Category Archives: South Atlantic
Here it is! The Rundown of the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
From Atlantic Herring to Summer Flounder and everything in between! Meeting Summaries, Press Releases, and Motions. Read it here 11:58
NC officials host closed meeting on oil drilling today Enviros denied access, what about fishermen?
John Filostrat, spokesman for the federal Ocean Energy Management bureau, denied his agency asked that the meeting be closed to the public. However, Filostrat said environmental groups and others would have ample opportunity to comment on the plans for off-shore drilling once a draft of the proposed regulations are completed. Read the rest here 18:37
Conch remains on the menu, no harvesting
National Marine Fisheries Service will not list queen conch on the endangered species list, but harvest of it in United States waters will remain prohibited. In March 2012, the environmental group Wild Earth Guardians requested the federal government list queen conch under the Endangered Species Act. Florida Keys State Rep. Holly Raschein successfully pushed a bill that called on the federal government to maintain the importation of queen conch. Read the rest here 12:52
Coast Guard puts off Oregon S+R base closing; Charleston SC still a question
The U.S. Coast Guard might be close to budging on plans to remove a search and rescue helicopter and shutter a base on the Stono River. A similar base in Newport, Ore., just won a reprieve. Whatever is or isn’t happening with South Carolina delegation members is being kept low key and largely under wraps. The Dec. 15 date is significant because it is after the election and four days after the scheduled expiration of a Congressional,, Read the rest here 13:12
UPDATED: ASMFC’s American Eel Management Section cuts Maines Elver Allocation by 18 percent
A number of public comments were made by elver fishermen who spoke in opposition to any reductions before the vote. The Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the upcoming elver glass eel season will be 9,688 lbs, down from last years TAC of 11,749 lbs. 17:03 UPDATED
ASMFC 73rd Annual Meeting October 27 – October 30, 2014, Mystic, Connecticut – Listen Live!
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 8:00 a.m. on October 27th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:15 p.m.) on October 30th. Agenda material here Listen via Webinar here 08:00
Key West attorney claims more Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary closed marine areas has already been decided
“They have already made their decisions” on new marine protected areas, Horan said Thursday from Key West. “These are areas up to 25 square miles where there will be no recreational or commercial diving or fishing,” Horan said. “They’ll close it forever. The only thing you can do is drive your boat across.” Marine sanctuary managers insist nothing has been decided,,, Read the rest here 09:52
Members wanted for federal Atlantic highly migratory species advisory panel
Currently, the board includes 12 commercial members 12 members from the field of recreation, four environmentalists, four from academia and the chairperson of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas Advisory Committee. NMFS needs to fill one academic, five commercial, three recreational and two environmental/non-governmental organization positions that expire at the end of the year. Read the rest here 12:10
New charges in Lower Keys spiny lobster case – All are accused of violating the Lacey Act
Fishermen Charles and Tyson Veach and their company, Super Grouper Inc. of Stock Island and their company, Super Grouper Inc. of Stock Island, have been additionally charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office with selling illegally caught lobster on three dates in August, according to court documents. A third brother, was charged previously in an indictment handed down in August. Read the rest here 09:22
Researchers, shrimpers look for black gill shrimp in Georgia
This wasn’t your typical cruise. For starters, the day-long journey around Chatham County waterways on the 92-foot R/V Savannah on Thursday was focused on a tiny parasite on shrimp that turns their gills an unsightly and unmarketable black. And instead of scientists researching the problem by themselves and reporting their results in a scientific journal years from now, they invited along shrimpers,,, Video, Read the rest here
Regulators set to make decision on Maine eel quota
Federal regulators will soon approve rules for next year’s Maine baby eel fishing season, which could include changes to the lucrative fishery’s quota system. The board is “considering the economic importance of the glass eel fishery, especially in Maine,” said Kate Taylor, eel fishery management plan coordinator with the fisheries commission. Read the rest here 15:54
Fact-finding can ease tensions and measure concerns over the impact of a new fishery in Beaufort County.
Beaufort County Council is right to take a new look at balancing the interests of the commercial fishing industry and the citizens who live near commercial fishing operations. The council this week approved on first reading a measure that would force commercial fishing operators to prove they are good neighbors before gaining county zoning approval. Read the rest here 14:43
Fishermen Anticipate Good Stone Crab Claw Season
Gary Graves is vice president of Keys Fisheries, one of the state’s largest processors of the tasty claws. He projected season-opening, per-pound state retail prices should exceed $13 for medium, $20 for large and $25 for jumbo. Read the rest here 09:03
Stone-crab season starts Wednesday
When it comes to claws, there could be cause for cheer: Stone-crab season opens Wednesday, with commercial fishermen seeking the legal-size claws that rank as Monroe County’s most lucrative harvest after spiny lobster. “No one ever knows for sure until the first pull of the season, but we do have some things that are looking good,” Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said Friday. Read the rest here 17:46
Fisherman caught with a pile untagged spiny lobster traps – thrown into the slammer!
A Big Pine Key fisherman accused of lobster fishing with more than 100 untagged traps was arrested Saturday by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. David Lee Boggs, 50, was charged with misdemeanor fishing without proper tags. Read the rest here 11:25
Prices swell for lobster caught in the Florida Keys
The cost of lobster caught in the Florida Keys has surged in price, jumping from about $10 to more than $20 a pound for retail customers at some local fisheries. Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said appetites in Southeast Asia have also spurred the hike in prices paid to fishermen. Many lobsters now are shipped across the Pacific Ocean the same day they’re brought up. Read the rest here 13:44
Fishermen challenge proposed closures in Biscayne National Park at final workshop
About five dozen commercial fishermen from South Florida made their final case last week against proposed closures in Biscayne National Park. The 180,000-acre marine park, which stretches 22 miles from just south of Key Biscayne to just north of Key Largo, is seeking to bolster declining fisheries by increasing the size and abundance of fish and invertebrates within its waters by 20 percent. Read the rest here 11:12
Council for Sustainable Fishing – Working to prevent a grouper closure and catch shares
Last week, I attended the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Charleston, SC and wanted to make you aware of some important decisions made by the council. While the council approved increased Annual Catch Limits for a number of unassessed snapper-grouper species such as gray triggerfish (commercial and recreational ACLs will increase by about 40,000 lbs. and 51,000 lbs. respectively next year), the council was on the verge of slashing the overall scamp grouper ACL by over 40 percent, which had the potential of hurting fishermen, particularly in the Carolinas. Read the rest here
Commercial fisherman oppose Biscayne National Park proposals
After a Key Largo workshop Wednesday, the next news on new rules for Biscayne National Park could come with publication of a final management plan early in 2015. “We’ve been at this 14 years,” park Superintendent Brian Carlstrom said of the effort to update the park’s rules and operations. “We hope to get this knocked out next year.” Read the rest here 11:35
Georgia Shrimpers report successful season
The commercial shrimping season is shaping up to be a successful year when compared to what it was in 2013, even though the harvest by historical standards would only be considered average. Bruce Collins, manager at the City Market seafood store in Brunswick, remembers how bad last year’s season was and has revelled in watching the trawlers bring in loads of the tasty crustacean. “It’s been 10 times better than last year,” Collins said Wednesday. Read the rest here 13:12
BOEM – You’re Invited: South Carolina Offshore Energy Public Meetings
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) would like to invite you to attend the South Carolina Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting, as well as two open house public meetings on renewable energy. Information is provided below. Sept. 22, 2014 (4:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Conway, SC, Charleston, SC, Sept. 23, 2014 (12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.) Charleston, SC Sept. 23, 2014 (5:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.) Click here for information 13:03
Goliath grouper harvest becoming popular idea – Florida F & W Conservation Commission wants the your opinion
In a University of Florida survey, 1,518 recreational hook-and-line fishermen, 574 recreational spear fishermen, 697 commercial fishermen and 352 sightseeing divers answered a series of questions about goliath grouper. Among the findings: Commercial fishermen: 68 percent were interested in harvesting goliath grouper; 32 percent said goliath grouper encounters were desirable; 42 percent said the goliath grouper is a nuisance species. Read the rest here 12:39
Possible Biscayne National Park fishing shutdown plans get public review Wednesday
“Anybody who cares about fishing, recreational or commercial, in the Upper Keys should attend one of these meetings,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. Kelly said plans to restrict or ban commercial fishing in the southern Biscayne National Park could harm 75 Keys fishermen and about the same number from Miami-Dade County. Read the rest here 09:06
Boom! Oil-exploring seismic blasts could soon disrupt whale territory
NAGS HEAD, N.C. As early as next spring, the boom of seismic cannons will sound under the Atlantic Ocean as the first oil and gas exploration allowed off the East Coast in three decades gets underway. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved opening an area of the Atlantic Coast from Delaware to Florida for the seismic blasts, saying there “has been no documented scientific evidence”,, Read the rest here 20:47
Rubio Introduces Legislation To Improve Florida Fisheries
Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, today introduced a bill that outlines legislative priorities that will improve fisheries management in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic regions. Read the rest here 18:24
Cannonball jellyfish operation – Let science decide if business is good fit
You don’t have to like the idea of a cannonball jellyfish operation — or trust the people who would operate it — to admit their legal representative makes a valid point: A zoning change designed simply to throw another hurdle in front of an unpopular enterprise would be “an irrational, knee-jerk reaction.” Read the rest here 09:05
SAFMC Meeting – September 15-19, 2014
Webinar Registration: Watch the meeting LIVE as it happens – Sign up for daily Webinars here. Meeting Agenda here Briefing Book Materials 14:29
Goliath grouper grows in anglers’ wrath
Goliath grouper, lionfish eggs, shark chum and gun silencers are among the topics top state wildlife regulators will ponder next week. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission meets Sept. 10-11 in Kissimmee.The Goliaths are sucking up spiny lobsters, reef fish and other marine life, they say, tipping the food web’s balance. Read the rest here Watch video here 11:02
ASMFC says Striped Bass on a downward trend – Watermen comment on proposed options
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