Daily Archives: February 15, 2013
I risk appearing way-too-jaded,but can’t help being inspired by endeavors like this one!
Featured Writer Dick Grachek
I risk appearing way-too-jaded, but can’t help being inspired by endeavors like this one:
Would this area of Guppies Science (GS) perhaps qualify as a worthwhile Fisheries Research Project (FRP) for EDF-CLF-Pew-NOAA to invest in for some Best Available Science (BAS)? Along with money for Aquaculture Start-Ups (AQS-U) and Deep Sea Minerals Exploration (DSME) they might be tempted to throw a few $mil towards this Post-Doctoral Guppy Research (P-DGR).
Also along the lines of the Guppy Science article, I’ve included below some more Aquarium Fisheries Research Science (AFRS)(allright I’ll stop!) on the Yellow Tang “Fishery” from Oregon State University and a brilliant piece by Jane Lubchenco concerning turtle deaths in the Gulf of Mexico, as well.
Jane’s article and the OSU work from a few years ago certainly seems to be representative of the ridiculous level that these NOAA academics operate on. The tragedy is that their “science”—with push from EDF, CLF, and Pew—is turned into policy, then law, then fishery regulations that have devastated a vital domestic industry. Read more at Dick’s Featured Writer column here
NOAA urged to subsidize monitors
NOAA Regional Administrator John Bullard announced last month in advance of the December council meeting that NOAA did not have the budget for a third year of 100 percent subsidy of at-sea monitoring, a requirement on about one third of groundfish trips. Each trip that is monitored pays $300 to the contractor. Bullard’s office has said the cost of monitoring is about $6-7 million a year. Read more here
Feds to let fishermen carry over unused quota
NOAA also signals it is considering other options to help the groundfishing fleet, including using federal funds to help fishermen pay for at-sea monitoring. Read more here
Drugged Fish Lose Their Inhibitions, Get the Munchies
Hundreds of different pharmaceuticals are able to slip past conventional wastewater treatment plants and into our waterways, says Jerker Fick, a toxicologist at Umeå University in Sweden and co-author of the new study. “They don’t mysteriously go away after we excrete them.” Scientists have known for a long time that many pharmaceuticals can persist in rivers and streams, and have behavioral effects on aquatic species in high doses, he says; however, determining whether more dilute concentrations have an effect is harder to establish. Read more here
American Samoa – Strong opposition to coral listing
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More than 20 residents attended the meeting and the majority expressed concerns about the economic, social and cultural impact the listing would have on fishing activities in the territory. The opponents were even more disheartened after hearing that the ESA process does not take economic impacts into consideration in their review. The listing was prompted by the Center for Biological Diversity, a conservation group based in Arizona. Read more here, audio
South Atlantic Tilefish harvest limit to begin
The daily vessel trip limit will decrease to 300 pounds effective Monday, Feb. 18. NOAA Fisheries has determined 75 percent of the 541,295-pound annual catch limit will be landed by that date, according to a Southest Fishery bulletin. Read more here
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission approves changes to rebuild Gulf gray triggerfish population
One condition of the federal reef fish permit is that harvesters must follow federal reef fish rules, even when they are fishing in state waters. This means that when the new federal commercial trip limit and closed season take effect sometime in April or May, harvesters in state waters must abide by these rules. Read more here
Wisconsin DNR issues commercial fishing citations in Two Rivers
MANITOWOC — The Department of Natural Resources has issued 44 citations for commercial fishing violations against Susie Q Fish Co. of Two Rivers, its owners and employees. The ordinance violations occurred in 2007 through 2010, according to court records. Among the charges were fishing with an illegal net, failing to return game fish and failing to keep accurate records. Read more here
Special Management Zones SMZs approved for Delaware reefs
Forces fighting to get commercial fishing gear off artificial reefs got a boost on Wednesday at the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) meeting in Virginia. Read more here
Red the Ojai sea dog lives long, adventurous life before his death
It all could have ended on that day nine years ago when Red tumbled off a commercial fishing boat and into the open sea. But the dog who made an incredible journey to San Nicolas Island eventually succumbed only to old age. Read more here
Editorial: Fishery shutdown would showcase economic impact
The senior counsel for the Conservation Law Foundation may be arguing for all the wrong reasons, but he makes a valid point: Read more here
