more fish porn!

 

another great video from Peter Laurelli. We should all be like pretty jealous.

 

Montauk fishing videos

there’s a couple new videos right now that are sure to distract you from whatever boring work you might be doing. i got the heads up of the first one by John Majer and it’s kind of a dramatic look at some of the hardcore surfcasters in Montauk, especially that of Bill Wetzel, though Paul Melnyk is in it too. this one is by Animal New York.

the second video has actually been in the works for a few years now. it’s by Richard Siberry and is called “Montauk Rocks.” for whatever reason the film seems to be have been completed for a little while, but they may have run short on cash to get the distribution going, so this video is a Kickstarter promo for a good cause. personally, i donated ten bucks. i think there’s a lot of surf fisher-people out there who are eagerly awaiting some more fish porn, especially one like this with a pretty good group of characters. check out their Kickstarter page here.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/richsib/release-montauk-rocks/widget/video.html
(you have to click on the link and it’ll play the video in full screen mode)

who’s getting out this weekend for some fishing?

—mkl

boat trip recap

We didn’t catch many fish on our boat trip last weekend, but Geralyn took a bunch of good photos anyhow. We met up with Alex Marquez and Altay and his girlfriend, and, for once, we weren’t ridiculously late catching the boat. Alex called it halfway through the trip as a bunch of people went to the top deck to have a dance party and karaoke something or other. “My friend says it’s over,” he said pointing to his fishing buddy at the other end of the boat. “These people brought their own liquor; there are people up there dancing around. This is not a serious fishing trip.” Well, he was right. Two bluefish and a bunch of skates for the whole boat, but there were a lot of laughs and good times despite the spare catch. Check out the photos below.

P.S. Jamaica Bay is heavy with bunker hiding out in the back.

all photos by Geralyn Shukwit.

marine park sunset

i think G was doing this on purpose so the mate could help her out.

see? that guy on the right is probably fixing G’s reel again.

there was some of this too.

paige caught a big skate.

and jane caught a rat.

bluefish number one.

this guy won the pool.

—mkl

“One of nature’s great dramas is its ruthless consumption of itself.”

Over the weekend I had a chance to read another great article on the state and politics of bunker fishing. As I’ve written before on several occasions, the bunker resource is an exceptionally fragile one due to commercial overfishing that’s been allowed to run rampant for 50 years with little resistance, until recently, by the bodies charged with maintaining and regulating the fishery. A Fish Story is the article by Alison Fairbrother, the director of the Public Trust Project, and it’s a long and rewarding read on the bunker fishery, and a in-depth look at the lobbying arm and financial interests that the reduction industry—in particular, Omega Protein, the Texas-based corporation responsible for 80 percent of the the total bunker catch—exerts on the political process of managing these fish.

What was especially eye-opening for me is Fairbrother’s description of the economic side of commercial menhaden industry—the surprisingly small number of jobs it provides versus those related to recreational fishing, and the economic benefit of actually leaving these fish in the water versus harvesting them.

* “This vast protein extraction machine supports surprisingly few American jobs. A 2010 study by the economist James Kirkley at the Virginia Institute of Marine Resources found that the reduction industry has an $88 million economic impact on the Chesapeake Bay region, supplying 300 jobs at Omega Protein during the peak fishing season and 219 jobs in ancillary industries supported by the fishery. Recreational fishing, by comparison, has a $332 million economic impact in Virginia and Maryland, supporting 3,500 jobs, from bait and tackle shops to manufacturers of fishing equipment to charter-boat owners and captains—all of whom have an indirect stake in the health of the menhaden population.”

* “A report released in April by the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force, managed by the Pew Charitable Trusts, estimated that the value of leaving forage fish in the ocean as a food source for predators is $11 billion—twice as much as the $5.6 billion those fish generate when reduced into fish meal and fish oil for things like aquaculture, farming, human supplements, and pet food.”

Fairbrother also touches on the kind of ruthless, monomaniacal thinking with which industry lobbyists seem to regard the resources of the ocean, in this particular example concerning fish higher up the food chain.

* “In 2007, there were 56 million stripers swimming around the Atlantic and its estuaries, gobbling up crabs, herring, and, of course, menhaden. Ecologists and anglers see this as a great success story and an argument for a more ecologically minded strategy of resource management. The reduction industry and its allies see things differently. One of Omega Protein’s closed-door arguments to the ASMFC was that anglers should be allowed to fish down the striped bass population, as that would remove a major competitor for menhaden, leaving more fish in the water for Omega Protein to catch.”

After years and years of official ineptitude, faulty science, powerful political lobbying and dubious conflicts of interest, things seem to be changing in the right direction for the bunker. Back in November the ASMFC voted to set the new reference point of the fish to 30 percent of maximum spawning potential, up from the previous, industry-friendly 8 percent. (The reference point refers to the percentage of the total population to which the species can be fished down and still remain a “healthy” fishery. This is a number set by the ASFMC, determined by the ratio of estimated spawning potential—number of eggs—of the current population versus an imagined population with zero human predators.) This is due to the hard work of a few scientists, groups like the Pew Charitable Trusts, activist anglers like Paul Eidman of the Menhaden Defenders, and everyday fisher-folk like us for whom bunker remains the most important fish in the sea. Virginia and New Jersey, the two states that voted against the new reference point, are actively trying to find ways to circumvent the new mandate, even considering secession from the ASFMC. It’s sad to see the power of industry that benefits so few while causing incalculable damage to an ecosystem that affects so many. It flies in the face of any kind of logic, both from a financial and environmental perspective. But there it is, and Omega Protein and their Virginia lobbyists are still fighting to circumvent regulation and maintain what they regard as their right to empty the ocean. It’s maybe fitting that Alison Fairbrother included this fact from the fallout after the November vote:

“That night, Omega Protein’s stock plummeted from nearly $11 per share to $8.54, and ultimately lost 35 percent of its value in a nine-day period. Six months later, the stock has barely recovered.”

—mkl

Preacher’s 46# carp!

Believe it!

Meeting on River Herring and Mackerel

Our friend at the Pew Environmental Group, Jamie Pollack, asked me to give a heads up to anyone who is available to come to a meeting on commercial river herring and mackerel fishing. I know a lot of you guys use bunker as your go-to bait, but river herring and mackerel comprise a big part of the ecosystem for the fish we like to catch and unfortunately, commercially, the fishery is not well monitored. As you might remember, the Pew Environmental Group was instrumental in getting bunker better protected, and here is another issue that affects our fishery that needs awareness and accountability. The meeting on the amendment regarding these two species is on Monday, May 15 at the Hyatt Place Long Island in Riverhead. The meeting will take place from 7-9pm. If anyone is able to go, please contact Jamie at jamielynnpollack*at*gmail.com.

Below are the particulars of Pew’s position. It’s important to note that, like bunker, there’s a small fleet of vessels that are responsible for 70+ percent of the catch and incidental bycatch waste. It’s also important to see that river herring, also known as shads, are close to being on the endangered species list, which is crazy to think about when they always seemed such a boundless resource—but I guess that’s what got them in this state to begin with.

General:

* This Amendment was initiated two years ago to deal with the incidental catch and general management of river herring and shad in the squid and Atlantic mackerel fisheries. The Amendment has three purposes: implement effective river herring and shad catch monitoring; reduce river herring and shad bycatch and total catch; and consider measures for better federal (ocean) management of river herring and shad and whether there should be direct management by the Council.

* Mackerel and squid trawlers are poorly monitored, allowing these ships to severely impact the marine food web.

* Up to 165 feet long, mackerel trawlers are some the largest vessels on the East Coast. Their football field-sized nets catch and kill millions of pounds of unintended catch every year, including depleted fish such as river herring, shad, bluefin tuna, cod, and haddock, and striped bass, as well as whales, dolphins, and seabirds. 

* Specific concerns with the squid and mackerel fisheries include inadequate monitoring, unmanaged catch of river herring and shad, and the wasteful practice of dumping catch at sea.

* These industrial trawlers undermine the river herring and shad resource that is an essential food source to animals like striped bass and osprey, to the point that river herring is currently being considered for protection under the Endangered Species Act. The most recent river herring stock assessment concluded that they are depleted and need fisheries management.
This is unacceptable and represents a significant setback in the ongoing efforts to restore river herring and shad. Every year, states and communities throughout the region invest significant time and resources to restore their river herring and shad runs. Many tireless citizens carefully shepherd migrating river herring and shad past in-river obstacles by hand.  The Council must not undermine these efforts.

Critical Alternatives That Must Be Approved in Amendment 14:
* Incorporation of river herring and shad as stocks within the federal fishery management plan for Atlantic mackerel, squid and butterfish. This action would afford river herring and shad direly needed conservation and management measures in federal waters.
 
* A cap, or limit, on river herring and shad catch in federal waters.
 
* 100 percent at-sea monitoring on all mid-water trawl fishing trips, including assigning one observer to each vessel in a pair trawl operation. This fleet of approximately 20 mid-water trawl vessels is responsible for over 70% of combined river herring and shad incidental catch. 
 
* An accountability system to discourage the wasteful slippage, or dumping, of unsampled catch. All catch must be made available to fishery observers for systematic sampling. 
 
* A requirement to weigh all catch.

this weekend—back on the boat!

Fishing boat trip this weekend! Marilyn Jane V again, out of Sheepshead Bay. The boat leaves at 7pm, but I highly recommend you arrive early, like 6pm at the latest early since this is a first-come-first-served kind of thing. Plus, last time we tried to do this we all got stuck in crazy traffic and half of us missed the boat. Striped bass are on the menu for May 12. Let’s do this!

For more info on the Marilyn Jane V, go here. Directions and other info, check out our post here.

Jamaica Bay Cleanup This Sunday

View Larger Map

Ahoy. I’ve been MIA for a little bit busy with real life boringness, but here I am back in full effect. I caught my first striper of 2012 in the Rockaways this past weekend on a gold and orange Yo-Zuri Mag Darter. The wind was relentless but we still fished on for a few hours before hitting the bar. I lost one fish earlier on a black and purple Bomber. The fish were small but it’s a start.

This Sunday we’re going to join with some guys from the Stripers Online site and help do some cleanup around Jamaica Bay. I was down there a couple weeks ago and it looked like one area already had some work done on it, but with the water and weather warming up, it’s only going to get messier and that’s a shame. We’re going to be meeting at 9AM by the North Channel Bridge (see map above). You should plan to bring your own gloves, but also remember to bring some water or beers. Bags will be provided (supposedly) but I may bring some myself. If you can make it, put some time in and you’ll be rewarded, karma-cally.

Also, May 12 we’re still planning on doing the fishing trip out of Sheepshead Bay aboard the Marilyn Jane V. Don’t sleep on that.

—mkl

24HR DERBY—This Wednesday

Preacher has proposed a 24 HR Brooklyn fishing derby, starting 12AM this Wednesday. All Brooklyn + Rockaways. All fish. Prizes for biggest in the bait, fly, and plug categories. We’ll see how this goes and try to make it a monthly thing. Send all submissions to bkderby.catch@pikchur.com via text or email. That’s THIS WEDNESDAY (March 28). I’ll be out there on the night shift. Thanks to Ted for coming up with this great idea.

—mkl

fisherwomen/fisherpeople

I recently spent some time in Puerto Rico where I saw many women fishing – and catching. Some chose traditional hand line techniques, and others donned the same poles us urban anglers bungee up to the fences of Brooklyn Piers. The fish are starting to come in, and this year I’m determined to recruit more women to join our posse. I know they’re out there, I threw back some tequila with a few last night.

- Jane