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Rhode Island Fishing News and Reports
OFFSHORE
UPDATE
7/12/2011 - The bass and blues
fishing at Block Island has been
excellent both at the North Rip and
the Southwest Corner. School bluefin
tuna have arrived offshore south of
Block Island. The Snug Harbor shark
tournament last weekend produced
some very large mako, blue and
thresher sharks. The winner was a
344# thresher. The
Lady K
which is berthed next to me
brought in a nice thresher on both
days.
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My RI fishing partner Capt.
Richard enjoyed some
great winter Cod fishing on Cox's
Ledge. Most of the fishing is
done with jigs and teasers and
then bait fishing becomes the
best method. There is a 22 inch
size restriction on the cod and
a bag limit of ten per person.
Most of the fish caught are
market fish (8-14 lbs.), however
those bigger pool fish are
always in the days catch.
Remember anglers it is winter
fishing so a good choice of
clothing is important. We
provide all tackle and bait but
welcome any of your own
equipment. |
Call Capt. Richard at
401-364-8835 or cell
401-932-5090. To email click
this link
rchatowsky@cox.net |
We will update
this page weekly all summer long.
Stay tuned. It looks like a great
season. Our bookings are ahead of
last year which was our best ever.
Capt. Jack
with a Florida swordfish.
Rhode Island Fishing Charters Snug Harbor
Rhode Island
10/27/09
900# giant bluefin tuna landed by the
Maverick at The Figs.
10/1/2009
The
giant bluefin tuna bite northeast of the
Regal Sword has been steady. It is a
mixed bag of fish with mediums around
150# all the way to over 1000# with
plenty of sharks. We caught and released
our first Dusky last weekend around 250#
along with a 150# medium bluefin. The
day before we broke off two giants.
June
2009 fly fishing for stripers at
Nantucket.
8/22/09
The
Maverick enjoyed a great couple of weeks
before the storm. Hurricane Bill wiped
out this weekend on The Cape for charter
fishing. The tourists are enjoying the
weekend on shore with no idea of the
conditions offshore. We have caught at
least one school/medium bluefin on our
last five trips. Most charters caught
two or three fish with the average
around 65" 150#. The range was 55" to
71". Black bird bars and straight
spreader bars with 9" and 11" squid with
11" green glow and pearl glow stingers
were the ticket. We are running the same
size stingers as the bar vs going up a
size as it seems to match the squid size
offshore that we have found when
cleaning the tuna.
7/26/09
The
bluefin tuna bite east of Chatham has
been steady for the last two weeks. The
Maverick landed a 70" 150# bluefin this
week. The striper bite off Monomoy has
slowed but we are still catching
consistently drifting with bait and
fishfinders. And the turn of tide has
produced some hot striped bass action
spincasting with plugs off the rips when
stripers push bait to the top. It only
lasts about an hour but it can be hot
and heavy with fish up to 40".
7/06/09
The
striper bite off Monomoy is great. Tuna
still good but the bite is soft on days
with an east wind and fog.
7/04/09
The
Winzer family from Germany enjoyed their
Father's birthday gift from son Martin
who is studying at Wentworth University.
7/1/09
Striped Bass fishing has been red hot
for the past two weeks on all the shoals
around Monomoy. Both tides at Bearses,
Stone Horse and Handkerchief have
produced with fish up to 45". There are
a few slammer bluefish mixed in but
stripers have dominated even on Point
Rip. On 6/30 we stopped for 45 minutes
on the outgoing tide and caught 15
keepers.
When
weather conditions have allowed the
school bluefin tuna bite has been very
good on Crab Ledge and the BC Buoy.
6/07/09
The
Maverick and Hot Reels did a double
striper charter for the Johnson family
reunion and brought home a limit of bass
for the twelve anglers while releasing
another thirty fish.
5/17/09
The Maverick is in the water and
preparing to start fishing the 1st week
of June. We have been busy stocking our
premium tackle store at Allen Harbor
Marina as well as preparing new rigs for
the coming season. The inshore striper
bite has been very good on the MA and RI
coasts. The water temps look great
around the islands for an early bite.
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12/1/08
Giant Bluefin Tuna at the
Regal Sword.
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The month of November saw a huge influx
of giants in the shipping lanes east of
Chatham. The biggest fleet of boats was
concentrated a few miles north of the
Regal Sword. The weather on many days
was rough but for the crews that stuck
it out there were quite a few fish
caught. Ironically, some of the big fish
were of great quality with others junk.
Luck of the draw. The majority of the
fish were caught drifting and chumming
with either dead or live bait. Many fish
were caught with live lined cod. It has
been a few years since we have seen so
many big fish. Many were over a 1000
lbs. Tuna fisherman were wondering if
the reduced pressure of mid-water
herring trawlers helped out. The sooner
they are brought under control stocks
will return and rebound. |
9/13/08
The Bluefin Tuna bite is
on.
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The tuna bite had been sporadic the last
few weeks. This past weekend showed an
upturn in both schoolies and small
giants. If we get decent weather late
Sept. and October should be great. We
are still limiting out on striped bass
at Monomoy. The key has been to fish
early and late in the tide. Nice fat
fish loaded with sand eels. |
8/12/08
Striper action continues
to be red hot.
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Please join us for the great striped
bass fishing at Monomoy. Most trips have
limited out in a few hours. You can
troll, spin cast, jig or fly fish. Your
choice. |
6/30/08
The stripers have arrived
at Monomoy
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The past week has produced lights out
striped bass fishing on all the rips
around Monomoy. We had been traveling to
Nantucket for weeks and are thrilled to
have the stripers a half hour away. The
fish have been caught with jigs, Hogies,
Rapalas, spoons and umbrella rigs. |
6/19/08
School Bluefin Tuna Bite
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The bluefin bite has been great all week
East Of Chatham with multiple fish the
norm. Most of the fish are over 50" with
some in the 60's. If it continues this
will be the best season in years. |
6/17/08
Sankaty Light at Nantucket
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The Maverick has fished Nantucket for
the last four days and averaged 40
striper keepers on each trip. Not to
mention even more bluefish. The bass
were caught trolling and spin casting.
This lights out light tackle fishing
should continue into the last week of
June and then it will be closer to home
at Stone Horse and Bearse Shoal. Please
join us for some of the best offshore
fishing on the East Coast. |
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We start school bluefin this week. The
tuna are here. My fishing buddy Capt.
Bill Regan caught three this weekend
east of Chatham on custom
Maverick Tackle
spreader bars and teasers. |
03/26/08
Stripers and
Bluefish
We have been
fishing the Tom Shoal area at Martha's Vineyard
for a week with no success for striped bass. We
have marked a lot of fish holding deep but they
aren't quite ready to eat. But the bluefish bite
has been red hot with most trips averaging
twenty five to thirty big bruisers. And at the
end of the incoming tide they are right on top
taking poppers on light spinning rods. In the
few fish we kept the stomachs contained small
scup and squid. No sand eels.
But speaking of
sand eels my buddy Capt. Bill Regan steamed to
the Regal Sword on Sunday. Then he went south
past the BB Buoy towards the BA Buoy looking for
school tuna. What he found was a huge school of
humpbacks and porpoise feeding on sand eels.
Tons of bait. The warmest water was 53 to 54
degrees.
With that kind of
life the school bluefin tuna can't be far
behind. They showed in the first week of June
last year. We will post as soon as the first
schoolie is brought in.
02/19/08
Our
2007 Charter Fishing Season
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We
started the season fishing for stripers
and blues at Martha's Vineyard on
Memorial Day weekend with a consistent
bite. They had migrated to Sankaty Light
at Nantucket by early June and the
fishing was great. By late June they
were on the shoals of Monomoy with
lights out fishing until early August.
Then we experienced a little weather
with temperature fluctuations that made
it day by day. But we always found the
bass at one of the rips on each side of
Pollack Rip Channel. Jigs and tubes with
squid teasers or tube and worm
combinations caught the most and largest
fish. Many trips cast lures into the
rips on light spinning tackle and
enjoyed great action.
The
school tuna arrived in early June and
have provided great fishing right
through October. We have had many great
days with limits on tuna and caught
stripers and bonito on the way home.
Squid bars were the ticket early with
rainbow the favorite color. Then
ballyhoo and green machine trains
started taking hold in late Sept. and
Oct. Once we saw half beaks the ballyhoo
were a consistent producer. The green
machines worked all year but were more
consistent in late Sept. and Oct.
We are
still giant tuna fishing right into Nov.
when the weather permits. While catching
bluefish for bait we are still catching
keeper bass and bonito off the " C Buoy"
in Chatham. We have not caught a giant
but had one crash a kited bluefish. The
Maverick has caught and released a ton
of blue sharks in the process as well as
a Mako estimated by Steve and I at 600#.
We have caught a lot of Makos and this
was one of the largest. While trying to
get a picture before release it ate
through the cable mousetrap in a couple
minutes.
All in
all...a great season. Thanks, Jack. |
Offshore
Pursuits 2007
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These are the goals of my
partner Dave Dodsworth and I
for Offshore Pursuits for
the coming year.
"First, all of us at
Offshore Pursuits LLC want
to wish all of you and your
friends and families the
greatest holiday season
ever! We also hope that 2007
will happy, prosperous, and
full of fulfilled fantasies!
By that we mean the giant
bluefin tuna you have been
dreaming about, or the 50
lb. striped bass, or maybe
your first blue marlin!
These are fantasies that
Offshore Pursuits can help
you fulfill!" |
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"As you can see, Offshore
Pursuits is undergoing some
major changes. We will still
offer the same great
reports, tips, stories and
information that we have
always offered, plus much
more!" |
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"We are partnering with a
brand new company that will
allow you to book the
fishing charter of your
dreams, online. We will help
you choose your boat, secure
the dates you desire, make
the deposit, and guarantee
you a trip with a top notch
captain and crew. All the
charters and captains that
we do business with are
known and trusted by us
personally, and are the best
in class for the species and
areas that they fish. Watch
for the details of this
exciting new service in the
coming weeks." |
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"One of the major
accomplishments for 2007 is
the expansion of our Fishing
Reports network. We are
partnering with offshore and
inshore captains to bring
you a comprehensive overview
of what is happening, when,
and where. These reports
will be as near to "real
time" as possible. We will
also be including video
streams with some of our
reports showing you what is
really going on."
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"Speaking of videos, we will
also be accepting user
submitted clips to be
included in our Gallery
2007. Not only will you be
able to see some great
pictures of some great fish,
but you will be able to view
some action clips as well!" |
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"Another huge accomplishment
for Offshore Pursuits in
2007 is the addition of our
own dedicated server. I
won't bore you with the
details, but it is the best
in class. We are offering
managed hosting packages to
any fishing related web
sites, as well as design and
management packages."
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"Having said all this,
please be patient with us
for the next few weeks. As
always, there will be bugs
that need to be worked out.
We are eager to hear your
suggestions, comments, and
criticisms of what we have,
and of what we could have to
make Offshore Pursuits the
best it can be for you, the
vistor." |
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"Thanks...Capt. Jack and
Dave." |
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An
Important Message To All Anglers
Dear striped bass fisherman – our favorite fish is under more pressure
than ever, and Stripers Forever , a free
membership, internet-based organization
is
fighting for them on many fronts. They need
as many members as
possible to show the
politicians how many people depend on
striped bass for recreation, food, and
income.
If you haven't signed up yet as a member of Stripers Forever, here are a
few things you should know:
Here is all that you have to do, it will take less than a minute and
cost nothing:
Ø Go to
www.stripersforever.org
Ø Select Become A Member
Ø Fill out the very easy to follow sign up sheet.
This is a critical time for striped bass.
Help Stripers Forever successfully
advocate
to protect wild striper populations by
Making It A Gamefish.
Thank you from the Stripers Forever board
of directors
AN OCEAN
RAPE
The Hyannis Anglers giant
bluefin tourney boasted fifty four of the best
tuna
boats in the country. One giant was caught
in three days of fishing. For a month prior to
the tourney the herring seiners had pounded the
area. And they
continued right through this
weekend. Last Wednesday Capt. Ed Carreiro on the
Reel Attitude was chumming east of the BB Bouy
with two seiners trawling right behind his
lines. On one haul back he saw school tuna
floating away on the
surface. He caught and
released a medium bluefin that had net marks all
over the body. Last year hundreds of large dead
stripers were observed floating in the
area the
herring seiners were working.
After ruining the tuna fishing
in the Gulf of Maine these vessels were
restricted. Now they have moved their effort to
the Great South Channel and decimated the
herring stocks and any hope of a Fall bite. No
bait, no fish.
A number of fishing groups have
organized to put pressure on NMFS to curtail
this slaughter. You can help. Please visit:
http://www.choircoalition.org
September Combo
School Tuna/Bass Trips
We have enjoyed great
action for school/medium
bluefin at the Figs and
Regal Sword. Many combo
trips finish the day at
Bearses tangling with
stripers, bonito and
blues. On 9/9 the
Kovalcik family caught
five school bluefin to
43" before noon. We
steamed to bearses and
caught four green
bonito, three keeper
stripers and a bunch of
bluefish. A great finale
to a great day.
On 9/18 we started
trolling at the Figs
with the Haynes
Management group and
immediately got crashed
on the green Tuna Train.
The fish hit three times
but missed the hook.
Smart tuna. Shortly
after we boated and
released a 42" beauty.
With the tide running
hard to the south we
sagged down to a group
of humpbacks feeding
aggressively at the
Regal Sword. Capt. Steve
added a naked ballyhoo
with Bait Shower Teaser
to the mix and we made a
pass by the whales.
Bang. Tim was on to a
bruiser with our
lightest standup rod. A
half hour later the tug
of war ended with a
beautiful 64" 140#
bluefin hitting the
deck. We finished the
day at Bearses with five
keeper bass, two bonito
and bluefish. Mary won
the bass derby with a
35" 22# striper. After a
quick stop to say hello
to the seals on Monomoy
we cruised back to Allen
Harbor and enjoyed the
Sun set on a wonderful
day.
This great fishing will
continue right thru
October.
Capt. Jack
Summer of 2006
The Maverick has been
booked every day with
two charters on many
days. We lost a couple
of days to weather but
the days off were a
needed rest and an
opportunity to work on
tackle. The fishing has
been great with most
trips catching all the
bass and blues they
could handle. Our
largest striper was a
48" 40# bruiser from
Stonehorse Shoal.
On a recent stand up
tuna trip with my
partner Dave on Offshore
Pursuits
www.offshorepursuits.com
we caught four school
tuna in an hour with the
largest fish around
100#. We were using our
Tuna Trains and East Of
Chatham squid bars.
Black and natural were
the preferred colors.
We stll have openings in
Sept. for striper and
school tuna trips. Last
year the tuna bite in
Sept. was the best in
years and this Fall is
shaping up as a repeat
performance.
Please take a look at
our Summer of 2006 photo
gallery. Thanks to all
of you for a terrific
summer.
Regards,
Capt. Jack
2005 - A Great
Fishing Season
2005 was a fantastic
year. We caught tons of
stripers and blues early
in the season on Tom
Shoal at Marthas
Vineyard and Bearse
Shoal at Monomoy. Most
were released for the
future. The Maverick won
the Allen Harbor 4th of
July tournament for the
second straight year.
The most productive mid
to late season action
was at Nantucket
(Sankaty), Monomoy (High
Bank), Chatham (Inlet)
and Nauset. The
school/medium bluefin
tuna bite was the best I
have seen in years. We
pursued this great
gamefish in August and
September on Crab Ledge,
the "BC" buoy and the
Regal Sword. We had many
6-8 hour charters with
10-15 plus tuna up to
90# on stand-up 30's and
50's. The charter was
allowed to keep one to
three fish based on the
Regs at the time of the
trip. In October we
began Giant Bluefin Tuna
fishing and had three
beauties in three
straight days. 700#
plus, 600# plus, and
550#. One of our 2004
catches, 540#, was
featured in the On The
Water magazine TV show
on NESN. The 550# catch
in 2005 will be shown on
the Offshore magazine TV
show featuring Allen
Harbor this winter.
New For 2006
REPOWER
Exciting News! We have
repowered the "Maverick"
with new Volvo Penta
430HP engines with
trolling valves. The
benefits to you are:
* Increased speed to 30
knots plus.
* No diesel smoke
* Quieter ride
* Increased range to
include the Notheast
Canyons.
CANYON TRIPS
We are offering one and
two day overnight canyon
trips for yellowfin and
big eye tuna, albacore,
blue and white marlin,
mahi mahi, and night
swordfish. If you have
an interest in this
fabulous fishing
experience please
contact Capt. Jack to
plan a customized trip.
TOURNAMENT FISHING
For any of our anglers
looking to share the fun
and excitement of a big
game tournament we are
available for the
Hyannis Anglers Giant
Bluefin or Monster Shark
tournaments. In 2005 we
caught three giants
(700# plus, 600# plus
and 550#) in three
straight days. This run
began the day after the
Hyannis tuna tournament
ended. We were not
entered because we had
booked the tournament
days for school tuna
back in the winter. This
year we will reserve
those days for the
tournaments. If you
would like to share this
big game experience
please contact Capt.
Jack for details and
costs.
SOUTHERN TRIP (FT.
Lauderdale and Grenada)
We just had a big
snowstorm last Fri. and
the temp went down to 5
degrees this morning.
I can't wait for spring,
wish we were back in
Fla. JoAnn and I just
returned from a great
southern trip. I caught
two tough swordfish at
night in Ft. Lauderdale
with Capt. Cary Hanna of
New Lattitude
Sportfishing. It's great
to see this fishery
rebound. For more info
click on the SFC logo on
the left of this page.
We kept the largest
(165#) and released the
little guy.
In Grenada, JoAnn had a
200# plus blue marlin on
for a short time. I saw
it come up behind,
follow and inhale a
smoker off the left
rigger. It greyhounded
with four beautiful
jumps right behind the
boat, took a ten second
head shaking fit and
spit the hook. An hour
later she caught, tagged
and released a 60# white
marlin. JoAnn also had a
couple of short strike
sailfish knockdowns on
ballyhoo. So we saw a
"grand slam" but didn't
catch it. We fished with
Capt.Gary Clifford at
True Blue Sportfishing.
Gary runs the "Yes Aye"
which started life as
the tender on the 100'
mothership "El Zorro".
Grenada is a beautiful
island with great
bluewater fishing if you
are down that way.
Offshore Sport
Fishing - Uninvited
Guests
One of the favorite
baits that Steve and I
use for giant tuna
fishing is drifting with
live bluefish. We stop
at Monomoy on the way
out and grab four small
blues which is about the
max for my livewell.
After steaming to the
grounds about 35 miles
southeast of Monomoy, we
set up and deploy two
bluefish on balloons.
One will be set to swim
on top and the other
weighted to swim around
30 feet. Based upon the
drift we will either
chum or drop scent in
the water.
Guest #1. JoAnn and I
were fishing alone a few
years back, using the
same techniques, and
watched the seine boat
plane move over one pod
of giants after another.
As soon as the plane
located a good body of
fish, smoke would pour
from the seine boat as
it started steaming. The
spotter plane would move
away and then circle
somewhere else to decoy
all the sport boats away
from the numbers it had
given the seiner on a
scrambled private radio
channel. We brought in
our bluefish, ran to the
spot before the seine
boat, put out the live
blues with scent in the
water and saw a few
giant tails swim by.
Five minutes later we
had both balloons
disappear and were tight
with two giants.
Unfortunately, after
many rod switches, we
only landed one giant
tuna but had a great day
of sportfishing at the
seiners private party.
Guest # 2. Recently,
Steve and I were
swimming a couple of
bluefish early in the
morning east of
Nantucket and saw a blue
shark playing with our
balloon. As we only had
three bluefish, it could
have been a very short
day. I told Steve to
crank in the bluefish by
the blue shark as
quickly as possible, and
we would make a move. I
jumped on the other rod
and began reeling in
slowly to get the second
bait out of the area of
the blue. As I reeled in
the swimmer about 100
feet from the stern I
saw a large object
similar to the shape of
a small submarine
following the bluefish.
It swam slowly at the
same speed I was
reeling. At first I
thought it might be one
of the small whales we
had seen feeding in the
area or a basking shark.
Lo and behold, when this
mamouth was about twenty
feet from the boat I
realized it was a great
white just sizing up a
snack. As I retreived
the bluefish and pulled
it over the gunnel, the
great white's head came
out of the water right
behind the bluefish,
turned and swam down the
side of the boat. When
its tail was at the
stern I looked forward
and its head was past
the middle of the
Maverick which is 38'
long. Hello! A 17'- 19'
great white.
Tightlines,
Capt. Jack, Steve and
JoAnn
Maverick
Charters helps boost
"Guide for the Gulf"
Katrina Relief Fund
The Katrina hurricane
relief auction for Gulf
Coast fisherman,
sponsored by "Sport
Fishing" magazine, has
raised $40,058 for this
non-profit fund.
Maverick Charters Ltd.
donated a day of
sportfishing that had a
high bid of $400 for
this cause. The trip
will sail from beautiful
Allen Harbor Marine to
fish the fabled rips of
Monomoy for stripers and
blues.
Happy New Year- wishing
you the best in 2006.
What To Bring On
A Cape Cod Charter
To make your trip more
enjoyable we suggest
that you include the
following items when
planning your fishing
charter:
A cooler for your catch
which can be left in
your car or truck until
we return to Allen
Harbor. We will fillet,
bag and ice any fish the
party would like to keep
for the table as well as
suggest new recipes for
you to try.
We have a variety of
sunscreens on board but
most folks prefer their
own brand.
A camera is a must.
Water resistant if
possible.
Sunglasses should be
polarized and UV
resistant for the most
protection and glare
reduction.
A hat will also provide
a great deal of sun
protection.
Please bring a maximum
of two coolers on board
with your lunch, snacks
and any beverages. Beer
is fine in moderation
but hard liquor is not
allowed for your safety.
We have water and ice on
board.
No black-soled shoes are
allowed as they permeate
the white deck and
require an hour of
scrubbing with special
compounds to remove.
Rain gear depending on
the weather forecast as
well as a jacket or
sweatshirt. It is
usually ten degrees
cooler on the ocean than
the mainland.
You should also bring
any medications that are
prescribed for a member
of the party. Also, if
anyone is prone to
motion sickness you
should purchase in
advance and follow the
manufacturers
instructions. We are not
allowed to
dispense any medication
while at sea.
If there are any special
requirements or concerns
you should contact the
Captain in advance so
they can be accomodated.
Tightlines,
Capt. Jack
European Union
Destroying Bluefin Tuna
Stocks
The World Wildlife Fund
provided the following
report. It is very
disturbing because North
American fishermen have
reduced quotas and
attempted to rebuild
this resource for years.
Daily quotas and size
limits were designed to
enhance reproduction of
mature fish. It has been
proven with archival
tags that many of our
Northeast bluefin
reproduce in the
Mediterranean. The
Europeans catch and keep
any and all bluefin with
the few regulations
ignored and not enforced
in many countries. All
of us including the
bluefin have and will
continue to suffer from
this devestation. This
is their report.
Mediterranean bluefin
tuna near collapse
Download
ATRT report 2005 [pdf,
8.48 MB]
TUNA FARMING IN THE
MEDITERRANEAN [pdf, 561
KB]
Current levels of
fishing are 2.5 times
higher than the bluefin
tuna populations can
sustain.
© WWF/Carlos G.
Vallecillo
Send this link to a
friend
Print Page
At stake is not only the
survival of the bluefin
tuna, but also the
livelihood of thousands
of fishermen and their
families in Europe.
© WWF-Canon / Hélène
Petit
Bluefin tuna, Tsujiki
fish market, Tokyo,
Japan.
© WWF-Canon / Michael
SUTTON
18 May 2006
Rome, Italy – At the
start of the commercial
fishing season of the
bluefin tuna in the
Mediterranean,
traditional tuna-trap
fishermen in southern
Spain are facing an
unprecedented crisis.
Catches are down by a
staggering 80 per cent
at this time last year,
according to the Tuna
Trap Producers
Association (OPP51). WWF
is alarmed that the
entire Mediterranean
bluefin tuna fishery is
now bordering on
collapse.
“Six hundred families
dependent on the tuna
trap fishery are on the
verge of ruin in
southern Spain, like
hundreds more across the
Mediterranean,” said
Marta Crespo, Director
General of OPP51.
“Humanity is losing a
magnificent species as
well as over 3,000 years
of history. What is the
EU waiting for?”
Tuna farming – the
fattening of wild
bluefin tuna in cages –
is driven mainly by the
Japanese market demand
for sushi. This has
dramatically increased
the amount of bluefin
tuna caught from an
already overexploited
stock in the
Mediterranean by a
growing industrial
fleet. Increasing
farming capacity in turn
urges industrial fleets
to catch even more tuna,
regardless of the fact
that population levels
are very low. Industrial
fishermen will go to any
lengths to increase
catch size, sometimes
including illegal
activity.
WWF fears that EU fleets
will again this year
contravene international
fishing regulations in
the Mediterranean.
The latest figures on
tuna farming capacity
officially reported to
the International
Commission for the
Conservation of Atlantic
Tunas (ICCAT) — the most
important body for the
regulation of the
bluefin tuna fishery in
the Mediterranean — show
an increase of 8,500
tonnes with respect to
two months ago,
resulting in a total
authorised farming
capacity of 51,012
tonnes.
It is shocking that
ICCAT, having previously
established a total
allowable catch of the
bluefin tuna stock of
32,000 tonnes, is
authorising such an
inflated farming
capacity, which cannot
be matched with catch
size. This is clearly
encouraging 20,000
tonnes of bluefin tuna
to be illegally caught.
The EU plays a major
role in the ICCAT and ,
as such, must take the
initiative to drive
forward effective
recovery and management
measures. WWF’s top
requests include
extending the seasonal
closure for industrial
tuna fishing in the
Mediterranean, and
improving regulation. It
is now or never to save
the bluefin tuna – this
year is the defining
moment for the species’
survival.
“One of the most
important fisheries in
the world is showing
strong signs of
collapse. Given its
responsibility in this
fishery, the EU has to
take the lead at ICCAT
in conservation and
management measures,”
said Sergi Tudela,
Fisheries Officer at the
WWF Mediterranean
Programme Office.
“If an urgent recovery
plan is not approved
this year, including
tighter quotas, it is
highly likely that this
fishery will disappear
entirely in the very
near future.”
For further information:
Gemma Parkes,
Communications Officer
WWF Mediterranean
Programme
Tel: +39 6 844 97 224
Email: gparkes@wwfmedpo.org
Page last updated: May
18, 2006. © All
photos/graphics remain
the copyright of WWF
Posted on 26 May
2006 by
Captain Jack
Spring Fishing
in the Fog
It is Memorial Day
weekend and the Maverick
is departing Harwich
Port for Tom Shoal off
of Martha's Vineyard in
a blind fog.
Captain Jack, has a
group of great guys on
board all looking to
enjoy a day of fishing
for stripers and blues.
The Maverick's course
will take them over
Horseshoe Shoal, the
proposed site of Cape
Wind, and bring them to
an area off
Chappaquiddick that
produces very well in
the early season.
Charter boats like the
Maverick can't fish
Monomoy, which is much
closer, as the stripers
have not gotten that far
north in their
migration.
As the Maverick crosses
the sound there are a
number of targets ahead
on the radar screen.
From experience the
target size and speed
indicates two of the
ferries from Hyannis to
Nantucket. One
departing, one
returning.
There are also other
small boat traffic on
the radar. Maverick's
party wonders why he is
not chatting with them.
But, that is his mate's
job as Cap't Jack has
his head buried in the
radar adjusting speed
and course to avoid
these targets.
Thankfully, none of the
boats have to dodge the
proposed generator and
130 turbines projected
for this area. On a day
like today they all have
their hands full in this
blanketing fog without
the need for more
hazards to navigation.
Not to mention the
additional time it would
take to avoid that
proposed minefield.
Once at the Vineyard
they mix in with the
fleet of charter boats
which could only be seen
on radar even though
they were just a few
hundred feet away.
They set the lines in
and the fishing is
superb. Each angler
keeps a striper for
dinner and the other 34
keepers are released for
another day.
Massachusetts law allows
two fish per angler but
these guys are true
sportsmen and
conservationists. The
large majority of
charter boats release
most or all of their
catch keeping only what
the party can use for
dinner.
Now the guys can sit
back with a beer and
reminisce about the
great day of sport
fishing they enjoyed.
The fog never does lift.
So, the Maverick rides
home in the Chatham
Sunshine, the locals
term for fog.
Captain Jack says "If
charters canceled all
trips due to fog they
would hardly ever leave
the dock and the good
folks would not have the
opportunity to
experience the thrill of
a lifetime. The
recreational and fishing
community doesn't need
any more obstacles and
safety hazards than
Mother Nature already
provides" And adds
"Please help us find a
land based or deep water
location for any
proposed wind farm."
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