Virginia Saltwater Fishing

Virginia anglers that enjoy collecting Christmas ornaments which display their favorite species of fish will find a wide array of designs to choose from by visiting online stores. Ornaments vary from simple text only slogans to intricate graphics.

Modern round or oval ceramic ornaments are among the most popular styles as they are suitable for display all year and match a variety of settings.

Shoppers often choose ornaments that feature a single species of fish.  The following list outlines some of the most common saltwater fish species that are commonly caught in Virginia waters.

Yellowfin Tuna – Yellowfin tuna are the most colorful of the tuna. Their bodies are dark metallic blue above, changing to silver on the belly. The body is often strikingly marked with a pattern of vertical lines. The fish get their name from the coloration of the second dorsal fin and the anal fin which are bright yellow

Bluefin Tuna – Bluefin tuna are noted for having a large, torpedo-shaped body that is nearly circular in cross-section. The fish is dark blueish-black on the back and white on the lower sides and belly. A pattern of lines alternate with rows of spots on the lower sides.

Mahi Mahi – Mahi Mahi are one of the most beautiful saltwater fish. They are slender with a blunt head, colored green, yellow and blue. Also known as dolphin, dolphin fish and dorado.

Wahoo – Wahoo are long sleek pelagic fish with tiger stripe markings and razor sharp teeth. Wahoo are among the fastest of the pelagic fish.

King Mackerel – King mackerel are sometimes referred to as kingfish. These sleek fish are smaller relatives of wahoo. They lurk around wrecks, reefs and other structure, slashing baitfish with their incredibly sharp teeth.

White Marlin – These brightly colored billfish are smaller than blue and striped marlin, but are highly sought after by fishermen because of their spectacular leaps and cunning behavior.

Blue Marlin – These magnificent fish may weigh over 1000 lbs. Their blue backs, immense size and bill make them very recognizable.

Mako Shark – These incredibly fast sharks are loved by fishermen. They are instantly identified by their blue color, torpedo shaped bodies, fierce set of teeth and coal black eyes.

Striped Bass – The beautiful fish are extremely popular with anglers. They have deep bodies with alternating stripes of brown and silver.

Summer Flounder – These flat fish have both eyes on the same side of their head. Their color varies, from dark brown to tan, depending on surroundings.

Bluefish – Bluefish are known for their fierce bites, aggressive feeding and brute strength. These fish range from 1-20 lbs and are greenish-blue in color.

Redfish- Also known as red drum, these large drum are among the top American game fish. They have heavy bodies with a coppery coloring.

Black Drum – Another large fish, adult black drum are anything but handsome. Adults are dark gray to brown with faint stripes while younger fish have a more prominent series of silver and black vertical stripes. Both adults and young fish have chin barbels.

Spotted Seatrout – Spotted seatrout are also known as “speckled trout”. These beautiful fish have silvery gray backs with a white belly. The upper parts and tail of the fish have an iridescent sheen and black spots. The dorsal and tail fin are also spotted.

Weakfish – Weakfish are beautiful fish. Typically, fish have a dark olive back, iridescent blue and copper sides and a silvery white belly.

Spadefish – These fish are another reef-wreck dweller. They have angelfish shaped bodies and prominent vertical bars of alternating black and silver.

Black Sea Bass – These ocean fish are small to mid sized, but pack a fierce appetite and fight. Males are brightly colored with black, indigo blue, green and silver.

Tautog – These are another unattractive but highly prized saltwater fish. They grow slowly and are known for extreme intelligence. Tautog, also called blackfish live among shipwrecks, rocky areas and artificial reefs.

Largemouth Bass – Largemouth bass are among the most popular freshwater fish in much of the USA. They are easily recognized by their heavy bodies, green coloration and enormous mouths.

Bluegill Sunfish – An American favorite, these fish are small in size but big in will power. They are deep bodied and come in an array of patterns and colors. Bluegill are one of the most sought after freshwater species as table fare.

Black and White Crappie – Similar to sunfish, these members of the bass family are found throughout much of North America. They are greenish to almost black with a speckled pattern of colors that usually include black, silver, greens and white.

Catfish – Several species of American catfish are favorite subjects of artists. These include bullheads, channel catfish, blue catfish and others. While each species has unique characteristics, they all have similar body shapes, large mouths and sets of long whiskers that help guide them to food.

Looking for a fish ornament? Visit Outdoors USA online store

NMFS announces a proposed change to the General and Harpoon Category fisheries for Atlantic bluefin tuna.  NMFS is seeking comment on this proposed action until December 21, 2009.  For more information please see the Federal Register notice. More information can be found on the HMS Management Division’s website 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