United States Pushes for Strong Measures to Protect Bluefin Tuna

2009/11/11 – Dr. Jane Lubchenco, under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator issued the following statement urging the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) to heed the scientific advice and adopt measures that will end overfishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean and put bluefin tuna on the [...]

Atlantic Vermilion Snapper, South Florida Spotted Seatrout Seasons Close Nov. 1

10/29/2009 – The recreational harvest seasons for vermilion snapper in the Atlantic Ocean and spotted seatrout in South Florida will close on Nov. 1.  These closures are intended to reduce overfishing and increase the population of vermilion snapper in the Atlantic and help maintain the abundance of spotted seatrout in Florida waters.
The recreational harvest and [...]

Assistant Secretary Strickland Announces Support for Listing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna on International Trade Endangered Species List

WASHINGTON, DC- Today, Tom Strickland, Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife and Parks, announced that the United States supports a proposal submitted by the principality of Monaco to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) in Appendix I of the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and [...]

NOAA Closes Recreational Fishery for Black Sea Bass

The Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife received notice today, Sept. 30, that effective Monday, Oct. 5, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has issued an emergency closure of recreational fishing for black sea bass in all federal waters north of Cape Hatteras, N.C., for 180 days. 
 
The emergency closure came in response to [...]

CA DFG Announces Two Public Meetings to Discuss Lobster Hoop Net Regulation Changes

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will hold two public meetings in Southern California to review options for potential hoop net regulation changes. Hoop nets are commonly used along the Southern California coast by sport fishermen to catch California spiny lobster.
The two meetings, to be held next week in San Diego and Newport Beach, [...]

Venomous Lionfish Should Be Avoided by Divers, Anglers

Lionfish, an introduced marine species with highly venomous spines, should be avoided or handled with great care by divers and fishermen, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources.

The lionfish (Pdf file) is a native of Pacific coral reefs and now inhabits much of the Bahamas, Caribbean and the Southeast coast including South Carolina. It’s [...]

NOAA’s Fisheries Service Cracks Down on Charter Boat Companies Operating Illegally

Charter boat companies feeling the sting of unfair competition have looked to NOAA’s Fisheries Service Office of Law Enforcement for help.
After receiving multiple complaints about allegedly illegal charter boat trips undercutting legal businesses, undercover agents with NOAA OLE’s southeast enforcement division and state special operations divisions from Florida, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas chartered trips on [...]

L.D.W.F. Secretary Creates Louisiana Shrimp Processor Advisory Panel

The Louisiana Shrimp Task Force gave Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Secretary Robert Barham the authority to create two advisory panels to the task force.  One advisory panel will be comprised of Louisiana shrimp harvesters from across the state, while the other will be made-up of Louisiana shrimp processors.  Each of these panels [...]

CA DFG Seeks Resources, Partners for Development of a Lobster Fishery Management Plan

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) is working to identify resources and partners that will help develop a spiny lobster Fisheries Management Plan (FMP). DFG is considering the California spiny lobster because it is a key species that supports important recreational and commercial fisheries in the Southern California marine ecosystem.
An FMP for lobster [...]

NOAA Proposes Measures to Rebuild Blacknose and Other Shark Populations

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is proposing several measures to end overfishing and rebuild blacknose sharks and other shark populations. Nine public hearings will be held on the proposal, from New England to the Gulf of Mexico, in August and September.
“Our latest stock assessment found that the blacknose shark is depleted and the rate of fishing, both [...]