Category Archives: Conservation

Managing Chinook Seasons in Idaho

Managing Chinook Seasons Is A Constant Work In Progress

By Roger Phillips, Idaho Fish and Game public information specialist
from The Fishing Wire

Idaho Chinook

Idaho Chinook

Spring Chinook fishing opens April 23, and anglers often wonder how many salmon there will be and how long the season will last. It’s a challenging question to answer because unlike most Idaho fisheries, salmon seasons are dependent on how many fish return from the ocean each year.

That number varies wildly from year to year, and Fish and Game must balance the wants of anglers with ensuring enough Chinook are available to keep hatcheries operating, protect wild fish listed under the Endangered Species Act, and abide by agreements with other states and tribes to share the harvest of hatchery Chinook.

It’s a tricky mix of management that can complicate the answer for folks who just want to know how long salmon season will last.

The good news

Idaho has had an unprecedented run of chinook fishing seasons. This year will be the 16th straight year Fish and Game has provided a season, which is the longest unbroken streak dating back to 1954. Before then, salmon fishing was largely unregulated.

Chinook fishing kicks off with the spring run, and there’s fishing in the Snake River, Clearwater River and Salmon River and several tributaries. Over the last 20 years, spring chinook runs have averaged 54,160 fish annually. The previous 20 years (1976-95), the spring runs averaged 17,646, and fishing seasons were sporadic and often short-lived.

Last year, about 95,300 hatchery chinook crossed Lower Granite Dam about 25 miles downstream from Lewiston. Non-tribal anglers in Idaho harvested 22,075 of them during the spring and summer seasons.

The forecast for this year is 66,100 hatchery fish to cross Lower Granite, which means about 24,000 will be available for sport anglers to harvest. But biologists won’t know how exactly how many can be harvested until fish start reaching Idaho, and the run has just started.

Forecasting the season

Each winter, Fish and Game biologists predict the upcoming run based on the return of jacks from the previous year. Young salmon, known as smolts, migrate to the ocean each spring at about two years old. Those smolts grow in the ocean and return over the next three years.

Some chinook return to rivers after spending only a year in the ocean. They’re known as “jacks” because they’re almost all males, and younger than most other salmon returning. Most chinook that return to Idaho spend two years in the ocean, so the number of jacks is an indicator of how many “two-ocean” chinook will return the following year.

Finally, a small percentage returns after three years in the ocean, and on rare occasions, four years.

Biologists use last year’s jack salmon return to forecast the size of this year’s run, and that information allows Fish and Game to set a salmon season before the first Chinook arrives in Idaho.

Biologists also monitor the run as fish move past fish counters at the dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers, and they use fish embedded with tiny electronic tags known as PIT tags to determine where the fish are headed.

“We’re able to make the forecast of fish returning to each hatchery or river section based on PIT-tagged fish,” Fish and Game’s anadromous fish manager Pete Hassemer said.

Spring run

Chinook start crossing Lower Granite Dam in April, but the peak usually hits in May. That’s when Fish and Game closely watches the number of fish arriving in Idaho, where they’re heading, and how many fish anglers are catching.

Since the seasons and limits were based on a forecast, it’s important to track the actual return and harvest by anglers. Small daily bag limits help keep the harvest within quotas and spread the fishery over a larger area and ensure enough fish are available for anglers farther upstream.

“We’re catching fish in the early part of the run without knowing exactly how many fish are coming back,” Hassemer said. “Fishing can be really good, and there’s a limited number of fish available to anglers, so they can catch those fairly quickly.”

How’s fishing?

It’s more than a curious question – it’s how Fish and Game determines how many fish are caught each day and how long the season lasts. Fish and Game personnel count anglers and interview them throughout the fishery to see how many fish they’re catching.

“Our creel program has been designed to ensure we conduct enough angler counts and interview enough anglers to have a good understanding of how many fish are caught each day,” Hassemer said.

Fish and Game communicates weekly with the other states, tribes and federal agencies during the season to share information. By Tuesday of each week, biologists have a good idea if there are enough fish remaining to sustain fishing through the following weekend.

Fish and Game posts updated information on its web page so anglers can see how many have been caught. They can find that information at http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/ by looking the under “Chinook Salmon” under the Fishing tab. (Direct link: http://fishandgame.idaho.gov/public/fish/?getPage=114).

The goal is to provide good information for anglers so they have a better understanding where fish are being caught, how good the fishing is, and when closures might occur.

“We generally avoid closing on Friday because we want to give anglers as much opportunity as we can,” he said.

Different rivers, different fisheries

But anglers should remember that their portion of the Chinook return can be caught very quickly, especially when fishing is good and the harvest share is modest.

That’s often the case during popular river stretches. On the Lower Clearwater River, the season typically lasts about 15 days after the first fish arrive. On the South Fork of the Salmon River, the harvest share can be caught within a few days of the peak run arriving.

“Once fish start arriving in the smaller streams and the water is low and clear, anglers are quite successful,” Hassemer said.

Fishing seasons on the Lower Salmon and Little Salmon rivers tend to last longer and are a little more predictable.

Snowpack and spring run-off influence the timing of the runs. Spring chinook tend to follow peak spring run-off, so when the Salmon River starts receding, usually in late May, early June, it’s time to go salmon fishing.

Biologists also carefully watch tag data to ensure fish bound for hatcheries in the Upper Salmon aren’t overharvested lower in the river system. Long-term data shows about 90 percent of the chinook harvested in the Salmon River around Riggins and White Bird are bound for the Rapid River Hatchery.

A moving target

Considering forecasts rarely predict the exact number of fish, biologists keep a watchful eye on the actual return. Sometimes late-returning fish will allow them to keep the season open a little longer. Other times, fewer fish than expected return, and the season is cut short.

But Fish and Game’s goal is to ensure anglers get an equitable share of the available harvest.

“We really try to make sure we don’t close too early and have anglers off the water when they could be fishing for these prized salmon,” Hassemer said.

What Are Missouri Paddlefish and When Does Season Open?

Missouri Paddlefish Season Opens March 15

Editor’s Note: Here’s an interesting look at a sport many of us have never tried, but it’s apparently one of the few ways to harvest the giant “spoonbills” that populate many of our big Midwestern rivers and lakes.

MDC makes paddlefish snagging possible through annual stockings of fingerlings.

tagging a mature paddlefish

tagging a mature paddlefish

Missouri DOC biologists tag a mature paddlefish. Thousands of fingerlings are stocked in larger state lakes and rivers each year. (Credit MDOC)

Missouri’s annual spring paddlefish snagging season is a popular pastime for thousands of anglers. The state’s major paddlefish snagging waters include Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake with the season running March 15 through April 30. The season for the Mississippi River is March 15 through May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 through Dec. 15.

Also known as “spoonbills” because of the shape of their snouts, paddlefish take seven or eight years to grow to legal size. The fish feed on plankton and other microscopic prey. These filter feeders therefore do not take bait from hooks and must be snagged using large hooks that catch in the mouth, gills or other areas of their bodies.

The success of paddlefish snagging is dependent on weather conditions, primarily water temperature and flow.

“The best snagging conditions occur when water temperature reaches 50 to 55 degrees and there is an increase in water flow,” MDC Fisheries Management Biologist Trish Yasger said. “This prompts them to move upstream to spawn. We don’t usually see a lot of big fish being caught on opening day. Harvest early in the season is typically dominated by local fish and small males with the occasional large female. As water temperature and flow increase, you will start seeing more of the larger females.”

Stocking Efforts

The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) makes paddlefish snagging possible in the Show-Me State through annual stocking of up to 38,000 fingerlings raised at Blind Pony Hatchery near Sweet Springs. The fingerlings are released into Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake and Table Rock Lake, plus the Black River. The annual stocking is necessary because dams and other barriers to spawning areas have eliminated sustainable natural reproduction in the lakes.

“Without annual stocking by MDC staff, this popular pastime and food source would go away,” said Yasger. “And we need help from snaggers to learn more about and to better manage this popular game fish.”

Yasger added that MDC released an especially large number of fingerlings into Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake in 2008. The more than 164,000 fingerlings released are now eight years old and should start providing good numbers of fish for snaggers to harvest.

Snag A Tag – Get A Reward

MDC is beginning its second year in a five-year tagging project to help monitor paddlefish numbers and improve species management. Department staff are placing metal jaw tags on up to 6,000 paddlefish netted in Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake and up to 1,000 netted from the Mississippi River. Yasger encourages all snaggers to help out by reporting tagged paddlefish and to NOT remove tags from undersized paddlefish.

“We will send a special ‘I caught a Missouri paddlefish!’ t-shirt to each snagger who returns or reports their first tag on a legal-sized fish,” Yasger explained. “All returned and reported tags will be placed into an annual drawing for cash prizes with a grand prize of $500.”

Tags or photos of tags from harvested paddlefish must be submitted for rewards. Snaggers must include the following information with each tag:

Date caught
Location of catch including reservoir or river, mile marker, and county
Tag number
Fish length from eye to fork of the tail
Snagger’s name and complete address

Report tags by calling MDC at 573-579-6825 with the information, or mail the information with the flattened tag to: Missouri Department of Conservation, 3815 East Jackson Blvd., Jackson, MO 63755. Learn more about the tagging project from MDC online at http://on.mo.gov/1VA1E6B.

Report Transmitters

MDC biologists are also implanting ultrasonic transmitters in adult paddlefish at Truman Lake, Lake of the Ozarks, Table Rock Lake, and the Mississippi River to track their movements and gain other important information. MDC asks that all snaggers who harvest fish with a transmitter to report it by calling 573-579-6825 or by e-mailing Trish Yasger at [email protected]. It is important to return transmitters so they can be implanted in other fish.

Help smaller fish survive

Yasger reminds snaggers to help undersized snagged fish survive to grow larger.

“Do not land paddlefish with gaffs. This can fatally injure sublegal fish. Use large landing nets,” she said. “Remove hooks carefully and get sublegal fish back into the water as quickly as possible. Wet your hands before handling fish and avoid excessive handling. Do not pass them around for photos and hold fish firmly to avoid dropping them. Never put fingers in the gills or eyes.”

Regulation Requirements

Paddlefish snagging

Paddlefish snagging

The state’s major paddlefish snagging waters include Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, and Table Rock Lake with the season running March 15 through April 30. The season for the Mississippi River is March 15 through May 15 with a fall season of Sept. 15 through Dec. 15.

Unless exempt, anglers must have a current fishing permit to snag or to operate a boat for snaggers. The daily limit is two paddlefish and snaggers must stop snagging after obtaining the daily limit on Lake of the Ozarks and Truman Lake and their tributaries, and the Osage River below Bagnell Dam. The minimum legal body length for paddlefish at Lake of the Ozarks, Truman Lake, Table Rock Lake, and their tributaries is 34 inches, measured from the eye to the fork of the tail. The minimum legal body length is 24 inches on the Osage River below Bagnell Dam and in other Missouri waters. All paddlefish under the legal minimum length must be returned to the water unharmed immediately after being caught.

The Wildlife Code of Missouri requires the head, tail, and skin to remain attached to all paddlefish while on the water so paddlefish should not be cleaned until off of the water. Also, extracted paddlefish eggs may not be possessed while on waters of the state or adjacent banks and may not be transported. Paddlefish eggs may not be bought, sold or offered for sale. Additionally, paddlefish or their parts, including eggs, may not be used for bait.

Learn more about Missouri’s official aquatic animal, regulations, snagging reports, and more at http://huntfish.mdc.mo.gov/fishing/species/paddlefish.

What Is Giant Salvinia?

A Weed Over Troubled Water

Editor’s Note: As we wind up National Invasive Species Awareness Week, here’s a look at one of the worst, the giant salvinia that is creating problems across much of the south these days.
from The Fishing Wire
endangers fishing and boating waters and destroys habitat for aquatic plants and animals.

Craig Springer, USFWS

Giant Salvinia chokes waters

Giant Salvinia chokes waters

The plant’s scientific name is your first clue that it is something that you do not want. Botanists know it as Salvinia molesta. It’s commonly known as giant salvinia. Native to South America, the floating fern made its way to the United States via the ornamental plant industry. It’s pretty, but the beauty belies serious economic and ecological harm that usually follow when it is accidentally or purposely released into the wild.

John Naugle would know. He’s a fisheries biological technician at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Arizona Fish and Wildlife Conservation Office, in Parker, Arizona. Naugle is fully immersed in controlling the spread of the nasty plant from a waterway of great importance to the regional economy of Arizona and California. Giant salvinia showed up in the United States in 1995, and four years later it had a hold in the Palo Verde Irrigation District Drain that parallels the Colorado River. The irrigation drain delivers water downstream for agriculture. Since 2004, it has fallen on Naugle and colleagues to put a staunch on the spread.

He’s pretty much “Mr. Salvinia.” As long as the weather is conducive for plant growth, Naugle is out combatting the plant in the waterway. “For seven months of the year, I am on the water up to seven hours a day,” said Naugle. “It’s survey and treat, survey and treat—it’s a near-continuous effort.” That treatment is spraying an herbicide that knocks back the mats of the lime-green floating fern.

“Knock back” is often the best that can be done, according to the Service’s Southwest Region invasive species biologist, Dr. David Britton. Britton says that complete eradication of giant salvinia is nearly impossible given how the plant survives.

“It’s remarkable,” said Britton, “you can break off a tiny piece of plant and it will start a new population.” Britton notes that the plant easily gets carried by boats unintentionally, underscoring the need to be careful and inspect watercraft and trailers. “It grows fast, too, and will quickly cover the water surface, shading out all light.”

Giant Salvinia up close

Giant Salvinia up close

The plant’s dangerous growth habitat is spoken in its scientific name. The floating plant does best in slow-moving canals, backwaters or ponds. It can double the amount of surface area it covers in a week’s time and create a deep carpet—a shroud three feet thick. That’s troublesome for boating, fishing, waterfowl hunting, not to mention the value of private property associated with infested waters.

Then there’s water delivery associated with public works, part of the reason Naugle performs his labor. Downstream of Palo Verde Irrigation District Drain are dams and water intake structures. Giant salvinia has accumulated and clogged structures in the past. But not so much anymore; Naugle has been successful at controlling the plant. He continues to keep a watch out, and herbicidal treatments are fewer and fewer because of his diligence.

“Once giant salvinia gets established,” says Britton, “it will likely never be eradicated entirely. Prevention is the first measure—and it’s cheaper than what it takes to control the plant.” To learn more, visit www.fws.gov/southwest

How Do They Track Lake Erie Walleyes?

E-Z Pass for Fish Helps Track Lake Erie Walleyes

Written by Christina Dierkes Technical Editor, Ohio Sea Grant [email protected]
from The Fishing Wire

For about six years, students in Ohio State University’s Stone Lab’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Scholarship Program have participated in a multi-state walleye movement and mortality study in Lake Erie.

Using acoustic telemetry, researchers from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) and similar agencies across the region are tracking the movement of fish including Walleye, an important sport fish, to better understand how the fish travel throughout the lake during their life cycle.

In a contributing project funded by Ohio Sea Grant, ODNR researcher Dr. Chris Vandergoot is implanting acoustic trackers into Walleye spawning below a dam located in Ballville Township, just outside of Fremont, Ohio. The trackers in the fish, along with receivers placed throughout Lake Erie and neighboring lakes and streams, act much like the E-ZPass system in place on many U.S. turnpikes.

“Each of the receivers acts like a toll booth, and each fish with a transmitter in it is like a car,” Vandergoot said. “So when you drive by an E-ZPass station on the highway, it records what time you were there, and in which direction you were heading. When a fish swims by these receivers, the system basically does the same thing; it logs when a fish was swimming by that receiver.”

Stone Lab's Research Experience for Undergraduates

Stone Lab’s Research Experience for Undergraduates

Students in Stone Lab’s Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) Scholarship Program have worked with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources on tracking fish in Lake Erie for about six years. Many have gone on to present the research at conferences, or to jobs in similar fields.

When combined with data on each individual fish – they’re aged and sexed when the transmitters are implanted – researchers can determine where fish go between spawning seasons, whether they return to the same spawning location, and if they spawn every year or take “reproductive holidays” on occasion.

Receiver data is shared on the Great Lakes Acoustic Telemetry Observation System (GLATOS) website, along with general information about the research projects and instructions for anglers who find a transmitter tag in their catch.

“For the first time we can actually follow fish and see what they’re doing,” said Vandergoot. “We’re not relying upon anglers to turn in tags like we historically did.”

Of course, the researchers aren’t just digitally following fish around the lake for fun. “This is very cool science stuff, but at the end of the day this needs to be able to address management questions,” Vandergoot said.

Spawning site fidelity – whether fish return to their “home” stream or reef to spawn – is an important consideration when making management decisions concerning sport fish like Walleye in Lake Erie. For population modeling purposes, it is important for biologist to understand the origin of Lake Erie Walleye as well as where they go over the course of their lives.

Stone Lab REU students have participated in research related to GLATOS for about six years, examining everything from how to best anesthetize a fish for the transmitter implant surgery to how well fish survive after being released back into the lake or after the stress of a spawning season.

The REU program allows students to work one-on-one with professional Lake Erie scientists on an independent research project while taking a Stone Lab course. Selected students receive a full scholarship to Stone Lab, including room and board, and often go on to present their projects at academic conferences, giving them a head start on graduate school or science careers.

One of those students is Zach Steffensmeier, currently a junior in environmental science at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. During the summer of 2015, he worked with Vandergoot on a Fisheries Management REU, analyzing transmitter data and assessing Walleye mortality during spawning seasons in 2013 and 2014. In addition, he was able to work with ODNR staff to collect receiver data in western Lake Erie.

“I heard about Stone Lab back in high school, and went for a weeklong aquatic biology class,” he said. “I just loved being out there, and when I was looking for a summer job this past year, I thought it would be great to go back there. I also really wanted to do research, so this was the best opportunity for me.”

In addition to gaining experience in hands-on research and delivering a scientific presentation, the REU also solidified Steffensmeier’s goal to work in the same field in the future.

“I want to do something with fish, that’s for sure,” he said. “I enjoy being outside in the field for fieldwork, so I’m definitely interested in being a fisheries biologist, whether that’s through the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, through EPA, or at a university as a professor.”

And with recommendation letters from Stone Lab and Ohio Department of Natural Resources staff, he’s well on his way to one of those careers.

The larger GLATOS project involves agencies in Ohio, Michigan, Ontario, New York and Pennsylvania, as well as the Great Lakes Fishery Commission and the United States Geological Survey’s Lake Erie Biological Station, and funding from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) and Ohio Sea Grant. Overall, close to $1 million in assets are involved in this fisheries management effort.

“These projects are very large, and no one funding source can pull these off,” Vandergoot said. “But when you bring different collaborators together with all these different resources, we’re able to do amazing things.”

(From the January 2016 issue of Ohio Sea Grant eNewsletter. To subscribe, visit https://ohioseagrant.osu.edu/news/subscribe)

Streambank Restoration on Private Land

Streambank Restoration on Private Land is Putting More Brookies in Your Favorite Fishing Hole

Today’s feature comes to us from the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership

By Ariel Wiegard, TRCP
Why CRP works for trout and other freshwater fish
from The Fishing Wire

The national Conservation Reserve Program is 30! The CRP was signed into law by President Reagan as part of the Farm Bill on December 23, 1985, to help agricultural producers to voluntarily conserve soil, water, and wildlife. The TRCP and our partners are celebrating the 30th anniversary of CRP throughout 2016, by highlighting the successes of this popular bipartisan program—regarded by many as the greatest private lands conservation initiative in U.S. history. Here on our blog, we’re devoting a series of posts to the critters that have seen tremendous habitat benefits: upland birds, wild turkeys, waterfowl, and freshwater fish. CRP works for wildlife, and it works for sportsmen.

On this blog, we’ve written a lot about the Conservation Reserve Program and how it benefits wildlife. Because the program incentivizes landowners to use their land for conservation instead of for crops, it makes sense that a lot of the program’s results would visible on the landscape itself, where pheasants, turkeys, ducks, and the other wildlife benefit from upland and wetland cover. But CRP is also working beneath the surface, and improved water quality downstream is giving brookies and other fish a serious boost.

CRP enhances the watershed

In the Chesapeake Bay watershed, anglers are counting on a CRP initiative known as the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP), which targets high priority conservation projects on a local, rather than a national, level. Federal resources for CREP are often augmented by the state where the project takes place, meaning more funding is available for landowners to implement conservation.

The various Chesapeake Bay watershed states each have their own version of CREP, but they share a goal of helping to “Save the Bay,” which has been degraded over time by runoff from agriculture, industry, and cities. All throughout the watershed, landowners are voluntarily enrolling thousands of acres along waterways large and small to help make the Bay fishable and swimmable.

When it comes to agricultural land, one of the most important things the CREP can do is keep cattle out of farm streams by paying farmers to build fences. When they wade around and into the water, cows eat the plants that shade banks and provide cover for critters and insects. Plus, cattle hooves quickly erode stream banks, allowing farm nutrients and sediment to flow into the water. Cows also defecate in the water, further affecting the biology of the stream.

Free Flowing Stream

Free Flowing Stream

Image courtesy Scott Robinson/Flickr.

The end result is terrible for native fish like brook trout. Lack of shade can dramatically raise the temperature of the water, which, aside from generally causing fish stress, lowers oxygen levels. Where trout spawn, heavy sediment and cow pies turn gravelly stream beds to muck, making it impossible for fish to lay their eggs. Brookies need consistently cold, clear water with a high level of dissolved oxygen to live, feed, and reproduce, but cow pasture streams tend to be hot, muddy, and suffocating.

That’s why groups like Trout Unlimited have rallied around a special CREP effort in the headwaters of the Potomac River, which flows into Chesapeake Bay. The resources that TU can deliver to farmers through CREP are often greater than what other state or federal conservation programs can offer, which means the infrastructure these projects create, like fences and bridges, is often higher quality and has a long shelf life—often as long as a 10- to 15-year CREP contract. And because CREP offers a rental payment for each acre of land taken out of agricultural production, farmers can afford to commit more acres of streamside land to the program and place cow fences further back from the stream bank—at least 35 feet, but sometimes as much as 300 feet on both sides. Given this room to breathe, floodplains can replenish the natural ecosystem over time.

Aside from fencing for cattle, TU’s dedication to this program has helped farmers to plant mature trees and native grasses along waterways, stabilizing the banks and providing the shade that is absolutely critical to regulating water temperature. Cooler streams are more fishable. And Chesapeake Bay farmers want that as much as anglers do.

Healthy Systems, Not Just Healthy Pools

Many farmers have inherited land from family, and they remember their grandfathers teaching them to fish on a particular bank—they want to be able to teach their grandchildren to do the same, and maybe reclaim a little bit of their own childhood in the process. To date, tens of thousands of acres of stream buffers have been applied throughout the watershed, and brookies are returning as a result. Of course, privately-owned stream banks, no matter how well restored, may not be accessible for most anglers in the region. But every step in conservation is incremental, and the impacts multiply both upstream and downstream.

Brook Trout

Brook Trout

Image courtesy USFWS.

Restored headwaters, even if they are private, serve as spawning grounds and nurseries for the entire river system. Work that has been done over the last twenty years has helped to restore large, healthy populations of native brook trout to the system, greatly reducing the need to stock the streams each spring. These native trout tend to grow larger, live longer, and travel farther than their stocked cousins. In fact, they have been tracked swimming from their West Virginia headwaters to popular public fishing areas like Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and the Potomac River flowing straight through Washington, D.C. Of course, each restored acre will ensure that those downstream waters will be cooler and cleaner, too, thanks to the fast-flowing, gravelly headwaters upstream.

Programs like CREP incentivize healthy systems, not just isolated healthy pools, and brook trout are an indicator of that health. If a headwater stream has brookies, the top-level native aquatic predator, its river banks will also have good habitat for a variety of wildlife and be full of fish food like frogs, mayflies, and crickets. There will be sufficient shade from mature trees, and the stream bed will be gravelly and have places for young fish to hide. The CRP, with its local habitat enhancement program, can’t accomplish this alone, but it is certainly an important tool for helping farmers and landowners to do the right thing for fish and sportsmen.

Ariel Wiegard

Ariel Wiegard joined the TRCP in November 2014. As Director of the Center for Agricultural Lands, she works with TRCP’s partners to enact policies that both balance the needs of production agriculture with the needs of fish and wildlife, and that sustain and enhance recreational access to wildlife habitat locked up in private lands. Outside of the office, you’ll find Ariel and her husband hiking, upland hunting, foraging, and cooking what they find in field and forest. She is usually accompanied by her German Shorthaired Pointer, Argos.

Gulf Red Snapper

Gulf Red Snapper Fishery Management

Red Snapper

Red Snapper

Editor’s Note: The following is an opinion piece by Louisiana Congressman Garrett Graves in response to a story that ran across the Gulf Coast recently (http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2016/01/kingpins_of_the_gulf_make_mill.html) . As you’ll read, Congressman Graves is among those quite unhappy with the way the Gulf of Mexico’s plentiful red snapper fishery is being managed.
from The Fishing Wire

How would you feel if the federal government took all of the gold in Fort Knox and gave it to a few dozen unelected, unaccountable people to decide how to manage it behind closed doors? How would you feel if that same small group unsurprisingly decided to split the country’s gold among themselves – each becoming multi-millionaires? If our government gave away the public’s property for free and allowed millionaires to be born overnight by diverting that public’s property to themselves, I’d be pretty upset – and I am.

As Ben Raines’ weekend article in the Times Picayune and AL.com illuminated, the federal government has hand-picked dozens of multi-millionaire “Sea Lords” by allowing them to control the red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. While these select few “Sea Lords” are making millions from our fish, the season for recreational anglers – who used to be able to fish for red snapper all year long – has been absurdly diminished. In 2015, the recreational red snapper season was ten days.

The agency charged with managing our national fishery, the National Marine Fisheries Service, conducted a study on the health of red snapper fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico. You’ll be shocked to learn that federal government’s methodology and results were grossly inadequate. Their analysis failed to include reef areas – the actual habitat of red snapper, a reef fish. Think about that. It’s like looking for polar bears in Louisiana, finding none, and declaring the population to be at risk of extinction.

Let me be clear, the sustainability of our fisheries is paramount. It is critical that we employ the best science to responsibly manage them and to support their long-term viability. It’s no secret that Louisiana is home to some of the nation’s top restaurants that rely on the supply of fresh, wild seafood to meet demand. Some argue that expanding recreational access would lead to overfishing and threaten commercial interests. This mentality has bred the current system of a government sanctioned oligarchy that monopolizes a public resource. And it has punished tens of thousands of families across the Gulf Coast that enjoy fishing in Sportsman’s Paradise. Luckily, there is another way.

In July of last year, I introduced HR 3094, the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act in the US House of Representatives. The bill simply gives the five Gulf States’ Wildlife Departments the authority to manage the red snapper that live offshore their coast. This approach favors local control and would transfer management decisions to the professionals who are closest to the fishery. In Louisiana for example, our Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has demonstrated a commitment to using the best science to sustainability manage our fisheries through efforts like the agency’s LA Creel program, which helps to provide an accurate count of red snapper fish stocks in our coastal waters. Today, HR 3094 has nearly 30 bipartisan sponsors from across the nation.

The fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico are public property and should be enjoyed by all – not managed like a long-abandoned “sharecropper” model that enriches a select few. Sometimes all it takes is a little sunshine on bad policy to fix things. To quote Herbert Hoover, “all men are equal before fish.” Let’s enact HR 3094 so we can ALL enjoy the Gulf’s bounty.

– Garret Graves, Member of Congress

Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic Salmon: A Species in Need of a Spotlight

NOAA Fisheries
from The Fishing Wire

Atlantic Salmon

Atlantic Salmon

“The coincidence, at least, in the erection of the dams, and the enormous diminution in the number of the Alewives, and the decadence of the inshore cod fishery, is certainly very remarkable. It is probable, also, that the mackerel fisheries have suffered in the same way, as these fish find in the young Menhaden and Alewives an attractive bait. The same remarks as to the agency of the Alewives in attracting the deep-sea fishes to the shores and especially near the mouths of rivers, apply in a proportional degree to the Shad and salmon.”

-Marshall McDonald, 1884.

Atlantic salmon are an iconic New England species. In addition to the ecosystem role these fish play, they have been an important indicator of economic health in our region. Atlantic salmon once supported lucrative commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as the small bait shops, gear stores, and amenities for fishermen that contributed to the economy. Before this, Atlantic salmon were important to Native American tribes for historical and cultural reasons. Tribes relied on watersheds and their natural abundance of sea-run fish, including Atlantic salmon, for physical and spiritual sustenance.

In the 1900s Atlantic salmon from Maine were so highly valued that for more than 80 years, the first one caught in the Penobscot River each spring was presented to the U.S. President. The last Presidential salmon was caught in May 1992 by Claude Westfall, who presented a 9.5 pound Atlantic salmon to President George H.W. Bush. Westfall’s was the last presidential salmon because there are now too few adult salmon to sacrifice one even for the President.

Because of significant declines in returning Atlantic salmon, the Atlantic salmon commercial fishery closed in 1948, and the recreational fishery closed in all Maine waters in 2008. In 2000, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service listed Gulf of Maine Atlantic salmon as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act. The fish, which were historically native to almost every river north of the Hudson, had only remnant wild populations in 11 rivers, all of them in Maine. In the 15 years since their 2000 listing, Gulf of Maine Atlantic salmon have not shown signs of improvement.

To draw attention to this iconic species and our plan for saving it from extinction, NOAA Fisheries recently launched the “Species in the Spotlight—Survive to Thrive” initiative. Atlantic salmon are one of the eight highly at-risk species in the nation that we have identified as needing special attention. These endangered species have declining populations, but also have a high probability of survival if we can marshal the resources to turn their trajectories around.

As part of the Species in the Spotlight initiative, we developed a five-year roadmap to aid the recovery of Atlantic salmon. The plan, which will be released in early 2016, outlines specific actions to save this species and will involve our regional partners in conservation. The primary focus of the plan is to restore access and quality to river habitat in Maine and work to better understand and address threats in the marine environment.

SALMON IN RIVERS ARE LIKE CANARIES IN A COAL MINE

Atlantic Salmon at dam

Atlantic Salmon at dam


Atlantic salmon are anadromous fish which means they spend a portion of their lives in freshwater and a portion in the ocean. Anadromous fish are indicators that the links between freshwater, estuarine, and marine ecosystems are clean and well-connected. The connections within the ecosystem are so strong that many of the factors that are impacting salmon’s survival are also affecting other species such as American shad, alewives and even some marine fish stocks such as Atlantic cod. Healthy anadromous fish populations support important marine food webs, providing a forage base for commercially important species like striped bass, cod, and haddock. When river systems are blocked or are too polluted to support these fish populations, the effects are felt throughout the entire ecosystem. The return of Atlantic salmon, along with other anadromous fish, would indicate the return of a healthy and connected system.

FROM RIVER TO SEA: TOO MANY DAMS

“The principal decline in the New England salmon fishery considerably antedated 1880, however, and was coincident with the erection of dams or other barriers to the passage of fish” – C. Atkins (1894).

One complicating factor for Atlantic salmon is that they are anadromous fish. When they return from the seas between Northeastern Canada and Greenland to the rivers to spawn, hundreds of dams block or impair their ability to reach the critical freshwater habitats that are still capable of supporting spawning. As noted in the quote above, this problem was created over many, many years and so, it will take time to restore connectivity for this species.

Listing Atlantic salmon as endangered in 2000, and expanding the listing to include large rivers like the Penobscot and Kennebec in 2009, helped spur 35 fishway constructions and dam removal projects in Maine, including the removal of two major hydroelectic dams (Great Works and Veazie) as part of the Penobscot River Restoration Project. Since the Penobscot River is home to roughly 75 percent of the adult Atlantic salmon returns in the U.S., restoring access to this river is particularly important. In the Penobscot River basin alone, there are still more than 130 dams that block or impede access to approximately 90 percent of salmon’s historic spawning and nursery habitat. There is still much work to be done.

REMOVALS LEAD TO RETURNS

Dam removals can bring back fish to habitat that was previously inaccessible. After the removals of the Fort Halifax Dam (2008) and the Edwards Dam (1999) on the Kennebec River, alewife and blueback herring (collectively called river herring) returns increased from less than 100,000 in 2006 to more than 2,150,000 in 2015. Similarly, on the Penobscot River, after the Great Works (2012) and Veazie (2013) Dam removals, along with improved passage at other upstream dams, documented returns of river herring increased from 2,000 in 2011 to an estimated 585,000 in 2015. Roughly 1,800 American shad passed the Milford Dam (now the first dam on the Penobscot River) for the first time in 100 years. Additionally, in Fall 2015, researchers found three endangered shortnose sturgeon in habitat upstream of the Veazie Dam remnants for the first time in a century. In 2015, biologists counted 731 Atlantic salmon at the Milford fish lift. (See map of Penobscot River Restoration Project).

STEPS TO RECOVERY

Our five-year action plan outlines specific actions to stop the decline of this species and put it on a path towards recovery, including restoration of the ecological connections between the freshwater and marine environment and restoration of habitat quality. Among the pieces of the plan are to: review hydroelectric power plant dams up for licensing to ensure that they have effective fish passage; encourage removal of dams and other barriers to fish passage where possible; work with other countries to limit Atlantic salmon catch in the ocean; and, continue research and monitoring of Atlantic salmon.

You can help by encouraging or participating in programs to conserve and restore land and water resources that benefit migratory fish and promote abundant, suitable and accessible habitats for Atlantic salmon. This can include working with communities to remove or provide passage around blockages such as round culverts or dams that block or impair movement of Atlantic salmon, maintaining forested riparian areas around rivers and streams, and implementing land use practices that protect streams from pollution and excessive erosion.

For more information on this initiative and what you can do to help Atlantic salmon, please contact Kim Damon-Randall, Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources at [email protected].

Red Snapper Management in the Gulf of Mexico

Thank You, Shelby, Graves and Scott

Editor’s Note: Today’s feature comes to us from Jeff Angers at the Center for Coastal Conservation.
from The Fishing Wire

Recreational anglers got an early Christmas present this year, and if you live in Alabama, Georgia or Louisiana, you have a Member of your state’s Congressional delegation to thank for it.

Alabama’s senior Senator, Richard T. Shelby and U.S. Representatives Garrett Graves (R-La.) and Austin Scott (R-Ga.) spearheaded a series of provisions in the year-end spending bill that are very important for red snapper management in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mindful of the federal government’s bungling of the fishery and obviously aware of the impact recreational anglers have on the economy of the Gulf coast, the provisions require the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to fund and incorporate agency-independent stock assessments for Gulf reef fish, including the red snapper.

Unlike previous surveys, this one will actually include the many artificial reefs (including offshore oil-and-gas structures) where the red snapper actually are!

Best of all, recreational anglers will get an increased allocation from any increases in the red snapper population that are discovered in the new assessment.

The three legislators should also be congratulated for giving state fisheries managers a greater role in managing the fishery; the measure also includes an extension of the state fishery management boundaries from three to nine miles from shore in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.

We all owe a debt of gratitude to these legislators, but if you live in Alabama, Georgia or Louisiana, please take a moment to personally thank Sen. Shelby, Rep. Scott or Rep. Graves.

Let them know their work is appreciated by recreational anglers like us – but also by hotels, restaurants, tackle shops and marine dealers all across the Gulf. They are the real winners whenever recreational anglers go out on the water.

Why Reclassify West Indian Manatee from Endangered to Threatened?

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to Reclassify West Indian Manatee from Endangered to Threatened

(Editor’s Note: Not to say “we told you so”, but here’s the latest on the status of the manatee, from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service)
from The Fishing Wire

Endangered Species Act Protections Helped Rescue Beloved Southeastern Sea Cow from Brink of Extinction; Service will Continue to Lead Conservation Actions to Increase Species Population, Reduce Threats & Improve Habitat Conditions

MIAMI, Fla. – As a result of significant improvements in its population and habitat conditions and reductions in direct threats, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) announced today that the West Indian manatee is proposed to be downlisted from endangered to threatened status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The proposal to downlist the manatee to threatened will not affect federal protections currently afforded by the ESA, and the Service remains committed to conservation actions to fully recover manatee populations.

The ESA defines an endangered species as one currently in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, and a threatened species as one that is likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future. Given its review of the best scientific and commercial data available, including analyses of threats and populations, the Service proposes that the West Indian manatee no longer falls within the ESA’s definition of endangered and should be reclassified as threatened. The Service will publish its proposal in the Federal Register tomorrow, beginning a 90-day comment period during which the public is invited to submit scientific or technical information that will aid the agency in reaching its final decision.

“The manatee is one of the most charismatic and instantly recognizable species,” said Michael Bean, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks at the Department of the Interior. “It’s hard to imagine the waters of Florida without them, but that was the reality we were facing before manatees were listed under the Endangered Species Act. While there is still more work to be done to fully recover manatee populations, their numbers are climbing and the threats to the species’ survival are being reduced. Today’s proposal is a positive step that recognizes the progress citizens, conservation groups, the State of Florida, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and our own Service employees have made working together.”

The manatee protection measures currently in place would remain in force if the species is downlisted from endangered to threatened. These measures by the Service, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, other state and federal agencies, and industries resulted in the establishment of over 50 manatee protection areas and have played a key role in reversing the species’ decline. Retrofitted water control structures have resulted in significant decreases in manatee fatalities, and power companies are working cooperatively with federal and state conservation managers to address warm water outflows at wintering manatee congregation sites. Florida counties have made significant progress in developing and implementing manatee protection plans and siting boat facilities to reduce boater impacts on manatees.

The Service works with the Coast Guard to enforce manatee protection areas and minimize collisions with high-speed boats. Significant advances have also been made in reducing the threat from entanglement in fishing gear. Additionally, manatee rescue, rehabilitation and release organizations help save dozens of manatees yearly, with a majority successfully released back into the wild.

Today, the range-wide minimum known population is estimated to be at least 13,000 manatees, with more than 6,300 in Florida. When aerial surveys began in 1991, there were only an estimated 1,267 manatees in Florida, meaning that over the last 25 years there’s been a 500 percent increase in the species population in that state.

“The manatee’s recovery is incredibly encouraging and a great testament to the conservation actions of many,” said Cindy Dohner, the Service’s Southeast Regional Director, in conjunction with an event at the Miami Seaquarium to announce the Service’s proposal. “Today’s proposal is not only about recognizing this progress, but it’s also about recommitting ourselves to ensuring the manatee’s long-term success and recovery.

“As part of its balanced approach to the recovery of the manatee, the Service recognizes that even as it proposes to update the manatee’s status under the ESA with this proposal, it may at times need to strengthen protection for the species in specific local areas,” Dohner added. “For example, the Service is reviewing comments on a proposal to establish greater protection for manatees at Three Sisters Springs, which is part of the agency’s Crystal River National Wildlife Refuge north of Tampa, Florida.”

The manatee also remains protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Today’s action follows an extensive review of the threats the species faces, and the conservation actions put into place to help recover the manatee. The proposal relies on the most recent science and recommendations from a 2007 West Indian Manatee Five-Year Status Review. It also serves as a 12-month finding in response to a petition filed by the Pacific Legal Foundation and Save Crystal River, Inc. In its review, the Service considered the status of the West Indian manatee throughout its range. West Indian manatees are found in the southeastern United States, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Central America, South America, and Greater and Lesser Antilles.

The finding and additional information is available online at the Federal eRulemaking Portal: www.regulations.gov. In the Keyword box, enter Docket Number FWS-R4-ES-2015-0178. Background information on the Florida and Antillean sub-species is available at www.fws.gov/southeast/wildlife/mammal/manatee.

To ensure the Service’s review is complete and based on the best available scientific and commercial information, the Service is requesting information concerning the status of the West Indian manatee throughout its entire range (see range map). Specifically, the Service seeks information on the manatee’s biology, distribution, abundance, population trends, demographics and genetics; habitat conditions; the threat posed by climate change; past and ongoing conservation measures that have been implemented for the species, its habitat or both; threat status and trends within the geographical range; and a wide variety of other information.

Public comments on this proposal can be made until April 7, 2016. To learn more about how to submit comments as well as locations for future public hearings on the proposal, see Frequently Asked Questions.

The ESA plays a critical role in conserving and recovering our most at-risk wildlife, and has prevented the extinction of 99 percent of the species originally listed as threatened or endangered. Listing a species such as the manatee brings worldwide attention to its plight and drives coordinated conservation efforts across a range of potential partners. The ESA also provides crucial conservation funding for recovery efforts to reduce threats, protect and restore habitats, and increase populations.

The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. For more information on our work and the people who can make it happen, visit www.fws.gov.

Why Are Recreational Fishermen Being Pushed Out of Red Snapper Fishing?

Court ruling clears way for charter/for-hire privatization scheme
from The Fishing Wire

Gulf of Mexico red snapper anglers are out of options under federal management.

NEW ORLEANS, LA – A federal District Court judge has ruled that Amendment 40 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico will be allowed to stand, clearing the way for a new charter/for-hire sector in red snapper fishing and reserving a significant percentage of the recreational quota exclusively for its use.

Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) filed the lawsuit against Amendment 40, also known as sector separation, on behalf of anglers who have seen their access to the red snapper fishery steadily diminish under federal management while both the commercial and charter/for-hire sectors are positioned to reap windfalls.

“The great risk in these kinds of cases is that the court will simply defer to the federal agency charged with managing public resources and, unfortunately, that is what the court chose to do in this case.” said Bill Bird, chairman of CCA’s National Government Relations Committee. “NOAA Fisheries is committed to privatizing public marine resources for the benefit of private businesses at the expense of recreational anglers. We are deeply disappointed that the judge missed an opportunity to correct this misguided federal management philosophy, but it is certainly not the end of our efforts to get this fishery managed properly, for the greatest benefit to our nation.”

The ruling makes it unlikely that recreational anglers fishing from their own boats will see an improvement from the 2015 red snapper season in which they had nine days to fish, compared to 44 for charter/for-hire operators and year-round for commercial vessels. Separating sectors, awarding private property rights to public resources to some and denying access to other is a dysfunctional management philosophy that sets the stage for a never-ending series of user conflicts under federal management.

“This is another frustrating development in a fishery that has been defined by failure and misguided policies for decades, but it does prove that state management is now the only viable avenue out of this mess,” said Bird. “We are more committed than ever to working with Congress to transfer responsibility for the red snapper fishery away from the federal government and let the Gulf States manage it.”

Congress is aware there are significant problems in the Gulf red snapper fishery and is moving to address it. Last month, language was inserted into the Fiscal Year 2016 appropriations bill by Sen. Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) that extended all Gulf state waters to 9 miles and sought to improve red snapper allocation and stock assessments. That bill was signed into law, and both Alabama and Louisiana announced immediately they will extend their boundaries from 3 to 9 miles, greatly increasing the potential areas for anglers to harvest red snappers. There has been no announcement from Mississippi thus far.

A bill introduced by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La.) H.R. 3094 – the Gulf States Red Snapper Management Authority Act – will grant legal recognition to a plan adopted by the Fish and Wildlife agencies of all five Gulf states to assume management of the Gulf red snapper in federal waters. The bill currently has 28 bi-partisan co-sponsors and has the support of a coalition of organizations representing the saltwater recreational fishing and boating community.