018. The problem, again, is the release mortality for the cod we catch and throw back while we’re fishing for haddock. If the bag limit increased significantAn MAFAC member cannot be a federal employ- ly, people would spend more time trying to catch ee, a member of a Regional Fishery Management their limit, and thus catch more cod in the proCouncil, a registered federal lobbyist, or a state cess. At least that’s our government’s theory. So employee. you see, cod drives the bus.

Nominees should possess demonstrable expertise in one of these fields and be able to fulfill the time commitments required for two annual meetings and between-meeting subcommittee work.

Individuals serve for a term of three years, and if re-appointed, may serve no more than two consecutive terms.

Membership is voluntary, and except for reimThis is really disappointing, but we’ll know bursable travel and related expenses, service is more after the January RAP meeting when we’ll without pay. The committee functions solely as have all the 2018 data and perhaps some manan advisory body (complying fully with the Feder- agement measures to consider. al Advisory Committee Act) that reports to the Secretary.

For more information contact Jennifer Lukens, Executive Director of MAFAC, or Heidi Lovett, Assistant Director.

Posted on Friday, November 09, 2018

Little Change Expected for 2019 New England Cod & Haddock Regs

By Capt. Barry Gibson, RFA NE Director

On November 6, voters in North Carolina approved an amendment to the state constitution to protect the Right to Hunt, Fish, and Harvest Wildlife.

The amendment passed 57.18% to 42.82%. A toI attended the New England Fishery Managetal of 2,061,766 votes were cast “for” the amendment Council’s Recreational Advisory Panel (RAP) ment. meeting in November, and unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be much of a chance that recrea- Once the amendment is certified and enrolled,

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North Carolina will be 22nd state to constitutionally protect the Right to Hunt, Fish and Harvest Wildlife. The amendment was presented to voters after Senate Bill 677 passed the legislature earlier this year. Sponsored by North Carolina Legislative Sportsmen’s Caucus members Senator Danny Earl Britt, Senator Tom McInnis, and Senator Norman Sanderson, SB 677 passed both legislative chambers with strong bipartisan support.

Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation (CSF) Honorary Board Member and North Carolina resident Richard Childress praised this ballot measure. “The amendment is about ensuring our ability to pass on outdoor traditions, protecting conservation funding, and instilling a deep appreciation for our state’s wildlife and natural resources in the minds of North Carolina’s next generation,” said Childress.

SALEM, Ore. – The National Marine Fisheries SerArticle I of the North Carolina Constitution will be vice (NMFS) has approved the Oregon Departamended by adding: “Sec. 38. Right to hunt, fish, ment of Fish and Wildlife’s application to lethally remove the few California sea lions present at and harvest wildlife. The right of the people to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife is a valued part of Willamette falls in an effort to help save winter steelhead and spring Chinook from extinction. the State's heritage and shall be forever preserved for the public good. The people have a right, including the right to use traditional meth- Sea lions are protected under the federal Marine ods, to hunt, fish, and harvest wildlife, subject on- Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). On Oct. 6, ly to laws enacted by the General Assembly and 2017, ODFW applied for authorization to remove California sea lions at Willamette Falls under a rules adopted pursuant to authority granted by the General Assembly to (i) promote wildlife con- provision of the MMPA that allows for limited leservation and management and (ii) preserve the thal take of sea lions that are having a negative future of hunting and fishing. Public hunting and impact on protected fish species. fishing shall be a preferred means of managing ODFW filed for the application because their and controlling wildlife. Nothing herein shall be analyses showed that the high levels of predaconstrued to modify any provision of law relating tion by sea lions (25% of the steelhead run in to trespass, property rights, or eminent domain." 2017) meant there was an almost 90% probability that one of the upper Willamette steelhead In addition to the CSF, the amendment was runs would go extinct. The level of predation on strongly supported by a wide range of in-state and national sportsmen’s conservation organiza- spring Chinook, although lower (7-9% annually), was still enough to increase the extinction risk by tions and businesses.

10-15%.

“CSF would like to thank the voters of North Carolina as well as the legislators, partners, organiza- The NMFS reached their decision after considertions, and businesses that supported the Right to ing public comment on ODFW’s application as Hunt, Fish, and Harvest Wildlife constitutional well as the recommendations of a 14-member amendment,” said CSF President Jeff Crane. stakeholder taskforce.

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“This is good news for the native runs of salmon and steelhead in the Willamette River,” said Dr. Shaun Clements, ODFW policy analyst on the sea lion issue. “Before this decision, the state’s hands were tied as far as limiting sea lion predation on the Willamette River. We did put several years’ effort into non-lethal deterrence, none of which worked. The unfortunate reality is that, if we want to prevent extinction of the steelhead and Chinook, we will have to lethally remove sea lions at this location.”

Clements noted that this authorization will do nothing to help curb the recent influx of the much larger steller sea lions into the basin, or their impact on white sturgeon, a species that can live up to 100 years. “Steller sea lions are preying heavily on sturgeon in the lower Willamette but current federal law prohibits us from doing anything about that,” said Clements.

Making Waves Winter 2018

days, or be seen eating salmonids. Those sea lions captured on the Willamette by agency biologists will be transported to a secure facility and humanely euthanized by a veterinary staff. Staff will also perform a necropsy and collect samples to determine the age, health, and diet of the animal in an effort to better understand ecology and behavior of these animals. ODFW will continue to monitor sea lion predation at Willamette Falls, and report its findings to NMFS, which will decide in five years whether to renew ODFW’s authority.

Clements said the action is about striking a balance between the recovery of imperiled salmon and steelhead and the ongoing conservation of sea lions.

“We are trying to prevent a few individual sea lions from habituating to these areas that are hundreds of miles from the ocean where they California sea lions in the U.S. are not listed as are especially effective at driving already deplet"endangered" or "threatened" under the Endan- ed fish populations further down the path to exgered Species Act (ESA). The most recent popula- tinction,” he said. Predation by pinnipeds also tion estimate for the U.S. stock was 296,750 ani- threatens to undermine the gains made by signifmals in 2016. ODFW requested and was granted icant regional investments in recovery efforts, authority to remove up to one percent of the such as improvements in fish passage at dams, population’s “potential biological removal” level, restoration of fish habitat, and implementation of a metric that translates to a maximum of 93 ani- fishing regulations that prohibit anglers from harmals a year on the lower Willamette. According vesting wild fish. to ODFW’s Marine Mammal Program Lead Dr. Shea Steingass, there are 50-100 animals that are present at the Falls at some point in the year.

“Removal of these sub-adult and adult males will have no impact on viability of the sea lion population but will greatly improve the outlook for threatened upper Willamette winter steelhead runs,” she said.

With federal authorization now in place, ODFW can move forward with plans to trap and remove sea lions from the Willamette. “We currently have up to 12 animals at the Falls and a majority of those have been seen here every year for the past 10 years” said Steingass.

ODFW will have to meet two federally-mandated criteria to remove an individual sea lion: it must be observed in the area between Willamette Falls and the mouth of the Clackamas River for two

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Making Waves 2016 Making Waves Summer Winter 2018

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Chairman Robert T. Healey Jr. Treasurer John Kasinski Board Members Bob Healey, Sr. Pat Healey, Nick Cicero, Tred Barta Jack Holmes Mike Leech Nate Odum Andrew Semprevivo Tony Novelli Jim Motsko Mark Odom Carl T. Huffman Bob Flocken Martin Peters Libby Yranski Bob Shomo Jr.

Making Waves Winter 2018

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The RFA Mission Safeguard the rights of saltwater anglers Protect marine, boat and tackle industry jobs Ensure the long-term sustainability of our nation’s fisheries.

Anti-fishing groups and radical environmentalists are pushing their agenda on marine fisheries issues affecting you. The Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) is in the trenches too, lobbying, educating decision makers and ensuring that the interests of America’s coastal fishermen are being heard loud and clear. Incorporated in 1996 as a 501c4 national, grassroots political action organization, RFA represents recreational fishermen and the recreational fishing industry on marine fisheries issues on every coast, with state chapters established to spearhead the regional issues while building local support.

“The biggest challenge we face is the fight to reform and bring common sense and sound science into the fisheries management process, says James Donofrio, RFA founder and Executive Director.

“Anti-fishing and extreme environmental groups are working everyday to get us off the water.” Despite the threats to diminish access to our nation’s resources, Donofrio says that RFA offers members hope in an organization that’s designed from the ground up to fight back. “As individuals, our concerns will simply not be heard; but as a united group, we can and do stand up to anyone who threatens the sport we enjoy so much – fishing!”

After nearly 20 years working inside the Beltway and within state capitols along the coast, RFA has become known as one of the nation’s most respected lobbying organizations, and our members have a lot to celebrate.

The Recreational Fishing Alliance Headquarters P.O. Box 3080 New Gretna, New Jersey 08224 Phone: 1-888-JOIN RFA toll free Fax: (609) 294-3812

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