On Catch Shares and Privatizing Our Oceans

 

Here's an interesting piece from US News and World Reports on a movement to prevent catch shares from putting our oceans off limits. In short, transferable catch shares have had the opposite effect from what was intended. Rather than protecting small-scale commercial fishermen, many of the shares have been bought by companies like Walmart, to guarantee access and flow of seafood to their shelves. Worth a look. Also, if you get a chance, pick up a copy of Four Fish. It's a compelling read. 

http://www.usnews.com/opinion/economic-intelligence/2015/01/16/dont-privatize-the-ocean-find-a-better-way-to-fish.

Source: http://http://www.usnews.com/opinion/econo...

Carp Hunters Carpe Diem

Excuse the pun. But this is great. This is one of the funniest things I've seen on the internet recently. This is just a taste with the trailer from Peoria Carp Hunters... I'll share more as I find it.

For those that aren't aware, Asian carp (flying carp, silver carp, etc.) are an invasive species taking over the Midwest and threatening the Great Lakes. They're known for leaping in the air when you run through schools of them with a boat... And Peoria Carp Hunters have made the most of this unique trait. 

Courtesy Peoria Carp Hunters on YouTube. 

Costa Del Mar Relaunches Cutting Edge Eco-Blog

Costa Del Mar, one of the world's leading manufacturers of outdoor-sports specific, hi-performance specialty eyewear has teamed up with nine different leading conservation organizations including The Billfish Foundation (TBF), Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), International Game Fish Association (IGFA), Coastal Conservation Association (CCA), Trout Unlimited (TU) andBonefish & Tarpon Trust (BTT) to relaunch The Watery Rave.

Watery Rave is going to act as non-partisan aggregator of news items from around the world to help promote the partners and hi-light their world-wide conservation efforts. Costa hopes the site will become a voluminous provider of information for anglers and outdoorsmen and women the world over. To read more about it, go here or visit The Watery Rave.

Gulf of Mexico Council Seeks Red Snapper Input

National Marine Fisheries is seeking public comment on establishing new recreational quotas in the Gulf of Mexico for red snapper under Amendment 40. This has been one of the most contentious subjects in fisheries management in a decade, and its clear that their idea of multi-day mini-seasons for recreational anglers isn't working for the constituency. Make sure you let your voice be heard. The plain text of the bulletin is available below. This breaks up the recreational quota between For-hire permitted vessels and recreational anglers in roughly a 40-60 split.

SOUTHEAST FISHERY BULLETIN  

(Gulf of Mexico) 

  

FB15-002

Peter Hood
727-824-5305      

 

January 16, 2015        

 

Notice of Availability for Public Comments on a Proposal to Establish Two Recreational Sub-Quotas for Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper

 

Comment Period Ends March 17, 2015

 

NOAA Fisheries seeks public comment on Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 40 to NOAA Fisheries for review, approval, and implementation. The Notice of Availabilityfor public comment on this amendment published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2015. This bulletin only summarizes the proposed actions and their effects. NOAA Fisheries encourages constituents to access Amendment 40 and its associated Final Environmental Impact Statement at

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2013/am40/index.html 

for more complete information.

 

Purpose of the Amendment 40

If approved by NOAA Fisheries, Amendment 40 would provide a basis for increased flexibility in future management of the entire recreational sector, and reduce the chance for recreational quota overruns, which could jeopardize the rebuilding of the red snapper stock.

 

Proposed Management Measures

Amendment 40 proposes to establish sub-quotas for federally permitted for-hire vessels and private anglers who fish for red snapper for a three-year period beginning in 2015.

The federal for-hire component would be comprised of all for-hire operators with a valid or renewable federal reef fish charter vessel/headboat permit.
The private angling component would be comprised of private recreational anglers and for-hire operators who do not have a federal reef fish charter vessel/headboat permit.

Amendment 40 would allocate the 5,390,000-pound red snapper recreational quota based on historical landings data for each sub-group. Federally permitted for-hire vessels would receive 42.3 percent of the recreational quota, and private anglers would receive 57.7 percent of the recreational quota.

The federally permitted for-hire quota would be 2,279,970 pounds.
The private angling quota would be 3,110,030 pounds.

Finally, Amendment 40 would establish separate red snapper annual catch targets and season closure provisions for the federal for-hire and private angling components. For both components, each season would start June 1 and continue until the component's annual catch target is projected to be caught. A 20 percent buffer is applied to the recreational quota to get the annual catch target, which is then allocated between components. At this time, NOAA Fisheries cannot project season lengths for the components because it is waiting to receive final 2014 recreational landings data as well as the results of an update to the red snapper stock assessment.  

 

The Council proposes to sunset this action after three years unless the Council takes additional action. The Council is currently evaluating other measures to manage the recreational sector including red snapper regional management.

 

Request for Comments

NOAA Fisheries must receive comments on this notice no later than March 17, 2015. We will address all comments specifically directed to Amendment 40 or the subsequent proposed rule in the final rule. You may obtain electronic copies of Amendment 40 from the NOAA Fisheries Web site:

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/gulf_fisheries/reef_fish/2013/am40/index.htmlor the e-Rulemaking Portal: www.regulation.gov.

Seapilot Nav App coming to Android Platform

Although the company previously had an iPhone app, they have just launched an Android version that is available free on Google Play. A subscription is necessary. I haven't played with the iPhone version but am looking forward to seeing what it can do. You can visit them here.

SEAPILOT ANNOUNCES NAVIGATION APP AVAILABLE FOR ANDROID DEVICES

Free Professional Quality Navigation App Now Accessible Through Google Play

Samsung Android us HR PRG.jpg

Danderyd, Sweden – Seapilot, the recreational brand of True Heading NSA and leading manufacturer of recreational Automatic Identification System (AIS) solutions and app navigation, announced today the release of its award-winning Seapilot Navigation app for Android devices. Capitalizing on the huge success of the Seapilot Navigation app for Apple iOS, the new app is now downloadable for free on Google Play for Android-compatible smartphones and tablets.

Designed to the highest of standards, the easy-to-use Seapilot Navigation app combines S-57 vector chart data displayed on its proprietary chart engine with a direct GPS connection for position, to present up-to-the-minute AIS data on portable devices. The Seapilot app is capable of displaying current position information, course and speed vectors for AIS targets, and in-app weather data for increased situational awareness. The app allows boaters to set routes and waypoints, mark objects, and assess the bearing and range between plotted points and the vessel. The customizable display has settings for day, dawn/dusk and night operation, and the orientation can be changed between North Up and Heads Up views—all in high definition. Although it can only be used on one device at a time, a single Seapilot subscription can be used on multiple Android and Apple systems. To toggle between devices, users simply select which one they would like active from within the My Account section of seapilot.com. Downloaded charts are saved directly to device memory, allowing the app to navigate autonomously without a live Internet connection.

“The Seapilot app is known for delivering professional performance navigation capabilities to recreational mobile devices,” said Jens Johansson, CEO, Seapilot. “Building on the success we’ve had with Apple products, we know our Android users will enjoy the stunning capabilities Seapilot offers.”

The Seapilot Navigation app is available now as a free download from Google Play; a paid subscription is required to download charts. For more information on the Seapilot Navigation app for Android, Seapilot or the entire Seapilot line of AIS and navigation solutions, visit www.seapilot.com.

Cuba Travel Begins To Open Up

Interesting piece by the NYT on Washington following through on easing travel restrictions. The short story... looks like 12 categories of travel are opening up so you no longer need to obtain a travel license prior to booking and engaging in travel. This could be big news for outdoorsman, as people-to-people (in particular, sports) efforts are one of the categories. Travelers are also allowed to use credit and debit cards (although I'm not sure that's such a good idea), spend money, and return with items including alcohol and tobaco.

Having traveled to Havana in 2009, this is exciting news. Although it appears this only applies to air travel, hopefully boat travel will be approved soon so that anglers can compete in the annual Hemingway Billfish Tournament.

 

NMFS seeking input for VMS in the South Atlantic

Like a bad virus that just won't die, the South Atlantic Fisheries Council continues to head down the path to implement VMS (vessel monitoring systems, video, etc.). Although efforts to bring such devices (including smart fishing rods) to the recreational sector have been unsuccessful to date, it looks like they are still pushing for them.  Here's your chance to voice opposition during the public comment period.

 

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 SOUTHEAST FISHERY BULLETIN 

FB15-001

Catch Share Customer Service

(866) 425-7627   

January 9, 2015        

Southeast Region Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Implementation Plan Available for Public Comment

There is a growing need for more timely and accurate data for fisheries management and science. Recognizing the growing demands for data collection, NOAA Fisheries drafted a regional electronic monitoring and electronic reporting (EM/ER) implementation plan for the Southeast Region.   

The goal of the plan is to provide an operational strategy for implementing and expanding the use of electronic monitoring (e.g., video cameras, vessel monitoring systems) and electronic reporting (e.g., electronic logbooks) for federally managed fisheries in the Southeast Region. The primary objectives of the plan are to: (1) Define regional objectives for the use of EM/ER; (2) establish a framework for EM/ER development and implementation; (3) identify challenges impeding the use of EM/ER in the region and potential solutions for overcoming those challenges; (4) develop a prioritized list of fisheries suitable for EM and/or ER; (5) identify and quantify (where possible) costs and infrastructure needed for expansion of EM/ER use; and, (6) develop a process for reviewing progress made toward plan implementation. 

NOAA Fisheries is interested in receiving input on the draft implementation plan. Initial input has already been received from the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Fishery Management Councils. 

Request for Comments

NOAA Fisheries is requesting comments on the EM/ER regional implementation plan through February 9, 2015. Comments submitted will be reviewed and considered during development of the final draft EM/ER implementation plan. You may obtain electronic copies of the EM/ER plan on the NOAA Fisheries Web site at: 

http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sustainable_fisheries/documents/pdfs/em_er_implementation_plan_southeast.pdf.

How to Submit Comments

You may submit comments on the EM/ER implementation plan by any of the following methods:

Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via e-mail to: nmfs.sero.EMERplan@noaa.gov. Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.

Mail: Submit written comments to Andrew Strelcheck, NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505.

Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries. All comments received are a part of the public record. 


   

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This Looks A lot Like Work To Me...

I love deep jigging... But two things I can't stand are amberjack and Pacific yellowtail. Unfortunately, they are the most likely takers when fishing vertical jigs in deep water as evidenced here.