NOAA catch-share program threatens
recreational
angling
CCA questions federal program of resource giveaways
In a letter to National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Special Advisor Monica Medina ,
Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) voiced opposition to a federal
fisheries management initiative that gives fixed percentages of various
fisheries to commercial fishers. CCA acknowledged that the concept, known
as a catch-share program, can be effective in purely commercial fisheries,
but stressed that it presents serious problems when applied to fisheries
that have both commercial and recreational participation.
“Catch shares are obviously a major focus
for this Administration and we are concerned not only about the impact
they have on recreational fisheries, but also at the pace with which they
are being pushed into the management system,” said Chester Brewer,
chairman of the CCA National Government Relations Committee.
“As we’ve seen with red snapper in the Gulf
of Mexico, these types of programs create huge problems for recreational
anglers,” he added, referring to a fishery that has locked 51 percent of
the total catch to a small fleet of commercial boats and 49 percent to
hundreds of thousands of recreational anglers. “Based on our experience,
catch share initiatives are a detriment in the management of mixed-use
fisheries.”
In the letter to Medina, appointed to lead
the NOAA Catch Shares Task Force, CCA stated that allocating a fixed
percentage of a mixed fishery to commercial fishers is unfair, not only to
recreational anglers but also to the public at large. CCA endorses the
concept that the federal government is the trustee of the nation’s ocean
resources and must manage them for the overall benefit of the public.
“Catch shares are on a fast track and we
don’t feel we have the luxury to ‘just say no’ – we’ve never chosen that
option in any fisheries management crisis,” said Brewer. “We didn’t do
that during the debate over marine protected areas and we are not going to
do it now. Catch shares are a real threat to the future of a number of
recreational fisheries and they are not going to just go away anytime
soon. We are going to stay very active on this issue to make sure
recreational anglers are not left out of the debate…and out of the
fishery.”
Visit the
CCA
Newsroom and click on the Catch Shares section to see a
briefing packet that includes a review of the history of catch share
programs and the granting of exclusive fishing rights, as well as the
letter CCA to Monica Medina, appointed to lead the NOAA Catch Shares Task
Force.
Baton Rouge group puts extra fish to good use
Brent St. Germain
Sports Editor
The Courier and Daily Comet
Houma and Thibodaux, LA
GRAND ISLE — Some spent time inside
the rodeo pavilion enjoying food and music, waiting for the
evening’s fireworks to start.
Others waited for the next big catch
at the Sand Dollar Marina’s weigh station. There was time spent at
beaches and along La. 1, watching the traffic as if a Mardi Gras
parade was set to roll.
On the land and at sea there was
something for everyone at Friday’s 88th Annual International Grand
Isle Tarpon Rodeo.
But for a select group, Friday meant
more than food, music and partying.
Since 1996, members of the Baton
Rouge Food Bank and Coastal Conservation Association have
cleaned speckled trout, redfish and king mackerel at the Sand
Dollar’s boat docks to help feed the hungry in and around their
city.
Businessman John Englesman came up
with the idea when he was a board member of the food bank.
“They had a surplus of fish, and I
thought we would have a good use for it at the food bank,” he
said. “The food bank normally doesn’t get fresh fish, so it was
something different for them. Over the years, it definitely worked
out. It goes to the big soup kitchens because they can feed a lot
of people and handle a lot of product.”
Howard Cuevas of Baton Rouge, a
member of the Coastal Conservation Association, said he is happy
to be helping a worthy cause.
“These fish were going to waste, but
Englesman got wind of it, so he called CCA and we got together and
started cleaning fish for a good cause,” he said. “It sounded like
a great thing to do, and I am glad that I involved with it”
CCA member Rich Donaldson of Baton
Rouge said many volunteers fished in the morning and cleaned fish
in the afternoon. He estimated that they would have 200 pounds of
fish filets by the end of the day.
Last year, the food bank collected
660 pounds of fish filets.
Donaldson said he believes they have
a good chance to clean more fish at this year’s rodeo.
“It all depends on how many fish are
brought in by the fishermen,” he said. “It’s all filets. That’s a
lot of meat.”
Donaldson said Sureway grocery store
on the island plays a big role in the food bank’s efforts.
Filets are stored in the grocery’s
freezers until the end of the rodeo. When the store receives its
next shipment of refrigerated items, the fish are placed on the
truck and transported to Baton Rouge.
Brian St. Cyr of Lafayette has
fished the rodeo for 30 years, and he said the idea to give the
fish to they food bank is a good one.
“Most of the fish we catch are
redfish and trout, so when they ask for the donations, of course,
we enjoy doing it,” St. Cyr said. “It’s good knowing that you are
helping a worthy cause.”
Cleaning fish, Donaldson said, can
be a challenge at times. While speckled trout and king mackerel
are easy to clean, the same can’t be said for the black drum.
“They have giant scales that makes
it a challenge,” he said. “You can’t use an electric knife on
them. You have to use a filet knife.”
Donaldson said it can also make for
a long day.
“I remember last year by 8 p.m. we
were wore out. It was a long day of cleaning fish,” he said.
Although Friday was not considered a
busy day, Donaldson and Cuevas said that will not be the case
today, as many fishermen wait until the last day to bring their
fish to the weigh station.
“There are usually more people down
here, but the fish we’ve been getting are about the same. I don’t
know if the weather is keeping them away or what, but we’ll be
packed down here (Saturday).”
The rodeo concludes today with a
parade scheduled to roll at 11 a.m. from Neptune Lane to the rodeo
pavilion. The weigh station scales are scheduled to close at 6
p.m. at Sand Dollar Marina.
|
Abandoned crab traps to be eyesore of
the past in Florida
By Trip Aukeman
CCA Florida
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC)
implement six regional closed blue crab trap seasons to help identify
and retrieve lost or abandon crab traps. CCA Florida applauds their
new rule to aide in the cleanup of Florida waters. Until now it was
very hard to have derelict crap traps removed from Florida waters
because of the criminal charges that could be imposed if you were
caught molesting a trap that was not yours.
The derelict traps interfere with other fishing activities,
boating navigation, and usually will continue catching crabs and fish
until they degrade. The degrading poses another threat to marine
animals and habitat surrounding these estuaries.
The closed seasons will be for a period of up to 10 days,
rotating around the state. During the closed times, harvesters will
need to have all of their traps out of the water. Groups that receive
authorization from the FWC will be able to go into approved areas to
retrieve abandoned traps. CCA Florida chapters are already gearing up
to take advantage of the new rule and will begin coordinating with the
FWC to receive authorization for different regions.
During these closed
times harvesters will still be allowed to take blue crabs by the use
nets and fold up traps. This rule will be implemented across the
board to both recreational and commercial harvesters unless the
recreational trap is attached to private property.
The six proposed regional closures are as follows:
1) waters of the St.
Johns River System, January 16-25;
2) all other coastal
waters from the Georgia state line
south through Volusia County, August 20-29;
3) all waters of
Brevard County through Palm Beach County, August 10-19;
4) all waters of
Broward County through Pasco County, July 10-19;
5) all waters of
Hernando County through Wakulla County; July 20-29;
6) all waters of Franklin County to the Alabama state line, January
5-14;
For more information please contact Trip Aukeman CCA Florida Deputy
Director 850-224-3474.
 |
|
Salmon Recovery Plan Not Enough
Editorial
By Bryan Irwin
CCA PNW Executive Director
Printed in the News Tribune
August 20, 2009
It makes no sense to
destroy wild salmon at
the same time we’re “restoring” them.
Record public
and private investments to resuscitate endangered Puget Sound chinook
salmon runs are being undermined by unsustainable harvest and hatchery
management practices that are driving our remaining wild salmon
populations closer to extinction.
While state and federal
agencies often concede the need for change, they have been unwilling
to reform how salmon harvests and hatcheries are managed. Their
refusal to act is especially troubling when compared to the changes
being made to protect and restore salmon habitat.
Puget Sound chinook
salmon have been listed as threatened under the federal Endangered
Species Act for almost 10 years. During this time, federal, state and
local governments have spent millions to protect and restore habitat
and are instituting major restrictions on private landowners, the
construction of roads, docks and bulkheads, and stormwater and septic
collection in the name of endangered Puget Sound Chinook salmon
recovery.
For the most part, the
public has been willing to support these expenditures and restrictions
in order to recover salmon. The region’s residents understand that
salmon are an integral part of our culture and our history.
But it’s unlikely that
the public will continue to support salmon recovery efforts once they
understand that wild salmon will not and cannot be recovered under
current harvest rates that can exceed 80 percent and with hatchery
management practices endangering wild populations. Unfortunately,
federal, state and tribal officials are nearing completion of a new
plan that is likely to continue these unsustainable practices in spite
of the dire conditions facing these populations.
In 2004, a
congressionally established independent science group, the Hatchery
Scientific Review Group (HSRG), provided a report to Congress that
clearly stated that unless fisheries managers reduce harvest rates on
wild salmon while also significantly limiting the number of hatchery
fish that stray into our streams and rivers and spawn with wild fish,
there is simply no chance of recovering Puget Sound chinook salmon.
They provided a similar report for the Columbia River to Congress
earlier this year.
According to the HSRG –
as well as a growing list of other scientific studies – excessive
spawning of hatchery fish with wild fish diminishes the survival of
their offspring and thereby impedes the recovery of the wild species.
Wild salmon evolved over
thousands of years in the streams and rivers they inhabit. They are
genetically programmed for those streams and rivers. Hatchery fish
degrade the genetic fitness of wild fish and reduce the chances that
their offspring will survive in these very same streams and rivers.
In short, according to
the scientists, no matter how much we spend restoring and protecting
salmon habitat or improving the hydropower system, we cannot recover
wild salmon until we protect wild fish and reduce the number of
hatchery fish reaching the spawning grounds.
There are two possible
solutions to this problem. One is to drastically reduce hatchery
production and salmon harvests. Another is to selectively harvest the
many excess hatchery fish before they can spawn with the wild fish.
Selective harvest means that fishers are able to identify hatchery
salmon from wild salmon and release the wild salmon alive.
This distinction is easy
since all hatchery chinook and coho salmon in Puget Sound have their
adipose fin removed. Wild salmon do not.
However, under the
current Puget Sound harvest- management plan approved by the National
Marine Fisheries Service, neither of these options is required.
Furthermore, the state and the tribes are in the final weeks of
developing a new plan, which will be in effect for up to 10 years. The
plan continues the same deleterious harvest and hatchery practices
that scientists have repeatedly warned must stop if we are serious
about salmon recovery.
The public deserves full
disclosure and correction of these problems.
To date, the state,
federal and tribal fisheries managers have been less than forthcoming
about the need to make needed reforms. Whether it is the federal
National Marine Fisheries Service, the governor or Congress, someone
must provide leadership to develop a scientifically-defensible plan.
Otherwise, salmon
recovery is nothing more than a slogan. We will continue to spend
millions of dollars on salmon habitat and hydropower improvements. We
will continue to restrict all human activities in our communities that
are thought to impair salmon and their habitat; all human activities
that is except hatchery and harvest management. And, sadly, salmon
recovery will be doomed to fail.
Bryan Irwin is the
executive director of Coastal Conservation Association (www.ccapnw.org)
in the Pacific Northwest.
|
CCA Maryland
Receives Grant for Oyster Restoration
CCA Maryland’s expanding oyster
restoration efforts received a boost when it became a partner in Gov.
Martin O’Malley’s Marylanders Grow Oysters (MGO) program that will
provide the chapter 200 cages and spat to be used by local property
owners. This will raise the number of oysters the chapter plans to
plant this summer to 1.5 million.
“While we understand our work, by
itself, will not restore the Chesapeake Bay’s oyster population, we
are having an impact not only on water quality but, perhaps more
importantly, in educating local citizens about the importance of
oysters and clean water,” said Scott McGuire, president of CCA
Maryland’s Patuxent River Chapter which is spearheading the state’s
oyster work.
Last summer, more than 64,000 oysters
were planted in two creeks which feed the Patuxent River. With the MGO
grant and an earlier $25,000 grant from The Dominion Foundation, the
philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, up to 375 waterfront
residents will work with CCA Maryland in growing oysters that will be
placed on sanctuaries when they reach adult size.
CCA Maryland works
with the homeowners in helping them understand the water filtering
value of oysters, obtaining the cages and spat, placing them on their
piers, and knowing what needs to be done to maintain the cages. CCA
Maryland hopes to plant oysters in an additional six creeks feeding
the Patuxent this summer.
More Funding for
Flounder
The CCA Texas Executive Committee recently approved $16,000 to the
CCA/CPL Development Center in Corpus Christi for the purchase of two
fiberglass broodfish tanks and fiberglass egg collection tanks to be
used in the production of southern flounder.
With the help of CCA Texas, Texas Parks
and Wildlife Department scientists hope to produce large numbers of
juvenile flounder for release in the wild. The long-term goal at the
CCA/CPL Marine Development center is to eventually produce some two
million flounder eggs per year resulting in thousands of flounder to
be released.
“Flounder numbers have shown a
tremendous decline over the last 25 years,” said CCA Texas Executive
Director Robby Byers. “This equipment and the research being conducted
at the CCA/CPL hatchery, combined with the work done at other
facilities and laws being passed to help conserve flounder numbers,
will go a long way in helping recover a once-abundant species. We owe
it to future generations of Texans to do our part in reviving this
Texas treasure. The members of CCA Texas, through their generosity,
are more than pulling their weight.”
 |
Billy
Sandifer gets well-deserved recognition
for Big Shell Beach Cleanup
CCA congratulates
Billy Sandifer on his selection as a finalist for the Field & Stream
Hero of Conservation Award for his phenomenally successful beach
cleanup program on the Padre Island National Seashore (PINS). As
presented on the Field & Stream web site:
"Known as the caretaker pf Padres Island National Seashore, Sandifer
got fed up with the garbage that was washing up on the island's
beaches, so he organized a trash cleanup 14 years ago that to date has
removed 1.8 million pounds of garbage. He founded a group, the Friends
of Padre Island, that has raised thousands upon thousands of dollars
to help continue with the cleanups. Sandifer has also been
instrumental in raising funds to study and protect the endangered
Kemp's Ridley turtle, which nests on the island; and he has, in
conjunction with the Texas Ornithological Association, compiled
quarterly birding reports that
have resulted in protection of a number of area species."
A feature about Sandifer's conservation efforts over the years will be
in the August issue of Field & Stream and the winner of the 2009 Hero
of Conservation Award will be announced October 21, 2009, in
Washington D.C. CCA wishes Billy the
best of luck. |
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