Some information from a recent Time Magazine piece on Tuna stocks worldwide (picture from article in Time): In 1950, about 600,000 tons of tuna were caught worldwide. Last year, that figure hit nearly 6 million tons. At current fishing rates, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that Atlantic bluefin that spawn in the Mediterranean could disappear from those waters as early as 2012. Scientists believe stocks of southern bluefin around Australia have likely fallen over 90% since the 1950s and could continue to drop. Of the world’s 19 non-bluefin commercial tuna stocks, half are now overfished or at risk of going that direction, according to the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a partnership of canning companies, scientists and the WWF. Tuna has been eaten for thousands of years. The Greeks sliced, salted and pickled it, and Mediterranean bluefin was a staple of the Roman soldier’s lunch box. But modern Japan’s taste for the fish, coupled with rising demand in the U.S., Europe and China, has driven the Atlantic bluefin to become “the poster child of overfishing worldwide,” says Monterey’s Sutton. The number of breeding tuna in the eastern Atlantic has plunged over 74% since the late 1950s, with the steepest drop occurring in the past 10 years, while the western population dropped over 82% between 1970 and 2007. The Pacific bluefin, whose habitat spans from the West Coast of the U.S. to Japan, is officially in better shape, but one Tsukiji auctioneer estimates the number of tuna coming in these days is down 60% to 70% from what it used to be….read more here.
Hurricane season is not too far away, so in preparation here are a few tips for the season to secure your boat when that monster storm heads your way.
Pull your boat out of the water if you can. It’s a pain in the neck, but your boat is a lot less likley to get damaged on land. Just do not park under a tree.
If you are going to leave your boat in the water, reverse your dock lines and place the loops on the pilings and the end tag on your boat cleat. This way if the tides surge, and the lines become tight from a rising tide, you can loosen your lines and adjust for a rising tide.
Add extra bumpers and place a few at different heights.
If your boat is in the water, check your bilge pump and make sure it works.
If you have electric on your pier, shut it off before the storm hits.
Stay out of the water after a hurricane…it will be loaded with sewage from septic systems malfunctioning. Be careful taking your boat out after a hurricane…tons of crap that can ruin an outdrive or prop floating in the water. Also, if you put your boat under a boat house, be careful. We saw 3-4 boats that were raised up through the roof of their boat houses
Did you know that North Carolina saltwater anglers annually harvest 38% of all dolphinfish along the east coast? Check out the Dolphin Fish Tagging Project and learn how you join the tagging project. Click here
Back in the early 1990’s was when I first learned that there is a strong correlation between the percent of impervious surface a watershed has and the ability for trout to live/exist in streams. I believe it was the work of Dr Bob Bachman who after serving as a biologist served as the Sectary of the Department of Natural Resources of Maryland. Recently a revised version of that study was released suggesting the percentage of impervious service is much less then once thought. Researchers led by Maryland Department of Natural Resources biologist Scott Stranko found that brook trout have literally disappeared from some Baltimore County watersheds in which impervious surfaces cover less than 4 percent of the land.It was once thought that the number was 10%. So now we have been planning and allowing development using a wrong piece of data. It makes me wonder what the number is as it coordinates to having a healthy Chesapeake Bay and even healthy oceans. I find it also a good lesson as it relates to the management of many species, like striped bass. Something to think about….
I had known that there were over ten different unique populations of striped bass around the United States and even that striped bass along the eastern Atlantic coast migrated all the way down to Florida. However, I never knew we actaully had a striped bass population along the gulf coast. I was reading the newest edition of Eddies today and sure enough not only are there striped bass along the gulf coast, there is a huge restoration effort happening. Pretty cool, read more below.
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The genetically unique Gulf Coaststrain of striped bass was once common to rivers pouring into the Gulf of Mexico. By the 1960’s, its population had declined significantly due to poor water quality and loss of habitat from a wave of dam construction. The last known population of native striped bass survived in low numbers in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) river system in Florida, Georgia and Alabama. Twenty-five years ago, these states and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service formed a powerful partnership to restore Gulf striped bass in the ACF. Some remarkable achievements have been made. We know more about its life history and its genetic integrity is safeguarded. The partners evaluate each year the stocking success and food availability; a young-of-year index estimates year-class strength; creel surveys evaluate recreational fishing; and telemetry studies have revealed the waters that provide essential temperatures the fish need. And now many of those coolwater habitats have been protected or rehabilitated. Recreational fishing in these places is carefully managed. Through the partnership, Radium Springs on the Flint River was purchased for habitat protection. DeadLakeDam on the ChipolaRiver was removed, and the operations at other dams have improved. Biologists have evaluated fish passage problems throughout the basin. Seven state and six federal hatcheries cooperatively stock more than one million Gulf striped bass a year. New recreational fisheries have been created, and anglers have set exciting new records. This work has been a catalyst for striped bass restoration throughout the Gulf region. Today, Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi are helping this remarkable 25-yearold partnership ensure the success of this unique and important fish across much of its historic range.
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Some information from a recent Time Magazine piece on Tuna stocks worldwide (picture from article in Time): In 1950, about 600,000 tons of tuna were caught worldwide. Last year, that figure hit nearly 6 million tons. At current fishing rates, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that Atlantic bluefin that spawn in the Mediterranean could disappear from those waters as early as 2012. Scientists believe stocks of southern bluefin around Australia have likely fallen over 90% since the 1950s and could continue to drop. Of the world’s 19 non-bluefin commercial tuna stocks, half are now overfished or at risk of going that direction, according to the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation (ISSF), a partnership of canning companies, scientists and the WWF. Tuna has been eaten for thousands of years. The Greeks sliced, salted and pickled it, and Mediterranean bluefin was a staple of the Roman soldier’s lunch box. But modern Japan’s taste for the fish, coupled with rising demand in the U.S., Europe and China, has driven the Atlantic bluefin to become “the poster child of overfishing worldwide,” says Monterey’s Sutton. The number of breeding tuna in the eastern Atlantic has plunged over 74% since the late 1950s, with the steepest drop occurring in the past 10 years, while the western population dropped over 82% between 1970 and 2007. The Pacific bluefin, whose habitat spans from the West Coast of the U.S. to Japan, is officially in better shape, but one Tsukiji auctioneer estimates the number of tuna coming in these days is down 60% to 70% from what it used to be….read more here.
