Highly Migratory Species Report

Swordfish are one of the rare HMS species that after a short time of new management rules have been reported by NMFS as recovered. Anglers who have sought them in recent years have been rewarded with a major increase in their swordfish landings. A few anglers have landed very large fish over 200 pounds.

The four major proposed changes made public are:

1. Increase retention limits for incidental swordfish permit holders to 30 fish, except for vessels participating in the squid trawl fishery, which would be limited to 15 swordfish.  I would oppose this since it opens a directed sword fishery to commercial boats that were previously primarily shark fishermen.
2. Increase the angling category bag limit from 3 to 4 swords per trip, retaining the one swordfish per person bag limit.
3. Increase the HMS charter/head boat limit from 3 to 6 with a control of one per paying passenger. Head boats would get 15 with a one per paying passenger limit.
4. Modify the vessel upgrade limits for longline gear fishermen to 35% greater than first issued HMS permit vessel size.

Comments must be received at NMFS by January 31, 2007. Send them to Sari Kiraly, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD. 20910. Label the envelop or letter, “Comments on Proposed Swordfish Rule.” Fax- 1301-713-1917

The problem in this issue and in the above changes is the fact that until the 2006 HMS season, swordfish were never required to be reported by anglers.

In short, NMFS has no clue what the current or past recreational landings are.

In 2007 selected charter and head boats with a dolphin/wahoo permit are required to complete a new NMFS Miami Logbook sent to, Key Biscayne, FL. It covers a wide selection of southern species not previously reported by permit holders above North Carolina. Considering that it is some dolphin and wahoo permit holders who are being selected for reporting, it would be interesting to know what NMFS will do with the report.

NMFS has for 15 years tried to control the commercial landing and sale of giant bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico, an identified giant bluefin tuna spawning area. The big problem was a documented major increase in long lining in the area known to be a preferred spawning area for these bluefin without an increase in reported US landings.

Mexico, a country not known to have a giant bluefin spawning area in their EEZ waters, has over the last ten years reported a sharply growing number of giant bluefin landings during their spawning time. Since the area in question is about the same distance for either US or Mexican fishermen, it seems reasonable that the Mexican landings are a direct result of US caught fish finding a commercial sales outlet.

Current US rules limit long liners to one giant bluefin tuna per fishing trip. How difficult is it for US fishermen to throw back several giant bluefin worth more than $5,000 each? A recent multi-year study by conservation groups determined that it was impossible that a sharply increased US fishing effort in the GOM did not result in increased catches of these spawning fish. They decided to sue NMFS and asked for a closure of the GOM spawning area during the known spawning season.

White Marlin Endangered Species Listing Status Review NMFS recently stated it will begin a status review of the Atlantic White Marlin for an Endangered Species Act listing. This action was required by a 2005 federal court suit settlement. In 2005 NMFS noted that ICCAT would complete their White Marlin study in 2006 and their study would be a basis for an ESA review by NMFS in 2007.

This action will have major implications for New Jersey’s blue water fishing fleet. If white marlin is listed, then besides the issue of White Marlin catch and release being eliminated, there is the much more important issue of critical habitat.

White Marlin critical habitat could be the same 100 fathom and inshore areas that are the key habitat areas for tuna and swordfish. Closure of any of these areas would have a devastating impact on all New Jersey HMS fishermen and the huge industry their offshore fishing supports. How many owners of canyon capable boats will keep their very expensive boats to fish for blues, stripers and fluke?

Is not fishery management wonderful? Anglers were told and believed a modest reduction in landings of their favorite fish would result in fantastic future fishing. The fishery management system clearly knows how to control landings and achieve a fish biomass recovery. The problem is they have yet to learn how to manage and share a fish recovery.