This section will cover all federal offices, agencies & actions related to fisheries including US Congress, NOAA Fisheries, NOAA Highly Migratory Species (HMS), National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS), and the Greater Atlantic Regional Fishery Office (GARFO).
The northwest Atlantic cod fishery is arguably one of the best-known and most historically important fisheries in the world. That importance made the collapse of the region’s cod stocks all the more noteworthy, and adds a degree of urgency to ongoing efforts to return such stocks to health. Unfortunately, biologists have found cod slow
This legislative session (the two-year 115th Congress, 2017-2018) has been a busy one for federal fisheries policy, with relevant legislation being introduced and moving through the Committee process in both the House and the Senate. But the bills have seemed to have hit a stalling point. When that point breaks and things begin
With fish and fishing, where exactly are we headed? By Captain John McMurray Let me preface all this by saying, I love aquariums. Particularly the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. It’s iconic. And the staff there is awesome. Riverhead, with its native saltmarsh display is a close second. And Monterey? Supper cool. Especially the
On March 1, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) issued emergency measures intended to protect the shortfin mako shark from continued overfishing. The measures became effective on March 2. Prior to the new rule, no size or trip limits restricted the directed shark fishery, which included shortfin makos, although vessels that held an Incidental shark
On January 26 in Warwick, the Rhode Island Salt Water Anglers Association (RISAA) hosted its third Southern New England Recreational Fishing Symposium. The event was attended by representatives of many RISAA member clubs, affiliate clubs, management bodies, ENGOs and more. The first Southern New England Recreational Fishing Symposium was held in 2013 and focused on
Powerful industry groups claiming to represent “us” are hell bent on allowing overfishing once again… We can’t let it happen Let me be frank… Most of us pay little attention to what goes on in DC, at least not as it relates to fishing. There are a few obvious reasons for that… For one, fishery
We say, definitively, NO! As much as folks want to complain about the federal government, our founding fathers were geniuses. They developed a system of government that is designed to move slowly through arduous checks and balances. The pendulum does swing back and forth. Over the course of time, a balance can be established. All
Support of H.R. 200 adds insult to injury… In January of 2017, Representative Don Young (R-AK) introduced another bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. If you’re a real virgin to all of this, the “Magnuson Act” governs how we manage fisheries in federal waters (outside of 3 miles from the coast). You
The following legislative update is provided by our colleagues @ the Marine Fish Conservation Network This past Wednesday, we saw the full House Natural Resources Committee markup two fisheries-related bills: Rep. Young’s MSA reauthorization bill, HR.200 and Rep. Graves’s RED SNAPPER bill, HR.3588. In the beginning of the markup, Rep. Young offered an Amendment in the Nature of a
Supporters of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act try and unify anglers around the bill… But it sure as hell ain’t good for most of “us” By Capt. John McMurray First snow on the ground yesterday, so it’s not a stretch to say that things are, more or less, done on the fishing front of
