Darden Restaurant Chain Disrespects Recreational Anglers

If you’re a recreational angler, you might want to reconsider that next family trip to Red Lobster or the Olive Garden. In spending your money at one of these Darden restaurants, you are supporting a restaurant chain that does not support you.

In fact, it’s not unreasonable to say that Darden is no friend to fishermen. As the recreational angling industry argues for a greater share of red snapper, the chain has come down squarely on the side of commercial fishing.

In fact, a recent article in the Orlando Sentinel says this:

“Even Darden Restaurants — which has seafood on the menu of all of its 1,900 restaurants — supports the quotas. In a letter last June to the Gulf Management Council, the company called for a continuation of the quota, though it said commercial fishers should be allotted more and recreational anglers less.”

Now before I told you about this situation, I wanted to make absolutely sure of the facts. To do that, I had to track down the letter. You’ll find it here.

After reading it, though, I still wasn’t certain of Darden’s position. That’s why I asked Mike Leonard, Ocean Resource Policy Director for the American Sportfishing Association, to take a look at it.

Here is what he said:

“I too am a little fuzzy on some of the specifics in that letter, but it is clear to me that they’re calling for a review of the red snapper allocation, and imply that more of the quota should be given to the commercial sector.

“Not surprising that a seafood company would want a greater supply of red snapper, just like it’s not surprising that anglers want more fish made available for them to catch!

“The difference is that we have an increasing body of data that demonstrate the significantly greater economic value (some showing an order of magnitude or more) that these fish hold when caught recreationally vs. commercially.”

In other words, more and more evidence reveals that recreational fishing for red snapper (and other “mixed fishery” species) is more beneficial to the economy than commercial fishing. Now add in the fact that recreational fishing for marine species accounts for only about 2 percent of harvest.

Check out Comparing NOAA’s Recreational and Commercial Fishing Economic Data to learn more.

And how about this from a background document on the grouper fishery provided me by Leonard:

“A recent presentation to the socioeconomic science and statistical committee (SESSC) of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council by two NOAA Fisheries Service economists showed that recreational value for grouper far outstrips commercial value in the grouper fishery.

“These economists concluded that the current allocation is economically inefficient and to increase efficiency and maximize the value to the nation, the allocation should be moved towards the recreational sector.”

If you do decide to keep patronizing Darden restaurants, you might want have a chat with the local restaurant manager about this issue, or, even better, you might want to write a letter to the chain, expressing your displeasure with a policy that disrespects a significant portion of its customers and their families.

As Leonard pointed out, it’s not unreasonable that a seafood company wants more fish to sell in its restaurants. But if it drives away customers by antagonizing them, what’s the point?   

More Coastal Habitat Means More Fish

Photo by Robert Montgomery

No great surprise in the findings of a report entitled “More Habitat Means More Fish.”

Still, it lends strong evidence to the argument that investing in our nation’s coastal areas and estuaries leads to healthy habitat and robust fisheries, which positively impact local communities and economies dependent on recreational and commercial fishing.

Released by Restore America’s Estuaries and the American Sportfishing Association, the report includes the following: 

• More than 75 percent of our nation’s catch of commercial fish and 80-90 percent of the catch of recreational fish depend on key estuary habitat at some point in their lifecycle.
• Fish populations can respond quickly to habitat improvement and the impact will endure. Rebounds in fish populations can occur within months and persist for years.
• In San Francisco Bay, restored salt marshes have improved 41 fish species including steelhead trout, Pacific herring, green sturgeon and Chinook salmon.
• Since 2000, in Massachusetts and New York, herring, shad and sturgeon have doubled and tripled in population due to habitat restoration projects. Just two years after a single culvert was repaired, connecting Bride Brook to Long Island Sound, the herring population more than tripled from 75,000 to 287,000.
• An oyster reef restoration project in Alabama increased populations of several economically important species, including blue crab, red drum, spotted seatrout, and flounder. 

“Investing in coastal and estuarine habitat restoration is essential not only for the long-term future of our fisheries but also because it helps support economies and communities through the recreational and commercial fishing industries,” said Jeff Benoit, president and CEO of Restore America’s Estuaries. “In order to have fish, we have to have healthy habitat. If we want more fish, we need healthier habitat.”

American Sportfishing Association President and CEO Mike Nussman noted, “As an industry, we are keenly aware of the impact that sportfishing has on our nation’s habitat restoration efforts. In many ways, America’s anglers are the nation’s most powerful force for conserving our nation’s fisheries and waters, investing more than $1 billion dollars each year in fisheries management and conservation through taxes on fishing equipment and state fishing license sales.”

Go here to see the full report.

Analysis Confirms Economic Importance of Recreational Fishing

Sport fishing advocates have long made the argument that recreational fishing in our oceans is just as valuable economically as commercial fishing, while having a much smaller impact on the resource.

Now there’s a first-of-its kind analysis confirming that assessment.

“Comparing NOAA’s Recreational and Commercial Fishing Economic Data, May 2013” provides an “apples-to-apples" comparison of recreational fishing and commercial marine fishing from an economic perspective, using NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Services (NOAA Fisheries) 2011 data, according to the American Sportfishing Association.

 “It’s something we’ve suspected for some time, but NOAA’s own data clearly shows that recreational saltwater fishing needs to be held in the same regard as commercial fishing,” said ASA President and CEO Mike Nussman.

“The current federal saltwater fisheries management system has historically focused the vast majority of its resources on the commercial sector, when recreational fishing is found to have just as significant an economic impact on jobs and the nation’s economy.”

Findings in the report prepared by Southwick Associates include the following: 

• Anglers landed just two percent of the total saltwater finfish landings compared to ninety-eight percent caught by the commercial fishing industry.
• Saltwater landings by anglers contributed three times more to the national gross domestic product (GDP, or value-added) than commercial landings.
• The recreational sector added $152.24 in value-added, or GDP, for one pound of fish landed, compared to the commercial sector’s $1.57 for a single pound of fish.
• Within the jobs market, the recreational sector made up fifty-four percent of all jobs, both recreational and commercial. This amounts to 455,000 recreational jobs compared to 381,000 on the commercial side.
• For every 100,000 pounds landed there were 210 recreational fishing jobs but only 4.5 jobs in the commercial fishing industry.

 “We’re not releasing this report in an effort to demean commercial fishing,” Nussman added.  “Commercial fishing is very important to our nation’s economy.

“Our goal is to highlight the importance of recreational fishing to the nation. As our coastal populations continue to grow, along with saltwater recreational fishing, significant improvements must be made to shape the nation’s federal fisheries system in a way that recognizes and responds to the needs of the recreational fishing community.”

The executive summary and full report are available here.

BCI Helps Forge New Management Plan for Columbia River Salmon Fisheries

Photo from oldoregonphotos.com

Those who fish for warmwater species might be a bit perplexed by the concept of “redesigning” fisheries. That’s because user conflicts typically are not a consideration in management of bass, catfish, and crappie.

But out in the Northwest, where salmon are more prized than gold, it’s big news when a new allocation system is even considered --- much less implemented. That’s why what Oregon and Washington have agreed to do regarding management of salmon stocks in the lower Columbia River is historic.

“This is a big deal,” said Jim Martin, conservation director of the Berkley Conservation Institute (BCI). “It has been 40 years since the last major change in this fishery, and we have been intensely pushing this idea for more than 5 years. Finally, the governor of Oregon endorsed it and put new commissioners on the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. And now we have the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission in agreement.

“When implemented, the plan will substantially improve the economics of sportfishing in the Columbia River area and will be better for the conservation of wild fish as well.”

Although commercial fishermen and their allies opposed and continue to rail against the redesign, strong popular support convinced state officials that it was time for a change. “I give a lot of credit to the Coastal Conservation Association,” Martin said. “It brought the issue to a head.”

Other BCI allies included Trout Unlimited, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Northwest Guides and Anglers Association, and Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association.

For BCI, a part of Pure Fishing, campaigning on behalf of the redesign was a natural. “For us, conservation is job No. 1 and the economy is job No. 2,” said Martin, former Oregon fisheries chief. “Any time that you can improve both, you do it.”

The conservation director added that this plan for the lower Columbia --- to be phased in by 2017 --- serves as an example of what can be done with red snapper, summer flounder and other mixed marine fisheries around the country.

"We are wasting economic value,” he said. “Why allocate half to outdated, obsolete fisheries?”

Martin pointed out that allocation between recreation and commercial fisheries always has been a difficult issue because of competing views regarding economics, efficiency, and fairness. “In my experience of 44 years in the fisheries management business, I have found few issues that are as potentially powerful in increasing net economic benefits to regional/national economics and supporting more jobs . . . and as universally avoided by managers,” he said.

What is the plan for the lower Columbia that could spark a sea change and why are four years required for full implementation?

“A couple of key assumptions have to be tested,” Martin explained.

First, the plan calls for commercial gill-netters to be moved off the main river channel and into the bays and sloughs, where almost half of their catch already occurs. Managers intend to increase the number of smolts stocked in those backwaters, and their harvest, when they return as adults, would compensate commercials for not fishing in the channel.

“They (commercial fishermen) are saying that it won’t work, and we are saying that it will. So we’ll test that assumption,” the conservation director said.

Additionally, purse seines and beach seines will be allowed for commercial harvest in the main river --- at least that is the hope. Their use already is legal in Washington waters, but Oregon still must pass a bill to legalize them. Decades ago, they were been banned, mostly because gill-netters, a powerful political force, viewed their use as competition and opposed them.

“The number of gill-netters has decreased tremendously over the years,” Martin explained. “There were 500 of them 20 years ago, but about 225 with legal permits now. Only about 125 are actively fishing and 30 to 40 make significant landings.”

Still, they enjoy support out of proportion to the economic benefits that they provide their communities. “For a lot of local communities, they are ‘their’ guys, while they see this redesign as being pushed by greedy sportsmen from Portland,” Martin said.

“In reality, they benefit more from the sportsmen, but they see commercials as having the real jobs and recreational fishing as a hobby. To get something like this done, you have to fight politics.”

You also have to work within the confines of the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), and the hope is that this can be more efficiently achieved with purse and beach seines.

Under the ESA, a small percentage of mortality is allowed for protected species, such as spring Chinook. But once that “impact” target is reached, the fishery must be shut down.

“When that happens, not even hatchery fish can be caught, and so they go unharvested,” Martin said. “Right now, impacts are costing of millions of dollars annually (in lost revenue).”

Because they are not as lethal as gill nets, the seines will allow for selective harvest of hatchery fish, while protected wild fish that are captured inadvertently can be released unharmed. That means “impact” is not achieved as quickly and the season can be extended for sport fishing.

“Commercials say that this won’t work either. But we will test it to make sure that it does,” the conservation director explained.

An estimated 1.43 million hatchery-raised and wild salmon enter the Columbia each year. In 2011, about 200 gill-net boats caught 137,000 worth $4.72 million. By contrast, about 350,000 trips by recreational anglers resulted in 142,000 salmon caught, but with an estimated $22 million spent on food, travel, lodging, and tackle.

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife predicts that by moving commercial fishermen to improved off-channel areas and increasing access to fall Chinook in the main river (with purse and beach seines), the value of their catch will increase by 15 percent during the next four years. Concurrently, it says, the number of angler trips will grow by 22 percent.

“This plan will increase sport fishing by 20 to 40 percent in the Columbia River,” Martin added. “Even though they don’t like it, commercials will be better off too.

“There are not many opportunities to do reallocations and redesigns to increase economic benefits that much and still be fair to commercials,” he continued. With this, we think that their benefits will increase.”

(This article appeared originally in Fishing Tackle Retailer Magazine.)

PFBC Looks to EPA to Help Save Susquehanna Smallmouth Fishery

 

A “perfect storm” of stressors is destroying one of the best smallmouth fisheries in the nation. Algae blooms, bacteria, viruses, parasites, and pollutants annually decimate young-of-the year bass, leaving the Susquehanna River with a steadily declining number of big fish and little recruitment to replace them.

Since the first disease outbreak in 2005, biologists with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) have been studying the problem on the river that flows from Otsego Lake in Cooperstown, N.Y., to Chesapeake Bay, draining about half of the state’s land area. Their conclusion: The problem is too complex for them to solve without additional help.

“That’s why we’re trying to convince the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) to put the Susquehanna on the (impaired waters) list,” said John Arway, PFBC executive director.

Despite the Susquehanna’s biological and recreation impairment, the state Department of Environmental Protection decided not to include the river on the list, forcing the PFBC to look elsewhere for help.

 “We’ve also had meetings with our members of Congress,” Arway said. “This is extremely important. If the river goes on the impaired list, then there’s a time clock to fix it. But that clock doesn’t start until the problem is formally recognized.

"Putting it on the 303D list would mean that there’s a plan and we’d be eligible for grant money and we could prioritize how to spend it.”

The PFBC has support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for its campaign. In a letter to the EPA, Region 5 Director Wendi Weber wrote the following:

“We concur with recent scientific assessments that indicate a chronic problem exists with recruitment of smallmouth bass in the river.

 “We are also concerned with the recent rise in reported skin lesions on bass, as well as emerging evidence of inter-sex, possibly caused by endocrine disruption compounds in the water. The Service believes the suite of warning signs exhibited by the smallmouth bass population is cause for careful and thorough assessment of environmental conditions in the river. While exact linkages and root causes seem to remain unclear, we believe the evidence suggests that environmental stressors are affecting the biota in the river.”

And just how much have those environmental stressors impacted smallmouth bass? “We’d typically get 1 ½ to 2 good years for every 1 bad year (of reproduction). Now, we will be lucky if we get 1 out of 8,” said Geoff Smith, a biologist who has studied the river.

He added that the number of adult fish in the river “has plateaued to low densities historically.”

 “As the older fish die of old age, we’re not seeing the recruitment we need to replace them,” Arway said

He points to dissolved phosphorus in the river as a “principal stressor.” Right at the time bass are born, he added, “We’re seeing blooms of nuisance algae from the west shore to the east shore.”

That results in low dissolved oxygen, which in turn, compromises the immune system of young bass.

“We need to trace it (phosphorus) to the source,” Arway said. “We need to know where it comes from. That’s why we need to be on the 303D list.”

Additionally, biologists have identified these contaminants in the river that could cause endocrine disruption:

Thirteen flame retardant compounds, 2 personal care products (triclosan), 14 organochlorine pesticides, and 9 other pesticides.

They’ve also confirmed Largemouth Bass Virus.

“That’s not likely a factor (for abundance). But just carrying that virus might add to the stress,” Smith said.

Possibly most disturbing, though, is that similar problems with smallmouth recruitment now have spread into the Susquehanna’s tributaries and even outside of the basin, to the Allegheny and Delaware.

Anglers, meanwhile, “were madder than a hornet’s nest for a time,” Arway said. That’s because the PFBC implemented mandatory catch-and-release for the middle 98 miles of the Susquehanna and prohibited targeting of bass on nests from May 1 to June 15.

“But now they understand and they’re behind us. They’re working with us,” the PFBC executive director added.