I would like opinions on the effect of long liners off our coasts. I believe it has deceased the amount and quality of fish in the last 5-10 years. Let her rip.
There were more longliners catching more fish on the East Coast in the 80s and 90s…
There are a whole lot more recreational boats out there now than there were 20 years ago. I think easy credit and technology is more to blame. And dont forget to look upstream of us - alot more rec fishimg off the Florida coast…
Back in the 90s when we were catching yft on wire and navigating home on the loran chain (when it was working), you saw very few if any boats out there. I remember the first time I saw a single engine cc boat just offshore of the weather bouy. I thought they were absolutely crazy. Probably 94 or 95.
I think he’s hit it on the head with that statement!
I remember navigating a head boat with a timepiece and a magnetic compass. We would clear the 3rd buoy past the jetties , turn and run the course for the time it should take to get there. Hit & miss some days. Very different today. With good GPS you can find a rock the size of a file box on the bottom. With good SST info and electronics, long liners today can target their species better and maximize the catch. They feed lots of people.
I used to run to the L buoy off Savannah Light Tower(knocked down by a ship couple of years ago)with a compass…flasher depth finder and turn the paper recorder on when the bottom cam up. Same way to the banks…run time and distance for available fuel. 23 Seabird with 350 chevy/electric shift OD…
Learned Loran on a Meico Seamaster…tune the little lines in a bouncing boat…sit at R2W in the fog afraid to run in.
Yea, things are much better.
My point about the longliners is the bycatch. I would like to know how many work the stream below us. Is there a resource to give any ideas. I’ve seen 3 at one time around th 100 fathom curve a couple of years ago…none on my last 2 trips.
I understand it is a necessary fishery…the question is how much? I used to sell fish to pay fuel and repairs. Now I give them to friends that don’t go anymore cause they TO OLD! They can gum fish.
Ipilot trolling motors on the reef make it so any asshat can get setup now.
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Down here is where a signature goes but they can confuse and anger some people so I don’t have one.
quote:
Originally posted by CaptFritzIpilot trolling motors on the reef make it so any asshat can get setup now.
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Down here is where a signature goes but they can confuse and anger some people so I don’t have one.
Why do they have to be an asshat? I’ll bet some good folk have Ipilots.
“If Bruce Jenner can keep his wiener and be called a woman, I can keep my firearms and be considered disarmed.”
I think the fishing off of SC is great. Florida has to GD many people fishing. The place has been loved to death. Aquaculture needs to take the place on 90 prct of commercial fishing. Leave the rest for the rec guys. What if all we ate for chicken and red meat were relied on by wild species. There would be civil war.
quote:I agree completely. Watching 20 Yankee boats work the Hump is a hoot. In the 80's there weren't many boats off Savannah in the Stream. The fishing was phenomenal. I believe that has changed. I'll find out this season with the weather allowing. I don't believe a rec boat(s) can wipe out a school as well as a longliner can. I have no factual data other than watching dolphin bite bare hooks with their comrade hooked beside the boat. Hope I'm wrong.
Originally posted by RedstripeI think the fishing off of SC is great. Florida has to GD many people fishing. The place has been loved to death. Aquaculture needs to take the place on 90 prct of commercial fishing. Leave the rest for the rec guys. What if all we ate for chicken and red meat were relied on by wild species. There would be civil war.
I ran nearly 200 miles the other day in my 25’ boat and caught fish of all sorts everywhere I went from 90’ to the ledge. Never saw another boat, much less a Yankee boat, whatever that is.
The commercial offshore fleet is just a shadow of what it used to be. At any one time there were a dozen long liners in Shem Creek and Cherry point, now you are lucky to see one or two. Bottom boats are few in number with only one working out of Charleston and only a handful between here and murrels inlet. Recreational boats on the other hand are exploding like bacteria and the numbers show no signs of slowing down. Have you noticed a difference in B liners since all the head boats left the area? I sure have as we can consistently catch footballs on every trip and limit out. I have worked on long liners and shark boats in the 80s, Captained snapper boats in the 90s and have commercially fished one way or another for the last 30 years. It is a very tough way to make a living especially now with all the government overreach. It is a dying way of life and I believe regulations will put most of them out of business in the next 10 years. Unless you fish for yourself get used to eating imported Seafood
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
We need to start farming the seas. All of the stigmas attached to this can be overcome. They have developed an Omega 3 rich seaweed as a feed stock. Commercial guys need to become a niche market.
quote:
Originally posted by sellsfishThe commercial offshore fleet is just a shadow of what it used to be. At any one time there were a dozen long liners in Shem Creek and Cherry point, now you are lucky to see one or two. Bottom boats are few in number with only one working out of Charleston and only a handful between here and murrels inlet. Recreational boats on the other hand are exploding like bacteria and the numbers show no signs of slowing down. Have you noticed a difference in B liners since all the head boats left the area? I sure have as we can consistently catch footballs on every trip and limit out. I have worked on long liners and shark boats in the 80s, Captained snapper boats in the 90s and have commercially fished one way or another for the last 30 years. It is a very tough way to make a living especially now with all the government overreach. It is a dying way of life and I believe regulations will put most of them out of business in the next 10 years. Unless you fish for yourself get used to eating imported Seafood
.
PROUD YANKEEOyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Commercial guys and Rex guys are in direct competition. And even though most Rec guys have a respect for the hard work it takes making a living that way, they’re probably not too sad to see the commercial fleet go away.
2014 Key West 203DFS
1987 Landau
I’ve heard theories about water a quality and coral changes in the Bahamas and florida. It summed it up to the water getting to hot and clear producing less micro life which just increases the water clarity and radiant energy and heat that reaches the bottom. This causes damage, slow growth, and death to the corals and other components of the reef that build the support the base of the eco systems. The combination of natural process, invasive species and the impact of the fishing and boating industries is just greater than the natural pattern of reproduction. The greatest impact we can control would be the commercial industry. Sources will depleted unless we farm them. Imagine if we didn’t farm cattle or chicken they would be extinct.
quote:
Originally posted by RedstripeWe need to start farming the seas. All of the stigmas attached to this can be overcome. They have developed an Omega 3 rich seaweed as a feed stock. Commercial guys need to become a niche market.
I’ve got a better idea, though fairly similar…
The government should give the coastal states a few million bucks each year to develop their artificial reefs. We have about 45 or so in SC and our budget is pretty small (100K-200K if I recall). 95% of the ocean floor out to the continental shelf is just barren sand. Imagine what our fishery would be like if there were 1000+ artificial reefs off of our coast and if the numbers were only published on maybe 30% of them? Fishing would be stupid…
A prime example is Alabama. 100 years ago they had ZERO structure off of their coastline. They now have more than 20,000 artificial reefs out there. With only 7% of the coastline of the GOM states, they harvest 40% of the red snapper.
In the late 1800’s the commercial snapper boats were able to crash the fishery by harvesting 2 MILLION pounds of red snapper each year. This was on a virgin fishery that had been untouched for millions of years.
Now, there is so much artificial structure in the GOM, the “Total Allowable Catch” (amount the government says we can safely harvest) is somewhere around 11 MILLION pounds.
How is it that we can harvest 5.5 times the amount that the VIRGIN stock could sustain? Easy. We’ve created more habitat out there than there was during pre-historic times (artificial reefs, oil rigs, etc).
The answer is simple. Create more habitat, create more fish. Most 5 year olds could figure this out. But our government is too scared to “touch the ocean”.
Let’s assume that the recreational fleet is growing (which it is) and it grows 3-5% eac
quote:Or we could ban white braid.
Originally posted by 40inchredsI’ve heard theories about water a quality and coral changes in the Bahamas and florida. It summed it up to the water getting to hot and clear producing less micro life which just increases the water clarity and radiant energy and heat that reaches the bottom. This causes damage, slow growth, and death to the corals and other components of the reef that build the support the base of the eco systems. The combination of natural process, invasive species and the impact of the fishing and boating industries is just greater than the natural pattern of reproduction. The greatest impact we can control would be the commercial industry. Sources will depleted unless we farm them. Imagine if we didn’t farm cattle or chicken they would be extinct.
And to your point about cattle and chicken farming. I’m glad we farm them, otherwise, we wouldn’t have the thriving populations of wild cattle and chickens now 
Artificial reefs without publishing the numbers would provide huge benefits. Talk to DNR about their secret 70’ reef they have been studying since the 90’s. It’s loaded with a wide variety of species and hardly any fishing pressure. Another 1,000 reefs would be great.
Olde Man Charters
843-478-1538
Oldemancharters@gmail.com
286 Seafox/Twin 300’s
quote:They will be publishing those numbers soon! They worked with the feds to turn these into MPAs. Huge mistake on their part. I normally side with the local guys 99.999999% of the time and love what they do, but they screwed up on this one.
Originally posted by sulcatamanArtificial reefs without publishing the numbers would provide huge benefits. Talk to DNR about their secret 70’ reef they have been studying since the 90’s. It’s loaded with a wide variety of species and hardly any fishing pressure. Another 1,000 reefs would be great.
Olde Man Charters
843-478-1538
Oldemancharters@gmail.com
286 Seafox/Twin 300’s
Those are great ideas, but pressure needs to ease on wild stocks.
quote:
Originally posted by RedstripeThose are great ideas, but pressure needs to ease on wild stocks.
I disagree (depending on which stock\fishery you are talking about). I think that the current limits (at least in our area) are fine. Sure, the local reefs get pounded beyond comprehension, but most of our fishery is hidden. If you are talking about pelagics, then yes, my points about reef building are not applicable.
That being said, this is a simple supply vs demand issue. You say, “we need to reduce demand” (i.e. reduce pressure). But your ability to meet that demand is only limited by your supply. If you increase supply, you can increase demand. If supply can outpace demand, then there is no reason to further decrease demand.
One more thing to point out. It’s 2017. We solve everything by technology. Imagine if we determined that the world was running out of corn. Would you tell me that we need to limit the pressure on corn? Maybe that is a valid recommendation, but wouldn’t it make sense to look at technology? Other potential solutions would be to increase corn production (i.e. more fields, research how to get more corn per acre, larger corn, etc).
Also, know that in the great lakes > 90% of the fish caught are from hatcheries. So, it’s possible to sustain the “wild” using technology.
Until you can stop mankind from increasing in number, technology is really the only sustainable solution.
Again, my “ideas” have been proven. Alabama is a prime example. It’s time to scale it out.