BTT Bonefish Tagging Efforts Expand to South Andros

by Zack Jud
Bonefish & Tarpon Trust
from The Fishing Wire

Last month, Bonefish and Tarpon Trust’s Bahamas Initiative waded into the fabled waters of South Andros. While a handful of bonefish had previously been tagged by guides in South Andros, this was the first large-scale tagging effort on the island. As most anglers probably know, catching a tagged bonefish (or any tagged fish for that matter!) is a once in a lifetime experience. From a research perspective, the more fish we have tagged in a given locale, the more likely we are to get valuable data from recaptures – data that we will use to identify growth rates, movement patterns, habitat use, and overall health of the area’s bonefish population.

Despite a lingering cold front and 25 knot winds, the BTT-led research team managed to tag more than 650 bonefish in four long days on the water. To even their odds in the face of ugly weather, the team reluctantly set down their fly rods (well, for the most part), and instead relied on a 250′ long soft mesh seine net to capture bonefish for tagging. Working closely with guides from Deneki’s Andros South Lodge, the researchers used the net to quietly encircle large, and oftentimes fast-moving, schools of bonefish. Unfortunately, herding bonefish into a net is a bit like herding cats…they rarely go where you want them to. All too often, a school will make a last-minute U-turn, slipping right back out of the closing net. To put the odds in their favor, the BTT team asked the guides to try to find the largest schools of bonefish possible, figuring that with enough fish in the water, they’d be bound to get a few to swim into the net. Well, the guides clearly know their fishery intimately, putting the researchers onto many huge schools of bonefish, some containing more than 1,000 fish. Worries about catching enough fish during the trip were quickly replaced by worries about running out of tags!

In the first day of tagging, a single net haul resulted in the capture of more than 400 fish (not counting several hundred more fish that managed to stay out of the net as the big school split in half). On day two, in the midst of a raging lightning storm, the team again managed to capture a huge school of bonefish, probably numbering close to 500 fish. Facing fading light and a long, rainy run back to the dock, the crew made the tough decision to call it a day before they had tagged the entire school. They ended up releasing several hundred untagged fish so they could make it home before dark. There’s just that many bonefish in South Andros! Rapidly deteriorating weather reduced the number of fish caught on the last two days of the trip, but the crew still managed to tag fish in all of the popular South Andros fishing spots – Grassy and Little Creeks, the west side, and the southern cays. We don’t want to tell a fish story, but there are some awfully big fish swimming around South Andros wearing a new piece of numbered jewelry, courtesy of BTT.

On BTT research trips, the work doesn’t stop when the boats are parked and the nets are out of the water. An important part of these trips is explaining BTT’s conservation efforts to local guides and lodge owners. Without the continued support of these folks, our work wouldn’t be possible. I am happy to report that our efforts to protect Andros’ bonefish into the future were very well received, and all of the guides and lodges in South Andros seem eager to report recaptures back to BTT. With the busy season cranking up, it’s only a matter of time before clients begin catching our tagged fish. Despite the economic value of the bonefish fishery on Andros, we still have many unanswered questions about the fish that call the island home. How big of an area do these fish use during their life? How quickly do they grow? Where do they spawn? What habitats are most important for the conservation of the species? What do we need to do to assure that the incredible South Andros fishery is protected for years to come? Although it will still be some time before significant numbers of recaptures start rolling in, the work we began last month is the first step in coming up with answers to these important conservation questions. To become a member or support our efforts in the Bahamas or support any of our other great projects, visit: www.bonefishtarpontrust.org

Nature’s Balance

By Frank Sargeant, Editor
from The Fishing Wire

It’s a common refrain anywhere anglers want to harvest more of a given species but the regulators won’t let them.’

Biologists say blue crab populations go up and down depending on water quality and habitat conditions, rather than on predatory fish like stripers.

“There are too many of these (insert your favorite species) and they’re eating up all the crabs and shrimp-we’ve got to harvest more of them in the name of conservation.”

Yeah we do.

Saltwater anglers in Florida make the charge about Goliath grouper, which they say are eating up all the gags as well as spawning permit-despite the fact that there are now more big gags than there have been in decades and permit are also doing very, very well. Commercial fishermen used to say they had to cut down on redfish numbers or all the blue crabs would soon be consumed. Didn’t happen-today the state is loaded with reds, and crabs numbers come and go, as they always have.

Sharks . . . don’t even get me started.

And presently, Chesapeake Bay commercial fishers are saying that the striped bass are eating up all the blue crabs in soft-shell stage, and that they’d be happy to step in and knock back the numbers of those predatory stripes.

This train of logic has one great failing; it is that somehow, all these species survived in balance before man came along to “help” the predators stay in balance with the prey. The problem, researchers nearly always find, is that habitat issues-sometimes caused by Man but more often by natural variation in temperature, rainfall or other conditions-are depressing the species of concern.

Blues are a delicacy both in their hard-shell form, and as soft-shells eaten whole when moulting.

And that seems to be the issue in Chesapeake Bay with the crabs at present. Crabbers there are having a down year, and they say it’s because the striped bass, on a comeback thanks to tight harvest regulations, are eating up all the crabs. They want to see regs relaxed so the stripers can be harvested big, “saving” the crabs-for the crabbers.

But here’s what Brenda Davis, director of Maryland DNR’s blue crab program, says:

“There are no scientific data to support a supposition that striped bass predation is causing a significant depletion of the Chesapeake Bay blue crab population. In fact, studies performed in Maryland and Virginia to assess the diets of striped bass indicated that blue crabs make up a small percentage of the average striped bass diet. According to an intensive study in 2000, fish, particularly menhaden, account for 94 percent by weight of the striped bass diet.

“In fact, other studies have shown that cannibalism by large crabs was a major cause of juvenile crab mortality, accounting for 75 percent to 97 percent of the loss of juvenile crabs in certain locations. Juvenile crabs find protection in grass beds, which is also where striped bass and other predators find the best opportunities for catching them. Nonetheless, crab survival is best in vegetated habitats, where they can hide. Any effort to boost crab survival needs to look toward improving habitat and the protection of sea grass beds.

“There was a combination of environmental factors contributing to the high mortality of juvenile crabs in 2012 including Tropical Storm Sandy, abnormally warm and salty water, decreases in submerged aquatic vegetation coverage, a large influx of red drum into the Maryland portion of the bay, density-dependant mortality, and a large 2011 year class of striped bass.

Striped bass readily eat crabs, but food studies have shown by far the bulk of their diet is baitfish. (Photo Credit Yamaha Marine.)

“We don’t have a lot of data on impact of most of the factors on that list. However, we do have solid data that the Bay-wide harvest of spawning age female blue crabs has been at or below the 25.5 percent harvest target for five consecutive years. The ability to keep harvest in the safe range puts us in a much better position than we’ve been in the past (specifically 1992 and 1997) with similar abundance declines,” Davis said.

To be sure, there’s more than a little evidence that terrestrial prey species with a low reproduction rate and slow rates of reaching maturity can definitely be severely impacted by predators-that’s the reason that elk herds are declining in many areas where grey wolves have been reintroduced in recent years.

But for most saltwater fish, crustaceans and shellfish, where the survival strategy is to produce millions of young that grow up fast, biologists have thus far found it pretty much unheard of for a single type of predator to wipe out a prey species.

Bottom line is that if we do our best to maintain a healthy environment for all ocean species-and don’t overharvest any of them ourselves-nature will find a balance that creates a livable abundance for all.

The Megamouth Shark Specialist: Dr. Jose Castro Discusses his Rare Expertise

Dr. Jose Castro. Photo Credit: Mote Marine Laboratory

Dr. Castro (L) and his Japanese colleagues pose in front of the Megamouth shark specimen Photo Credit: Okinawa Charaumi Aquarium

Left side of megamouth shark Left side of megamouth shark showing organs and cartilaginous skeleton Photo Credit: Okinawa Charaumi Aquarium

Megamouth sharks are one of the most elusive shark species in the world. Since their discovery in 1976, megamouths have been documented between 50 and 60 times; yet only a handful of specimens are on diplay at aquariums. Exceeded in size only by whale sharks and basking sharks, the large megamouth shark uses its wide jaws to filter for plankton in the deep-sea. Recently, biologist Dr. Jose Castro of NOAA Fisheries had a unique opportunity to help dissect a rare megamouth shark on display at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium in Japan.

They don’t call Castro a specialist for nothing. In 1994 he was part of the first ever female megamouth shark dissection at Fukuokka, Japan, and has dissected the only specimen caught in the Atlantic. We met with Castro to ask about the recent dissection and to learn more about the elusive megamouth.

How did you first get involved with megamouth shark research and dissections?

In 1994, a female megamouth was stranded in Fukuokka, Japan, and I was invited by Senzo Uchida of the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium, to help with the dissection. Everyone was particularly excited that the shark was a female because we had the opportunity to investigate reproduction questions. For years that was the only dissection of a megamouth, and to this day the majority of information known about the species comes from that one shark. Later, the Brazilians invited me to document a megamouth caught off the coast of Brazil. Of course there are more megamouths in the Atlantic, but just one confirmed specimen has been found there.

What is it like dissecting a megamouth shark?

I dissect big animals all the time. But when I was working in Japan with the dissection team led by Dr. Keiichi Sato, it was a different and fantastic experience. We were not just examining the megamouth, we were preparing an exhibit for the aquarium. On one side of the creature we removed the muscle to expose the organs and skeleton, which was made of cartilage and connective issue. Visitors could actually see the animal’s anatomy. The dissection was a difficult and time-consuming process, and it didn’t help that the animal was preserved before we started, so the smell was horrible.

What do you hope people will learn from the megamouth display at the Okinawa Churami Aquarium?

The Okinawa Aquarium is one of the greatest in the world. The previous director, Senzo Uchida, was the first person to successfully keep whale sharks and manta rays in captivity. The research and curiosity behind the scenes give the public a chance to see what these creatures are really like. The megamouth specimen will be a part of a very unique filter-feeder exhibit along with the head of a 27-foot basking shark. I hope this will spark interest in the visitors the way it has for the scientists.

How does your work make a difference in shark management?

We have done a good job managing shark fisheries in this country, but not on an international scale. Sharks are among the last group of large vertebrates being destroyed by humans, and it has taken us a long time to realize we need new methods. Shark finning and other practices threaten the future of sharks, and we need international cooperation to make a difference. Luckily, the pursuit of science bridges countries and connects people to our oceans.

What is the one thing you want the public to know about megamouth sharks?

We hardly know anything about this shark. Through tagging we know that it goes up and down in different depths at night, but tags cannot tell us the bigger picture of what the shark is doing and why. The most we have learned about these creatures is through necropsies, or looking at them after they’ve died. We have yet to discover everything about these mystifying creatures: their behavior, reproduction, physiology, and some anatomical features. The first one was discovered in 1976, but didn’t become known outside the science community until 1983. I think the megamouth shark shows how little we know about the oceans. A lot remains to be discovered, even about these large animals.

Florida’s Permit Fishery: An Update from the FFWCC
from The Fishing Wire

Permit is a species on the bucket-list of many anglers world-wide. Here’s a review of the fishery in Florida, where they’re found both on the flats and over deep water reefs.

Permit is a highly sought-after fish in Florida. Learn about the current and historical status of this fishery.

Permit (Trachinotus falcatus) have long been sought after by commercial and recreational fishers on Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Though this species is a prized catch, little is known about the status of the permit fishery. Commercial landings are relatively low; however, recreational landings data are scarce and there is still much to learn about the permit’s basic biology. That’s why Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) biologists, in collaboration with Bonefish and Tarpon Trust and Costa Del Mar, are conducting a multi-year study on permit biology, life history and movement patterns.

The study relies on anglers tagging and fin-clipping, which is collecting a tissue sample, permit they catch and release. Biologists can then track movement patterns (e.g., reefs to shore, reef to reef, inshore to offshore, south to north) when anglers recapture and report catches of tagged permit. In addition, FWRI scientists are conducting genetic analysis of fin clips to assess permit population structure and determine whether permit throughout Florida’s coastal and inshore waters share a single genetic stock. This valuable data can help Florida’s fishery managers determine the best management methods for permit. To learn more about how anglers can contribute to this research, read the article Tag a Permit for Research Gains.

This permit is fitted with a tag that will allow researchers to track when and where the fish is caught again if it is recaptured in the future.

History of the Fishery

Commercial landings accounted for the majority of the statewide permit landings before the net limitation amendment (Amendment Three to the Florida Constitution) went into effect July 1, 1995, making use of entangling nets (e.g., gill nets, trammel nets) illegal. Since then, the majority of permit has been taken by the recreational sector, which accounted for 82 percent of permit landings from 2001 to 2007 on average.

Commercial landings have been declining since 1998, which can be partially attributed to changes in commercial regulations. Fishers target permit in the 1.5- to 3-pound range, which is characteristic of permit of legal harvest size. Most commercial fishers along the Gulf Coast (where most of the landings come from) land less than 500 pounds of permit annually. This equates to approximately 250 fish or less, which is a relatively small number of fish compared to other commercial fisheries. In fact, the monthly average weight of permit landed per trip from 2006 to 2010 was less than 55 pounds for all months but August, when it was 75 pounds.

In 2011, the FWC eliminated all directed commercial harvest of permit in state and federal waters off Florida. Since then, only 100 permit may be kept as bycatch by commercial fishers who hold a saltwater products license and a restricted species license and who are legally fishing for other species with gill or entangling nets in federal waters outside a Special Permit Zone, so landings remain low. The Special Permit Zone, an area in south Florida that includes all state and federal waters south of Cape Florida and south of Cape Sable, was created by the FWC in 2011 to provide additional protection to the species. There is no direct or indirect commercial harvest of permit inside the Special Permit Zone.

The recreational fishing sector accounts for the majority of statewide permit landings and most are taken along the Gulf Coast. However, recreational permit landings have increased along the Atlantic coast since 1997. The most productive months for recreational permit fishing appear to be March through June with a peak in April, based on estimates using Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey data (1982-2009). This coincides with the start of permit spawning season. There is a secondary peak in catches from November through January when permit aggregate at warm-water areas such as around power plants, allowing recreational anglers to more easily find them.

Permit are targeted by some anglers for catch-and-release sport fishing, but they are also commonly harvested and eaten. Data from 2004 to 2007 show anglers harvested an average of 59 percent of the recreationally caught permit. Since permit form large schools that will gather by reefs and wrecks for days at a time, they can be easily targeted by spear-fishers and hook-and-line anglers once the schools are located, especially during spawning season. In 2011, the FWC implemented regulations to protect adult permit aggregations found along Florida’s wrecks and reefs from too much fishing pressure. Managers also changed size and bag limits and established a closed harvest from May through July inside the Special Permit Zone. The closed season equates to catch-and-release fishing only during spawning. Both of these changes help to protect both juvenile and adult permit.

For a map of the Special Permit Zone, visit the Permit, Florida pompano and African pompano regulations page. For up-to-date permit fishing regulations, always check the FWC Saltwater Fishing Regulations.

Back in Black: Black Sea Bass Stock is Rebuilt
from The Fishing Wire

Today’s feature from NOAA not only gives insight into the restoration of black sea bass, but into how the Magnuson-Stevens Act is designed to work–and sometimes does work.

The southern stock of black sea bass has been successfully rebuilt and annual catch limits will now more than double.

The wait wasn’t easy but it’s over. In May of this year, NOAA scientists declared the southern stock of black sea bass successfully rebuilt. The short seasons and low catch limits that fishermen have endured in recent years are about to pay off-the catch limit for this popular fish will more than double this fall.

The southern stock of black sea bass, which ranges from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Florida Keys, was declared overfished in 2005. The following year, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council implemented the rebuilding plan, which ended successfully this past spring.

The rebuilding plan was required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that governs the nation’s marine fisheries. The Act requires that overfishing end immediately, that overfished stocks be rebuilt, and that stocks be subject to annual catch limits.

“This shows that catch limits work,” said Jack McGovern, the South Atlantic Branch Chief for NOAA Fisheries. “People are seeing more black sea bass than they have since the 1970s.” The fish are also larger on average and are showing up in places where they haven’t been seen in decades.

The southern stock of black sea bass is only the latest to cross the rebuilding finish line. A total of 34 stocks have now been rebuilt since 2000.

Increased Opportunity for Fishermen

For Robert Johnson, a charter boat captain out of St. Augustine, Florida, this will mean a longer fishing season and more customers. “We’re a tourist-driven economy here in Florida,” Johnson said, noting that hotels and restaurants in his area are also looking forward to a longer fishing season.

Black sea bass is a popular species among recreational anglers throughout its range. That’s because in addition to being a particularly tasty fish, black sea bass are relatively accessible. “The nice thing about black sea bass is you don’t need a million-dollar boat to catch them,” Johnson said.

Tom Burgess is a commercial fisherman out of Sneed’s Ferry, North Carolina. Like most commercial black sea bass fishermen, he catches the fish in baited pots. “What we’re experiencing now was worth the wait,” said Burgess, who expects his income to rise with the catch limit.

Catch Limits and Accountability Measures Make Rebuilding Possible

In 2005, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council considered two alternative rebuilding strategies. One cut catch limits steeply up front but allowed them to rise steadily as the stock rebuilt. The other involved less pain initially but held catch limits constant for the duration of the plan. The Council chose the constant catch plan.

As the black sea bass stock was rebuilding, there was pressure to let up on the catch limits. People were seeing more fish, and they wanted to catch them.

“There were a lot of frustrated fishermen out there,” Robert Johnson said.

But the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that catch limits be set at a level that prevents overfishing and that the limits include accountability measures. These measures ensure that, if the annual catch limit is met early or exceeded, then any overages are balanced out with in-season closures, a reduced catch the following year, or other corrective measures.

It is this combination of annual catch limits and accountability measures that give the rebuilding requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Act their force. Without them, the black sea bass stock might have followed what was once a more common trajectory, with any increase in numbers being quickly fished down.

Instead, the stock was rebuilt, which means that the population is now large enough to produce its maximum sustainable yield-the largest annual catch that won’t cause the population to diminish over time. Managing stocks at or near this level allows fishermen to extract the greatest value from fish populations today while also maintaining a healthy stock for future generations.

For the fishermen who had to live with low catch limits so that black sea bass could rebuild, the new catch limits will be an extra-large dose of good news. Because they were held constant during the rebuilding years, catch limits are now set to more than double. Last year both the recreational and commercial seasons were over by early fall. This year fishermen should still be having at it into late fall or early winter.

Community comes together to restore Morro Bay’s eelgrass beds

Today’s feature on restoration of California’s Morro Bay eelgrass comes to us courtesy of N.O.A.A.
from The Fishing Wire

Morro Bay is a small fishing port situated halfway between San Francisco and Los Angeles on California’s Central Coast. The town is often referred to as the “Gibraltar of the Pacific” because of a volcanic peak that rises nearly 600 feet above the harbor. It is an iconic coastal village closely connected to the sea and the environment that sustains it.

So it was no surprise when local community members, as well as state and federal agencies, responded to a request from the Morro Bay National Estuary Program to help restore the bay’s rapidly declining eelgrass beds.

“Eelgrass is a cornerstone of Morro Bay’s ecosystem,” said Bryant Chesney of NOAA Fisheries. “But over the last several years we have seen eelgrass beds in Morro Bay shrink from about 350 acres to less than 20.”

The exact cause of the decline is unknown, but since the 1850s, eelgrass beds along California’s entire coastline may have declined by as much as 90 percent. Human stressors, such as dredging, nutrient pollution, and sedimentation, are possible causes. However, warming temperatures may also be diminishing the plants’ overall ability to survive.

In Morro Bay eel grass is essential to halibut, juvenile rockfish, leopard sharks, pipefish, and numerous other fish and crustaceans. It also provides habitat for sea birds. Black Brant, for instance, use Morro Bay as one of a few migratory feeding grounds between Alaska and Baja California.

Eelgrass also supports the marine environment by converting sunlight into oxygen. Some studies indicate eelgrass beds may also be capable of absorbing carbon dioxide, an atmospheric gas linked to climate change that can negatively impact the health of our oceans and marine life.

With all of this at stake, it’s no wonder volunteers of all ages and organizations gathered along the shore of Morro Bay to harvest, prepare, and transplant eelgrass back into the upper reaches of the waterway where it has significantly declined.

The restoration process for eelgrass is labor intensive, and this effort was no exception. First divers harvested no more than ten percent from a healthy eelgrass bed and brought it to shore.

Volunteers then washed the leaves and roots, bound several plants together into a single “unit,” and attached a biodegradable “popsicle stick” to act as an anchor. The volunteers prepared nearly 10,000 units to transplant. The plants were then assembled into bundles. From here, a team transported the bundles by boat to the upper portions of the bay where they were transplanted. The shallow water allowed divers to stand up in most places, but they needed scuba equipment to follow a previously positioned underwater line. The divers pushed the roots, or rhizomes, into the sediment every meter along the line. The plants are held fast with the previously installed “popsicle anchor.”

“We are hopeful our efforts will be successful and with this kind of community support, I’m sure it will be,” said Chesney. “The Morro Bay National Estuary Program is a great partnership with federal, state, and local constituencies that care about Morro Bay and its watershed.”

Learn more about eelgrass: http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/abouthabitat/eelgrass.html