Virginia Saltwater Fishing

NOAA has published quotas and other measures for bluefin tuna. The allocations divide the available 2011 U.S. bluefin tuna quota of 957 metric tons among commercial and recreational fishing sectors for the fishing season that began on June 1.

In addition, NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced it would begin a review of domestic bluefin tuna management to address allocation issues, discards of dead bluefin tuna and the best ways to reduce unintended catch of bluefin tuna.

The total U.S. quota was set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas in November, the international body made up of 47 nations and the European Union that manages this highly migratory species.

The General category, which includes commercial fishermen who use rod and reel, will receive 435 metric tons, nearly half the 2011 U.S. quota. Allocations for the other categories are as follows: Angling category (which includes recreational fishermen),  182 metric tons; purse seine fishermen, 171.8 metric tons; longline fishermen, 61 metric tons; harpoon fishermen, 36 metric tons; trap fishermen, 0.9 metric tons; and a reserve of 70.6 metric tons. The reserve is set aside for scientific research and to account for landings and dead discards.

For more information on bluefin tuna go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2011/05/bluefin_tuna.html

source: NOAA press release

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

As saltwater anglers must to release more and more fish, circle hooks are becoming an important tool. Originally used in commercial fishing, these uniquely engineered hooks work quite differently than most other hook styles. A circle hook has the tip sharply bent back so there is no point exposed to catch on smooth surfaces.

Unlike traditional hooks, which snag anywhere in the gullet, throat or mouth, circle hooks have to be pulled through a sharp turn to penetrate. The hook most often catches in the corner of the mouth, an area where hooks usually stay embedded during the fight.

Due to the design of the circle hook, the angler must not snatch the rod tip when a bite is felt. Instead, anglers give the fish a moment and perhaps even pay out a few feet of line. Once the fish begins to move away with the bait, steady firm pressure is applied to the line. This allows the hook to pull upward from the gullet and towards the jaw. As the fish moves away, the hook is carried into the corner of the mouth, where its design allows it to catch and penetrate.

Although the chances of an initial hook set may be slightly lower than traditional hooks, the benefits usually outweigh this shortfall. In many cases catch rates actually increase when using circle hooks as most fish are hooked firmly in a firm area of the jaw. This not only helps anglers land more fish, but can have a dramatic impact on lowering fish mortality due injuries from deep hooking.

True circle hooks do not have kirbed (offset) shanks, but tackle vendors offer both non-offset hooks as well as modified models that have some amount of point offset. Hooks are also available in several wire sizes as well as color variations which cover a wide range of saltwater fishing applications.

Circle hooks first became popular for saltwater fishing when tuna fishermen began experimenting with them. Their effectiveness was quickly realized and these odd looking hooks have been embraced by fishermen for their efficiency and low fishing mortality.

Circle hooks are often rigged on fishfinder rigs which are used to catch striped bass, drum, cobia and other species. Flounder fishermen find that circle hooks work well, not only to reduce fish mortality, but to provide reliable hookups.

Circle hooks are also available snelled and for use with traditional top and bottom style leaders. Although circle hooks were originally designed to catch large pelagic species, new models work well for catching a variety of species, even spot, croaker, and other inshore species.

For fishing live baits, circle hooks are sometimes fished with a Carolina rig. The setup employs a single circle hook at the terminal end of a monofilament leader. A egg sinker is often included at or above the top of the leader. Typically a crimp or swivel is connected below the sinker to prevent it from sliding down the leader and reaching the hook.

The resulting rig allows a live bait to swim naturally, while the weight carries the fish to the bottom or down to mid-depths. When a fish takes the bait, the leader provides some slack so that the fish does not detect the weight or main line right away.

Effective January 1 through January 31, 2010, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) adjusts the General category daily Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) retention limit to two large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip. Until January 1, 2010, the current retention limit of three large medium or giant BFT per vessel per day/trip remains in effect.

For more information visit the HMS Breaking News page at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/breaking_news.htm

Massive ships, sporting sophisticated sonar, GPS, video surveillance, and gear technologies have grown increasingly surgical in their hunt for tuna.  Unfortunately, these global fishing fleets continue to bring in record hauls of some species which teeter on the brink of commercial extinction.  Unflinching demand in countries, such as Japan, has created large financial incentives for the continued exploitation of global tuna stocks.  Depending on the size, season, and fat content, a single bluefin tuna can sell for between $2,000 and $20,000 on average.  The record price paid for a single bluefin tuna was $104,700.  The fish was approximately 282 lbs, which brings the price per pound to about $371.27.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), 9 of 23 tuna global tuna species have reached their maximum sustainable catch.  Another 4 tuna species are now “overexploited” or “depleted.”  Given the fact that tuna are highly migratory species (HMS), regional conservation efforts by countries like the United States represent only a model for the type of international ethic that will be necessary to protect many tuna species from extinction.

The U.S. has taken the lead on curbing the steady slide in global fish stocks with strong fishery regulations centered on scientific management.  The fisheries of the California current, for example, were recently noted as some of the best managed fisheries in the world.  Despite a strong legacy of sustainably managed fisheries, the U.S., like many other coastal nations, has not been without its share of ecological disasters.  Setting inflexible regulations to manage fisheries, which are essentially a small piece of a much larger, more complex ecological system, has lead to some abrupt closures in the past.  New regulatory efforts by the Obama Administration will focus on ecosystem-based fishery management that can adjust catch limits and other criteria as current scientific data requires.

The European Union (EU) has also made recent strides towards better fisheries management in their work to recover their most endangered Atlantic bluefin.  In September, the European Commission moved to ban all trade in the Atlantic bluefin for two years.  Countries like Spain are resisting the new measure, but the majority of EU members support the move.  A final decision on the ban is scheduled on March, 2010 in Doha, Qatar.

A large amount of international cooperation has been garnered this year in response to the increasing evidence of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in national and international waters.  Areas know as “donut holes” that fall outside of national maritime enforcement zones are currently being exploited by large tuna boats.  These tuna boats often employ fish attraction devices (FADs) that are rigged with transmitters and underwater cameras that allow fishermen to fish the area when fish are most abundant.  Often times these FADs attract smaller, juvenile tunas.  To combat IUU fishing and its take of 36% of the total allowable catch in highly vulnerable areas of the Pacific, a number of key nations have come together.  The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), which is comprised of over 25 member nations that include the EU, the U.S., Taiwan, China and Japan will end all tuna fishing in two of the four Pacific donut holes by 2010.  Additionally, the EU has adopted new rules to limit IUU fishing that will begin in January 2010.

It is the hope of conservationists, commercial fishermen, subsistence fishermen, U.S. government officials, and other stakeholders that the international community will muster the political will necessary to recover HMS, like tuna.  “Action is being taken in some places — and where it is being taken, things are turning around,” said Boris Worm, an associate professor of marine conservation biology in Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  The professor and several colleagues recently reported that in seven of 10 key marine ecosystems worldwide where harvest rates were equal to or below those necessary to maintain a sustainable catch, the fisheries were rebounding.  Restricting gear that efficiently and indiscriminately catches all ages and sizes of fish species, temporarily closing overfished regions and critical breeding areas to fishing, reducing the size and number of fishing vessels, and lowering the total allowable catch (TAC) are four primary characteristics that scientist note most well-managed fisheries share.

source: Fishlink Sublegals