Author: Ted Venker

The Coastal Conservation Association Texas recently announced a $500,000 matching grant to initiate a new push in generating the funding to open Aransas County’s Cedar Bayou and Vincent Slough. After decades of negative impacts from siltation and low water flows, an estimated $6.5 million effort will be required to open the vital connection from Mesquite and Aransas Bays to the Gulf of Mexico. “It is not often that there is an opportunity to reopen a vital and iconic pass,” said Robby Byers, CCA Texas executive director. “There is still a lot of money to be raised and a lot of…

A motion made at the recent Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Mobile, Alabama, could be the first step to protecting what has been regarded as the largest man-made reef in the world — the vast forest of energy-related structures in the offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Bob Shipp’s request to have Council staff clarify the definition of what qualifies as artificial structure could pave the way for rigs and other vital reefs to be classified as Essential Fish Habitat. “For anglers who have been greatly concerned about the impact of this Administration’s directive to…

As hard as it might be to believe, management of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fishery reached a new level of frustration this week. At its meeting in Mobile, Alabama, the Gulf Council announced that the overall quota of red snapper harvest will be increased, but the 2012 season will likely be the shortest ever, perhaps no more than 40 days. Why? Well, the fishery is rebounding beyond all hopes and expectations. It’s a smashing success story by almost any definition — except the one used by NOAA Fisheries. There are more red snapper out there than anyone can…

For the first time in history, there will be reductions in the harvest of Atlantic menhaden (also called pogies or bunker) after a vote by the Menhaden Management Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). Menhaden, which serve as the primary forage base for most predatory fish, have declined to the lowest level ever recorded, sparking alarm in the recreational angling community which has long expressed concern over the impact of industrial menhaden harvest on sportfish stocks. “This is a long-anticipated decision and it is a great relief for anglers to know that managers have finally begun the…

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Atlantic Bluefin Tuna allocation among U.S. fisheries for 2012. The agency allocated the full quota of 957 metric tons that was given to the U.S. by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the international body that governs bluefin tunas and tuna-like species. The traditional rod and reel commercial sector was given the largest portion of the U.S. quota with 435 metric tons, followed by the recreational sector with 182 metric tons. Allocations of the other sectors were: purse seine/large nets, 172 metric tons; longline, 61 metric tons; harpoon, 36 metric…