Florida Archives - Page 39 of 62

Florida anglers can improve harvest data from their phones

June 19, 2018 — Florida anglers can improve harvest data from their phones.

Anglers along Florida’s Gulf coast have been heading offshore over the past week to enjoy the start of Florida’s 40-day red snapper season, serving as a reminder of how important recreational fishing is to the state’s economy and heritage. While recreational fishermen as a group often have a wide range of opinions — such as what bait is best to use, what areas produce the best bites, or how big that fish really was — one area they’ve agreed upon is that the data federal fisheries managers have been using to regulate fishing is pretty lousy.

Fortunately, innovative new data collection approaches are being implemented this year that will allow anglers the opportunity to report their catch and help improve the data managers need to sustainably manage these fisheries. In other words, for anglers who have rightfully complained in the past about poor fisheries data, it’s put up or shut up time.

As the season begins, Florida’s more than three million licensed anglers have the opportunity to play a critical role in improving recreational harvest data by registering for the Gulf Reef Fish Survey, which is required for those targeting reef fish species, and by voluntarily recording their red snapper catches and trips on the iAngler Gulf Red Snapper smartphone app.

Data collected through the iAngler Gulf Red Snapper app, developed in partnership by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Snook and Gamefish Foundation (SGF), will help fish and wildlife officials make more informed decisions as they manage this Florida fishery. Anglers fishing in Gulf waters can use the free app to track trips, log their catches, and the condition of the fish when and if it was released. Florida anglers can also monitor the locations they made their catches, the time of day and the type of fish they caught, along with photos.

The app not only provides anglers with fishing regulations across the country, a 48-hour weather forecast, and a 4-day tide report right at their fingertips, it’s also a helpful tool for the state to manage fishing data, as well as providing a platform for anglers to revisit their past trips and discover patterns from good and not so good fishing days.

For anglers on Florida’s east coast, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) also partnered with the SGF to create MyFishCount.

Read the full opinion piece at the Pensacola News Journal

Jellyfish numbers on the rise along US beaches

June 18, 2018 — If you’re heading to the beach this summer like millions of other Americans, scientists are recommending to be on the lookout for jellyfish.

More than 1,000 people were stung on a Florida beach just this week, and it is possible incidents may increase.

Allen Collins, a research zoologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, says there have been more blooms of jellyfish in different parts of the world, but scientists are unsure if this is a worldwide event.

“When conditions are right for them to make jellies, they produce the jellyfish in vast quantities,” Collins said. “People have studied the jellyfish in certain areas quite well and there are instances where it does look like there’s one particular region is having greater numbers of jellyfish. In the literature sometimes people describe it as a global phenomenon and on that we’re just not sure.”

Jellyfish blooms are known to occur every 20 years, but Collins says warmer oceans, agriculture runoff, commercial fishing and the creation of artificial reefs may have an impact on increased numbers of the animals in recent years.

Collins also said places like the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea are prime places for jellyfish blooms. He also noted that there are thousands of different species of jellyfish and countless others that have yet to be discovered.

The majestic creatures are some of the oldest life forms on the planet, having existed for hundreds of millions of years. With no eyes and limited ability to move through water, marine biologists say it’s important recognize the habitat of the animals and know what to do when you encounter them at the beach.

Read the full story at Fox News

Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance Members Engage with Lawmakers, Represent Gulf in Washington

June 15, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance:

Members of the Gulf Coast Seafood Alliance, representing Gulf fishermen, seafood dealers, and restaurants, travelled to Washington last Wednesday to participate in a roundtable hosted by the House Committee on Natural Resources. While in Washington, Alliance members also represented Gulf Coast seafood by participating in the 43^rd Annual NOAA Fish Fry as the main event of Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

The round-table discussion was led by Natural Resources Committee Chairman, Rob Bishop (R-Utah), and addressed legislation that impedes economic growth and development along working waterfronts.

“Working waterfronts and our nation’s vast ocean resources are essential to coastal communities, generating billions of dollars each year,” read a statement issued by Chairman Bishop on the meeting. “We heard from real people whose livelihoods depend on a healthy ocean economy and their message was clear: without a rational regulatory framework, responsible economic growth and success is at risk.”

Participants also discussed legislation aimed at easing the pressure of unnecessary regulation, most notably the Strengthening Coastal Communities Act of 2018 introduced by Rep. Neal Dunn, (R-Fla.).

“What the Gulf Coast needs is fair, equitable management of key species,” said GCSA founding member and Gulf Coast restauranteur, Dewey Destin. “Sustainable management is paramount to the survival of communities along the Gulf Coast, and we were able to express that while in Washington.”

At the NOAA Fish Fry, Alliance members drew awareness to Gulf-specific issues — like the management of Gulf red snapper. They also had the opportunity to communicate those issues to high-ranking government officials. Members spoke with Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and cooked Gulf red snapper and oysters alongside President Trump’s nominee to head NOAA, Barry Myers.

Alliance members that travelled to Washington include: Dewey and Parker Destin of the Dewey Destin Restaurant Group, David Krebs, President of Ariel Seafoods, and Greg Abrams, Owner of Greg Abrams Seafood.

Learn more about the GCSA by visiting their site here.

Florida spiny lobster harvest stunted by 2017 hurricane season

June 13, 2018 — “There isn’t a lobster trap in the state of Florida that was not impacted in some fashion by the hurricane,” said Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association.

As a result, the spiny lobster season that ended March 31 was on the slow side, according to state landings data as well as fishermen and wholesalers.

About 90 percent of the spiny lobster from U.S. waters comes from around the Florida Keys.

Immediately after Hurricane Irma blew through south Florida in early September 2017, about 154,000 of the 350,000 lobster traps deployed annually in the waters around the Florida Keys were severely displaced or lost. About 60,000 were recovered by early May, Kelly said.

Landings data from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shows nearly 3.3 million pounds harvested between the season’s start on Aug. 6, 2017, and its conclusion March 31, 2018. The previous year’s total was about 5.4 million pounds, and it was thought to be a fairly slow year, as well.

This year, the average price per pound was $9.30, with August averaging the lowest price at $6.72 and February the highest at $11.66.

“Dock prices started out on the slow side,” Islamorada lobsterman Gary Nichols agreed, but then rallied. February’s high reflects so many being exported to China for the Chinese New Year, he said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

FLORIDA: Red Snapper Season Starts June 11 in Gulf

June 5, 2018 — The recreational red snapper season will start June 11 in Gulf state and federal waters and remain open through July 20, closing July 21. This year and next year are unique compared to previous years in that Florida’s Gulf recreational red snapper season applies to harvest from both state and federal waters.

Anglers fishing from private recreational boats will need to have their recreational saltwater fishing license (unless exempt) and will need to have Gulf Reef Fish Angler on their license (includes those that are exempt) to target red snapper or other certain reef fish in Gulf state and federal waters (excluding Monroe County). You can get this printed on a license at no cost at GoOutdoorsFlorida.com or by visiting any location you can purchase a license.

For-hire operations that do not have a federal reef fish permit may also participate in this 40-day season but are limited to fishing for red snapper in state waters only. These operations must have State Gulf Reef Fish Charter on their license to target red snapper and other reef fish in Gulf state waters (excluding Monroe County). This can be done at no cost at a local tax collector’s office.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has also partnered with Snook and Gamefish Foundation on a new smartphone app specifically for voluntary reporting of red snapper catch information. This app will be available soon on your phone’s app store by searching for iAngler Gulf Red Snapper for private anglers or iAngler Gulf Red Snapper Charter if you are a charter operation. Using the app is important because it will help us test real-time data collection.

Read the full story at The Fishing Wire

No calves as right whales return to Nova Scotia from Florida

May 30, 2018 — Only 16 whale sightings were reported anywhere south of Virginia this winter. The lack of sightings, coupled with at least 18 whale deaths reported in Canada and the United States between April 2017 and January 2018, leaves those interested in right whales concerned.

Scientists studying the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale logged another depressing statistic this winter.

In the more than 30 years scientists have tracked the movements of the whales between New England and Nova Scotia and the warmer waters off the Florida coast, this was the first time no calves have been sighted. That fact has only added concern to the growing sense of urgency after right whale deaths skyrocketed last year.

“Obviously you can’t tell a right whale it’s time to have a baby,” said Michael Moore, a senior scientist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and director of its marine mammal section.

But Moore and many other right whale scientists watching the highly endangered population dwindle before their eyes are seeking answers to the deadly perils the animals face, including collisions with the ships that share their space, commercial fishing gear that tangles the whales, and a warming ocean that appears to be wreaking havoc with their food supply and changing their migration patterns.

Read the full story at the Daytona Beach News-Journal

2 Gulf States: Recreational Red Snapper Season Opens Friday

May 25, 2018 — BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Recreational red snapper seasons open Friday in state and federal waters off Louisiana and Mississippi. Openings are scheduled June 1 off Texas and Alabama and June 11 off of Florida‘s west coast for anglers after the popular sport and table fish.

The states announced those dates in April, after the federal government authorized two-year experimental permits to let states along the Gulf of Mexico manage recreational seasons for red snapper.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Reminder! SAFMC Meeting – June 10-15, 2018 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

May 25, 2018 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting

June 10-15, 2018 in Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Unless otherwise indicated, members of the public are invited to attend all meetings.

Meeting materials, including agendas, overviews, presentations, and documents are now available via the Council’s website.

Meeting Location:

Bahia Mar Doubletree by Hilton

801 Seabreeze Boulevard

Ft. Lauderdale, FL

Phone: 855/610-8733

Scientists say fish feel pain. It could lead to major changes in the fishing industry.

May 24, 2018 — The idea that fish suffer runs counter to almost everything Americans have been taught about creatures of the sea. That their brains are not complex enough to experience pain. That their behaviors when stressed — such as wriggling violently on a hook — are just unconscious reactions, disconnected from the suffering of sentient beings. That they’re, more or less, unfeeling little meat sticks that don’t deserve animal welfare protections.

The accumulated research on fish pain has recently hit the public with the impact of a blunt object. In January, Hakai magazine published a comprehensive feature under the headline, “Fish Feel Pain. Now What?,” which Smithsonian magazine republished under the more provocative title, “It’s Official: Fish Feel Pain.” This month, the storytelling studio Topic ran a deeply reported story “How to Kill Fish,” in which author Cat Ferguson argues that the Japanese technique called ike jime is not only more humane than other forms of slaughter but also produces superior-tasting fish.

So why is the public only now interested in a subject that researchers have been covering for two decades? Is it another manifestation of a food culture that demands only the finest ingredients? Or maybe Americans — or some at least — are now ready to face the consequences of a world that acknowledges fish pain? What would it mean for the commercial fishing industry? For regulators? For recreational anglers?

For starters, the U.S. government might have to amend the Animal Welfare Act and the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, both of which exclude fish. Weekend anglers might have to kill their fish first before throwing them in a cooler. Fish farms might have to adopt new methods of slaughter. Commercial trawlers, the boats that roam the world’s oceans, might have to upgrade their equipment to kill fish humanely.

In other words, there would be a lot of resistance to changing the way fish is caught, transported and killed. It might be possible for fish farms and weekend anglers to change their ways, says David Krebs, founder of Ariel Seafoods in Destin, Fla., but it would be impossible for commercial boats, which can net a million or more fish at one time.

“You have a [catch] come on board with two million creatures, and you’re going to take each one of them and say, ‘Let’s change how you’re dying.’ It’s impossible,” Krebs says. “You’re not changing the way that the Russians are trawling or the way that the Japanese are trawling.”

Read the full story at the Washington Post

Southeastern Fisheries Association: Who Gets the Fish Now?

May 17, 2018 — The following was released by the Southeastern Fisheries Association:

The American Sportfishing Association and other anti-commercial fishing groups told Congress that anglers only get 3% of the fish. They lie!

From the Virginia/North Carolina border through the Florida Keys, see how many pounds of fish are allotted for the non-fishermen?

SEE HOW MANY POUNDS OF FISH ARE ALLOTTED FOR THE SPORT-FISHERMEN?

Is it legal to take so much fish away from non-fishing citizens?

National marine manufacturers, foreign outboard motor, gear, electronic companies and anglers clubs are pushing to privatize federal fish resources exclusively for sport fishing.

The following data is derived from NOAA’s listing of the Allowable Catch Levels (ACLs) for each of the following species. View the source material in its entirety here.

WHO GETS THE FISH NOW?

FISH Species	#’s Non-fishing Consumers (Commercial)	Anglers
Atlantic Spade Fish	150,552	661,926
Bar Jack	13,228	49,021
Black Grouper	96,884	165,750
Blueline Tile	87,251	87,277
Cobia NY to GA	50,000	620,000
Cobia East FL(Gulf)	70,000	860,000
Deepwater Complex	131,628	38,628
Dolphin	1,534,485	13,810,361
Gag grouper	335,188	348,194
Golden Tile	313,310	2,187 (Number of Fish)
Grey Trigger	312,324	404,675
Grunts	217,903	618,122
Hog Fish NC-GA	23,456	988 (Number of fish)
Hog Fish FLK-EFL	4,524	18,617 (Number of fish)
Jacks	189,422	267,799
Mutton	104,231	768,857
Porgies	36,348	106,914
Red Grouper	343,200	436,800
Red Snapper	0	0
Scamp	219,375	1,169,308
Shallow Grouper	55,542	48,648
Snapper (Exclud. R Snapper)	344,575	1,169,308
Snowy Grouper	144,315	4,983 (Number of Fish)
Vermillion Snapper	862,290	406,080
Wahoo	70,542	1,724,418
Wreckfish	385,985	20,315
Black Seabass	755,724	1,001,177
Greater Amberjack	769,388	1,167,837
King Mackerel	5,900,000	10,900,000
Spanish Mackerel	3,330,000	2,727,000
Yellow Tail Snaper	1,596,510	1,440,990
Total Allocations	17,912,450	40,000,785