Saving Seafood

The Fight Over Shark Fins in Florida

August 6, 2019 — The fight for sharks is converging on Florida.

With the new legislative session next in September, conservation groups are pushing for measures at both the state and federal level to ban one of the largest threats to the shark population – the fin trade.

Between 100 million and 200 million sharks are killed every year. An estimated 73 million of those are killed for their fins.

“The shark fin trade is a global market for shark fins,” Trish Albano, a shark researcher at the University of Miami’s Rosensteil School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, told NBC 6 South Florida. “The shark fin is being used to make shark fin soup.”

Read the full story at NBC 6

Rubio, Schatz, Scott, Hirono Introduce Bill to Restore and Conserve America’s Coral Reefs

August 2, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL):

This week, U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Representatives Darren Soto (D-FL) and Jenniffer González-Colón (R-PR) introduced the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019, bipartisan and bicameral legislation that would reauthorize and modernize the Coral Reef Conservation Act of 2000. The Coral Reef Conservation Act, which expired 15 years ago, was designed to promote the conservation of our nation’s reefs. The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act authorizes five years of directed federal funding and technical assistance to states for the restoration and management of coral reef ecosystems, encourages innovative new Coral Reef Stewardship Partnerships among resource management agencies, research centers, and community stakeholders, and codifies and updates the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force.

Additional original cosponsors of the House bill include Representatives Charlie Crist (D-FL), Brian Mast (R-FL), Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), Amata Coleman Radewagen (R-AS), and Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI). A summary of the bill is available here and a section by section is available here.

“I saw the devastated condition of our coral reefs firsthand when touring the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in February, and I promised a comprehensive response,” Rubio said. “This important bipartisan bill will ensure federal agencies are partnering effectively with state and local governments, as well as the communities who rely on the vitality of these critical habitats. Florida’s Reef Tract is an integral component of the economic and ecological character of Florida, and the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019 will ensure future generations will be able to enjoy this natural wonder.”

“From never-before-seen levels of bleaching in the Pacific, to unprecedented devastation from disease in the Atlantic, coral reefs need urgent help. Our bill gives local governments and communities the federal resources to help save Hawaii’s corals,” Schatz said.

“People from across the world come to Florida because of the state’s natural beauty. During my eight years as Governor, Florida’s annual investments to preserve the environment increased by $1 billion to make sure future generations can enjoy all that Florida has to offer. Today, I’m proud to join Senator Rubio, Senator Schatz, Senator Hirono and our colleagues in the House to introduce the Restoring Resilient Reefs Act of 2019, which will build on our efforts and help restore and protect our coral reef ecosystems,” Scott said.

“Coral reefs provide essential ecosystem services to not only our oceans, but also to our island and coastal communities. The long-term ecological and economic impacts of coral bleaching pose serious threats to our way of life,” Hirono said. “The Restoring Resilient Reefs Act would provide important tools to preserve and sustain the condition of our coral reef ecosystems through community-based management programs. Our bill is a step in the right direction to ensuring that communities that depend on healthy oceans, like those in Hawaii, have the resources they need for protecting coral reefs.”

Read the full release here

FLORIDA: ‘No one can fill those shoes:’ Pensacola fishermen mourn loss of ‘Tony the bait man’

July 31, 2019 — It’s been routine for fishermen setting sail on the Gulf of Mexico over the past 15 years to stop beside the unmistakable blue boat — always parked in the same spot about a mile east of Pensacola Pass — for a live bait transaction.

Until his last day on earth, you could buzz Tony Barfield on VHF radio channel 11 or pull right up to the beloved bait salesman’s trademark spot on the pass to pick up your cigar minnows or threadfins for the day.

Barfield died July 19 of natural causes at the age of 61. His sister, Becky Stewart, confirmed his passing and said her brother was plagued by heart issues and diabetes in the later part of his life.

None of that diminished Barfield’s work ethic. His service aboard that blue boat was considered invaluable by many in the Pensacola fishing community.

Read the full story at the Pensacola News Journal

NOAA Fisheries Announces New Modifications to Gear Requirements and Commercial Management Measures for the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic Spiny Lobster Fishery

July 29, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

KEY MESSAGES:

These requirements are for federal waters off Florida and address bully net gear requirements, commercial daily possession limits when using bully nets or diving for the harvest of spiny lobster, and the soak period for spiny lobster traps.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

Regulations for commercial trap soak period are effective July 26, 2019. For the 2019/2020 fishing season, commercial spiny lobster traps may be baited and placed in Federal waters beginning Saturday, July 27, 2019.
Regulations for the rest of the rule will be effective August 30, 2019.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES:

  • Spiny lobster commercial harvesters using bully net gear:
    • must have a bully net permit from Florida,
    • must mark buoys with the harvester’s Florida bully net permit number using reflective paint or other reflective material,
    • are prohibited from having trap pullers onboard,
    • are prohibited from the simultaneous possession of a bully net and any underwater breathing apparatus (not including dive masks or snorkels) onboard a vessel used to harvest or transport spiny lobster for commercial purposes.
  • Commercial spiny lobster daily vessel harvest and possession limits:
    • 250 per day/vessel for spiny lobsters harvested by bully net in or from all federal waters off Florida,
    • 250 per day/vessel for spiny lobsters harvested by diving in or from federal waters only off Broward, Dade, Monroe, Collier, and Lee Counties, Florida.
  • Existing language in spiny lobster federal regulations that incorporates Florida regulations by reference has been updated, which includes a new commercial trap soak start time.
    • Commercial spiny lobster traps may be baited and placed in the water beginning on the Saturday immediately following the recreational mini season.

FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: FR 2019-16265, will publish on July 31, 2019.

This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.

Lionfish ear-bones reveal a more mobile invasion

July 19, 2019 — Just as lions are apex predators on land, lionfish in Florida are an underwater force to be reckoned with. The biggest threat they pose, however, is not their venomous spines. It is the alarming speed and ferocity with which they invade new waters, eating prey that have not evolved to recognize them as a predator, stealing food from important commercial fish like snapper and grouper, and spawning baby lionfish at incredible rates.

In the 1980s, lionfish (native to the South Pacific and Indian Ocean) were introduced to Floridian waters, possibly by humans who bought them as exotic pets and later released them to the ocean. Over the next decades they spread rapidly, and today they have thoroughly invaded their preferred warm waters in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean, damaging the native coral reef systems and food webs.

“The destructive nature of the lionfish invasion is partly to blame on their reproductive success,” says Montana Airey, a masters student at Columbia University who studies lionfish. “They can produce thousands of eggs every week, which after hatching can spread widely on ocean currents. Also, since they are invaders, their prey don’t recognize them as dangers, so they can eat without much effort.”

As adults, lionfish tend to be slow-moving and stay local, not straying far from their settled reef home. The invasiveness of lionfish is therefore thought to happen when they are small, larval fish being carried to new places by currents. However, researchers have little information about how grown lionfish might invade or move to new waters because tracking small marine organisms poses difficulties.

One way to investigate their movements, though, is to study their ear-bones.

Read the full story at Science Daily

Cuba overhauls its fishing regulations. Florida Keys and East Coast to benefit.

July 16, 2019 — The Cuban government enacted sweeping reforms to its fishing regulations over the weekend, a move being praised by U.S. environmentalists for what they expect to be a positive domino effect on fisheries from the Florida Keys all the way up the East Coast.

Advocates of the overhaul say it will help coordination on fisheries management with other countries, including the United States.

The reforms are the first changes to Cuba’s fishing regulations in 20 years, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, the environmental group that announced them Monday and helped shape some of the new policies.

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

Florida’s red snapper season begins off Atlantic Coast

July 15, 2019 — After weeks of anticipation, Florida anglers headed offshore Friday for the first of two weekends that make up the year’s recreational season for red snapper.

“It’s going to be mayhem,” Captain Mike Mulholland said with a laugh. He’s completely sold out for all five days of the season, Friday through Sunday this weekend and Friday and Saturday next weekend. Anglers will be limited to one fish per person, per day, with no minimum size limit.

Mulholland, captain of the Sea Spirit fishing charter boat out of Ponce Inlet, sold out two weeks ago and started making a back-up list, just in case he had cancellations.

He wishes it was more. He’s one of many fishermen and charter captains who are ready for federal officials to extend the season.

Read the full story at The Daily Commercial

Sturgeon, America’s forgotten dinosaurs, slowly coming back

July 10, 2019 — Sturgeon were America’s vanishing dinosaurs, armor-plated beasts that crowded the nation’s rivers until mankind’s craving for caviar pushed them to the edge of extinction.

More than a century later, some populations of the massive bottom feeding fish are showing signs of recovery in the dark corners of U.S. waterways.

Increased numbers are appearing in the cold streams of Maine, the lakes of Michigan and Wisconsin and the coffee-colored waters of Florida’s Suwannee River.

A 14-foot Atlantic sturgeon — as long as a Volkswagen Beetle — was recently spotted in New York’s Hudson River.

“It’s really been a dramatic reversal of fortune,” said Greg Garman, a Virginia Commonwealth University ecologist who studies Atlantic sturgeon in Virginia’s James River. “We didn’t think they were there, frankly. Now, they’re almost every place we’re looking.”

Following the late 1800s caviar rush, America’s nine sturgeon species and subspecies were plagued by pollution, dams and overfishing. Steep declines in many populations weren’t fully apparent until the 1990s.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

FLORIDA: Opposition rises against Venice pier shark fishing ban

July 5, 2019 — If the city of Venice goes forward with a plan to ban shark fishing from both the Venice Municipal Fishing Pier and the three miles of beach within city limits, it will likely face citizen backlash and a possible lawsuit.

Rob Merlino, the de facto leader of an ad hoc committee that was formed in 2017, when the Venice City Council considered new regulations at the pier — including a shark fishing ban — wrote in an email Tuesday that they were unhappy they were not consulted prior to the council’s June 25 vote to direct city attorney Kelly Fernandez and staff to draft an ordinance to ban shark fishing.

He said committee members are considering both a boycott of city businesses to prompt them to pressure the council and legal action.

Read the full story at The Herald-Tribune

Fishermen Encouraged to Use Best Practices and Assist with Data Collection During Red Snapper Opening

July 2, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

As anglers get ready to head offshore with the upcoming opening of red snapper season, there are a few things that can make your trip a success not only for you, but for the fish you release, and for fishery biologists hard at work to gather information while the season is underway.

First, know the rules. The recreational red snapper fishery will open for harvest on July 12, 13, and 14 (Friday, Saturday, Sunday), and again on July 19 and 20, 2019 (Friday and Saturday). The bag limit is one fish per person/day with no minimum size limit. A reminder, dehookers are required when fishing for snapper grouper species, including red snapper. The use of non-stainless-steel circle hooks (offset or non-offset) is also required when using natural baits north of 28 degrees north latitude (just south of Melbourne, FL). Note that the number of fishing days is determined by NOAA Fisheries each year. For additional information, including a Q&A reference, visit: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/bulletin/noaa-fisheries-announces-limited-openings-recreational-and-commercial-red-snapper.

Plan ahead. Expect to release fish and know how to properly do so. Be prepared to help improve the chances that a fish captured in deeper water will survive by having a descending device rigged and ready and/or properly use a venting tool. Fish caught in deep water, typically 50 feet or greater, may experience barotrauma, an expansion of gas in the fish’s swim bladder due to pressure changes that causes damage to the swim bladder or other internal organs. When a fish suffering from barotrauma is released, it is often unable to swim back down to the depth it was captured, making it difficult to survive. No one wants to see a “floater”. If a fish needs to be released and shows signs of barotrauma, venting or the use of a descending device will go a long way in making sure the fish is available to catch another day. Learn more at: http://safmc.net/regulations/regulations-by-species/red-snapper/.

Do your part to help improve fisheries management by using MyFishCount, a recreational reporting app and web-portal that allows anglers to voluntarily report their catches through the MyFishCount website or free mobile application. Learn more and download the app by visiting: https://www.myfishcount.com. In addition, cooperate with the fishery biologists that you may encounter dockside when you’ve finished your fishing trip. The red snapper opening offers an opportunity for staff from state marine resource agencies to collect data and learn from your fishing trips. Your cooperation during these sampling efforts will go a long way in providing better data and ultimately lead to better management.

Finally – be safe, be courteous, and enjoy your fishing trip!