Virginia Saltwater Fishing

Members of the fishing industry and other stakeholders are invited to attend public listening sessions in North Carolina and Virginia with John Bullard, the NOAA Fisheries Regional Administrator for the Northeast Region.

The first listening session will be held in Manteo, North Carolina on February 11 at the North Carolina Aquarium.  The second listening session will be held on February 12 following the first day of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Hampton, VA.

During listening sessions, fishermen and other stakeholders will discuss the major issues currently facing the fishing industry and provide thoughts on how a successful industry would be structured.

NOAA Public Listening Sessions

Monday, February 11, 2013 4:00 – 6:00 PM
North Carolina Aquarium, Roanoke Island
374 Airport Road, Manteo, NC

AND

Tuesday, February 12, 2012 5:00 – 6:00 PM
Embassy Suites
1700 Coliseum Drive , Hampton, VA

For more information, contact Olivia Rugo at olivia.rugo@noaa.gov or 978-675-2167

source: NOAA Fisheries

NOAA recently announced the use of an improved method to estimate the amount of fish caught by saltwater anglers. Scientists expect the new method to result in more accurate estimates of recreational fishing catches.

NOAA will use the new method to calculate estimates for the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Mexico for use in fishery management and stock assessment by NOAA, regional fishery management councils and states.

The method is part of an overall effort to improve the accuracy of recreational catch data collected by the Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP). The improved estimation method was developed by a team of NOAA scientists and outside experts.

NOAA also released recalculated estimates going back to 2004 using the new method. The revised data will be used by the regional fishery management councils, the states, and other stakeholders in their fisheries science and management programs.

A major part of the Marine Recreational Information Program is the National Saltwater Angler Registry. Scientists hope the angler registry will improve the accuracy of fishing effort estimates by increasing the proportion of fishing households that are surveyed.

According to NOAA, additional improvements to increase the accuracy of the estimates are being developed, including revised dockside survey methods, testing of approaches to improving data timeliness, and use of electronic logbooks in the for-hire vessel sector.

To learn more about the Marine Recreational Information Program, go to: http://www.CountMyFish.noaa.gov

source: NOAA press release

Billfish and tuna, important commercial and recreational fish species, may be more vulnerable to fishing pressure because of shrinking habitat according to a new study published by scientists from NOAA, the Billfish Foundation, and the University of Miami.

An expanding zone of low oxygen, known as a hypoxic zone, in the Atlantic Ocean is encroaching on these species’ preferred oxygen-abundant habitat, forcing them into shallower waters where they are more likely to be caught.

While hypoxic zones occur naturally in many areas of the world’s tropical and equatorial oceans, scientists are concerned because these zones are expanding and occurring closer to the sea surface, and are expected to continue to grow as sea temperatures rise.

source: NOAA Fish News

NOAA Fisheries Service reminds tournament operators to register their Atlantic HMS tournaments for 2011

NOAA Fisheries Service is again reminding tournament operators to register their Atlantic highly migratory species (HMS) tournaments for 2011. This includes tournaments occurring on the U.S. East Coast, in the Gulf of Mexico, and in the U.S. Caribbean.

According to NOAA. registering HMS tournaments help with the collection of important recreational catch and effort information which is used to analyze the impacts of potential fishery management actions, assess the status of Atlantic HMS, and to assist the United States in complying with international fishery management obligations.

Federal regulations require that all tournaments awarding points or prizes for Atlantic HMS, including tunas, sharks, swordfish, and/or billfish, register with NOAA Fisheries Service at least four weeks prior to the start of the fishing tournament.

For more information or to register tournaments, see:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/newslist/2010/12-09-10_2011_HMS_Tournament_Registration_Reminder.pdf

source: NOAA Fish News

U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, has blasted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for a position announced recently by NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco at a meeting of the International Commission on Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Paris, France.

During an interview, Dr. Lubchenco asserted that NOAA believes a reduction in the total allowable catch of bluefin tuna is warranted in both the heavily overfished eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock and the western Atlantic stock which is harvested primarily by the U.S. and Canada.  While data has shown that the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock has been consistently and excessively over-exploited, the most recent scientific report released by ICCAT’s Standing Committee on Research and Statistics in September 2010 shows the western stock is in far better shape, thanks largely to strict management and conservation measures enforced by the U.S. and adhered to by domestic fishermen.

“By suggesting that reductions in total allowable catch of bluefin tuna are warranted in both the eastern and western Atlantic, NOAA is effectively selling out U.S. fishermen who for years have adhered to strict catch limits and conservation measures now proven to have boosted the health of the bluefin population,” said Senator Snowe.  “Our fishermen operate under the world’s strictest management regime, and their sacrifices are largely responsible

for the optimism found in the most recent scientific assessment for western Atlantic bluefin.  The U.S. fishery lacks the rampant over-harvest, under-reporting, and tuna ranching operations that have led to such a dramatic decline in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean.  Thus, to suggest our fishermen should be punished for their actions to rebuild and sustain this vital species is uncalled for and inappropriate.”

Yesterday, prior to the comments Dr. Lubchenco made in France, Senator Snowe sent a letter to the NOAA Administrator, co-signed by nine of her colleagues from the New England delegation, asking that the U.S. delegation to ICCAT focus its attention on pursuing aggressive action ensuring all nations’ compliance with and enforcement of ICCAT policies, reliance on science to drive management decisions, and implementation of policies that incentivize actions to ensure a sustainable future for all ICCAT species, particularly Atlantic bluefin tuna.  The letter also asked the U.S. delegation to pursue a modest increase in the catch limits for western bluefin from the current level of 1,800 metric tons.

“The question the U.S. delegation should be asking is whether we want to incentivize or punish good behavior on the part of ICCAT members,” added Senator Snowe.  “We must allow science to dictate management measures, and in this case, the data is clear: there is room for an increase in the catch limit for western bluefin, yet we must push for further restrictions on catch limits in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean. U.S. fishermen have already sacrificed a portion of their livelihood today for a sustainable future tomorrow. Eastern Atlantic fishermen have not made those concessions, and the time has come for them to accept long overdue catch restrictions.  Imposing those same sanctions on U.S. fishermen even when the science would dictate otherwise will simply serve as a disincentive for other nations to agree to make similar sacrifices.”

Senator Snowe’s letter to Dr. Lubchenco was also signed by Senators Collins (R-ME), Shaheen (D-NH), and Scott Brown (R-MA), and by Representatives Barney Frank (D-MA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mike Michaud (D-ME), John Tierney (D-MA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), and Bill Delahunt (D-MA).  In addition to the letter, Senator Snowe has introduced a Resolution in the Senate calling for strengthened enforcement and compliance measures, protection of U.S. quota of ICCAT species, and strict reliance on science to drive management at ICCAT.

source: Olympia J. Snowe press release

NOAA Administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, and NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator, Eric Schwaab hosted more than 100 recreational constituents in Alexandria, Virginia at 2010 Recreational Saltwater Fishing Summit on April 16 – 17.

“Resolving issues facing our fisheries today will require partnerships between resource managers and users,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “I commit that NOAA Fisheries will focus on addressing the issues of concern to the recreational fishing community with the utmost disciplined attention.”

For more on the Summit, visit the NOAA Fisheries Service recreational fishing website.

A new climate-population model developed by NOAA scientists to study rising ocean temperatures and fishing rates on one East Coast fish population could also forecast the impact of climate change and fishing on other fisheries.

The model is one of the first to directly link a specific fish stock with climate change. In a paper in the March 2010 issue of the journal Ecology Applications published online by the Ecological Society of America, NOAA researchers forecast the future of the Atlantic croaker fishery in the mid-Atlantic under various climate and fishing scenarios.

Atlantic croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) is a coastal marine fish inhabiting the east coast of the United States with an $8 million annual commercial fishery. Previous studies have shown a strong link between croaker abundance and winter temperatures.

“Some fish populations will increase and others decrease as a result of climate change,” said lead author Jon Hare of the

Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) laboratory in Narragansett, R.I. “Our results demonstrate that climate effects on fisheries must be identified and understood, included in the scientific advice to managers, and factored into fishery management plans if sustainable exploitation is to be achieved.”

For various temperature and fish population scenarios over the next 90 years to 2100, the researchers forecast that at current levels of fishing, the spawning population of Atlantic croaker would increase between 60 and 100%, the center of the population would shift 50 to 100 kilometers (roughly 30 to 65 miles) northward, and the maximum sustainable yield would increase 30 to 100%.

With ocean temperatures expected to increase through the 21st century, the researchers developed the population model for Atlantic croaker based on the hypothesis that recruitment, or survival of juveniles to adulthood, is determined by winter water temperature. Atlantic croaker spawn in the coastal ocean and larvae enter estuaries in Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and Pamlico Sound 30 to 60 days after hatching. Juveniles spend their first winter in these estuarine nursery habitats.

Temperature during this winter period is very important to juvenile survival. Temperature forecasts were obtained from 14 General Circulation Models (GCMs) used by the Intergovermental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to simulate three carbon dioxide emission scenarios through 2100: atmospheric carbon dioxide fixed at 350 , 550 and 720 parts per million (ppm). By comparison, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide in February 2010 was 389.91ppm.

Hare and colleagues from NOAA’s Northeast and Southeast Fisheries Science Centers, in collaboration with climate modelers from NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., linked the Atlantic croaker population model with forecasts of minimum winter temperature from the 14 GCMs. These linked modeling efforts provided estimates of the abundance, distribution, and yield of the Atlantic croaker population under different climate change scenarios and different fishing rates.

With increasing minimum winter temperatures, the NOAA model predicted that Atlantic croaker abundance will increase. Higher temperatures result in higher recruitment, which leads to a larger spawning stock. At current levels of fishing mortality, all 14 GCM models and all climate scenarios predicted higher population abundances than observed since the early 1970’s, when estimates of spawning stock were first developed. Even at higher fishing mortality rates, the models and climate scenarios predicted higher populations than observed in the past.

“Although our model does not include all potential environmental complexities, the recruitment hypothesis on which it is based is supported by both laboratory and field work, and is consistent with current fishery population models,” Hare said.

“The modeling work represents one of the first attempts to link a group of general circulation models to fish population models. The outputs from 14 GCM models are all consistent, so we have confidence in our long-term forecasts.”

This approach could be used for other species where an environmental link to population dynamics is established.

“Most stock assessments that inform fishery management decisions do not include the effect of a changing environment because they are conducted annually or every few years and do not provide a long-term view,” said Hare. “Understanding and quantifying the effect of climate change on populations, in combination with the effect of exploitation, is a major challenge to rebuilding and maintaining sustainable fisheries in the coming decades.”

Another challenge is developing climate models that forecast on shorter timer scales than the current 50 to 100 years.

source: NOAA press release

U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) has called on U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco, and NMFS Administrator Patricia Kurkul to issue an immediate moratorium on the flawed survey data used to implement recreational fishing quotas for the East Coast.  In a letter addressed to Kurkul, Sen. Schumer cited the Marine Recreational Fishing Statistical Survey (MRFSS) as being “fatally flawed” and reminded NOAA of their responsibility through the federal Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA) tSen. Schumer Pt. Lookouto implement changes to the methodology used to gauge the level of recreational landings over the course of a season.

“We need better science and more data-based flexibility in our fishing management regulations,” said Schumer. “Keeping our fishing stocks healthy is absolutely critical, and to accomplish this we can’t base decisions on outdated science and poor methods. The current system not only falls short of achieving this goal, but it could take the Long Island fishing community down with it in 2010,” Schumer said adding that the fishing community “needs fairness and relief from flawed survey data now.”

MRFSS uses a combination of dockside interviews and evening telephone surveys to collect recreational harvest information.  In 2005, Congress convened a special hearing to look the MRFSS methodology, which in turn led to an in-depth analysis by the National Research Council (NRC) concluding that “both the telephone and access components of the current approach have serious flaws in design or implementation and use inadequate analysis methods that need to be addressed immediately.” Pat Sullivan, the NRC committee chair and a Cornell professor, referred to MRFSS specifically as “fatally flawed.”  The findings led to an MSA mandate that NMFS work on a new survey methodology which was supposed to be online and operational by the start of 2009. Federal delays however have pushed back the start date for MRIP until this year, which means MRFSS data is still regarded as “best available science” for estimating the annual recreational harvest.

Last week, Sen. Schumer asked Kurkul to issue an across-the-board moratorium on this flawed survey data in 2010 so that black sea bass and other species like fluke and porgies are not unfairly shutdown by bad science. “Acknowledging the problems with MRFSS, a new system mandated by the Magnuson-Stevens Act will be coming online in the coming years,” the senator wrote, adding “it would be patently unfair to punish anglers by reducing their quota due to erroneous landings estimates produced with a broken system.  I request that NMFS dismiss future recreational overages predicted by MRFSS until the new system is fully implemented and calibrated by NOAA.”

The Recreational Fishing Alliance recently posted a seven-page paper (Fatally Flawed Science – Killing America’s Number One Outdoor Pastime) pointing out many specific problems with MRFSS and outlining NRC’s view that experiential, narrative or local information from the fishing industry, currently considered purely “anecdotal” in nature by NMFS, should actually be considered in harvest methodology.  “When no other information is available, anecdotal information may constitute the best information available,” the NRC reported in its executive summary, adding “In addition, anecdotal information may be used to help validate other sources of information and identify topics for research.”

Schumer’s letter on behalf of anglers in the New York marine district can be greatly supported in many coastal states and is backed by a recent study conducted by the Connecticut Marine Fisheries Division (Correction for Systematic Bias in Recreational Catch, Harvest and Trip Estimates from the MRFSS since the year 2000) which noted a growing discrepancy between the estimated number of saltwater anglers according to MRFSS and the estimates of saltwater anglers from the US Fish and Wildlife Surveys (USFWS) and saltwater licenses sales from several Atlantic coast states.  Authored by fisheries assessment expert Dr. Victor Crecco, the report shows that MRFSS’ 2008 saltwater angler estimates were often “three to four times higher than both the 2006 USFWS estimates and the 2008 adjusted saltwater license sales,” findings which Dr. Crecco said “strongly suggest that the MRFSS has severely overestimated the number of saltwater anglers and fishing trips particularly in recent years, and by extension, has severely inflated the true recreational catch and harvest of all finfish species.”

Schumer is urging the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to manage quotas based on sound data, and has instructed federal fisheries managers to dismiss any future overages estimated by MRFSS in order to restore some stability to coastal fishing communities.  “MRFSS has proven to be extremely dangerous on a year to year basis – especially with regard to last year’s surprising black sea bass shutdown – and this raises concerns about fully utilizing the meager summer flounder liberalization New York is entitled to in 2010,” Sen. Schumer added.

“Fishing is a Long Island tradition that has been passed down for generations and without this relief, the NMFS could potentially stick New York with another year of draconian cuts,” Schumer said. “The fishing community has made many sacrifices and stocks are improving so restricting families and others from fishing for them, based on bad data, in 2010 is just plain wrong.”

This past Saturday, Sen. Schumer visited the Freeport Recreation Center on Long Island and met with several hundred recreational fishermen at the New York Sportfishing Federation’s annual fishing expo.  “Fishing is one of our best industries in New York and you’ve been neglected for too long,” Schumer told the crowd of anglers and business owners, stressing the need to fix the Magnuson Stevens Act.  Schumer is lead sponsor of Senate Bill 1255, the Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act and urged show patrons to join him in a  rally on the Capitol on February 24th while calling on “bureaucrats” to immediately fix the data collection system.

“We’ve got to change the rules here,” Schumer said to a loud applause.

To view Sen. Schumer’s letter to NOAA, visit www.joinrfa.org/Press/SchumerLetter_020910.pdf

source: RFA press release

Saltwater recreational fishermen have long expressed concerns about the data used to estimate the effects of recreational fishing on ocean resources and the nation’s economy. The National Saltwater Angler Registry, which launches on Friday, will help address that concern by providing a comprehensive list of the nation’s saltwater anglers that will be used to improve surveys of fishermen. These surveys are used by NOAA scientists to assess the health of fish stocks and to estimate the economic contributions of anglers.

Many saltwater recreational fishermen will be required to register before fishing in 2010. The registry is open for registrations starting Friday, January 1. But if you have a state saltwater fishing license, you may already be part of the registry.

“By registering, recreational anglers will make their catch count,” said Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA assistant administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service. “The National Saltwater Angler Registry is an important tool that will enable us to better estimate the health of marine fisheries so that we’re able to preserve the pastime of recreational saltwater fishing for generations to come.”

“Recreational fishers need the registry,” says Capt. Monty Hawkins, a party boat operator and recreational fishing advocate based in Ocean City, Md. “People’s lives depend on the quality of the government’s information. It’s the basis for management decisions on everything from creel limits to whether to shut down whole sections of the coast. I’ve been harshly critical of recreational fishing data in the past, but I welcome the registry as a way to improve upon the current system.”

Gordon Colvin, a biologist with NOAA’s Fisheries Service and interim senior policy advisor on recreational fishing to Balsiger, who has spearheaded the registry implementation, said that many anglers will not need to take any action to register, because their coastal states already have agreements in place with NOAA to share state saltwater fishing license information.

Who Needs to Register:

Recreational saltwater fishermen will need to register if they:

• Hold a license from one of 10 coastal states or territories which do not currently have comprehensive saltwater angler license or registration requirements—Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, Virginia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

• Fish for or are likely to catch anadromous species in tidal and salt waters; these are fish like river herring, shad, smelt and striped bass that live in the oceans but spawn in fresh water, OR

• Fish in the federal waters more than three miles from the ocean shore or from the mouths of rivers or bays

Who Doesn’t Need to Register

Some anglers don’t have to register if they:

• Hold a license from one of 15 coastal states with comprehensive licensing or registration — Alabama, Alaska, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Washington;

• Are not required under state law in one of these 15 states to hold a fishing license as is sometimes the case with seniors or active-duty military;

• Are under age 16;

• Pay to fish on licensed charter, party or guide boats;

• Hold a Highly Migratory Species Angling permit or subsistence fishing permit;

• Fish commercially under a valid license.

National Saltwater Angler registration is free in 2010. To register beginning Friday, anglers can visit http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov and click on the Angler Registry link, or call the toll-free registration line at 1-888-MRIP411 (1-888-674-7411) from 4:00 am to 12 midnight EST daily.

Anglers will need to provide their name, date of birth, address and telephone number, and will receive a registration number that will allow them to begin fishing immediately. They will receive a registration card in the mail in about 30 days.

Steve Medeiros, executive director of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association and a leading advocate for a saltwater fishing license in his state, said the registry is an important step. “While it’s true that some fishermen don’t like the idea of having to register to participate in a sport they’ve taken for granted their whole lives, anyone fishing today knows that increasing pressures on the ocean are having a real effect,” he said. “If we’re going to pass the sport down to our children and grandchildren, we’re going to need sound management based on good data.”

The registry will be used as the basis for conducting surveys of saltwater recreational fishermen to find out how often they fish. It will eventually replace the use of random-digit dialing to coastal households, a system NOAA has had in place since the 1970s. The goal is to improve survey efficiency and reduce bias by making calls only to homes where people fish, and reaching saltwater anglers who live outside coastal counties.

While the registry is among the most visible aspects of NOAA’s Marine Recreational Information Program, it is only one component of this rigorous multi-year, multi-phased overhaul of the system NOAA uses to collect and report recreational fishing data. Each piece of its design and implementation has been guided by close working relationships among NOAA personnel, fisheries managers, state partners, independent scientists and the recreational fishing community.

source: NOAA press release

In October of 2009, the Department of Commerce Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, or MAFAC, recommended the creation a new work group whose purpose is to assist MAFAC in the development of recommendations to the Secretary of Commerce on issues of importance to the marine recreational fishing community.

NOAA is now accepting nominations to this new Recreational Fisheries Working Group. Interested members of the recreational fishing community are encouraged to read the Federal Register notice for information on qualifications and application requirements. Applications will be accepted until February 16, 2010.

Questions regarding the working group should be directed to NOAA’s interim senior policy advisor for recreational fisheries, Gordon Colvin at gordon.colvin@noaa.gov.

source: NOAA Fish News