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Highly Migratory Species Reportby John T. Koegler (from Jersey Coast Anglers Association April 2006 Newsletter) Contents: Bluefin Tuna Bluefin Tuna After JCAA’s last Newsletter NMFS issued their proposal for anglers' 2006 bluefin tuna season. NMFS states the angling quota for 2006 has only 5.7 MT available. So NMFS is proposing to close anglers’ 2006 season for school bluefin tuna less than 47” long. Anglers’ quota for large school small medium bluefin tuna season is 325.8 MT. The quota is divided into north zone 153.8 Mt and south 172.0 MT. Starting this week and going to March 27, NMFS has scheduled hearings on this issue, but none are planned for New Jersey. It may interest you to know that 4 years ago more angler and charterboat bluefin tuna permits were sold in New Jersey than any other state. NMFS has scheduled a meeting in Islip, NY, Berlin, MD, and even Morehead City, NC. NC never landed bluefin tuna until after 1994 but they get a meeting. They have only 10% of the anglers HMS permits and yet they get a meeting. If we do not increase our political efforts we will get nothing. Should we push for major NMFS budget cuts? Is this the only way to indicate our extreme displeasure with NMFS biased, unfair and totally contrived recreational landing reports? Don’t our objections go further and apply to regulations in other managed fisheries, not just HMS. It is time for political action. Previous studies have determined that there are major errors in the tables NMFS uses to estimate recreational anglers landing tonnage. There are two major errors that have been identified: 1-NMFS uses tables that assume that anglers measured their fish on a straight line basis and convert reported angler measurement to Curved Fork Length. This increases the tuna’s estimated weight by 17%. 2-North Carolina dockside weight checks indicated that NMFS tuna weight estimates based on length were 25.98% too high compared to actual scale numbers. Despite this data, NMFS has refused to adjust their tables. Many anglers believe that if NMFS overestimates were corrected there would be enough school quotas for 2006. There is a good background article about the bluefin tuna mess in “The Fishermen” March 2 edition titled “Troubled Waters for school bluefin by Rich Ruais.” It covers the history of NMFS sad school bluefin tuna management. It covers the background of anglers’ gradual regulatory elimination from this very important recreational fishery. The Saltwater Sportsman magazines, April Issue, has an article about international bluefin tuna mismanagement. It reports that the European and African nations have totally failed to observe any of ICCAT’s conservation regulations, despite the fact that these countries had approved them. The latest example is Iceland. In 2003 they sold 4,000 MT of giant bluefin tuna as these Giants crossed the Atlantic riding on the Gulf Stream. Note that these are US conserved fish. Iceland had no ICCAT quota. The total US quota is 1,489.6 MT. Iceland never reported many bluefin sold before 2000. Combine this international piracy with ignored domestic regulations that permit many spawning bluefin tuna to be commercially sold each year by Gulf of Mexico long-liners. After tough NMFS rules were imposed in the late 1990’s, Mexican giant bluefin tuna sales exploded. They now sell large numbers of spawning bluefin despite having no known area where bluefin spawn in their waters. Naturally, it is too simple an explanation that US bluefin in excess of US daily limits are given to buddies who land and sell their bluefin tuna in Mexico. These bluefin come from US waters and are being sold, even through US fishermen have strict rules. Everyone understands if NMFS rules are not enforced then there are no rules, even the fishermen.
Ocean Acidification There has been much hand wringing by ecologists about the major decline in the health of coral reefs worldwide. It has been determined beyond any doubt that corals are dying in all of the world’s oceans. So far no one has come up with a good reason or a solution. Anyone who drinks soft drinks knows that carbon dioxide gas makes tiny bubbles and imparts a pleasing taste in the soda. Part of this good soft drink’s good taste comes from sugar but a major component is the carbon dioxide gas created by the carbonic acid in the drink. Scientists believe that 1/3 of all the carbon dioxide created by fossil fuel burning has been absorbed by the oceans. The idea that massive amounts of carbonic acid are created by this process has so far been ignored. In Scientific America’s March 2006 edition on pages 58 to 65 a long-term study found a shift in the oceans natural PH level. Clean ocean waters are slightly alkaline (8-8.3) all over the world. The oceans web of life depends on the oceans water being slightly alkaline. As the ocean waters change due to carbonic acid and shift toward a neutral PH (7), the entire ocean eco-system is affected. Many ocean organisms cannot survive in a less alkaline environment. Is it too great a scientific stretch to suggest that the corals are being affected (destroyed) by this proven shift in the ocean’s PH? The article documents that the ocean’s PH has shifted. Anyone who can add two and two and get four knows there are major natural cause-and-effect relationships on our planet. If we destroy this delicate balance bad things happen. Is the acid shift in the oceans killing its microscopic life worldwide? The article goes into great detail -and from more than one source to support -such a scientific conclusion. If it’s not good for the ocean survival, then it surely is not good for our survival either.
Angler Release Mortality In Saltwater Sportsman’s April issue on page 28 there is a release mortality study on weakfish. The study found a 90% survival rate in warm Gulf of Mexico conditions. As fish stocks rebuild, release mortality is becoming an important issue for recreational fishermen. It is important that the percentage of release mortality subtracted for angler annual quota allocations be as low and honest as possible, especially in key species like fluke where our release deductions are nearly 50% of our total yearly quota allocation. It is interesting and important to report that scientist’s bluefin satellite tagging studies have documented that large bluefin tuna mortality was less than 5% for all the tuna they tagged and released. Anglers should do better than that if the tunas are properly handled. Consider that the scientist often had the tuna on a boat’s deck for 15 to 20 minutes so they could surgically implant a small computer based recorder in the tunas stomach cavity. The pop-off satellite tags proved that the tunas mortality was less than 5%. The scientists were amazed that tunas release mortality was that low.
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