Category Archives: South Atlantic
Latest twist in blueline tilefish tale
It appears that the management of blueline tilefish is turning into a battle of emergency actions.Last week, at the South Atlantic Management Council Meeting in Georgia, a motion was approved that directed the Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee to determine if the stock assessment for the tilefish, SEDAR 32, was applicable to the entire range of the species. That includes the waters off New Jersey, which is under the jurisdiction of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. As of right now, there are no limits on tilefish here. Read the rest here 15:49:
Lionfish are threatening Florida’s economy
Invasive lionfish are a serious threat to Florida’s saltwater fishing industry — the second largest in the nation — and the thousands of jobs it supports, according to an economic commentary from Florida TaxWatch. Some 109,000 jobs tied to recreational fishing, and the more than 64,000 dependent on the commercial fishing industry, bolster the state economy, the report reveals. Read the rest here 08:30
South Carolina Businessman to lead opposition against Big Oil
A Murrells Inlet businessman who also makes his home in the inlet is taking on “Big Oil” — and right here on the South Strand. Rich Baumann, the founder of Murrells Inlet Seafood, is putting together individuals, companies and groups opposed to seismic testing and eventually oil drilling off the South Carolina coast. Read the rest here 13:49
Drilling group unlikely to tap Gulf of Maine for oil and gas
A coalition of U.S. governors pushing for more offshore oil and gas drilling turned heads in Maine last month when it announced that Gov. Paul LePage had become a member. But LePage’s participation doesn’t foreshadow oil rigs off the Maine coast – the latest federal research suggests that the Gulf of Maine lacks the right geology to hold commercial deposits of oil or natural gas. Read the rest here 08:42
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting March 2-6, 2015
Meeting Agenda (posted 2/10) Briefing Book Materials (posted 2/13) Webinar Registration: Watch the meeting LIVE as it happens – Sign up for daily Webinars at the links here. 15:31
NOAA rejects Eubalaena Oculina National Marine Sanctuary request in Atlantic
A North Florida non-profit proposing a National Marine Sanctuary for Northern right whales and Oculina coral that would cover more than 7,000-square miles of ocean from Jacksonville to Fort Pierce is headed back to the drawing board after having its initial application rejected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “The Southeastern Fisheries Association — and I believe every other commercial fishing organization — is opposed to this nomination,” Read the rest here 17:57
Commercial Snapper limit announced in the South Atlantic
Fisheries officials have announced a reduction in the daily trip limit for the commercial harvest of vermillion snapper in the South Atlantic. Effective March 2, the harvest is reduced from 1,000 pounds gutted weight to 500 pounds gutted weight, according to information from NMFS NOAA Fisheries. NOAA Fisheries NMFS has determined 75 percent of the January-June quota will be landed by March 2. Read the rest here 08:27
Maryland, Virginia Members Disagree on Atlantic Oil Drilling
The Obama administration’s recent proposal to lease oil and gas drilling in a swath of the Atlantic Ocean generated the expected mix of cheers and jeers on Capitol Hill, but local reaction was mostly divided along state borders rather than party affiliations. Marylanders are reluctant, while Virginians appear to want to charge ahead, especially if it might mean more cash in their state coffers Read the rest here 16:12
Ron Littlepage: Thanks to Obama, our coast is in danger
With the blessing of President Barack Obama, plans are proceeding to allow seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic off of Florida’s coast in the search for oil and gas. For those concerned about the environment, there was some good news last month when the federal government released its five-year plan for offshore drilling leases in the Atlantic and didn’t include Florida. With the memory of the devastating impact of the BP disaster on Florida’s Gulf Coast still fresh, that provided some relief. Read the rest here 19:51
Video: High winds hurting commercial fishing industry on the Grand Strand
MURRELLS INLET, S.C, The commercial fishing industry is how Reese Hair has been making a living for more than 30 years. Tuesday afternoon, he was at the dock because 15 foot waves were keeping him from doing his job on the ocean. Mershon said the big problem is while commercial fisherman in the Inlet are stuck on the docks, other fisherman from North Carolina to the Florida Keys may be catching the quota in calmer conditions. Read the rest here 10:28
Florida Supreme Court Upholds Net Ban
Florida’s Supreme Court this week denied a petition by commercial fishermen to overturn the state’s Constitutional amendment banning gillnets. The ruling from the state’s highest court puts an end to the latest challenge brought by commercial fishermen who won a sympathetic circuit court ruling in 2013 allowing them to briefly reintroduce gill nets into Florida waters. Read the rest here 14:53
New Critical Habitat Proposed for North Atlantic Right Whales
The proposed critical habitat, which you can see in the maps below, greatly expands the previous designation. The key benefit of designating critical habitat is that other Federal agencies are put on notice that they must consult with NOAA Fisheries if they intend to authorize, fund, or carry out an action that may affect right whale critical habitat. This activity does not include any new restrictions for commercial fishing operations or shipping lanes. (yet!) Read the rest here 08:01
Fishermen OK with colder weather on way, as Mother Nature chills the Keys
Commercial fishermen are one group of locals who welcome the cooler, breezy weather. “A little weather is always welcome to get fish, especially spiny lobster, stone crabs and mutton snapper, moving and feeding,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “This type of weather moves fish like mutton snapper out of the back country and over to the ocean side, where they aggregate on patch reefs and along the reef line.” Read the rest here 14:32
Federal Offshore Leasing: Another ‘No’ For Energy – Robert Bradley Jr.
Is the Department of the Interior’s new offshore energy proposal a long-needed step toward unlocking the public domain’s vast oil and gas resources? After all, the five-year plan would authorize 14 leases for oil and gas development, mostly off of the Southeast Atlantic and Gulf coasts, which led to fussing from the Don’t Drill, Baby, Don’t Drill lobby. Read the rest here 19:52
Key West: Lobster traps limits not well received
The idea of reducing the number of spiny lobster traps as a way to ease fishing pressure on the Florida Keys’ most lucrative commercial fishery did not go over well at a meeting of state federal fishery managers Monday in Key West. The group discussed three possible actions: closing the season early; embarking on a more aggressive trap reduction program; and exempting the spiny lobster fishery from annual quotas. The proposal that received the most vocal opposition was more aggressively reducing the number of traps. Read the rest here 08:09
North Carolina: Local leaders ask feds for OBX hearing on offshore oil and gas
Hearings are on tap in Wrightsville Beach and Hampton Roads for opinions on offshore oil and gas development, but none have been scheduled on the Outer Banks, which many see as a major stakeholder. Bayliss provided a sample letter to Nags Head Town Manager Cliff Ogburn that noted a hearing on offshore wind energy development has been scheduled for today at the Hilton Garden Inn in Kitty Hawk by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Read the rest here 10:14:02
New menhaden study renews debate on catch limits
A little more than two years after authorities clamped down on harvests of Atlantic menhaden, prompting protests from Maryland watermen and other commercial fishermen, a new analysis by scientists finds they are in better shape — better, in fact, than believed when the catch was cut back. But conservationists and anglers disagree. Peter Baker, Northeast fisheries director for the Pew Charitable Trusts,,, Read the rest here 15:03
Fish expert sounds off on seismic surveys
The impact of the surveys on whales and other marine life has been hotly debated. In August, William Yancey Brown, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s chief environmental officer, asserted in an agency newsletter that there’s no documented scientific evidence of noise from air guns used in seismic surveys “adversely affecting marine animal populations or coastal communities” or commercial fishing. But Grant Gilmore, a senior scientist with,,, Read the rest here 12:15
ASMFC 2015 Winter Meeting – Alexandria, Virginia February 3, 08:00, thru February 5, 2015
Please note: Due to inclement weather in the Northeast, several changes have been made to Tuesday’s and Wednesday’s schedules in order to provide additional time for Northeast travelers to make it to the meeting. Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8 a.m,, Read the rest here, Register for the webinar! 17:21
New Atlantic menhaden assessment to be reviewed at upcoming management meeting, reveals healthy stock and sustainable fishery
This week at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Winter Meeting in Alexandria, Va., the Menhaden Management Board will consider the just-released 2014 Atlantic Menhaden Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report for management use. The assessment’s revised models and data sources are substantially improved from previous assessments and indicate that fishery-independent causes, including environmental conditions, have the greatest impact on the otherwise healthy stock and sustainable fishery. Read the rest here 09:40
Key West: Three admit to illegally taking lobster, fourth defendant still missing
A lobster-poaching investigation and legal case lasting more than five years hit its climax Monday when three Lower Keys commercial fishermen pleaded guilty in Key West federal court. A federal agent placed an electronic tracker aboard the men’s boat, the 32-foot Super Grouper, while it was docked in August 2009 at the Oceanside Marina on Stock Island. Information from the tracker was used by state and federal officers to follow the boat to several sites where illegal underwater structures, known as casitas, were placed to attract lobster. Read the rest here 12:36
Man charged after cops find explosives; he says they’re for fishing
For the second time in two days, a bomb squad and investigators searched the home of a Wilton Manors man Tuesday where police said four homemade explosive tubes, including one with nails on the outside, were confiscated the day before. Residents in four blocks surrounding Gregory Knepper’s house on the 400 block of NW 24th St. were evacuated Monday for about eight hours, Read the rest here 12:58
Obama administration opens up southern Atlantic coast to offshore drilling – but restricts it in Alaska
The Obama administration announced plans Tuesday to allow oil drilling in Atlantic waters off several Southeastern states, including Virginia, while moving to restrict access to oil companies along the Pacific and in environmentally sensitive areas off Alaska’s northern coast. “This is a balanced proposal that would make available nearly 80 percent of the undiscovered technically recoverable resources, while protecting areas that are simply too special to develop,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said in unveiling the plan. Read the rest here 13:24
The Snobby Neighbors of Beaufort County – Jellyfish Company Files Suit, Video
When jelly-fishers wanted to do business in Beaufort County, not all neighbors were supportive. Groups against the jelly-fishing are still speaking-out against an operation nearly a year later. The groups want to stop a company from unloading and rinsing cannonball jellyfish waste water into Jenkins Creek. However, that company is now suing Beaufort County over an ordinance that makes doing business harder. Video, and read the rest here 07:24
Three Lower Keys brothers accused of harvesting lobster from illegal artificial habitats – expected to plead guilty
Charles, Ryan and Tyson Veach face allegations of harvesting spiny lobsters from casitas, catching more than their daily commercial bag limit and falsifying commercial fishing reports to conceal their take. Each was indicted on charges of conspiracy and violating the Lacey Act, which makes it a federal offense to import, export, transport, sell or purchase in interstate commerce any wildlife protected at the state level. Read the rest here 10:10
Council for Sustainable Fishing based in Inlet is watchdog for fishermen
Federal regulations on the fishing industry over the last several years were the catalyst for Mershon and Swatzel to form the Council for Sustainable Fishing, a nonprofit watchdog group for fishermen from North Carolina to the Florida Keys. They started the nonprofit group in December 2013. One big issue the fishing industry faces is the “catch share” program. Read the rest here 14:42
Dock to Dish Opens Florida’s First Community Supported Fishery
Dock to Dish, the first community and restaurant supported fishery program anchored in Montauk, announced last week it would open Florida’s first ever Community Supported Fishery (CSF) in Key West in February of this year. The program is being developed in conjunction with Key West restaurateur Chris Holland and the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. Read the rest here 14:00
Florida ‘cracker’ fishermen?
To the editor: Just to add a little humor to last week’s article, Exploring the Island’s History, Matlacha is described as a cracker fishing village turned artist-colony and the home of pioneering Florida “cracker” fishermen. With that said, my question is, just what is a “cracker” fisherman? Read the rest here 12:06
Loophole allows illegal fishing harvests
A rowboat, kayak or inflatable raft should not classify as a licensed commercial fishing boat, say state fishery regulators. Current state laws on qualifying for certain commercial fishing licenses include a “loophole” that needs to be closed, according to a commercial fishing group and staff with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. “Right now it’s far too easy to get a [restricted-species endorsement] falsely,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. Read the rest here 17:19
More Protected Habitat for Endangered Right Whales?
This article was written by Anne Russell Gregory, the Conservation Law Coordinator at 
. Progress! The highly endangered North Atlantic right whale is one step closer to safer waters, thanks to the settlement agreement we reached just before Thanksgiving with the National Marine Fisheries Service, which the courts made official this week. Under the agreement, the agency must finally expand critical habitat for right whales by February 2016. Read the rest here 14:06
