Category Archives: South Atlantic
Florida: Just when you thought it was safe,,, Massive, 18-inch crustacean was pulled from the water
The scaly creature featuring multiple legs and claws was described as ‘striking its own tail’ when reeled in off a Fort Pierce dock. The unfazed fisherman ‘grabbed it by its back like a lobster,’ said the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Read the rest here 09:45
75-year-old Little Torch Key man pleaded guilty this week to federal charges of illegally selling bonnethead sharks
faces five years in federal prison and $250,000 in fines. However, Horan doubted the judge will send the older man, who lost one of his arms in a fishing accident decades ago, to prison. “We wouldn’t have taken the plea if he was going to prison,” Horan said. Read more here 09:33
Its never enough. National Marine Sanctuary eco bureaucracy panel says more protected marine zones likely needed
New ecological reserves should be considered as part of an updated marine zoning plan for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, local advisors say. Read more here 19:55
William Y. Brown, chief environmental officer for BOEM says, Stop Freaking Out Over Seismic. It’s Harmless!
I wanted to take some time to clear up a few misperceptions about the bureau’s decision and what it means. As a scientist who has spent a good part of my career working in non-governmental environmental organizations and in industry, I understand and appreciate advocacy. At the same time, I believe that everyone benefits by getting the facts right. Read more here 10:35
Three brothers who live in the Lower Keys, buyer charged in spiny lobsters take case
Three brothers who live in the Lower Keys have been indicted for harvesting spiny lobsters from illegal habitat called casitas, catching more than their daily commercial bag limit and falsifying commercial fishing reports to conceal their take. A commercial fish wholesale buyer has also been charged Read more here 08:25
Suffolk Closeup: Drill, baby … spill? – using the precise words of the oil industry — an “all-of-the-above” energy strategy.
Despite the 2010 offshore oil drilling disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, despite the U.S. suddenly becoming the top oil producer in the world and despite decades of opposition, President Barack Obama is moving to open up the offshore Atlantic to oil and gas drilling. Read more here 12:12
Officials considering closing fishing areas from Florida Keys to North Carolina – seeking fishermen’s comments.
Representatives from the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council held meetings last week in Key West and other areas of the state to obtain input on setting aside fishery areas as a way to protect critical spawning habitat.The goal of the proposal is to identify important spawning habitats for snapper and grouper species, while minimizing the social and economic impacts to snapper and grouper fishermen. Read more here 10:54
North Star Seafood Inc purveyor to pay $250K for Lacey Act Violations
A Pompano Beach seafood purveyor who federal prosecutors allege conspired to sell live spiny lobsters caught in the Florida Keys to China must pay a $250,000 fine and serve three years probation. Read more here 13:35
Rick Baumann writes, Is seismic testing, drilling for oil necessary?
From the letter: i.e. – our commercial fishermen have been and are being heavily regulated right now by the Precautionary Principle because conservative lawmakers won’t fund real time quantification of those resources. The “best available science” is way out of date – so precautionary regulations were put in place to protect the resources – even though little or no real time science existed to justify them. Why shouldn’t the same principle be applied when it comes to Atlantic drilling? Read more here 09:05
BOEM Extends Comment Period for Information Request on Next Five Year Oil and Gas Leasing Program
The June publication of the RFI began a 45-day comment period. With the extension, BOEM will accept comments until August 15. Substantial public involvement and extensive analysis will accompany all stages of the planning process, which will take up to three years to complete. <Read more here> 21:31
Menendez & Booker Lead Senate Letter Against Oil & Gas Drilling off the East Coast
…letter sent to U.S. Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell requesting the continuation of the longstanding protections against offshore oil and gas drilling in federal waters off…….. They don’t go far enough. No off shore wind. <Read more here> 08:46
Proposed Ban on Commercial Fishing Off Miami – Video report
With fish populations decreasing, the National Park Service is proposing a ban on commercial fishing in Biscayne National Park off the coast of Miami, an area that’s been fished for generations. <Video, Read more here> 12:24
Karen Grainey: Say ‘no’ to drilling off Georgia’s coast
Seismic cannon blasting, by the federal government’s own estimates, will injure and kill more than 138,000 marine mammals, including bottlenose dolphins and the endangered North Atlantic right whale. And the biological toll will only grow if drilling moves forward. <Read more here> 09:46
Day 3! ASMFC Summer Meeting. Listen Live.
August 4, 2014 The information about the 3 day meeting, including attending the meeting in listen mode only via the webinar broadcast can be found here. 09:56
Key West – FWC Arrests Man for Illegal Commercial Lobster Fishing
On Aug. 2, officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission arrested Pablo Enrique Anaya-Rodriquez, 49, of Key West, for actively fishing commercial lobster traps without having the required crawfish license tags attached to his traps. <Read more here> 08:38
ASMFC Summer Meeting, August 5-7, 2014 in Alexandria, Virginia
The information about the 3 day meeting, including attending the meeting in listen mode only via the webinar broadcast can be found here. 09:56
This GOP governor wants to halt offshore oil and gas exploration
“This ruling is very disappointing to the administration, and could have a negative impact on the ocean and its wildlife,” The stance is a rare one for a GOP governor to take — especially one who might have presidential ambitions — given that seismic airgun testing is a prelude to eventual drilling. The Obama administration is expected allow production in the Atlantic for the first time in decades in its next five-year drilling plan, which it is drafting. Read more here 12:43
The offshore oil clock is ticking
Maybe you saw the story recently about seismic testing in the Atlantic getting the green light from the feds. The AP story described it as “the first real step toward ,,,, The next sentence in the story summed up the perspective of those who were not thrilled by this decision by the Obama administration:“. . .[I]t dismayed people who owe their livelihoods to fisheries and tourism, and activists said it stains President Barack Obama’s environmental legacy.” Read more here 04:21
Important facts about the blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) savory, beautiful swimmer
Of all the edible crabs, the blue crab is the most abundant and popular. Many Americans prefer crab meat to any other kind of seafood, and yet, these leggy crustaceans were once believed to be poisonous. Crab fishing is one of the largest shell fish operations in the U.S., employing thousands of fishermen and processors. According to the latest figures,, Read more here 16:09
New Critical Turtle Habitat in Place, Somone should tell the Turtles! “We’re in a natural lull”
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — The number of loggerhead sea turtle nests on the South Carolina coast is down sharply this year but apparently there is no cause for concern. Figures from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources show there have been only about 1,700 loggerhead turtle nests recorded this year compared with a record of almost 5,200 a year ago. Read more here 07:05
Red snapper catches reported as outstanding, stock assessment needed now
After two of the three weekends of the red snapper recreational mini-season, outstanding catches have been reported throughout the South Atlantic region. Here are some of the news reports: Read more here 14:06
Coast Guard Lifts Sick Fisherman from F/V Warrior III – Video
Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Charleston command center were notified of the situation via a distress radio call at approximately 8:27 a.m., Sunday. The report stated a crewmember aboard the 44-foot fishing vessel Warrior III was suffering chest from pains and stomach complications. Video, Read more here 15:29
Obama opens East Coast to oil search
Opening the Eastern Seaboard to offshore oil exploration for the first time in decades, the Obama administration on Friday approved,,,”No one has been allowed to test anything like this on right whales,” Kraus said of the seismic cannons. “(The Obama administration) has authorized a giant experiment on right whales that this country would never allow researchers to do.” Read more here 11:36
From the Far Reach’s of Alaska- IDrive restaurant imports fresh (frozen) scallops
Long past her untimely demise, These scallops come to sunny Orlando from the Bering Sea. It is on the Arctic Hunter ?, Oceanaire noted, that the fishermen “catch, shuck, clean, size-sort, box and rapid-deep-freeze the Alaska Weathervane within four short hours of capture. Read more here 13:25
Outdoors: Gill netting again is ruled illegal, but don’t believe the net controversy is over
But don’t believe that, because the attempts over the years to overturn the net ban law show how commercial groups are unrelenting in their zeal to cash in for quick profits at the public resource trough. Any minor technicality in the net ban law will be tirelessly chipped away at by commercial interests through the courts. If nothing else the fall ruling by Leon County Judge Jackie Fulford (who was up for re-election) shows the mind-set of commercial netting interests. Read more here 20:02:
FWC captain honored by the Southeastern Fisheries Association
At its meeting in June, the Southeastern Fisheries Association presented Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Capt. Rob Beaton with the “Aylesworth Outstanding Government Employee Award.” Beaton was selected for his exemplary conduct, honesty and effort in seeking fairness for all when it comes to commercial fishing issues.Read more here 10:09
Crabbing off to slow start, Beaufort County commercial fishermen say
NMFS Announces Final 2014 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna Quotas
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces final quota specifications for the 2014 Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery. NMFS is adjusting the annual U.S. baseline bluefin quota recommended by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to account for underharvest of the adjusted 2013 U.S. bluefin quota. Read more here 07:19
ASMFC Releases Cancer Crab PID for Public Comment
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