Category Archives: South Atlantic
Feds bust Boca man for illegally taking, then shipping, Florida Keys lobster
A Boca Raton man pleaded not guilty in federal court in Key West Friday to taking, possessing, transporting and selling Florida Keys spiny lobster in violation of federal law. Eric Burman, 60, faces a possible sentence of up to five years in prison, supervised release of up to three years and a fine of up to $250,000. Read more here 16:09
Opa-locka man gets prison for taking lobster traps
An Opa-locka fisherman who pleaded guilty to charges of taking lobster traps in Biscayne Bay has been sentenced to 18 months in state prison, according to the Miami-Dade state’s attorney’s office. Read more here 09:53
SAFMC halts MPA effort, includes catch shares in top ten list
The SAFMC has been pushed hard for over two years by radical environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, and Pew to approve the proposed MPAs even though the SAFMC’s own scientific advisors have said there is no scientific justification. It is of great concern that at last week’s SAFMC meeting, when council members submitted their top three issues/solutions as part of the snapper-grouper fishery “visioning” process, catch shares made it into the top ten issues for consideration. Read more here 14:04
New rules would ban commercial fishing, lobster mini season from Biscayne National Park
“It’s always so easy to take a swipe at fishermen whether they’re commercial or recreational,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association. “It’s going to have a severe socio-economic impact. We’re talking generations of fishermen — a cultural heritage.” Read more here 08:55
Teens charged with stealing 400 pounds of yellowtail snapper from a commercial fishing boat
Police say their investigation led to a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old who live at the Stock Island Apartments. The younger teen told police “he and his friend used five-gallon buckets to steal the fish.” They reportedly made seven separate trips on their bicycles and sold the fish at a trailer park for $20 per bucket. Read more here 17:54
Study: Population of great whites rebounding
CHATHAM — Sightings of great white sharks in Cape waters is one indicator that the species is rebounding from the lows of 20 years ago, according to a National Marine Fisheries Service study released this week. Read more here 07:51
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting June 9-13 – Listen Live!
Ponte Vedra Beach, FL Meeting Agenda Click Here Webinar Registration: Watch the meeting LIVE as it happens Click here to register 13:09
Georgia’s commercial fishing fleet is hoping for a better season this year, and they just might get it
Following a year many regard as one of the worst shrimp harvests in recent times, those in the seafood industry say the 2014 catch is already looking promising. Still, some say, Tuesday might be a bit too early to open state waters — from the beach to 3 miles offshore — to commercial trawls, even though it is a little later than the normal May start date. Read more here 17:37
Sea cucumber management changes take effect June 11
A commercial daily trip and vessel limit of 200 sea cucumbers will go into effect June 11 in state and federal waters off Florida. Read more here 11:58
Lender seeks foreclosure on whale rescue group’s land
Palm Beach County lender Robert Denenberg sued the Marine Mammal Conservancy on May 20 in Monroe County Circuit Court arguing he is owed $300,000 in overdue mortgage payments, plus $5,250 in unpaid interest. Read more here 20:15
Georgia: Shrimpers caught fishing illegally
Six Georgia fishermen are in hot water for allegedly catching hundreds of pounds of shrimp in state waters before legally allowed to do so. Rangers caught two boats and crews jumping the gun – the first on May 29 and the second on Saturday. Read more here 07:30
Georgia waters opening to shrimping June 10
BRUNSWICK, GA. | Georgia will open its waters for the commercial and recreational netting of food shrimp at 8 a.m. Tuesday, June 10, the state said. That means commercial trawlers can operate in Georgia’s territorial waters to the three-mile limit and individuals can use beach seines and cast nets to catch shrimp in waters where the shrimping gears are allowed. Read more here 13:55
National Park Service Biscayne Park Fishery Management Plan ruffles fishermen
The head of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association says he’ll take the fight to Congress if need be to fend off the implementation of a series of fishing restrictions proposed this week by Biscayne National Park officials. Read more here 08:12
Cortez Fishing for Freedom members attend protest, appellate hearing
Coarsey said 50-60 people attended the demonstration outside of the FWC building, most wearing their FFF T-shirts. The shirts, on the back, state, “Biology versus Politics.” Following the protest, FFF members filled the courtroom for the hearing. “We represented Manatee County. Is it important we went up there? Yes,” said Coarsey. “They’re taking out a species of fisherman.” Read more here 08:23
Capt. Edwards casts off aboard Miss Judy Too for another shrimping season
Capt. Tommy Edwards was back out in open waters as the local shrimping season kicked off. Aboard Edwards shrimp boat the Miss Judy Too, it’s a five man crew. Edwards and his crew haven’t been able to shrimp for the past seven months, but now that shrimping season has started, they finally get to cast out their nets. Read more here 22:48
Charleston Marina: Annual Blessing of the Fleet on Monday
CHARLESTON — Memorial Day activities in Charleston will focus on the annual Blessing of the Fleet and Memorial Service at the Charleston Fisherman’s Memorial Garden, near the launch ramp at the Charleston Marina, at 10 a.m. Monday, May 26. This year the Charleston community will add 11 names to the “In Memory of Charleston Fisherman” plaque. Read more here 17:38
‘Jellyballs’ Are Serious Business
Since 1998, shrimping boats in Georgia have been spending part of the year trawling for cannonball jellyfish under a pilot program, but they only had their first official season as a commercial fishery in 2013. “The has been about the best thing that’s happened to us,” said Howell Boone, a Georgia shrimp trawler, in a January interview with NPR. “The shrimp season [of 2013] was the worst ever in history here.” Read more here 12:37
Former Colleagues Fight Over Turtle Data
NORTH PALM BEACH (CN) – A leading marine research center filed for an injunction against its former head scientist, claiming he stole years of research data and used it to carry out unauthorized studies. Read more here 11:16
Pompano Beach seafood purveyor conspired to sell live spiny lobster caught in the Florida Keys to China
The government alleges in the 6-page document that Eric Berman conspired with at least one other person “known to the U.S. Attorney’s Office” to package and ship live lobster harvested in Monroe County to Hong Kong, China, via Miami International Airport. Read more here 16:39
Guest column: Warnings about seismic testing, Neil A. Armingeon of St. Augustine
The noise is constant, every 16 seconds, 24 hour a day, for weeks on end. Could you read? Communicate with your family? This isn’t science fiction. It could happen near our beaches and our coastal waters. The oil and gas industry want to map oil and gas reserves off the Atlantic coast. To do that, it needs seismic airgun testing. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill taught us there is no such thing as clean oil and gas production. Read more here 16:29
ASMFC Spring Meeting, May 12-15, 2014 is under way
Board/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 10 a.m. on May 12th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 3:15 p.m.) on May 15th. The webinar will allow registrants to listen to board/section deliberations and view presentations and motions as they occur. Read more here Webinar registration is here 12:28
Record Prices For Stone Crab Claws Amid Scarcity
Florida Keys-based 
tells The Key West Citizen that fish houses paid $25 to $30 a pound for jumbo-sized claws, $18 to $21 a pound for large claws and $8 to $11 a pound for medium claws. Read more here 10:40
Pew/NatGeo Column Oversimplifies Ecosystem-Based Management of “Forage Fish”
WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) May 7, 2014 — In a recent article, “The ABCs of Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management-Part II,” the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Director of Federal Fisheries Policy and National Geographic online guest writer, Lee Crockett, focuses on the management of “forage fish” — a much used, though highly debated categorization for a number of small, marine species. The article’s title suggests,,, Read more here 14:13
“epic battle” “ultimate catch” – Videos of shark catches popular, but is act legal?
Then he says, “When you’re a fisherman, you have no idea what you’re going to catch,” he said. “If you do happen to catch something that big, you don’t want to go into chest-deep water to unhook it. It’s a matter of human life versus a shark’s life. If you really want to do something for hammerheads, go after commercial shark fishing. Who’s going to go after some kid posting on Youtube when you can go after the people killing hundreds at a time?” Read more here 18:08
Florida Law imposing stiffer penalties for lobster violators goes to governor
Lobster violations have generally been treated as second-degree misdemeanors punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Under the revised law, possession of any out-of-season lobster or wrung tails, or violations involving more than 25 lobster, would be considered a first-degree misdemeanor. A first-degree misdemeanor could result in a 12-month jail sentence and $1,000 fine. Loss of recreational or commercial fishing licenses also could result. Read more here 08:22
New clues but no closure in mystery of missing Pompano Beach Fisherman Peter Stilwell
Late on a January afternoon last year, 400 miles out in the Atlantic, Peter Stilwell remained by himself on the aft deck of the Fine Tuna fishing boat. Seas were rolling but not stormy. The captain and two crewmen were in the boat’s pilothouse, talking about fishing. Then the unexplained happened: Stilwell vanished. sunsentinal.com Read more here 07:05
Fishing was his life…and his death. Fisherman Peter Stilwell, Pompano Beach, Fla Read more here January 29, 2013
Dolphin Expert Stephen McCulloch Fired By FAU, Seeks Reinstatement
Stephen McCulloch wants his job back. A prominent master of the arcane art of dolphin rescue, for more than a decade he was a leader and key force at the Marine Mammal Program at FAU’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI). Last February 14 he was fired. browardpalmbeach.com Read more here 10:41
Closely watched Maine elver season marked by slow start, low prices
Tim LaRochelle sat in the bow of a 16-foot canoe, scanning the murky river water by the light of a headlamp and a nearly full moon. “There’s one,” LaRochelle said, pointing at a squiggle created near the water’s surface by a tiny, translucent immature eel – an elver. LaRochelle kept looking, but nearly a minute passed before he pointed to another squiggle. Read more here portlandpress 09:52
Imports, farmed shrimp fill demand, but hit shrimpers in their wallets
Fresh, off-the-boat shrimp is the hallmark of Fernandina Beach’s annual shrimp festival, but some shrimpers are jumping ship this year after fighting over the prevalence of imported, farmed shrimp at festival booths. Read more here 19:25
Econuts File Another Suit.
A coalition of environmental and animal protection groups has sued the federal government to protect critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. Read more eco sue and settle squalk here 19:53
