Author: BD STAFF

Washington state hatchery workers are temporarily evacuating millions of juvenile coho salmon, steelhead and rainbow trout from the Naselle Hatchery, so they can repair a ruptured pipe at the fish-rearing facility in Pacific County. Ron Warren, regional fish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW), said hatchery workers reported a serious water leak October 2 that could cause further damage to the 38-year-old facility. “Hatchery workers found water rising up through the gravel and running down the driveway like a small creek,” Warren said. “Unfortunately, we can’t fix the pipe without shutting off the water to the…

A group of internationally acclaimed marine artists, including Dr. Guy Harvey, Wyland and sculptor Kent Ullberg, will be among the featured artists in the Art of the Dive/Portraits of the Deep traveling museum exhibition, scheduled to be on display at the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame & Museum from October 1 to November 30. The exhibit features original paintings and sculptures and photographs by the world’s leading marine painters and sculptors. These begin with New York painter Stanley Meltzoff (1917-2006), who as curator/author was given his art-of–the-dive start with a commission from the National Geographic Society in the 1960s and…

When veteran tournament angler Cliff Pace packs his boat for a fishing trip to the shallow, weed-filled Louisiana Delta, at least a dozen of his 20 rods will be spooled with braided line, but when the Yamaha Pro heads to the clear, deep waters of Table Rock Lake in Missouri, he’ll likely leave braid at home and use fluorocarbon instead. The key to making line choices, emphasizes Pace, is studying lake conditions and the habitat bass are using, then picking a line type that fits that environment. “Bass fishing today has become very specialized because we have such a wide…

The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) in a collaborative effort with several fisheries-based agencies, successfully tagged 10 whale sharks during two recent trips in the Gulf of Mexico. This represents the largest number of whale sharks tagged at one time in the northern Gulf. The tagging effort was a joint venture between the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service, Mississippi Laboratories, Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, On the Wings of Care and LDWF. The team is hoping the project will reveal precious information about the little-studied fish. “Historical information on whale…

Furuno, world-renowned manufacturer of marine electronics, received several awards at the 2011 National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) Convention in Sanibel, Florida. This brings Furuno’s NMEA Award total to an incredible 201 awards since NMEA started presenting awards in 1971. A total of 10 NMEA Awards were presented this year and Furuno received half of the awards issued. For the sixth consecutive year, Furuno received the coveted Manufacturer of the Year Support award. In fact, Furuno is the sole recipient of this award since its introduction on the ballot six years ago. “Customer service to both our technical marine electronics dealer…

The 2011 Bahamas Billfish Championship (BBC) will go down as a record setter in terms of fishing and participation. The top three winning teams, including Zues, Wave Paver and Chasin Tail achieved the highest scores ever recorded in the BBC’s 38-year history. The series, which is made up of five billfish tournaments in the Bahamas, averaged 31 teams at each event and those teams caught a record 275 billfish — including 135 blue marlin, 85 white marlin and 55 sailfish. But the biggest story of the 2011 BBC, was the monster blue marlin that Don McKinney’s team Double Dog caught…

To celebrate its 25th anniversary, and the spirit of pelagic fisheries conservation, The Billfish Foundation launched an exciting membership drive — for both new and renewing members — to experience some of the best of what billfishing has to offer. The event is aptly named the TBF Experience. “It may be the most exciting membership drive tool we have ever had,” said Ellen Peel who has been at the helm as TBF’s President for more than 15 years. “We have three prize trips with expert captains in three of the world’s greatest billfishing destinations, and they all are fantastic.” “The…

IGFTO Launches New Website The International Game Fish Tournament Observer (IGFTO) organization recently launched a new website, www.igfto.org, to better serve its members and the group’s overall mission of “observing today, conserving tomorrow.” The International Game Fish Association was the first group to start a “Certified Observer” program. Through this program, men and women were trained to tell the various species of billfish apart and the intricacies of the angling rules set forth by the IGFA. Billfish tournaments then used the certified observers in their release tournaments to reduce rule disputes and other infractions. Observers Bob Malerbra, John Treat and…

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is asking all anglers to be on the lookout for nonnative giant tiger prawn (Penaeus monodon) after a recent sighting in East Bay near Panama City in the Gulf of Mexico. The September 19 catch marks the first time a giant tiger prawn was reported to the FWC in Florida’s northern Gulf of Mexico waters. Biologists are also working to confirm reports of another sighting in Pensacola Bay. Reports have been common in Atlantic coastal waters, and three were reported off the coast of St. Augustine this summer. Named for the black…

The National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) just released its annual recreational boat registration statistics report and it shows a slight drop in the number of registered boats on the water. Boat registration numbers decreased by 2.2 percent (or 282,615 boats) for a total of 12.5 million registered boats in 2010 compared to 2009’s 12.7 million. Of the 12.5 million registered recreational boats, the report notes there were 183,930 new model year powerboats sold and registered in the United States in 2010. The report provides detailed registration data on a national, regional and state level and includes new boat registrations, U.S.…

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) recently received $560,000 from NOAA Fisheries Service to restore pinto abalone, an edible marine mollusk that lives in the shallow, nearshore waters of the Pacific Northwest. The grant, awarded through NOAA’s Species of Concern Program, will be used to help restore Puget Sound abalone populations that have fallen to critically low levels. “This funding is a big step forward for abalone restoration efforts that have been under way for the past decade,” said WDFW Director Phil Anderson. “Our goal is to restore this species to healthy levels.” Historically, pinto abalone ranged from…

California Spiny Lobster California Spiny Lobster season is literally just hours away and the California Department of Game and Fish sent out a notice to make sure everyone is aware of the regulations for the upcoming season. “Regulations governing the sport take of spiny lobster have helped to preserve the tradition of lobster diving and hoop netting for spiny lobster in Southern California,” the DFG said. Make sure to keep up to date on all of the lobster regulations. The 2011-12 spiny lobster season regulations include: • Anglers (16 years or older) must possess a valid sport fishing license, enhancement…

A new event in the Florida Keys is using spearfishermen and divers to help control the population of non-native lionfish in state waters. Set for Saturday, November 5, the Lower Keys Lionfish Derby is part of an ongoing series hosted by the Reef Environmental Education Foundation and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The action will be headquartered at Stock Island’s Hurricane Hole Restaurant & Marina, 5130 U.S. Highway 1 at mile marker 4.5. Events are to begin at 5:30 p.m. Friday, November 4, with a late registration followed by a mandatory 7 p.m. captain’s meeting and briefing on safe…

This year marked the first annual Yellowfin Tuna Fall Shootout, hosted by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, as part of its Louisiana Saltwater Series. The Louisiana Saltwater Series tournaments have helped to create awareness and increase participation in tag-and-release fishing by offering a competitive outlet for conservation-minded anglers and captains. The Department is committed to increasing the number of tagged yellowfin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico. The new tuna tagging program will provide baseline information for the population models used to assess the health of the stock of this valuable fishery. “There is no fishing experience like…

A former Navy helicopter pilot who retired from military service just three weeks ago after flying surveillance missions over Iraq for a year, reeled in a 455-pound swordfish during a weekend fishing excursion off the Florida Keys. John White, 33, of Rochester, New York, fished Saturday, September 24, with BD Pro Staffer Capt. Nick Stanczyk and mate Matt Davis on the B n’ M, based out of Bud N’ Mary’s Marina in Islamorada, Florida. After the fish hit at 1:30 p.m., it took five hours to get it to the boat. White landed the fish using a Swordfish Stick made…

The California Fish and Game Commission (Commission) recently announced that it has selected January 1, 2012 as the effective date for implementation of the marine protected areas (MPAs) in Southern California. The revised effective date is for the South Coast Study Region, which spans from Point Conception in Santa Barbara County to the U.S./Mexico border. According to DFT, the Commission adopted regulations to create a suite of MPAs on December 15, 2010 in this study region. Here’s what the agency said in the statement: “Developed pursuant the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA), this network of 49 MPAs and three…

Raymarine’s E7 multifunction display uses built in Wi-Fi capabilities to expand charts, sonar, radar and thermal night vision beyond the helm — sending all of the information without wires. The new technology was such a big hit at the 2011 Newport International Boat Show that Raymarine walked off with the “Best New Boating Product” award. Acting as a Wi-Fi server, the E7 allows boaters to stream live video from the e7 to their iPad or iPhone. This allows anyone on board to see whatever is on the E7’s display all on their mobile iOS device anywhere on the boat. That…

The United States Coast Guard announced today that its 2011 National Recreational Boating Survey is underway, conducted by the market research firm ICF Macro. The Coast Guard is asking all boat owners and operators to help reduce fatalities, injuries, and property damage by taking personal responsibility for their own safety and the safety of their passengers. The survey questionnaire is being sent by mail to select owners of U.S. registered recreational boats. ICF Macro is also calling members of the general public from call centers across the United States and asking them to participate in the survey over the phone.…

Each year Accurate Fishing Products gives away a brand new ATD 30 Topless Reel valued at $1,200 and a one-of-a-kind, customized jacket to the angler who catches the largest yellowfin tuna during the long-range season. The contest is called the Cow Club, and if you want to be a member, you’re going to have to battle a monster. The only catch to getting into the Cow Club is that you must land your tuna on an Accurate reel. Since Accurate builds some of the most reliable reels on the market, that’s not the hard part, as many anglers are already…

In the 21 years that The Billfish Foundation (TBF) has hosted its Tag and Release program, they’ve collected some amazing global research figures that show how far billfish travel. Peter Chaibongsai, TBF’s Director of Science & Policy, said the nonprofit organization, which is dedicated to conserving and enhancing billfish populations around the world, has recently acquired computer graphic capabilities to pinpoint tag and recapture locations. “We have begun releasing recapture maps on our website [www.billfish.org] under the What We Do section,” said Chaibongsai. “Using noninvasive spaghetti tags TBF has one of the most successful recapture rates for any conventional tagging…

While the 2011 California striped marlin season will go down as another tough one for the West Coast, the teams that participated in the California Billfish Series presented by Typhoon Polarized Optics made the most of it and still had plenty of fun. With three individual fishing tournaments, including the Zane Grey Invitational, Catalina Classic and Avalon Billfish Classic, the California Billfish Series attracts the top marlin crews in the western U.S. to compete for some big money. The Zane Grey Invitational was the first tournament in the series, held September 11-13. Tournament director Ali Hussainy made the decision to…

The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and the KeepAmericaFishing.org website have formally asked California Governor Jerry Brown to remove Richard Rogers from the California Fish and Game Commission. According to ASA, Rogers’ voting record shows he is no friend to California’s sportfishing community or the state’s economy. “At a time when California faces record unemployment levels, Governor Brown can take one simple action to remove a major impediment to the state’s economy — remove Richard Rogers from the Fish and Game Commission,” the ASA said in a written statement. “Even though his term expired on January 15, 2011, Rogers continues to…

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved several draft amendments for spotted seatrout regulations on Thursday that would open recreational harvest year-round and expand commercial fishing opportunities. The FWC has managed spotted seatrout for more than 20 years to help rebuild overfished populations. A 2010 stock assessment of spotted seatrout in Florida indicated that the annual management goals for spotted seatrout are consistently being exceeded across the state. As a result, the FWC is proposing to increase fishing opportunities for spotted seatrout in Florida. The proposal would open current recreational closed months by removing the current February closure…

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission recently announced that it is reopening the recreational harvest of gag grouper in all Gulf of Mexico waters off Florida, except Monroe County, starting on September 16. Anglers will be allowed to target and keep the gags for two months, with fishing ending on November 15. This season will allow anglers in both federal and state Gulf waters an opportunity to harvest gag grouper. The gag grouper season has been closed in state waters since June 1 and in federal waters since January 1. The minimum size limit for gag grouper in these waters…