Virginia Saltwater Fishing

The National Marine Fisheries Service is taking two actions regarding the recreational Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) Angling category fishery:

(1) closure of the southern area trophy BFT fishery (73″ or greater) effective 11:30 p.m. local time, Thursday, April 4, through the remainder of 2013; and

(2) adjustment of the daily retention limit that applies to the HMS Charter/Headboat category (when fishing recreationally), effective April 4, 2013, from 1 fish measuring 27 to <73″ to 1 school BFT (27 to <47”) and 1 large school/small medium BFT (47 to <73”) per vessel.

The recreational daily retention limit that applies to HMS Angling category vessels remains at the default level of 1 school, large school, or small medium BFT (27 to <73”) per vessel.

For more information, visit the NOAA HMS website:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/breaking_news.htm

source: NOAA HMS News

In Virginia, the fall season usually brings outstanding fishing for yellowfin tuna. From 30 fathoms out to the offshore canyons, yellowfin tuna and other species are caught in good numbers.

During fall offshore fishing, trolling is usually the most common technique. Although Virginia fishermen once considered the practice of trolling ballyhoo to be essential for catching fall yellowfin, recent decades have seen trolling spreads evolve considerably.

In the last decade, one of the most popular rigs for catching yellowfin tuna is the spreader bar. Most anglers employ at least one spreader bar equipped with rainbow-colored squid or other bright colored lures.

Some tuna spreader bars are equipped with a snap on the center line, allowing anglers to change lures quickly. Some captains prefer that all lures match, while others rig a contrasting squid or other tuna lure behind the spreader bar.

Especially during the fall, anglers often report that jigging spreader bars after a strike tends to result in a higher number of hookups. When a well-season crew acts quickly, fish are sometimes hooked on several lines at once. The success of spreader bars at attracting yellowfin has contributed immensely to their popularity off the Virginia Coast.

Hurricanes and tropical storms often play a role in fall fishing. These violent weather events relocate pockets of bluewater, weedlines, debris, and pods of baitfish. In the days following a storm, the fishing often picks up considerably.

During the fall offshore fishing season, anglers seeking yellowfin tuna may also encounter a number of other pelagic fish species. Some species are smaller in size, such as the false albacore and skipjack tuna, and Atlantic bonita.

Other open ocean fish offer a much greater challenge. Among the most sought after species are bluefin tuna, longfin albacore, bigeye tuna, dolphinfish, wahoo, white marlin, blue marlin, and mako sharks.

By October, temperatures have cooled considerably and periods of fair weather become less frequent. During this time, fishing pressure is usually light and locating fish can be a challenge. Despite the challenges of late season fishing, the action can be non-stop when tuna are located.

NOAA Fisheries will hold a 3-day Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel meeting March 13 through March 15, 2012. During the event, options will be considered for the conservation and management of Atlantic highly migratory species. The meeting is open to the public. The meeting will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 8777 Georgia Avenue, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.

source:  NOAA

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

A Virginia man set a new North Carolina state record for bluefin when he reeled in an 805-pound, 8-ounce fish off Oregon Inlet.

Corey Schultz, of Waverly, Va., caught the fish on March 12, 2011 aboard the Sea Breeze out of Oregon Inlet Fishing Center. The fish measured 112 inches curved fork length with a 76-inch girth.

Schultz caught the fish on a Shimano 80 rod and reel using 130 line test with ballyhoo for bait.

Schultz said he fought the fish for about 2½ hours and had close to 1,000 yards of line out. Everyone in the boat’s party of six, in addition to the captain and mate, helped to get the fish on board.

The former North Carolina state record bluefin tuna weighed 744 pounds and was caught off Oregon Inlet in 1995. The International Game Fish Association record bluefin tuna weighed 1,496 pounds and was caught off Nova Scotia in 1979.

source: North Carolina Department of Marine Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries will hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel on April 5-7, 2011, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The intent of this meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks.

As of March 1, the agenda and venue had not been set. For more information, visit the Federal Register page:

http://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2011/02/10/2011-2987/atlantic-highly-migratory-species-meeting-of-the-atlantic-highly-migratory-species-advisory-panel

source: NOAA Fish News?

NOAA Fisheries Service has developed a brochure that offers guidelines on how to increase the survival of  hook-and-line caught, large pelagic species.

The objectives of careful catch and release include reducing stress and minimizing injury to a fish caught on hook-and-line, and assisting in its recovery prior to release.

These objectives are especially challenging for large highly migratory species such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks, because of the size and potentially dangerous features (e.g., teeth and swords) of these species.

The brochure provides guidelines for careful catch and release in four topic areas: planning ahead, gear, play and handling, and release and revival.

The information in this brochure will assist anglers in following NOAA Fisheries regulations, which require that any Atlantic highly migratory species that is caught and released, be released in a manner that maximizes its probability of survival.

To obtain the document, visit http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ and click on the brochure to download it, or call 301-713-2347.

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

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is scheduled to hold a meeting of the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel (AP) on May 11-13, 2010, in Silver Spring, Maryland.

The purpose of the meeting is to consider alternatives for the conservation and management of Atlantic tunas, swordfish, billfish, and sharks.

For more information, visit to the HMS Division website at:

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/Advisory%20Panels/Advisory_Panel.htm

Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Tom Strickland has announced that The United States will continue its support for a proposal to ban all international commercial trade of Atlantic bluefin tuna at this month’s meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wildlife Fauna and Flora (CITES) in Doha, Qatar.

Strickland, who will head the U.S. delegation to the 15th Conference of Parties (CoP15) of the 175-nation treaty, initially announced support for the proposal last October, but left open the possibility that the United States could modify its position if the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) adopted significantly strengthened management and compliance measures during its November 2009 meeting.

“Under the leadership of NOAA, the United States entered the meeting seeking the strongest possible agreement for the conservation of eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna. We recognize that the parties to ICCAT took some unprecedented steps,” said Strickland. “However, in light of the serious compliance problems that have plagued the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean fishery and the fact that the 2010 quota level adopted by ICCAT is not as low as we believe is needed, the United States continues to have serious concerns about the long-term viability of either the fish or the fishery.”

The Atlantic bluefin tuna is highly prized, especially for sashimi, and a single fish can be sold for tens of thousands of dollars. The Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock is threatened by overharvesting, which includes illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing.

Current population information for the species shows it meets the biological criteria for listing in Appendix I. In the Atlantic Ocean, bluefin tuna are managed as two separate stocks, an Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean, and a Western. The Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean stock of the Atlantic bluefin tuna has declined steeply during the last 10 years. Based on estimated catches, scientists estimated the spawning stock biomass in 2007 to be 78,724 metric tons. This contrasts with the biomass peak of 1955, at 305,136 metric tons. The decline over the 50-year historical period ranging from 1955 to 2007 is estimated at 74.2 percent, the bulk of which (60.9 percent) took place during the last 10 years.

The Western Atlantic spawning stock has declined by 82.4 percent from 49,482 metric tons in 1970 to 8,693 metric tons in 2007.  During the past decade, the Western stock has stabilized at a very low population level. Many experts correlate this stabilization to adoption of rigorous science-based catch quotas and other management measures together with effective monitoring and enforcement. Such measures ensured strict compliance with ICCAT’s ruled by the U.S. fleet.

Strickland noted that the parties to ICCAT took positive steps at the November meeting. These steps included a commitment to set future catch levels in line with scientific advice, to shorten the fishing season, reduce fishing capacity, and close the fishery if the stocks continue to decline.  However, in light of the serious compliance problems that have plagued the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean fishery and the fact that the 2010 quota level adopted by ICCAT is not as low as needed, the United States will support the proposal to list Atlantic bluefin tuna in Appendix I at CoP15 and will work actively with Monaco and other CITES and ICCAT Parties in order to achieve positive results for bluefin tuna at CoP15 and at the 2010 ICCAT annual meeting.

If the bluefin tuna is listed under Appendix I, commercial fishermen in the United States could continue to sell western Atlantic bluefin tuna caught in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) domestically.  Fishing in the EEZ is tightly regulated in the United States to ensure that it meets the ICCAT science-based quota. The United States is both a consumer and a net importer of Atlantic bluefin tuna. Strickland indicated that the United States will explore measures to assist fishermen if international trade is restricted.

“We understand the frustration of our U.S. fishermen who have followed the scientific recommendations and regulatory provisions of ICCAT for many years while their counterparts in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean have often overfished and engaged in ineffective management,” Strickland said.  “The U.S. government is committed to working with our many international partners to continue to rebuild Atlantic bluefin tuna and ensure sustained conservation and management of the species into the future.”

A CITES-regulated species may be included in one of three appendices to the convention:

* Appendix I includes species for which it is determined that any commercial trade is detrimental to the survival of the species. Therefore, no commercial trade is allowed in Appendix-I species. Non-commercial trade in such species is allowed if it does not jeopardize the species’ survival in the wild. Permits are required for the exportation and importation of Appendix-I species.

* Appendix II includes species for which it has been determined that commercial trade may be detrimental to the survival of the species if that trade is not strictly controlled. Trade in these species is regulated through the use of export permits.

* Appendix III includes species listed by a range country that requires the assistance of other parties to ensure that exports of their native species are legal. Permits are used to control and monitor trade in native species. Any CITES party may place a native species in Appendix III.

Any listing of a species in either Appendix I or II requires approval by two-thirds of the CITES party countries that vote on the proposal.

The Conference of the Parties will be held March 13-25, 2010, in Doha, Qatar.

source: U.S. Dept. of the Interior press release