Category Archives: South Atlantic
Marine Sanctuary’s Wrong Science Accelerated Florida’s Coral Reef Destruction
At exactly the time I should have been paying the closest attention, Florida was suffering probably the biggest environmental disaster in its history. It happened on my watch but I wasn’t watching. Billy Causey is the for the National Marine Sanctuary. Causey is the man most responsible for keeping the faulty hypothesis alive and well. Scary when you consider he failed to earn his doctorate, so in 2006 the University of South Florida gave him an honorary one anyway. “Oh, he likes to be called Doctor,” one his staff told me. Read the rest here 11:02
Battle over blueline tilefish intensifies-SAFMC requested emergency action for East Coast
In a move that’s certain to heighten tensions over the management of blueline tilefish, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council has requested emergency action that will extend the regulations governing the fishery in its jurisdiction to the entire east coast. The MAFMC became concerned for the stock when commercial fishing boats out of North Carolina made it known they planned on landing tilefish in New Jersey, which has no limit on catches. There is no fishery management plan — or available science Read the rest here 16:25
Don’t waste NOAA funds on catch share boondoggle, Tom Swatzel
NOAA has spent about $160 million over the last six years pushing its national catch share policy in an effort to privatize fisheries by giving commercial fishermen “shares” in fisheries based on catch history, which can be bought and sold like shares on Wall Street. Catch share programs tend to benefit large corporate fleets that can buy up shares and hurt small fishermen who cannot. Studies have shown that catch share programs hurt fishing communities by destroying jobs, and don’t provide any biological benefit to fisheries. Read the rest here 07:53
Meet the best Florida Keys lionfish killers
“There are places in the Bahamas where, because of lionfish, there are no more parrotfish,” she said. “And we need parrotfish.” “Averaging three dives a day, four days a week, Adolphus, Rachel and their friends [including Chase Grimes, Jonny Schrier and Willie Dominak] brought in an estimated 7,500 fish in 2014, supplying local restaurants with their catch to help promote a commercial lionfish industry and to take pressure off of other species,” the FWC says. Read the rest here 19:28
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approve increase in menhaden catch limits
A multi-state regulatory board is approving higher catch limits for Atlantic menhaden, a fish that plays important roles as bait and part of the ocean food web. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Menhaden Management Board voted to raise catch limits from 170,800 metric tons per year to 187,880 metric tons per year. The limits apply this year and in 2016. Read the rest here 15:36
ASMFC Spring Meeting – May 4-7, 2015 Alexandria, Virginia
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 12:45 PM on May 4th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be Noon) on May 7th. Read the Agenda and all information here Register for the webinar here to listen live! 16:48
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Advances Fisheries Law
“And we’re trying to maintain the integrity of the original act by adding some smaller changes, and (among) the smaller changes are flexibility,” (Don Young) told the committee. The bill has alarmed some fishermen and conservationists. “We don’t think the changes they put in the act are really likely to have any effect on how we manage fisheries in the North Pacific,” (Chris) Oliver NPFMC said. “I think it could allow for some legitimate flexibility in other regions — and even perhaps in future situations in the North Pacific — without eroding the basic underlying conservation measures” of the law. Audio Read the rest here 07:53
Stone-crab harvest looks healthy, prices booming
Fishermen are still pulling traps in the final two weeks of stone-crab season, but early indications suggest a step toward a return to normal harvests. “Late-season production has stepped up which could bring us close to a number in the range of a normal season,” Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said Tuesday. Stone-crab season opens Oct. 15 and closes May 15. Last season’s commercial harvest of a reported 1.9 million pounds of claws (the only part of stone crabs harvested),,, Read the rest here 14:41
$10,000 donation to help Shem Creek shrimpers stay afloat
The town of Mount Pleasant extended an early blessing Sunday to local shrimpers in the form of a $10,000 donation to help them cover the costs of operating and competing with the global market. Mayor Linda Page says this is the first donation of its kind to a foundation in support of the fleet and Shem Creek fisheries. The goal is for the town to help support the local fleet any way they can. The 13 boats that sit in Shem Creek have been blessed. While the fishermen wait patiently for the start of shrimping season, Read the rest here 08:29
Coast Guard rescues 2 from sinking shrimp boat near Brunswic, Georgia
Two fishermen were rescued from their sinking shrimp boat by a Coast Guard aircrew Friday off the coast of Saint Simons Island near Brunswic, Georgia. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Charleston received the initial report at approximately 9:30 a.m., on VHF channel 16 from one of the distressed fishermen, stating that their 55-foot shrimp boat, Miss Kathy,was taking on water and was in danger of sinking. Read the rest here Watch video here 18:25
‘The Hole’ a spawning sanctuary for big fish?
The Georgetown Hole is the stuff of legend — tiers and tiers of deep ocean ledges swarmed by species after species of fish. It’s the generations-old “sweet spot” where boats once pulled holds full of the monsters seen in the old photos, game fish almost as big as a man. Now regulators want to put the bottom off-limits as a marine spawning sanctuary to help restore the overall stock and maybe bring back those monster fish. Read the rest here 15:00
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission eases lobster dive regulations
Things are about to get easier for commercial lobster divers looking to expand or sell their business. New Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules set to go into effect July 1 will allow commercial lobster divers to sell their licenses to people other than immediate family members, which is currently prohibited. Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said the rule changes are a welcome way to promote fairness across the fishery. Read the rest here 11:50
Blessing boats for safe endeavors and a good harvest
Every year, in fishing communities along the East Coast of the U.S. and around the world, people gather to watch the annual Blessing of the Fleet. Darien, in McIntosh County, is no exception. Begun in 1968 by then-Mayor Jimmy Williamson to celebrate the commercial fishing industry, this is the 47th year of the event. The event was brought to the U.S. by immigrants who desired to maintain the traditions of their homelands in their new country. Read the rest here 09:29
FWC takes up Keys issues: Commercial fishing boats, lobster traps
Loopholes for bogus fishing boats and suspicious crustacean traps may be plugged by state fishing regulators Wednesday and Thursday. Concern about a new breed of stone-crab traps that can double as lobster traps will be among issued pondered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at its two-day meeting in Tallahassee. Agency staff will recommend the FWC board move to reduce both the maximum allowable size of stone-crab traps and dimensions of the trap entrance — the “throat” — to discourage crab traps from being used to catch lobster. Read the rest here 10:09
Florida Key’s Illegal fish case continued
A Key West charter boat captain’s change of plea will be heard on April 21 in Plantation Key after a scheduling conflict continued the matter last week. Wickers and four other men were charged in the undercover Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into the illegal sale of finfish and lobster by charter and commercial fishermen. Read the rest here 11:18
Absolutely Fascinating! FWC Division of Law Enforcement Weekly Report – Alligators, Mako’s, Face Book Busted Turkey’s!
This report represents some events the FWC handled over the past week; however, it does not include all actions taken by the Division of Law Enforcement. BAY COUNTY, Officers Gore and Moore found a vessel with three commercial oystermen harvesting shell stock in a closed area, and it just gets better! Read the rest here! 18:41
Fishermen sentenced to prison following convictions in stone crab trap case
Capt. Romualdo Ricardo Salado, 44, of Stock Island and mate Christopher Joseph Payne, 54, of Miami were both found guilty in March of one count of third-degree felony molestation of another’s stone crab trap by a commercial harvester. County Judge Wayne Miller sentenced Salado to two years and four months in state prison on the trap conviction and 60 days in county jail on the stone crab violation, said Assistant State Attorney Christine Poist. Payne was sentenced to two and a half years in state prison, as well as 60 days in county jail on the stone crab violation. Read the rest here 07:22
Spiny lobster season ended March 31with good catch, great prices but looming challenges
While the fishery itself is in good shape, the largest threat facing the people who make their living on the water comes from the land side. Development pressure, which chased the commercial fishing industry out of Key West to Stock Island decades ago, is now reaching that island as well. The Monroe County Commission is even considering buying some commercial waterfront on Stock Island, to prevent it from being turned into a site for hotels and recreational marinas. Audio, Read the rest here 09:40
Lost at Sea memorial service a decade strong
On Easter Sunday, a small group of people gathered around a granite Lost at Sea monument overlooking the marsh in Murrells Inlet. Since 2005, a special ceremony has been held on the first Sunday in April each year to honor those killed at sea. Thirty names have been added to the Lost at Sea memorial during that time, but this year, no new names were added. Read the rest here 08:09
Battle for red snapper begins in Gulf
“The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s 
has failed to adequately account for the size and well being of the red snapper stock in the Gulf of Mexico,” Byrne says. “They have continued to use outdated and ineffective methods to each sample for red snapper and measure how many fish are getting caught as soon as the season begins, and they have frankly lost all credibility.” Read the rest here 09:50
Feds receive thousands of comments on Atlantic drilling
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The federal government has received thousands of comments on the contentious issue of drilling for oil and gas off the Atlantic coast. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking comment on what should be included in an environmental impact statement on offshore drilling which for the first time could include Atlantic drilling. The agency in recent weeks held a series of public meetings along the coast. The deadline for comments is Monday night. Read the rest here 12:52
NMFS Implements Management Measures to End Overfishing of Blueline Tilefish in the South Atlantic
NOAA Fisheries NMFS is implementing management measures in Amendment 32 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 32). The final rule publishes in the Federal Register, and is effective, on March 30, 2015. A commercial trip limit of 100 pounds gutted weight is included. Read the notice here 16:57
Key West charter Captain files change of plea in illegal sale of finfish and lobster case
The last of five Lower Keys fishermen snared last year in a state wildlife case and accused of illegally selling fish to undercover officers will likely plead guilty in Plantation Key on April 9. Key West charter Capt. William Osgood Wickers Jr., 42, of Big Coppitt Key, has a change of plea scheduled before county Judge William Ptomey, according to court records. An earlier report, click here Read the rest here 08:59
2 commercial fishermen convicted of trap robbing
Two commercial fishermen were convicted this week of robbing another fisherman’s stone crab traps last year. Both will face a maximum of five years in prison at sentencing, according to the State Attorney’s Office. A FWC pilot alerted FWC officers on the ground after tracking Salado’s boat, according to reports.The officers spotted the duo in the vessel March 8, 2013, on the oceanside of Ballast Key, pulling four traps with colors that did not match their vessel number. Some 25 undersized stone crab claws were found on the boat when it was boarded by FWC, reports state. Read the rest here 14:15
North/South Carolina Views vary on drilling – Feds take comments until Monday
The Associated Press reports five congressmen representing coastal districts in the Carolinas reflect the opposing views in states where both governors are strong advocates of offshore drilling and almost 20 coastal communities oppose the idea. To date, seven coastal communities in South Carolina and 12 in North Carolina are on record against drilling. None are in Carteret County. Read the rest here 09:33
Commissioners take small step toward buying Stock Island fish house
Lower Keys commercial fishermen asked Monroe County commissioners to throw them a lifeline by purchasing a Stock Island fish house and marina as working waterfront. Commissioners responded Wednesday that they want to keep the former Gulf Seafood property dedicated to commercial fishing but remain cautious on how to do it. “I want to preserve [the site] in perpetuity for commercial fishing, but not run a fish house,” Kolhage said. Read the rest here photo credit 18:26
Darien, Ga. – Fort King George looks back on Scottish heritage
Before modern-day Darien was considered a hub for commercial fishing and shrimping, it was the territory of Highland Scots from 1736-1750. Sailing from Inverness on the Prince of Wales, under the direction of Hugh Mackay and George Dunbar, a group of Highlanders made their way to Savannah before British General James Oglethorpe instructed them to make settlements at the mouth of the Altamaha River to ward off Spanish invaders. Read the rest here 10:25
Salvage Crew Waiting For High Tide To Free Stuck F/V Joyce Lynn II – Video
If at first you don’t succeed, wait for high tide and try again. That could be the motto Monday for TowBoatUS as they again try to free a commercial fishing boat which ended up beached just north of the Port Everglades jetty Friday night. Attempts over the weekend failed to budge the boat. TowBoatUS salvage expert Travis Bason said Sunday the vessel’s rudder and prop were a problem. Read the rest here 14:18
4 rescued after fishing boat runs aground off Fort Lauderdale
The U.S. Coast Guard rushed to the rescue of four fishermen late Friday night after their 63-foot boat crashed ran aground off Fort Lauderdale Beach. Saturday night, the Joyce Lynn II was beached and breaking apart. Low tide has left the vessel stuck in the sand. “Well, right now, it’s grounded. They’re trying to take all the oil out of it and the gas out of it right now,” said area resident Beth Drude, who is helping with cleanup efforts. Read the rest here 20:24
This Weekend: Marathon Seafood Festival celebrates locally caught seafood
Those attending can enjoy indigenous offerings like dolphin, Key West pink shrimp, spiny lobster, stone crab claws and crackers piled high with creamy smoked fish dip, a Florida Keys favorite.The weekend celebrates the area’s commercial fishing heritage and serves as a substantial fundraiser for local scholarship programs. Nearly $80,000 has been awarded to Marathon High School students through the Marathon chapter of the Organized Fishermen of Florida, a statewide group that represents the interests and well-being of the commercial fishing industries. Read the rest here 16:23
