Sportfishing industry resumes work to phase out destructive gear in California. On February 8, 2021, Senators Diane Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.V.) reintroduced the Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act which aims to align state and federal policy to support the modernization of California’s swordfish fishery. The California drift gillnet fishery is the last […]
American Sportfishing Association, California, Conservation, Fishing, Regulations, Swordfish
The recreational fishing and boating community praised final action taken by NOAA Fisheries to implement state management for private anglers fishing for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico. Today’s action cements the management changes found in “Reef Fish Amendment 50: State Management for Recreational Red Snapper” agreed to by the […]
American Sportfishing Association, fish, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Red Snapper, Regulations
Big news for red snapper anglers: the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council—one of the eight councils that represents the National Marine Fisheries Service within NOAA—voted to delegate management authority over recreational red snapper harvest to each of the five Gulf States in federal waters. In this episode of “From the Head,” Sid Dobrin takes […]
fish, Fishing, Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, Red Snapper, Regulations
Check out the latest From the Head video in which Sid Dobrin talks about the signing of the Modern Fish Act into law at the end of 2018. FISH ON!
The recreational fishing and boating community is celebrating the enactment of the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018 (Modern Fish Act), which was signed into law by President Trump on December 31. The Modern Fish Act finally recognizes in federal law the differences between recreational and commercial saltwater fishing and adds […]
On Monday, December 17, 2018, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed S.1520, the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2017 (Modern Fish Act). The legislation, which would make critical updates to the oversight of federal fisheries, marks a big step forward for America’s angling community and now moves to the U.S. House for final passage. “Today […]
The proposed fisheries management plan “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management 2017,” stands to be one of the most important pieces of federal legislation to affect recreational anglers in recent U.S. History. In this From the Head video, Sid Dobrin takes a look at why this proposed act is so critical. FISH ON!
fish, Fisheries Management, Fishing, Magnuson-Stevens Act, Regulations
The Fish Market: Inside the Big Money Battle for the Ocean and Your Dinner Plate By Lee Van Der Voo Reviewed by Sid Dobrin Award-winning, freelance journalist Lee Van Der Voo has recently published an eye-opening exposé of the nation’s federally-managed catch shares program. The Fish Market: Inside the Big Money Battle for the Ocean […]
Catch Shares, fish, Fisheries Management, Fishing, Regulations
The 2016 recreational red snapper season in Gulf of Mexico state waters opens Saturdays and Sundays in May starting May 7. On May 28, the season will open continuously through July 10. The season will also reopen for Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September and October, and on Labor Day. This would provide for a […]
A coalition of recreational fishing and boating organizations praised the introduction of a bill, S.2807, that will safeguard the role of state fisheries management agencies and help prevent unwarranted fishing closures like what recently occurred at Biscayne National Park. Led by Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who chairs the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on […]
American Sportfishing Association, Biscayne National Park, Center for Coastal Conservation, Coastal Conservation Association, fish, Fishing, NMMA, Regulations
The recreational harvest of Atlantic migratory group cobia (from Georgia to New York) will close at 12:01 a.m. on June 20, 2016. Recreational harvest of cobia will reopen on January 1, 2017. The Atlantic migratory group includes cobia from Georgia through New York. Cobia off the east coast of Florida are part of the Gulf […]
Cobia, fish, Fishing, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, Regulations
Representatives from the recreational fishing community recently met for their second in-person meeting to plan strategies for addressing current and future Gulf of Mexico red snapper management challenges. The two-day meeting, facilitated by Florida State University’s FCRC Consensus Center, produced constructive discussion on Gulf red snapper and reef fish management as a whole, as well […]
fish, Fishing, Florida, Gulf of Mexico, Red Snapper, Regulations
New recreational and commercial bag limits for barracuda go into effect November 1, 2015 for state and federal waters off Collier, Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach and Martin counties in Florida. The new limits include: Two fish per person daily recreational and commercial bag limit. Six fish per vessel daily recreational and commercial limit. The […]
barracuda, fish, Fishing, Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, Regulations
Inventive Fishing presents the latest installment of From the Head. This episode looks closer at the National Park Service’s decision to close parts of Biscayne National Park to recreational fishing and the role of the dive industry in these decisions. FISH ON!
Biscayne Bay, Biscayne National Park, Closures, fish, Fishing, Fishing Closures, Florida, National Park Service, Regulations
The National Park Service recently released the final General Management Plan (GMP) for Everglades National Park, which includes several changes that will affect recreational boating and fishing access and habitat conservation in the park. The recreational fishing and boating community expressed its collective appreciation to Everglades National Park officials for meaningfully addressing concerns that were […]
Everglades, Everglades National Park, fish, Fishing, Florida, National Park Service, Regulations
The California Fish and Game Commission recently adopted changes to recreational tuna regulations. The new regulations are effective as of today, July 30, 2015.The changes include a statewide two-fish recreational daily bag limit for Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis), which applies to all bluefin tuna possessed in California waters, regardless of where they were taken. […]
California, California Fish and Game Commission, fish, Fishing, Regulations, tuna
From the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership: Today, the four House leaders of the Congressional Sportsmen’s Caucus, Reps. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Rob Wittman (R-Va.), Gene Green (D-Texas), and Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), introduced the bipartisan “Sportsmen’s Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Enhancement Act,” or SCORE Act (HR 3173), in the 114th Congress. Combined with the previously introduced SHARE […]
Tomorrow, June 25, your U.S. Senators will vote on a bill that is critical to the future of recreational fishing. S. 1403, the Florida Fisheries Improvement Act, is the latest update to the Magnuson-Stevens Act – the nation’s primary marine fisheries law. While several provisions focus on the Southeast, this bill affects all saltwater fisheries. […]
Gag grouper will open for recreational harvest in most Gulf of Mexico state waters and all Gulf federal waters July 1. The same day, the season will close in state waters off the coast of Franklin, Wakulla, Jefferson and Taylor counties. The gag grouper recreational harvest season in Gulf of Mexico state waters, not including […]
fish, Fishing, Florida, Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, gag grouper, Grouper, Regulations
The Senate Appropriations Committee recently approved Senator Richard Shelby’s (R-Ala.) proposed Fiscal Year 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Bill. The bill included a number of provisions that attempt to address the ongoing mismanagement of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery that has resulted in the current 10-day season for private recreational anglers. “Senator […]