Corpusfishing.com

[Ray]

There is an article in the December 09/January 2010 issue of FlyRod & Reel by Ted Williams, pp. 16-21, describing the effects of longlining on the fish and fishing in general in the saltwater regions of the world. The short summary of the entire article is: "Destructive, indiscriminate commercial-fishing gear is wreaking havoc on ocean food chain's that sustain out favorite fish."

Two major statements are highlighted that also summerize other major thoughts of this excellent article.

"Longliners, killing sharks on purpose and by mistake, have knocked most of the larger species down to a fraction of their natual abundance."

"A ban on pelagic longlining in the Gulf would at least postpone commercial extinction of Atlantic bluefin tuna."

No method of commercial fishing is more destructive of marine ecology than longlining. On any given day 100 million baited hooks dangle from giant trotlines in all of the world's oceans. A single mainline (and each vessel tends many sets) may be 6- miles long and drape two thousand 1,200-foot branch lines. Longlines kill sea turtles, sea birds, marine mammals, sharks, billfish, tunas, mahi: in short, any creature that gets tangled in the cord, snagged by the hook or that eats he squid or fish bait.

To actually really understand the effect of commercial longlining if you are an occasional fisherman like me, buying this issue of the magazine, FlyRod & Reel, would be a great investment. If correct, the effects of longlining on fish populations around the world and on the future of recreational fishing and less damaging methods of commercial fishing is devastating.

One example of longlining damaging the ecological balance in the fish world is the effect this method of commercial fishing has starting with the killing of sharks by longliners. Longlining has resulted in the death of tremendous numbers of sharks. After this happened, rays, which are a major dietary item on the shark menu, exploded in numbers, since their predators had been decimated. This might not mean much to you; it didn't to me, until I read further. Rays eat shellfish, and in the Chesapeake Bay, overabundant rays ate 775,000 oysters planted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to aid in filtering the seawater in an area already depleted of shellfish. Rays have to eat, right; so what's the big deal?

The big deal is oysters filter seawater, and if they aren't there to do that proliferation of algae and phytoplankton blocks sunlight from reaching benthic (1 : of, relating to, or occurring at the bottom of a body of water
2 : of, relating to, or occurring in the depths of the ocean), oxygenating vegetation thereby killing gamefish forage and gamefish fry while creating a fertile environment for mycobacteriosis, a devastating disease affecting Atlantic striped bassin their most important nursery area.

A similar problem is occuring worldwide, whether with sharks, rays oysters and striped bass or other fish. Longlining kills every type of marine fish, mammal or reptile that takes the bait, and it kills millions of them! Hundreds of loggerhead turtles are lost, which allows the over proliferation of jellyfish which are very affectinve killers of larval fish.

In our Gulf of Mexico, unless longlining directed at yellowfin tuna and swordfish is banned in spring and summer, the western stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna is likely to become extinct commercially within 5 years. The Gulf is their only known spawning habitat. The longlining bycatch of bluefin tuna in 2007 was 81 metric tins estimated. Longlining in the Gulf of Mexico causes the highest by-catch of blue marlin in the Atlantic, and it is clobbering white marlin.

Buy a copy of the December/January issue of FlyRod & Reel and read this! It is unbelievable!!

Ray
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Ray

[frayed]

read Ocean Bankruptcy by Robert Sloan
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Jeff

Get Busy

[BALZTOWAL]

Just make sure they don't mess with the fish I fish for. Seriously,, all commercial fishing should be banned.

[Ray]

[ltorna1]

Just as a FYI, in NY, they have been raising the Fluke (summer flounder) recreactional size limits from 14 to 18 to 22 in the last 6 years, and decreasing the bag limits due to data that suggests diminishing stocks (NY still has no grasp on "slot" limits by the way, and thus we have destroyed our brood stock over the last 20 years). Just read an article however that commercial fisherman in NY b**ched and now had their daily catch/sell limit on Fluke increased from 70 lbs/day to 400 lbs per day. Thats over a 300% increase in one year for commercial guys, while recreational fishermen get the shaft and party boat fleets are going out of business.

Just another example of our seas getting raped, and recreational fishermen suffering with fewer catches and tighter regulations.
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...if my boss ever finds this forum I'll be unemployed...

[Fishin Rod]

[Laguna Nuclear]

commercial fisherman are always getting the crap beat out of them by recreational - sportfisherman!

does anyone take into concideration that they recreational fisherman
FREAKING OUTNUMBER THE COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN, and that the recreational fisherman are probably pulling out more fish from the bay or ocean than COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN.

How many thousands of pounds of redfish are harvested per weekend along the gulf coast by sportfisherman?

How many thousands of pounds of trout are harvested per weekend along the gulf coast by sportfisherman?

no one is complaining about that, and we don't get any reports that the fish are on the decline? but get a couple of commercial guys to put a troutline in the bay and all hell breaks loose. (except for trout in the lower coast, and that is a scam. )

My point is, that recreational fisherman out number commercial fisherman and all pulling more pounds of fish out of the system and the commercial guys take all the heat.

no one can argue against that, but if you can prove me wrong, I will admit it!

FISH IS A FOOD GROUP, AND PEOPLE EVERYWHERE WANT TO EAT THEM, AND COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN PROVIDE THAT SERVICE... IF YOU WANT MORE FISH IN THE BAYS THAN BUILD A GIGANTIC FISHERY FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF HACTHING THE STUPID THINGS, AND RELEASE THEM INTO THE WATER, JUST LIKE WE DO WITH CHICKEN FARMS, TURKEY FARMS, CATTLE RANCHES, ECT.......

[landlocked beachbum]

Humans are unigue in their collective ability to screw things up EVERYWHERE that they exist because of technology, something that other species lack. When technology is added to overpopulation, nothing good can come from it!!
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[ltorna1]

Interesting point Laguna, but I would disagree. A few reasons:

1) Regulations - stricter regulations are placed on recreational fishermen, and the regs usually have a biological basis (i.e. letting fish reach sexual maturity) or is based on population data. Many commercial fisheries don't have restrictions that take into consideration this type of data, mostly because its not practical for them. Which brings me to point 2.

2) Methods - trawling/longlining are not conducive to monitoring catch. Even if their were tighter regs on size and number of commercial catches, what good is it throw back 200 lbs of dead sexually immature fish after they have been in nets for miles or strung on longlines dead for hours.

3) Bycatch - lots of it. Tons of it actually. Exponentially outweighing the target catch in nearly every commercial fishery. Ecologically it is crippling to an ecosytem.

4) Habitat destruction - long lining and midwater trawls are less damaging, but bottom trawls and deep dredging is the equivalent of clear-cutting forrests to harvest squirrels.

Regarding your point about the amount of fishing effort of commercial guys versus recreational, it is very valid, but it depends on location and species. Redfish? Trout? Of course, recreational effort is much more than commercial. Flounder? SNapper? Probably close to even in terms of tons harvested per year, but I would still say commercial guys outnumber us. Tuna? Shark? Other pelagics? No comparision, commercial guys outnumber the recreational guys in tons harvested.

Seems to me like redfish and trout and the other species where recreational fishermen make up the majority of fishing effort, those species aren't the most depleted. Its the ones that are targeted extensively by commercial fishermen which are the most depleted. Coicidence??? I don't know man.
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...if my boss ever finds this forum I'll be unemployed...

[cuzn dave]

[Ray]

[landlocked beachbum]

Years back the trout and redfish populations in LM were hurting before redfish were made a "sport fish" and gill netting was banned.
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Dave


"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

[Laguna Nuclear]

The ocean is 400 billion times bigger than the land we stand on and yet every time you go to HEB there's always beef on the shelf! I'm not giving into the Commercial fishing hoax. There are more fish in the water than animals on land, and we ain't starving.

If the by catches where that bad, there be nothing left. And we would all know it. In the 80's my buddy said that corpus bay went from 20 shrimp boats to 130 a day and yet in 2009 fishing still is awesome.

Dont fall for the commercial fishing hoax. Let common sense rule.




.....

[Bluffer]

I can see both sides of the issue and I agree there is no shortage. Regulated commercial fishing is needed.(and is strong) We all have to eat.
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-STAY THIRSTY MY FRIENDS!-

[Laguna Nuclear]

I agree