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CCA Gulf Fisheries
Consultant
Dr. Russell Nelson
Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA's consultant to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management
Council, is a 25-year veteran of marine fisheries
management and research.
His background in fish population dynamics gives CCA an expert capable
of working in the management process from the initial stock assessment through
final regulatory action by the Council.
Nelson has a doctorate in Marine Fisheries Ecology from North Carolina State
University and served as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries
Service until he became the chief scientist and then executive director of
Florida's fledgling Marine Fisheries Commission in 1986. During his tenure,
tough legal and political battles with commercial interests did not keep Florida
from enacting sweeping conservation-based regulations to protect and restore
previously overfished stocks of red drum, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel,
spotted seatrout, snook, tarpon, snappers, groupers, and bonefish. In the 1990s,
Florida led the nation in implementing requirements for sea turtle and finfish
bycatch reduction devices in shrimp trawls.
Nelson spent 14 years as a member of both the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
Fisheries Management Councils and has more than 15 years of experience with the
U.S. Advisory Council and delegation to the International Committee for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. He has worked on the development of management
plans for more than 300 species of marine life at the state, national and
international levels.
In 2000, Nelson founded an international fisheries consulting group specializing
in conservation science and advocacy for recreational fishing interests. In
addition to his work with CCA, he has led conservation efforts for The Billfish
Foundation and organizations on the U.S. West Coast as well as in Mexico,
Central America and Australia.
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CCA created the CCA Gulf
Fisheries Committee as a subcommittee of the National Government Relations
Committee. It is comprised of dedicated CCA volunteers working within the
federal council system for better fisheries management in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Representatives from the committee attend management board meetings and
technical committee meetings. Attendance in this meeting process is
critical to fully understand the biology and management of each particular
species. The CCA Gulf Fisheries Committee then formulates goals for each
species and works within the council system to implement them through
state organizations and agencies.
Tim Strickland of Texas is the CCA Gulf Fisheries Committee
Chairman. Dr. Russell Nelson serves as the CCA Gulf Fisheries Director for
the committee.
CCA News
CCA statement on
extended red snapper season - Aug. 31, 2010
Coastal Conservation Association is supportive of an extension of the 2010
Gulf red snapper season based on NOAA Fisheries’ findings that 2.3 million
pounds of Gulf red snapper quota remains uncaught, primarily as a result
of the large closures of federal waters in response to the Deepwater
Horizon accident.
Gulf anglers finally catch
a break - Aug. 24, 2010
A fall red snapper
season is in the works thanks to a vote of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council at its meeting last week in Florida. The extension is
designed to give recreational anglers who might have missed out on the
53-day season due to closures associated with the Deepwater Horizon oil
spill a chance to fish.
Council appointments a step forward for anglers
- June 24, 2010
The 2010 regional fishery management council appointments released
yesterday by the U.S. Department of Commerce gave an indication that
federal officials are paying attention to the concerns of recreational
anglers. One of the key issues voiced by anglers at the Recreational
Fishing Summit hosted by NOAA Fisheries in April was a need for balanced
representation on the councils, and appointments made to the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council yesterday are a solid step in the right
direction.
Gulf Council clears way for extension of red snapper
season - June 17, 2010
In response to a request
from Coastal Conservation Association, the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council has approved an emergency rule that paves the way for
the recreational red snapper season to remain open past July 24 if the
quota is not taken due to the oil spill. Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA’s Gulf
Fisheries Director, made the request for the impact of the oil spill to be
taken into account during the Council’s meeting this week in Gulfport,
Mississippi.
Reallocation Is
the Answer - April 26, 2010
NOAA Fisheries announced a perplexing
paradox today that speaks to the flaws in the federal fisheries management
system. In the release, NOAA Fisheries declared both an increase in the
overall total allowable catch of Gulf red snapper in 2010 and the shortest
recreational red snapper season on record, at the same time.
CCA
Comments on Proposed Gulf Red Snapper Management Measures
- April 14, 2010
The Coastal Conservation Association, representing more than 80,000
members in state chapters along the Gulf Coast. We have two major concerns
to address in this letter on the proposed rule that would increase the
commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper, while enacting the
shortest recreational red snapper season in history.
CCA Comments to
NOAA Fisheries Service Opposing Haugen Exempted Fishing Permit
- March 8, 2010
Coastal Conservation Association believes the enforcement issue alone
should be a permanent deterrent to the reintroduction of any fish trap
gear in the Gulf of Mexico and
urges NOAA Fisheries Service to reject this application for an exempted
fishing permit.
Council
action on Gulf red snapper signals need for reallocation
- Feb.
10, 2010
Recreational anglers were cheered earlier
this year by news that after decades of federal management, culminating with a
two-fish bag limit and a 74-day season in 2009, scientists suddenly announced
that the Gulf red snapper stock is no longer undergoing overfishing, which is a
significant step on the road to recovery.
However, the reward for decades of sacrifice announced at the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council meeting this week is a good news/bad news scenario
for recreational anglers.
Fish trap proposal
rejected by Gulf Council
- Feb. 4, 2010
Like a bad penny, a proposal to re-introduce fish traps as an alternative to
longline gear in the Gulf grouper fishery turned up before the Gulf of Mexico
Fishery Management Council in December, outraging conservationists and fisheries
management veterans who had fought to banish the destructive gear from the Gulf
back in the 1990s. Fortunately for the fish and the anglers who care about them,
the proposal died a quick death this week when the Council voted unanimously to
remove the proposal from Amendment 32 to the gag/red grouper management plan
that is going forward this year.
CCA
Comments on the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council Gag/Red Grouper Amendment Scoping
Document (Reef Fish Amendment 32)
- Scoping meetings Jan
11-19.
Fish traps were removed
from the Gulf of Mexico in 2007 after years of controversy over their
destructiveness and have also been outlawed in the Atlantic and state
waters. This gear is "invisible" once deployed and ample evidence has been
supplied by state and federal law enforcement agents to conclude that it
is nearly impossible to observe the gear and enforce any escape gap or
panel regulations.
Fish trap proposal turns back the
clock on conservation
An unusual alliance of environmental groups and commercial longliners is
exploring the use of controversial fish traps in the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish
Fishery, leaving long-time participants
in federal fishery management issues surprised at the re-emergence of the highly
destructive gear.
CCA
Comments on Draft EIS for Amendment 31 to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery
Management Plan
None of the preferred options currently listed in the DEIS are likely to reduce
turtle interactions to levels identified as acceptable by the most recent
biological opinion. Additionally, recent discussions to evaluate the
reintroduction of fish traps, which were banned as excessively destructive gear
by the Gulf Council in 1996, as a substitute to longline gear are simply
alarming. Rather than searching for ways to perpetuate a marginal commercial
fishery, CCA urges the Council and the NMFS to focus on alternatives that
effectively reduce destructive commercial fishing effort to the greatest extent
possible.
CCA urges states to resist
flawed federal policies in Gulf
Faced with the unwelcome
reality of having two popular recreational fisheries managed by a fundamentally
flawed catch share system in the Gulf of Mexico, Coastal Conservation
Association (CCA) has taken the rare step of not supporting Gulf state
compliance with federal regulations for red snapper and grouper. The decision to
support “non-concurrence” with federal regulations is a sign of growing
dissatisfaction with federal management policies.
Federal
managers shut down another Gulf fishery
“The one-sidedness of
federal fisheries management is at a level that makes it almost impossible to
believe recreational interests will ever be considered in any meaningful way,”
said Brewer. “No fishery has ever been overfished by recreational angling alone,
and any number of economic studies indicates that the recreational sector is by
far the most valuable part of our marine fisheries. And yet, fishery after
fishery is closing down for anglers while the Councils bend over backwards to
keep the longlines and nets in the water. In the eyes of many recreational
anglers, the federal management system is on the edge of a total breakdown.”
Gulf Governors Stand Up for Recreational
Angling
“We have already seen the
negative impacts from the Gulf red snapper catch share system and
are concerned about negative impacts from the pending program for
Gulf grouper,” the governors’ letter stated. “Creating an exclusive
harvesting right for a small group of commercial fishermen
inherently marginalizes other users who do not have the same access
privileges. In purely commercial fisheries this effect can have both
economic and management benefits. But when applied in mixed-use
fisheries, recreational anglers are forced to focus their efforts in
limited state waters or not participate in the fishery at all.
Neither of these outcomes is desirable."
Letter from
the Gulf Governors to Secretary Locke.
CCA Files Lawsuit to Stop Gulf Grouper Giveaway
"In more than 30 years of practice in
fisheries law, I have not seen a more arbitrary action than this one,” said
Robert G. Hayes, CCA general counsel. CCA has asked for an expedited hearing and
expects the government to answer the lawsuit within the next 60 days. “We are
going to proceed as quickly as the court will allow to prevent the
implementation of this egregious decision.”
Bioeconomic Analysis of the Red Snapper Rebuilding
Plan and Transferable Rights Policies in the Gulf of Mexico
- Aug. 27, 2009
Click
HERE
to see all CCA press releases.
Click
HERE to tune into live Gulf Council
meetings when they occur or view footage from previous meetings.
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Gulf Fisheries News
Red snapper season extended for anglers
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Sept. 2, 2010
Marlin - Fall red snapper season starts to take shape in Gulf of Mexico
Marlin
Aug. 25, 2010
Casting for Conservation returning to Pascagoula
Mississippi Press
Aug. 24, 2010
Gulf Council Votes for Fall Red Snapper Season
Orange Beach
Aug. 21, 2010
Fishery management council recommends 24-day
red snapper season
al.com
Aug. 21, 2010
Officials to mull extending red snapper season
Walton Sun
Aug. 18, 2010
Attack on Shimano = An Attack on Us All
Sport Fishing
Aug. 18, 2010
There may be good news soon
Tuscaloosa News
Aug. 15, 2010
Snook, red snapper undergoing stock assessment
Bradenton Herald
Aug. 15, 2010
Regulators may open federal waters, red snapper
Destin Log
Aug. 7, 2010
Governor Jindal Says Go Fish!
Aug. 6, 2010
Fishing waters could reopen
Walton Sun
Aug 5. 2010
The Gulf isn't Dead
Outdoor Life
Aug. 4, 2010
Federal Waters to Possibly Open as Soon as Next Week
WMBB-TV
Aug. 4, 2010
Groups
want EPA to ban use of lead in hunting, fishing equipment
Press of Atlantic
City
August 4, 2010
Recreational Red Snapper Season May Reopen In Gulf
WKRG-TV
Aug. 2, 2010
Where Oysters Grew on Trees
New York Times
July 24, 2010
NOAA Reopens One-Third of Gulf Area Closed to Fishing
Environment News Service
July 23, 2010
Fishing area in Gulf expands after oil spill shutdown
Naples Daily News
July 22, 2010
Recreational Fishing Areas Reopen In Louisiana
Gov Monitor
July 19, 2010
Experts continue to hope for red snapper season
Montgomery Advertiser
June 27, 2010
Tompkins: Oil disaster in Gulf delaying anglers' catch
Houston Chronicle
June 19, 2010
Sea turtles' breeding tradition threatened
Los Angeles
Times
June 12, 2010
Local lawmaker rejects changes to trout bill
Daily Comet
June 9, 2010
USM scientists visit Gulf: "It's just depressing"
WDAM-TV
May 28, 2010
Dammrich elected chairman of Sport Fishing and Boating
Partnership
Boating Industry
May 28, 2010
USM Gulf Coast Research Laboratory team returns from
bluefin tuna larvae testing trip
Mississippi Press
May 28, 2010
From marlin to mackerel, Gulf anglers out of luck
The Associated Press
May 27, 2010
Tompkins: Texas at forefront of fisheries research
Houston Chronicle
May 26,2010
Red snapper season could get extension
Pensacola News Journal
May 23, 2010
Scientist Appointed to CNR Advisory Board
WCNF
May 21, 2010
Florida feels spill's effects
Sarasota Herald-
May 20, 2010
Moore named “Wildlife Conservationist of the Year”
The News - Port Arthur
May 12, 2010
Anglers may have more open areas
al.com (blog)
May 20, 2010
Increase in red snapper monitoring
WFN: World Fishing Network
May 17, 2010
With Gulf fish threatened by oil spill, NOAA may extend
catch season
Naples Daily News
May 13, 2010
Conservation commissioner
repeals emergency measure that took restrictions off netting
Press-Register - al.com
May 13, 2010
Will Gulf Fish Get a Break?
New York Times (blog)
May 11, 2010
NOAA Report: Swordfish, Three Other Stocks Fully
Rebuilt; None Added to Overfishing List
NOAA
May 10, 2010
Seafood bills move through state House
Houma Courier
May 8, 2010
Officials considering changing dates of red snapper
season to help those ...
Press-Register - al.com (blog)
May 5, 2010
Proposal pits commercial versus sport fishermen
Houma Courier
May 2, 2010
State matches controversial fed move ...
Florida Environments.com
May 1, 2010
Event helps replenish flounder
populations
Brazosport Facts
April 25, 2010
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory still rebuilding from
Hurricane Katrina
Mississippi Press
April 25, 2010
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