Draft Amendment 15 Looks to Open Closed Zones
After 23 years of defending the Closed Zones off the U.S. East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) just shared its options in Amendment 15 to open the Zones again to pelagic longline fishing. It was pelagic longline fishing that brought about the Closed Zones for at the time the U.S. vessels were killing the largest quantity of juvenile swordfish among all nations fishing for the Atlantic species. If the swordfish nursery areas are in open zones, stock declines will likely follow, as will anglers’ hook-up rates for billfish, tunas, swordfish
Update on Closed Zones – October 2022
Decision on Closed Zones Coming Soon Unfortunately, we are still fighting against pelagic longlining being reopened within specific closed zones. As you might remember from last year, an announcement proposing the opening of parts of the East Coast and Gulf of Mexico Closed Zones to pelagic longlining was proposed as an option moving forward. It is now anticipated to be released very soon. As we have advocated and challenged countless times, there is no sound science behind such a decision, especially in light of the negative impacts on billfish, tuna, marine mammals, and associated nurseries. To stay up
Domestic Updates – June 2022
Closed Zones Currently in Government Crosshairs The 20-year plus Closed Zones off the East Coast and in the Gulf of Mexico that greatly improved recreational fishing in the regions, now face immediate NMFS threats as the agency, once again, ponders authorizing “pelagic longline research”. The research will collect data based on commercially hooked, landed and sold fish to assess the 20 years of accrued conservation benefits. TBF believes that authorizing pelagic longline gear to wipe out the conservation gains for billfish, sea turtles, marine mammals and a plethora of additional marine species in these areas is a poor management
NMFS Science for Closed Zones is Questionable
In September 2021, an article published in Marine Biology, Journal of Life in Oceans and Coastal Waters, was distributed by the NMFS as a paper and computer model that might be used as a possible decision-making tool for determining whether to open Closed Zones off East and Gulf of Mexico coasts. This model called the “Highly Migratory Species Predictive Spatial Modeling (PRiSM) would be an analytical framework for assessing the performance of spatial fisheries management.” A review of the paper identified flaws that should preclude the application of this PRISM model to any Closed Zone Decisions. The paper presented
TBF Recommends Crediting the Closed Zones to 30×30 Goal
As the challenge to mitigate climate change gains momentum worldwide, the recreational fishing community must work to help identify waters for closure. This is especially true in light of the recent Presidential Executive Order, “30 x 30”, which mandates closing 30% of U.S. waters, as Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), to all fishing by 2030. No one who enjoys fishing wants to have 30% additional U.S. waters closed to recreational fishing. If all currently protected U.S. waters are credited toward the 30% goal, the mandate is not as onerous. Current MPAs include waters designated as sanctuaries, national marine monuments, wildlife
Northeast Canyons & Seamounts Opened to Commercial Fishing
A recent Presidential Proclamation opened waters, closed in 2016, to commercial fishing inside the 5,000 square miles of the designated Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, located 130 miles off Cape Cod. The designation was made primarily to protect fragile and largely pristine, deep marine ecosystems and rich biodiversity, including deep sea corals, endangered whales and sea turtles, other marine mammals and numerous fish species. A proposed amendment prohibiting commercial bottom-tending gear from fishing inside the Monument would mitigate impacts on the fragile reefs. A much different situation exists with Closed Zones off the southeast coast and
TBF Tells NMFS NO To Harming Billfish and Sportfishing
As promised, below are TBF’s final comments for the NMFS initiative that will potentially decimate billfish populations and harm the recreational fishing community. As a reminder, the new NMFS proposal is twofold: To read more about the proposal, click here. Most importantly, to add your comments telling NMFS NO to loosening gear restrictions and harming our community, click here. Comments are due by midnight tonight, September 30th
