TIDE BITS
ving this process. Some folks will feel that the proposals today do not go far enough, but it is imperative to point out that although this does not get us across the plate, it does get us in scor- ing position.”
The latest menhaden stock assess-
CCANATIONAL TIDE, staff honored
In February, the Texas Outdoor
Writers Association held its annual conference and Excellence in Craft competition, sponsored by General Motors. The annual event in Corpus Christi drew entrants from all over the state to compete in 18 categories.
ment showed the stock was undergo- ing overfishing and abundance esti- mates were at the lowest level ever recorded. Current science indicates that the menhaden spawning stock bio- mass is at about 9 percent of a stock that is not subjected to any fishing pressure. The Menhaden Management Board voted to start an addendum that would increase the spawning stock biomass to15 percent.
“That would end overfishing, cause about a 10 percent reduction in land- ings, and potentially increase spawn- ing stock by more than 50 percent,” said Brame. These are interim measures that will likely be in place for three to five years until a Multi-Species Virtual Population Analysis can be conducted, which will require stock assessment updates on bluefish, striped bass, weakfish and menhaden stock.
Editor Ted Venker and Kocian/ Gossett Design accepted the award for TIDE as the best Outdoor Publ- ication of 2010. Venker also won a first place award for Outdoor Column/ Opinion Writing and artist Sam Cald- well won first place for his painting of Walter Fondren that appeared on the cover of the May/June issue of TIDE.
Menhaden management finally begins
For the first time ever, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission took steps to rein in the industrial harvest of menhaden and begin the process of managing the menhaden fishery. If adopted, the measures pro- posed recently by the Menhaden Management Board would lead to a reduction of menhaden harvest in both the reduction and bait fisheries. “After years of inaction, this is an excellent first step toward recovering a critical forage base,” said Richen Brame, CCA Atlantic States Fisheries director. “This action is significant, simply because the science on men- haden as a vital forage base is improv- ing, and it is the science that is now dri-
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“When that analysis is conducted, it is very possible we will have a much better idea of the population of men- haden needed to fully serve as the crit- ical forage base for those popular sport fish,” said Brame. “The picture is con- stantly evolving, and we appreciate that the Menhaden Management Board worked to develop a suite of manage- ment options to use in the interim that will begin rebuilding menhaden.” The draft addendum will be devel- oped over the summer to be approved for public comment at the ASMFC’s August meeting. Public hearings will be held along the entire
Atlantic
seaboard this fall, with final action at the ASMFC’s November Annual Meeting in Massachusetts. If adopted, management restrictions could be in place for the 2012 fishing season.
South Atlantic Council votes down catch shares
Recreational anglers are applauding
the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s decision to “terminate all work relative to catch share develop- ment in Amendment 21,” the Compre- hensive Catch Share Amendment. In a motion by Council member George Geiger of Florida, the Snapper Grouper Committee voted to remove catch shares from Amendment 21, setting up action by the full Council. The decision
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is good news for recreational anglers who have been fighting the concept of catch shares as a one-size-fits-all solu- tion to fishery management problems. “There are so many other things for federal managers to be focusing on other than a controversial management scheme like catch shares,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “This action by the South Atlantic Council signals that NOAA should stop the rush to embrace catch shares and reconsider its priorities.” Catch share programs set a biologi- cally based annual catch limit for a fish stock and allocate a specific portion of that catch limit to entities, such as com- mercial fishermen, cooperatives or communities. Unfortunately, in fish- eries where there is a large and grow- ing recreational sector, catch shares maximize benefits to the commercial fishing industry while ignoring the participation and beneficial economic impacts of recreational fishing. CCA has engaged in a multi-tiered strategy to lessen the recreational sector’s expo- sure to the negative impacts of catch share programs. “Proper management of the recre- ational sector should be a top priority for the Congress and for NOAA Fisheries — not catch shares,” said Brewer. “We need more frequent stock assessments, development of fishery independent data and improved recre- ational catch data for federal fisheries. We are very pleased that South Atlantic Council members decided to remove catch shares as a management option in this Amendment and we hope that other Councils will follow their lead.” The catch share concept has not dis-
appeared entirely from the South Atlantic Council’s menu of options, as work will continue on catch share development for the golden crab and wreckfish fisheries, both exclusively commercial. “We still have a lot of work to do on catch shares, but this is a step in the right direction,” said Brewer.
CCA testifies on Magnuson-Stevens implementation problems
In response to a growing chorus of
frustration, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transpor- tation held a hearing before the Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee on implementa- tion of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
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