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Three non-profit major marine conservation organizations are now urging the California Fish and Game Commission to find alternative commercial fishing methods to replace set gillnets in waters off the state’s southern coast. Lending impetus to this issue is a report just released by Oceana and Turtle Island Restoration Network (TIRN) finding that the commercial set gillnet fishery targeting California halibut and white seabass off Southern California is threatening the health and diversity of the ocean ecosystem. The topic is set for consideration by Commission’s Marine Resources Committee (MRC) meeting on July 20, 2023.

“The set gillnet fishery targeting California halibut and white seabass is clearly a risk to the health and resilience of California’s oceans,” said Caitlynn Birch, Pacific marine scientist with Oceana, which is based in Monterey, California. “These nets injure and kill a myriad of ocean animals, including rare and vulnerable species. Despite a history of wildlife impacts and action by California voters, the fishery remains largely unmonitored as these nets continue to hurt wildlife off Southern California.”

64 Percent Bycatch

This fishery throws overboard 64 percent of the animals caught, which is among the highest bycatch rates of any fishery in the country, according to the report. These nets set along the ocean floor can be as long as a mile, and they indiscriminately catch more than 125 different species of ocean animals, including marine mammals, seabirds, sharks, rays, skates, and other fish that migrate, feed, and reproduce in the ocean waters off Southern California, the report states. It goes on to say that more than half of the animals thrown overboard are already dead or dying when they hit the water — raising significant concerns over the fishery’s impact on marine biodiversity.

“We are asking the state of California to walk the talk regarding being a global leader in the biodiversity crisis,” said Scott Webb, advocacy and policy director with TIRN based in Olema, California. “As climate change continues to create a harsher environment for many of these vulnerable marine species, specifically sharks and whales, stronger protections are needed.”

Alternate Gear

The Coastal Conservation Association of California (CCA Cal) is also asking the California Fish and Game Commission to consider alternatives to set gillnets used by commercial fishermen. “California halibut and white sea bass can be targeted with more selective gear, including hook-and-line gear, greatly reducing bycatch and eliminating harm to marine mammals and sea turtles, as well as non-target fish species,” said Mark Smith, lobbyist for CCA Cal, in recent public testimony before the Commission asking for elimination of set gill nets in all waters off the coast of California.

Read Next: Biden Bans Swordfish Drift Gillnets in US

Chance to Speak Out

The next opportunity for the public to speak out (both in person and via virtual conferencing) regarding California’s commercial set gillnet fishery will be July 20, 2023, when the Commission’s MRC will convene in Petaluma, California, to discuss a number of agenda items including evaluation of bycatch in the commercial set gillnet fishery. In addition to public comments, the MRC will hear the California Department of Fish and Wildlife evaluation of fisheries bycatch and provide the MRC with recommended next steps for developing recommendations. To learn more, visit fgc.ca.gov/Meetings/2023.

During the MRC meeting, Oceana and TIRN are expect summarize their set gillnet bycatch report, which has found that 75 percent of sharks, skates, and rays that are caught are tossed overboard; gillnets are the primary threat to juvenile great white sharks in their nursery grounds off California; California gray whales and humpback whales are susceptible to entanglement in set gillnets; set gillnet fishermen throw back as waste damaged and undersized California halibut, rock crab, sand bass, and lingcod. To download the full report, visit oceana.org/reports/the-net-consequence-impacts-of-set-gillnets-on-california-ocean-biodiversity.

Set Gillnet History

California set gillnets were originally banned in Northern California waters back in 1915. In 1990, after Southern Californian sport fishermen noticed major declines in fish populations over the previous decade, anglers, conservation organizations, and elected officials worked together to pass Proposition 132, which prohibited the use of set gillnets within state waters off Southern California (within 3 nautical miles of the coast). However, set gillnets are still being used in federal waters, offshore banks, and in certain areas around Southern California’s Channel Islands.

The post Set Gillnets in California Ocean Waters Threaten Biodiversity appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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On May 25, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down a ruling with significant implications for countless species of fresh and saltwater fish and wildlife. The decision in Sackett v. EPA strips federal protections from wetlands that lack a “continuous surface connection” with adjacent water bodies. Out of the 118 million acres of wetlands in our country, this ruling removes protections from more than half.

Wetlands, be they mountain fens or coastal marshes, are critical and productive habitats that help the fish we love to catch survive. They filter out sediment and pollution, provide refuge for spawning fish, recharge groundwater, and help maintain water temperatures. When it rains or snows, wetlands become natural sponges, absorbing excess water and reducing flood risk. And when there’s drought, they can do the reverse and replenish depleted water supplies.

Debate: What are Waters of the United States?

The Clean Water Act is our most powerful tool for safeguarding water quality, wetlands, and riparian habitat. Passed in 1972, the Act has been wildly successful in significantly increasing the percentage of fishable and swimmable waterways. The geographic scope of federal protections is applied to “waters of the United States” — and the definition of that designation has been under debate for years.

For wetlands, the most notable distinction came in 2006 when the Supreme Court ruled that the connection between bodies of water didn’t have to be visible, but could be measured in other ways. The far more important question was whether the water had a “significant nexus” with another, already-protected body of water (for example, through groundwater connections). If yes, both bodies of water deserved protection.

Under the new Sackett ruling, it’s likely that wetlands that lack a continuous surface connection, and only have a significant nexus, to a federally protected body of water are now vulnerable.

This means construction and development projects that impact wetlands that are not within the flood plain of a flowing river or stream may no longer be required to minimize their impacts, including restoring other wetland areas or creating new ones. The negative effects, such as the loss of pollution-filtering vegetation and floodwater absorption capabilities, flow downstream.

Exactly how many square miles of wetlands will be excluded based on this decision remains to be seen; however, it’s already apparent that certain types of wetland features that provide important wildlife habitat, such as mountain fens, peatland pocosins in coastal areas, prairie potholes, and isolated, intermittent wetlands are all at immediate risk.

What’s Next for Wetlands?

The EPA and U.S Army Corps of Engineers, the two agencies responsible for implementing federal protections under the Clean Water Act, will need to interpret the Supreme Court’s decision and develop a new rule to implement these changes. This rule-making process will provide an opportunity for hunters and anglers to weigh in.

Perhaps the most straightforward solution would be for Congress to, once and for all, amend the Clean Water Act to clarify the scope of federal protections for a broader range of aquatic ecosystems. Congress could also take steps to increase funding for existing, voluntary wetland conservation programs, such as the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Wetland Reserve Easement program, which allows landowners to conserve and restore wetlands in exchange for compensation. Other federal programs, such as the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s North American Wetlands Conservation Act Grants and Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, also provide critical financial and technical support for voluntary wetland conservation.

State-Level Programs for Wetlands

Some states, including California, New York, and Minnesota, already have robust, comprehensive wetland protection programs in place, which require permits and mitigation for activities taking place in and around state waters. Many of these state-level programs were established to serve as a backstop to shifting federal laws. However, only about a quarter of states have an active wetland permitting program established, as others typically have relied on the federal protections. This means immediate efforts are focused on working with states to bolster existing wetland protection programs or create new ones. These efforts are vital, but challenging. Many states don’t have the capacity to stand up and administer such programs, requiring additional funding, perhaps through the EPA. 

These various policy efforts present an opportunity for both freshwater and saltwater anglers; hunters who appreciate hidden patches of marshland; and anyone who enjoys healthy, clean water to become more engaged with their federal and state representatives. No matter if you enjoy fishing for walleye, steelhead, or red snapper, or hunting wood ducks and dark-antlered bucks in October lowland pockets, the wetlands that support these species are at risk, and the time for action is now.

About the Author: Alex Funk is the Director of Water Resources and Senior Counsel for the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.

The post How Recent Weakened Wetlands Protections Affect Anglers appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

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A bipartisan group of U.S. representatives and senators has introduced the Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act of 2023, a bill that would create a grant program within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for projects that take kids fishing in the ocean or Great Lakes, with priority given to projects that serve underserved communities. It would become the first such program within NOAA Fisheries, which manages federal marine fisheries.

Sponsors of the bill include Representatives Maria Salazar (R-Fla.) and Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.), and Senators Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.). This legislation is in line with the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA’s) goal of introducing new anglers – particularly young people – to recreational fishing.

“Recreational fishing provides substantial physical and mental health benefits, but unfortunately many young people – particularly in underserved communities – face significant barriers in accessing the outdoors,” says Mike Leonard, the American Sportfishing Association’s Vice President of Government Affairs. “The grants provided through this bill will go a long way to remove those barriers and help children develop a love of fishing.

“We thank Representatives Salazar and Kamlager-Dove and Senators Wicker and Cantwell for their work on the Youth Coastal Fishing Program Act and are excited about the generations of new anglers it will help create,” Leonard said.

Rep. Salazar believes strongly in the benefits of creating angling opportunities for today’s youth. “It is critical to provide younger generations of Americans across the country, especially minority Americans, the opportunity to learn firsthand about our seas, oceans, lakes, and outdoors, as well as provide them with the tools to enjoy them,” she said.

Rep. Kamlager-Dove echoed those sentiments. “It is especially important that historically disadvantaged youth have opportunities to learn about aquatic life and marine sciences to harbor their curiosity in these fields,” she said.

Sen. Wicker indicated that the best way to develop an appreciation for the marine environment is to go fishing. “We should be encouraging young Americans to get involved in fishing,” he said. “Our legislation will help remove barriers to accessing the outdoors and ensure that more young anglers, especially those in underserved communities, have the opportunity to enjoy this beloved pastime.”

The bill will also help inspire younger generations, Sen. Cantwell believes. “This bill will help more kids get the tools, gear, and support they need to experience the outdoors and the benefits that come with it,” she said.

The bill provides $2 million in grants over each of the next five years for projects that include a recreational fishing experience for youth, offer education about marine science and conservation, and provide information on where or how to fish. ASA encourages anglers and others to visit its Keep America Fishing action alert, which makes it easy to contact their members of Congress to ask them to support the bill. A handout on the bill can be found here. In addition, a letter of support signed by 21 organizations can be found here.

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“Everyone can fish for fluke,” is how Bill Proulx explains the social media fervor stirred up by his 15.3-pound pending Connecticut State Record summer flounder. The everyman fish is one of the most popular and prolific target species for inshore anglers from New England to the mid-Atlantic. When Hillyer’s Tackle Shop released photos of Proulx’s fish on Facebook, the post received 366 likes, 164 shares and 74 comments. “I’m not technically savvy, but the story went on a website and my phone has been ringing off the hook!” explains Proulx.

Proulx, a retired police officer from Ashford, Connecticut, was fishing with friend Ed Pyle in the Atlantic Ocean out of Four Mile River Marina in Lyme. Proulx is an accomplished angler and diver who targets a wide variety of fish, but flounder fishing is one of his favorite pursuits.

The guys left the marina at 4:45 in the morning and had been fishing half a day before catching the big flounder. “We had a limit of sea bass and two 23-inch flounder,” he adds.

Proulx and Pyle were drifting rocky structure and patches of sand in 80 feet of water one mile offshore. “The current was slow, so I was using a 100-gram Daiwa Rock Rover with a strip of squid and a fresh spearing.”

Proulx works the jig by lifting the rod tip in five to six quick jerks and then letting the lure fall. He varies the speed of the jigging adding in longer pauses. “A lot of times the fish hits on the pause.”

While Proulx was fishing, his son Ryan, who runs Blue Runner Charters out of Westerly, Rhode Island, was also flounder fishing 100 miles away on Nantucket Shoals. “All day he was sending me photos of the fluke he was catching.” Proulx had just put down the phone after receiving another flounder photo when the big fish hit.

Proulx measured the fish and weighed it with a hand scale. “I threw it in the cooler and kept fishing.” After he returned to the dock, Proulx used a more accurate scale and realized the fish weighed 15.3 pounds, making it a potential state record.

Local tackle shops were closed, so Proulx stored the fish in brine and tried to sleep. He laughs, “I was up until 1 am researching the process for registering a record.”

The next morning, he took the fish to Hillyer’s Tackle Shop. He was relieved the fish still weighed 15.3 pounds. If approved, it will break the current Connecticut state record of 14 pounds, 13.76 ounces caught by Michael Maffuci off Fishers Island in 2019.

Details Matter

Proulx says flounder fishing comes down to little details. He uses 50-pound fluorocarbon with his flounder rigs. “Not only is fluoro more difficult for the fish to see, but I like the abrasion resistance.”

He uses a soft action rod. “With a spongy rod, the flounder doesn’t feel pressure when it bites,” he explains.

Fresh bait is another key. When the squid are running, Proulx spends a night catching squid. “We caught 150 squid in one night,” he says. To prepare for flounder season, he freezes the squid in vacuum sealed bags.

When the current or wind are strong, Proulx uses a drift sock to slow his drift. “We had the drift sock out when I caught the big flounder,” he says. The drift sock allows him to use the lightest jig or sinker to hold the bottom.

Despite all his experience and preparation, Proulx attributes his trophy catch to luck. “I just put in my time and had my bait in the right place,” he says.

The post New Connecticut Record Fluke appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.

Editor’s Note: Check back to this page often to see updates related to anglers fighting for clean, healthy inshore waters in Florida.

Quick Summary: Explaining Florida’s Water Problems

Some call it the birthplace of skinny water sight fishing. Others just know it as Florida Bay. But for those anglers who got to experience the bay during its heyday, there was nothing like it. Even in the early 1990s, fishing was out of this world.

“You could leave Flamingo Marina, turn left, and head straight to Snake or Garfield Bight and start fishing in minutes,” says Florida’s Capt. Chris Wittman. “From Snake Bight to Whipray Basin had some of the cleanest waters, meadows of turtle grass just crowded with snook, redfish, tarpon and bonefish.”

But centuries of draining the Everglades had staggering consequences. The natural flow of water from Lake Okeechobee to the Everglades, Everglades National Park and Florida Bay became nothing more than a trickle. Development and agriculture near Lake Okeechobee sucked up the vital water like a shop vac, a practice that continues today. The river of grass is unrecognizable.

“Fresh water is absolutely necessary to balance the salinity of Florida Bay,” explains Wittman. “Imagine the basins and shallow waters of Florida Bay as an ice cube tray with high and low spots. Water can’t always leave those low spots with the tide, so water evaporates and leaves those areas hypersaline — three times saltier than the Gulf of Mexico.”

In 2015, another catastrophic die-off of seagrass occurred (yes, there’s been more than one over the years in Florida Bay). Acres of grass shed its blades, leaving the excess nutrients to rot in the water. Algae blooms — a saltwater cyanobacteria — turned the water green. The green water spread to many different areas, blocking out the sun and preventing seagrass growth.

Florida Bay is a shell of what it should be. The bay gets muddy from any wind event. The silt doesn’t settle quickly, something past seagrass beds could clean in a couple tide cycles. Beyond fishing, seagrass is an essential habit for countless species and a food source for manatees. “One acre of seagrass sequesters as much carbon as one acre of rainforest,” points out Wittman. “Losing 50 acres of seagrass is a huge loss because of its value as a carbon sink.”

Even with Florida Bay in its current condition, Wittman emphatically points out that answers are available to bring it back to life. Scientists have studied the causes and know the solutions. In 2000, the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) — meant to restore, preserve, and protect the South Florida ecosystem — was signed into law. But either the funds were allocated elsewhere, or some other hurdle stopped the many projects from starting or being completed. Politicians always seemed to have other priorities, driven by different interests.

In 2016, Wittman helped found Captains for Clean Water because he was tired of Florida’s poor water management practices. “Nothing was completed before 2016, but since then, 40 of the 68 CERP Everglades projects have been started or completed,” says Wittman.

First, the Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM) had to be updated. LOSOM dictates how Lake Okeechobee’s water is managed. “The Army Corps came up with a new plan — and while it’s not perfect, I consider it shared adversity among the many stakeholders — it’s still better than what it was in 2008,” says Wittman. “The new manual has a 37 percent reduction in discharges of polluted water to the coasts, and three times as much water sent south to Florida Bay.”

In 2023, the Army Corps of Engineers and the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) broke ground on the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) Reservoir, ideally located at the south end of the EAA. This cornerstone project reduces harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges to the St. Lucie and Caloosahatchee rivers by storing and cleaning excess water from the lake before sending it south to the Everglades.

“Lake Okeechobee is polluted with legacy pollutants from agriculture,” explains Wittman. “This 25-foot deep reservoir, along with a Storm Treatment Area that’s almost completed, will act as a man-made wetland. Its footprint is larger than Manhattan. The 16,500 acres will store, filter and clean water headed to Florida Bay.”

The reservoir is not expected to be completed until 2029, so public involvement is vital to Florida Bay and Everglades restoration, says Wittman. “It forces politicians to stay honest and to keep projects moving forward.” That’s why you’ll continue to hear plenty from Captains for Clean Water, and the army of national fishing brands that have joined this fight, to bring world-class sight-fishing back to Florida.

New Eelgrass Plantings in Florida’s St. Lucie River (Updated May 31, 2023)

A total of 540 biodegradable containers of eelgrass were planted in Southeast Florida’s St. Lucie River as part of continued restoration efforts for the waterway. The area picked was located near Fort Pierce, not far from the Richard E. Becker Preserve.

“For this planting project, we chose areas that were off the main river channel and are much more protected from high flow, including a recently completed oxbow restoration project area called Becker Oxbow,” said Alyssa Jordan, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

The south fork of the river receives harmful, polluted discharges from Lake Okeechobee whenever water managers need to lower lake levels, leading to toxic, dangerous algae blooms at times. But these eelgrass plantings were placed in the north fork of the river, locations not affected by Lake Okeechobee releases. All of the water runoff in this area is from Ft. Pierce, Port St. Lucie, canals and agriculture.

“The goal of the project is habitat restoration, which has numerous benefits, such as improved water quality,” said Michelle Ashton, director of communications for the nonprofit Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida (FWFF). “It will also provide an eventual food source for manatees and fish habitat, which is why CCA Florida joined in to help. Habitat restoration is something we can all support.”

The main partners who worked with FWFF on the project included Sea & Shoreline aquatic restoration and CCA Florida. FFWF works with public and private partners to raise and donate money for conservation programs.

“For this project, the Fox Rock Foundation donated most of the funding,” said Ashton. “Karen and Rob Hale established the foundation — you might recognize Rob Hale as a co-owner of the Boston Celtics.”

Sea & Shoreline provided the genetically native eelgrass for planting. Many of the volunteers for the plantings came from CCA Florida, but CCA also contributed to funding as well.

“FWC provided the insight into where the eelgrass should be planted, as well as get all the necessary permits,” said Ashton. “Sea & Shoreline harvested the wild eelgrass from Lake Echo, then they broke it down into single plantings. They did all the prep work.”

More than 100 cages were used to protect the eelgrass as it grows, with five plants under each cage.

“We plant these units under 35-pound cages,” said Heather Herold, of Sea & Shoreline. “The cages prevent manatees and other herbivores from eating them. This gives them time to root and grow. After 12 months, we take off the cages.”

In the past, submersed plantings in the north fork of the St. Lucie River have done well until high flow or hurricane events occur. Then, the plantings ultimately failed because of prolonged increased turbidity and extreme velocity. 

“There’s never any guarantee in restoration that it will be a success, but we chose the best areas that we could with the conditions we have,” said Jordan. “We have had success with plantings like this in other high flow and turbid systems, but sometimes they take time and more plantings to get the final success that we want. Ultimately, for there to be submersed plants all throughout the river, and not just in protected areas, there would need to be a reduction of flow from upstream or an increase in floodplain and oxbows to allow water to flow more naturally.”

Fertilizer Ban Limitations (Updated May 8, 2023)

For years, during the rainy months, many Florida counties, cities and municipalities have used local fertilizer bans to prevent nasty runoff into waterways that cause fish kills, algal blooms and red tide. These fertilizers contain nitrogen or phosphorus, which makes your grass as green as nuclear slime, but also causes major destruction to Florida’s estuaries, rivers and lakes. Now, Florida legislators are set to take that power away from localities.

“A measure quietly tucked into a budget proposal would prohibit at least 117 local governments from ‘adopting or amending a fertilizer management ordinance’ during the 2023-24 budget year, requiring them to rely on less restrictive regulations developed by the University of Florida, which are supported by the state’s phosphate industry, the producers of fertilizer.”

“If the proposed language becomes law, local governments will no longer be allowed to impose seasonal fertilizer bans or stricter limits and be limited to only the model ordinance.”

“To justify using the budget to pass such a major shift in policy, legislators also included $6.2 million for the IFAS to study the impact of preempting local fertilizer regulations for the next year.” — Tampa Bay Times

“We suspect this study will be used to establish more permanent limitations on local-level fertilizer management, thereby facilitating more prolific use of fertilizer statewide. Good for the fertilizer industry’s bottom dollar, bad for water quality.”

“[A] real threat lies within the long-term problem: the study itself. Why this study is being conducted, the entities behind it, and what will be done with the ‘findings’ are all of concern for the long-term health of our waterways.” — Captains for Clean Water

LOSOM Implementation Delayed (Updated May 5, 2023)

In 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers finalized the desperately needed Lake Okeechobee System Operating Manual (LOSOM). LOSOM dictates how often lake discharges enter the estuaries on Florida’s east and west coasts, but it’s also the guiding force behind sending three times as much water south to the Everglades. The plan was considered a major win when compared to the old, outdated system called the Lake Okeechobee Regulation Schedule 2008 (LORS08).

The new plan was first set to go into place in late 2022, but that schedule changed. Then, summer 2023 was the new date. Now, December 2023 is the earliest it might happen. That’s because the National Marine Fisheries Service wants to study how discharges affect protected species such as sea turtles and sawfish where the Caloosahatchee River enters the Gulf of Mexico.

“NMFS has ordered a formal biological consultation of the schedule’s impact on the ecosystems in Florida’s west coast estuaries, likely delaying implementation by six months or more.”

“Rep. Brian Mast expressed serious concerns about NMFS’s last minute intrusion into the process, after years of minimal participation in meetings of the Project Delivery Team (PDT) that was responsible for developing LOSOM … Delaying LOSOM through another wet season could spell disaster for the east and west coasts this summer.” — U.S. Congressman Brian Mast

The post Explained: Florida Bay and Everglades Restoration appeared first on Salt Water Sportsman.