On May 18, I accused The New York Times of being dishonest in its defense of Catch Shares.
The editor of National Fisherman, a monthly newsletter that covers the commercial fishing industry, shares my belief. She’s written an opinion piece about the issue for the Gloucester Times, accusing the editorial of being “full of errors and slights on hardworking commercial fishermen.”
Here’s an example:
“It heralds Catch Shares for saving summer flounder and Northeast haddock, which is like crediting a freshman class for the seniors' high college placement rate. Summer flounder and haddock were healthy and strongly rebounding stocks long before catch share management was in place.”
And Jessica Hathaway provides a great explanation of the true nature of Catch Shares:
“What we can credit Catch Shares for is making it easier to manage some fisheries because, inevitably, it causes consolidation, a shrinking of the fleet and risks the changeover of valuable working waterfront properties to condos, offices and seasonal homes.
“Catch Shares do not affect the science with which we analyze fishery biomass. They do not affect the maximum sustainable yield or fishing quotas.
“They are merely a scheme that enables managers to assign the quotas to certain fishermen, groups of fishermen or other private entities.
“Catch Shares do not change the number of fish fishermen are allowed to catch, so how could they possibly be credited with the rebound of a species, especially a species that was rebounding before Catch Shares were applied as a management tactic?
Her main point is that Catch Shares are leading to the demise of many small commercial operators and working waterfronts, while doing nothing for the conservation of fisheries.
Of course, Catch Shares also pose a threat to participation for sports anglers. When applied to mixed (commercial and recreational) fisheries, the scheme would deny growth to sports fishing by freezing its “share” at a fixed level.
]]>
Algae blooms in creeks of upper Chesapeake Bay have killed more than 60,000 fish.
"You could smell it through the neighborhood," said Rob Rogers, 45, who took a break from work at the Point Pleasant Beach Tavern to describe what he called "unbelievable" conditions on the creeks. Rogers said boaters reported dead fish floating in the water so thick they couldn't avoid hitting them.
The blooms are a recurring problem for the Bay, fed by nutrient runoff from surrounding lands. This time, the situation could have been aggravated by a sewer line break in Baltimore County. That spilled an estimated 50 million gallons of untreated sewage into the lower Patapsco River.
]]>
A Canadian angler was dragged out of an outhouse by a black bear and narrowly escaped with this life.
“I’m sitting on the throne, and my feet are sort of up on the poopstool,” he said, adding that the door was open so he could enjoy the morning view.
“I’d already done my business,” he added. “All the defense I had is a piece of (toilet) paper in this hand.”
How did he survive? Read the full story here.
]]>
Two large bighead carp have been discovered in a lagoon of Chicago’s Garfield Park.
The Chicago Sun-Times says the fish “were about 60 pounds apiece and probably have been there for many years, perhaps brought there when the pond was stocked or by a fisherman’s bait bucket, state Department of Natural Resources spokesman Chris McCloud said.”
The newspaper also says that the lagoon isn’t connected to Lake Michigan or canals that connect the lake to the Illinois River.
That does not re-assure me. These fish were introduced by people, perhaps intentionally, as happened with snakeheads on the East Coast. If people put them in this lagoon, they also can release them into the Great Lakes or any other number of waters.
]]>
I love water --- and not just because of the fish that I pursue in it.
Yes, we couldn't survive without it, no matter where we reside. But living near water brings with it a richness and diversity of fish, fowl, and wildlife to enjoy --- and sometimes some real surprises.
For example, each summer a bat lives under my deck and spends its evenings with his friends gobbling up insects over and around the lake. This year, the bat has been joined by a nesting kingbird, which I wrote about recently.
A couple of summers ago, I walked out the basement door about 6:30 a.m. and nearly collided with a young black bear. It scampered one way, and I ran the other. Another time, I found a spotted fawn nestled in the grass that I allow to grow tall to protect the lake from runoff.
And now I'd like to introduce you to the Mississippi kite. A couple of them have taken up residence near my little lake here in the eastern Ozarks of Missouri, and they like to hang out in my neighbor's willow tree, which is where I took these photos. I haven't managed any really good shots yet, but I'll keep trying.
Eastern Missouri is outside their normal range, but the warm winter probably inspired them to head farther north to nest.
Mississippi kites are sleek, beautiful, gray birds with dark accents. As raptors, they feed primarily on insects, but also will eat small reptiles, amphibians and mammals, all of which we have in abundance.
]]>
The above photo shows another bass that is slowly starving to death because of ingested plastic baits.
My friend Carl Wengenroth, owner of Angler’s Lodge on Lake Amistad, sent the photo to me. Sadly, he has seen plenty of this.
“A 9-inch curly tail was pulled from the anal port,” he says.
“The angler wanted to release it so I have no idea what else was in there. But I am assuming there was more. No hook was seen.
“Thought about digging around, but figured it would kill the fish. It took some effort to get the worm out of there, so I know it was stuck.”
As I’ve shown with photos previously at Activist Angler, many of them from Carl, we have anecdotal evidence that bass are eating discarded baits and starving to death because of it, as the plastic blocks their digestive systems.
The sight of a skinny bass with plastics in its belly is gut-wrenching, no doubt about it. And we need to do more to keep them out of our waters. But we have no evidence that those baits are hurting bass populations overall.
So, it makes sense to view this issue as one more front on the battle to keep trash, especially plastic and man-made packaging, out of our environment. Six-pack rings, plastic bags, fishing line, and Styrofoam bits have killed plenty of fish, turtles, and birds.
Most anglers pride themselves on their conservation ethic, and here’s a great way to demonstrate that ethic through actions.
Don’t throw those used plastic baits in the water or on the ground, and encourage others to properly dispose of them as well.
Also, join Recycled Fish’s One Million Stewards campaign. Take the Sportman’s Stewardship Pledge and buy a Stewardship kit, which includes a shoreline cleanup bag and a booklet on how to better care for our fisheries.
Catch-and-release was a great first step on the road toward anglers taking responsibility for the health of our fisheries. Now it’s time for the second.
]]>
Fly fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park from Fine Art America.
Conserving vast tracts of the Rocky Mountain West’s public lands has proven a wise investment, according to a report just released by Sportsmen for Responsible Energy Development.
According to the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP), a member of that coalition, that conservation “has paid off in job, population, and income growth as fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation have diversified and helped sustain the economics of rural communities throughout the region.”
TRCP also said the following:
“Conserving Lands and Prosperity: Seeking a Balance Between Conservation and Development in the Rocky Mountain West” shows that areas with higher percentages of lands managed for conservation and recreation experience higher job and population growth and report higher per capita incomes than other areas.
The findings of the report, produced by Southwick Associates for SFRED, underscore the need to balance responsible development of public lands with conserving fish and wildlife habitat, valuable backcountry and the great Western landscapes that draw people from around the world, the sportsmen’s coalition said.
“The Southwick report validates the simple fact that conservation of wildlife and natural places not only enriches our souls, but our wallets as well, in terms of sustained job creation and financial abundance – and reliably so, when compared to boom-bust energy development,” said Jim Lyon, the National Wildlife Federation’s vice president for conservation policy.
The National Wildlife Federation, the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership and Trout Unlimited are lead partners in the sportsmen’s coalition.
The report includes a case study of Cody, Wyo., where about 10 percent of jobs are associated with fishing, hunting and wildlife viewing. Spending related to those activities generates an estimated $30.1 million annually, according to the report.
“Managing federal public lands for fish and wildlife diversity and abundance – as well as ensuring opportunities for quality hunting and fishing – are critically important practices that will attract sportsmen to rural areas and boost the economy,” said Ed Arnett, director of the TRCP Center for Responsible Energy Development.
“In contrast to the boom-bust cycles of many other industries, the outdoor industry equals long-term, sustainable economic benefits. These new studies clearly demonstrate the power of sustainably managed natural resources and the economic impact of sportsmen.”
]]>
This "secret" is from my book Better Bass Fishing, which you can buy here, at Amazon, or from other booksellers. This one is from Angler Behavior:
Secret: When you share a boat or shoreline with someone who seems to be a better angler than you, watch his behavior as well as your own. (A May 9 post advises studying your own.)
Learn from him by paying attention to all of the little things that he does, especially if you are both using the same bait and he is catching more fish.
How is he holding his rod? Is it higher or lower than yours? Is his retrieve steady or erratic? Are you retrieving as slowly or quickly as he is?
Also, are you using the same kind of reel that he is? That can make a big difference. Different brands of reels retrieve line at different rates, depending on the gear ratio. Some are a blazing 7.1: 1. Others are 5: 1.
The higher the first number, the more line is retrieved on each turn of the reel handle. That makes it a "faster" reel. You can slow down with a fast reel, but it's really tough to speed up with a "slow" reel. So, if your angling partner is using a faster or slower reel than you are, that could make a difference.
If the fishing is tough for both of you, here are some angler-behavior strategies that might work: Slow down your retrieve, especially if you're fishing a worm or other soft plastic. Use a smaller bait. When fish aren't aggressive, they sometimes prefer smaller prey. Use a different color bait. "Shades" (dark, light) usually are more important than specific colors. But if fishing is tough, a slight variation can make a difference.
]]>
Minnesotans are justifiably concerned about Asian carp migrating into their inland fisheries from the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
And now these exotic fish seem to have found a new invasion route --- a back door if you will.
Flooding along the Missouri River last year allowed the carp entry into many new waters, including Iowa’s Great Lakes, in the northwestern portion of that state. Those fisheries connect with lakes and streams in southwestern Minnesota.
“We view it as a big threat. These fish don’t recognize political boundaries,” said Ryan Doorenbos of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
]]>