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OUR MISSION STATEMENT
The stated
purpose of CCA is to advise and educate the public on
conservation of marine resources. The objective of CCA is
to conserve, promote and enhance the present and future
availability of these coastal resources for the benefit and
enjoyment of the general public.
| Council Approves Changes to Black Sea Bass Management |
Measures also slated for red grouper and wreckfish upon approval by the Secretary of Commerce
Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved management measures impacting federal fisheries for black sea bass, red grouper, and wreckfish through three separate amendments to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan during its meeting last week in Raleigh, NC. The amendments must now go through the Secretarial review process before any regulations go into place. The Council considered recommendations from its Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), advisory panels, testimony received during public hearings, and written comments before making its final decisions on its preferred management alternatives within the amendments. A final public hearing was held during last week's meeting.
Proposed changes to the black sea bass fishery are designed to reduce the rate of harvest in order to help extend the current fishing year for both the commercial and recreational fisheries and include increases in the minimum size limit, a commercial trip limit, and the implementation of an endorsement program for the commercial black sea bass pot fishery. If approved by the Secretary of Commerce, Amendment 18A will increase the recreational size
limit from 12" to 13" total length and the commercial size limit from 10" to 11" total length. The amendment would also implement a commercial trip limit of 1,000 pounds (for all gear types), limit the number of commercial pots that can be fished on a single trip to 35, and require all pots be retrieved at the end of each fishing trip.
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| 14 Dec 2011 - 09:39 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| A new day for menhaden management |
Commission vote reduces menhaden harvest for first time ever
BOSTON, MA - For the first time in history, there will be reductions in the harvest of Atlantic menhaden after a vote today by the Menhaden Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Menhaden, which serve as the primary forage base for most predatory fish, have declined to the lowest level ever recorded, sparking alarm in the recreational angling community which has long expressed concern over the impact of industrial menhaden harvest on sportfish stocks.
"This is a long-anticipated decision and it is a great relief for anglers to know that managers have finally begun the process of rebuilding this critical species," said Charles A. Witek III, chairman of the Atlantic Fisheries Committee for Coastal Conservation Association. "The turning point was finally having science in hand that showed what many of us have been saying for a long time. We still have work to do to ensure that menhaden are properly managed to fulfill its role as a forage base, but we are finally out of the starting blocks."
Anglers and conservationists have chafed for years under management standards that indicated the spawning stock of menhaden was perfectly healthy and the fishing mortality rate was fine or only "slightly" over the overfishing threshold. As menhaden began to disappear from parts of the coast, it became clear that something was wrong with the way menhaden were being evaluated. Ultimately, outside scientists recommended changing reference points to better reflect the status of the stock and in a landmark decision, the Board agreed. With today's vote, the reference points change from the current 8 percent Maximum Spawning Potential (MSP), which means 8 percent of an unfished stock, to 15 percent MSP as the overfishing threshold. They then adopted a target, the point for which management measures are intended, of 30 percent MSP, which will require a 37 percent reduction in harvest when implemented.
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| 10 Nov 2011 - 11:16 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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| CCA urges common sense remedies for black sea bass |
Self-imposed restrictions forcing South Atlantic Council to close fishery
In a letter to South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Chairman David Cupka, Coastal Conservation Association is urging the Council to take common-sense steps to remedy an unnecessarily restrictive rebuilding plan for black sea bass. The pending closure on black sea bass, proposed for October to June, compounds an already difficult offshore angling environment still reeling from closures on red snapper, groupers and vermillion snapper.
"We are left with very little for avid bottom fishermen to pursue in the south Atlantic, especially during the winter," said Bill Bird, chairman of CCA's South Atlantic Fisheries Committee. "Bottom-fishing trips have been a staple for recreational fishermen and these closures are cascading at a time when coastal communities have fewer tourists and are already reeling from the troubled economy."
At the heart of the black sea bass debacle is the Council's adoption of a "constant catch" strategy in 2006 that has restricted all participants with artificially low harvest limits.
"It is now painfully apparent that the Council made a mistake when it approved the constant catch rebuilding strategy in 2006," wrote Bird. "While that strategy, promoted at the time by the commercial sector and the headboat industry, shielded those sectors from painful harvest reductions early in the rebuilding program, it subsequently shackled all participants with artificially low harvest limits that are locked in for the duration of the program."
Under the constant catch strategy, the highest harvest levels of the entire rebuilding timeframe occurred in the first two years when arguably the fewest fish were available. After that, allowable harvest levels dropped significantly for the remaining eight years. Meanwhile, the black sea bass stock is behaving exactly as expected - it is responding to management and rapidly rebuilding. As it does, recreational anglers are encountering them more frequently and catching their quota far more quickly, resulting in the current proposal to close the fishery from October to June.
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| 12 Oct 2011 - 10:29 by CCA North Carolina |
XNews
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