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Recreational fishing harms threatened species
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by JEFF HECHT & GAIA VINCE
NORTH CAROLINA (28 Aug 2004) -- Recreational fishing is taking a heavier toll on some threatened marine fish in US waters than commercial fishing, say researchers who analysed 22 years of government catch records.
The toll is particularly heavy on already-depleted populations identified as 'species of concern' such as large, long-lived top-level predators, for which commercial fishing is already restricted.
Each commercial fishing boat catches far more fish than any amateur could, but with 10.5 million amateurs fishing in US marine waters, the amateur catch adds up, says researcher Larry Crowder of Duke University in North Carolina, US.
One of the biggest problems is that commercial and recreational fisheries both target the largest fish. "Large fish produce exponentially more eggs than smaller fish, so the reproductive capacity of these species is severely affected," says Felicia Coleman, also on the team and from Florida State University, US.
No surprise
But the finding is no surprise to Michael Sissenwine, director of scientific programs at the National Marine Fisheries Service. His agency has limited both recreational and commercial fishing to aid recovery of overfished species.
The findings may surprise recreational fishing groups, however, who widely quote an estimate based on NMFS data that only two per cent of total fish landings are through sport. Coleman says she can see how a cursory analysis of government data posted on the web could yield that low estimate.
But the raw numbers can be misleading. A big problem comes from lumping the huge catch in healthy fisheries such as pollock and menhaden with the relatively smaller catches from overfished populations.
Yet recreational fishing accounts for 64 per cent of the reported catch of overfished species along the Gulf of Mexico and 59 per cent along the Pacific Coast.
It is the large commercial catches of overfished populations, from Virginia to Maine, that bring the total sport-fishing share of all overfished US marine populations down to 23 per cent.
Hardest hit
But the numbers look even worse for individual stocks. In 2002 for example, sport fishing accounted for 93 per cent of the catch of red drum from North Carolina to Florida and 87 per cent of the bocaccio catch in the Pacific. The bocaccio population is now so depleted that it has been proposed for listing as an endangered species.
And bans on landing the most endangered fish do not protect them from being caught by mistake. In a survey of the Gulf of Mexico, Coleman spotted one protected fish, a goliath grouper weighing nearly 200 kilograms, with 20 hooks embedded in its mouth, probably from being repeatedly caught and released.
Fisheries managers encourage catch-and-release programs for sport fishing, but according to Coleman, a large percentage of small fish die from the trauma. "If you add the mortality associated with catch and release, the numbers of depleted fish stocks as a result of recreational fishing would increase significantly," she explains.
Present limits on daily catches do not control the damage because too many people are fishing, Coleman told New Scientist. "Most recreational fishers are conservation-minded, but they are not taking into account the sheer numbers of people doing it. Recreational fishing should no longer be seen as benign and needs to be better managed."
After thirty years of diving I am of the opinion that irregardless of the steps taken to date to protect the stocks of fish in our oceans they are still dwindling.
Yes commercial and sports fishermen have had there limits cut back but is it enough.
Living in Florida it saddens me everyday to drive around and see every pier, bridge or rocky outcrop lined with fishermen.
After reading the above article from Ocean Odyssey I am more sure that further steps need to be taken to protect the life in our oceans.
I would like to hear others thoughts on this
Powered by CDNN - Cyber Diver News Network
by JEFF HECHT & GAIA VINCE
NORTH CAROLINA (28 Aug 2004) -- Recreational fishing is taking a heavier toll on some threatened marine fish in US waters than commercial fishing, say researchers who analysed 22 years of government catch records.
The toll is particularly heavy on already-depleted populations identified as 'species of concern' such as large, long-lived top-level predators, for which commercial fishing is already restricted.
Each commercial fishing boat catches far more fish than any amateur could, but with 10.5 million amateurs fishing in US marine waters, the amateur catch adds up, says researcher Larry Crowder of Duke University in North Carolina, US.
One of the biggest problems is that commercial and recreational fisheries both target the largest fish. "Large fish produce exponentially more eggs than smaller fish, so the reproductive capacity of these species is severely affected," says Felicia Coleman, also on the team and from Florida State University, US.
No surprise
But the finding is no surprise to Michael Sissenwine, director of scientific programs at the National Marine Fisheries Service. His agency has limited both recreational and commercial fishing to aid recovery of overfished species.
The findings may surprise recreational fishing groups, however, who widely quote an estimate based on NMFS data that only two per cent of total fish landings are through sport. Coleman says she can see how a cursory analysis of government data posted on the web could yield that low estimate.
But the raw numbers can be misleading. A big problem comes from lumping the huge catch in healthy fisheries such as pollock and menhaden with the relatively smaller catches from overfished populations.
Yet recreational fishing accounts for 64 per cent of the reported catch of overfished species along the Gulf of Mexico and 59 per cent along the Pacific Coast.
It is the large commercial catches of overfished populations, from Virginia to Maine, that bring the total sport-fishing share of all overfished US marine populations down to 23 per cent.
Hardest hit
But the numbers look even worse for individual stocks. In 2002 for example, sport fishing accounted for 93 per cent of the catch of red drum from North Carolina to Florida and 87 per cent of the bocaccio catch in the Pacific. The bocaccio population is now so depleted that it has been proposed for listing as an endangered species.
And bans on landing the most endangered fish do not protect them from being caught by mistake. In a survey of the Gulf of Mexico, Coleman spotted one protected fish, a goliath grouper weighing nearly 200 kilograms, with 20 hooks embedded in its mouth, probably from being repeatedly caught and released.
Fisheries managers encourage catch-and-release programs for sport fishing, but according to Coleman, a large percentage of small fish die from the trauma. "If you add the mortality associated with catch and release, the numbers of depleted fish stocks as a result of recreational fishing would increase significantly," she explains.
Present limits on daily catches do not control the damage because too many people are fishing, Coleman told New Scientist. "Most recreational fishers are conservation-minded, but they are not taking into account the sheer numbers of people doing it. Recreational fishing should no longer be seen as benign and needs to be better managed."
After thirty years of diving I am of the opinion that irregardless of the steps taken to date to protect the stocks of fish in our oceans they are still dwindling.
Yes commercial and sports fishermen have had there limits cut back but is it enough.
Living in Florida it saddens me everyday to drive around and see every pier, bridge or rocky outcrop lined with fishermen.
After reading the above article from Ocean Odyssey I am more sure that further steps need to be taken to protect the life in our oceans.
I would like to hear others thoughts on this
