Mfcn Spring 2008

Network News Forage Fish Update

Vol. 13, Issue 1 May 2008 In this Issue... Letter from the Executive Director

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NOAA’s Fiscal Year 2009

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Pacific Update

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Gulf of Mexico Update

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Mid-Atlantic Update

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South Atlantic Update

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New Network Staff

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Initiatives in Shark Management

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New Network Members

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Calendar

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~~~~~~ The Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network) is a coalition of more than 200 environmental organizations, commercial and recreational fishing associations, and marine science groups that advocates national policies to achieve healthy oceans and productive fisheries. Please visit: www.conservefish.org

The Network has been hard at work advocating for the little fish in our oceans. Known as “forage fish”, these mostly small and short-lived species like sardines, squid, anchovies, and menhaden are crucial species to healthy ocean ecosystems. Forage fish take up nutrients such as plankton and make that energy available to upper level predators like birds, predator fish such as striped bass and salmon, and marine mammals. Without this crucial link connecting the primary productivity of sunlight-generated energy to higher trophic level animals, we won’t have bigger fish or fishing opportunities. But an antiquated management system and increasing pressure on forage fish from industrial fisheries are threatening the health of forage fish stocks nationally and globally. The existing management system in the U.S. pressures managers to reduce fish populations to forty percent of their unfished biomass; when they do so for forage fish management this significantly reduces the amount of forage available to marine birds, fish and mammals. A sharp increase in industrial fishing fishing on forage fish species is also underway for what are called “reduction fisheries”. These fisheries employ massive nets to catch hundreds of millions of pounds of forage fish and then grind them up for use in industrial production of cattle, pigs, chickens and increasingly, for salmon, tuna and other predator fish. Aquaculture, in particular, is a highly inefficient use of this valuable natural resource, requiring between three and ten pounds of forage fish to produce only one pound of farm-raised fish. Since early 2007, the Network has focused its efforts on reforming national policy and examining key regional forage fish issues to promote an ecosystem-based fishery management that puts conservative management policies first and foremost. We are convinced that in order to ensure the health of forage fish populations, catch levels should be based on what is necessary to satisfy the needs of predation. At the national level, the Network has targeted the federal government’s revision of National Standard 1, a set of regulatory guidelines that federal fishery managers use to set catch levels for U.S. fish populations. The passage of the

Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act in 2006 required fishery managers to rethink how to set catch levels to prevent overfishing and ensure sustainable fish populations. The Network submitted a detailed proposal to the National Marine Fisheries Service-the agency responsible for writing the revised guidelines-outlining exactly how the agency could modify its guidelines to enact conservative management of forage fish populations. Following that, the Network coordinated a scientist sign-on letter to the agency backing the Network’s call for more conservative management. Ninety-two scientists nationwide signed on to that letter. Those efforts resulted in a meeting with fisheries service staff earlier this year where the Network detailed in-person its outline for management reform. A revised set of guidelines is expected in May and the Network will be writing detailed comments and generating public response to the agency. At the regional level, the Network has held four public education workshops on forage fish. These workshops were designed to educate Network members and others interested in ocean health and fisheries management and more importantly, to solicit feedback from the broad range of Network members with respect to regional forage fish advocacy. The results of those workshops are very exciting to report. In the Gulf of Mexico, regional representative Tom Wheatley held a workshop in November 2007 in New Orleans, bringing together environmental groups, fishing groups and marine scientists. That meeting focused on Gulf menhaden, a species under pressure due to poor management practices, namely that no allowable catch level is set, no bycatch minimization measures are in place, and no analysis of the safe level of catch to protect ecosystem functions has been coordinated. Since that time, Tom has worked closely with the (Network member group) Gulf Restoration Network to create a broad coalition of environmental groups, fishing groups and marine scientists in Texas to successfully convince the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission to modify its regulations for fishing on menhaden in Texas state waters. On the Pacific, regional representative Julie Sherman partnered with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory to hold a very well attended workshop in Continued on page 3

MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

A Letter from the Executive Director As many of you know, we are currently celebrating the 15th year since the founding of the Marine Fish Conservation Network. Since I am relatively new to the Network, I am just now learning the full scope of your accomplishments over these years, which includes some amazing successes. When the Network comes together on June 3 at our Annual Member Meeting in Washington DC, I urge each of you to tell me your memories and assessment of these events. I also want to use this history as a starting point for considering a fundamental question:

What should the Marine Fish Conservation Network do and how should it be structured for the future? Now is the time to begin a conversation with you on this question and begin to frame the answers. I want to start at this year’s Annual Meeting and then work towards concrete conclusions at the semi-annual Advisor meeting and strategic planning session in the fall. I am eager to hear your ideas for what the Network could and should become. Since the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act in January 2007 there have been many changes and accomplishments here at the Network: development of a strategic plan, staff transitions, funding challenges, and even a new director. Along with these changes, in the past six months you and the Network staff have accomplished a great deal. Please allow me to briefly remind you of our accomplishments and encourage you to celebrate them:

Promoting Implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Although draft rules have yet to be published by National Marine Fisheries Service for guidelines on annual catch limits, environmental review and limited access privilege programs, the Network has been hard at work advocating for implementation of the newly reauthorized law’s provisions to designed to set science-based catch levels, end overfishing and protect family fishermen from consolidation, along with existing requirements to restore overfished populations, protect habitat and minimize bycatch. Since the fall of 2007, we have published several reports detailing the need for the fisheries service to prepare strong rules and have worked with Network members to submit a series of detailed comments to help the fisheries service prepare strong rules.

Promoting Forage Fish Conservation. As a number of the articles in this newsletter attest, we have done extensive work on forage fish conservation as the first step towards ecosystem based fisheries management: we produced a new website (www.foragefish.org); conducted four regional workshops; developed a major scientist-sign-on letter and met with NMFS to encourage including forage fish in new NS1 guidelines.

Regional Advocacy on Fisheries Management. Our four regional representatives produced detailed reports analyzing regional council management performance in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Pacific regions. In addition to watch-dogging these councils for implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the representatives coordinated with regional Network member groups to advocate for proper implementation of the Act, kicked off campaigns to secure conservative management of forage fish populations, and continued to strengthen the Network by reaching out to environmental, fishing and science groups.

Working toward Finding More Funds for Fishery Data Collection. We began conducting some foundation-setting work which yielded two major fact sheets used for Hill education on appropriations.

Strengthening the Network’s Organizational Structure. The Network recently acquired five new members, expanded our Board of Directors to seven, and elected a new Co-Chair (Linda Paul).

Upgrading Our Infrastructure. Thanks to dedicated grants from Munson, Oak, and Ocean Foundations, we have installed a new phone system and begun an overhaul of our website. We trust that these efforts meet with your approval. If you have ideas, concerns, or questions about the work we conduct on your behalf, please let me know anytime by phone (202-543-5509 x6), email ([email protected]) or in person when we meet on June 3.

For the fish and fishermen,

Bruce J. Stedman

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MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

NOAA’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget request for NMFS In February, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the parent agency of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), submitted its budget request for Fiscal Year 2009. Under that proposal, the FY 2009 budget for the fisheries service would be about six percent less than the enacted FY 2008 budget. NOAA’s budget request for NMFS does include increased funding of $31.8 million for activities related to implementation of the new mandates and requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act (MSRA), but these gains have been purchased largely at the expense of budget cuts in other fisheries and management programs. Overall, the budget trend for NMFS over the last seven budget cycles is flat. These trends underscore the key point of recent annual reports of the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI), which assess the nation’s progress toward implementing the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP 2004) and the Pew Oceans Commission (POC 2003). The JOCI reports conclude that chronic under-funding for ocean programs is hindering significant progress in addressing the crises facing our oceans.1 To address shortfalls in funding for fisheries management, the Network has circulated recommendations for increased investment in NMFS fisheries program areas related to expanding data collection and observer coverage, expanding stock assessments, reducing bycatch, protecting habitat, and advancing ecosystem-based initiatives. The word on Capitol Hill, however, is that Congress is unlikely to act on the FY 2009 budget until after elections in the fall. Meanwhile the Network will continue to work with interested member groups to advocate greater funding through Congressional appropriations as well as alternative sources of funding that are not tied to the appropriations process, such as a national trust fund. 1

Joint Ocean Commission Initiative (JOCI), 2006-2007. U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card 2006 and 2007. See: www.jointoceancommission.org.

Continued from front cover - Forage Fish Update

governments, an aquarium, and academia, heard how forage fish are important for the marine environment and how better science is needed to address uncertainties in forage fish dynamics and predator needs. Commercial menhaden fishing to support the fish oil and agricultural industries is leading to localized depletion of menhaden along the Atlantic Coast similar to what occurred in the Gulf of Maine before closures were imposed on mid-water trawling for Atlantic Herring during certain months.

San Francisco in December 2007, bringing together fifty people representing environmental, fishing and science groups along the west coast. A day-long set of presentations from scientists covered the multitude of Pacific coast issues surrounding ecosystem-based fishery management and forage fish. The workshop provided Julie with a solid basis for assessing the various options for forage fish advocacy on the west coast, and she spent much of the winter vetting various proposals with west coast Network members and is currently preparing a campaign plan.

Finally, South Atlantic regional representative Sera Harold held a workshop on April 18th in North Carolina. The workshop featured a keynote from noted author H. Bruce Franklin whose recent book, The Most Important Fish in the Sea, details the history of fishing on menhaden in both the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Here too, many needed next steps were identified by the participants about legislative initiatives, partnerships and advocacy approaches the Network should consider.

Building on the successful “Forage First” campaign by one of our members-National Coalition for Marine Conservation (NCMC)-the Network and NCMC in March co-hosted a workshop in Annapolis that was led by regional representative Brooks Mountcastle. The workshop featured a keynote from Dick Russell and had presentations on herring, menhaden and ecosystem-based fishery management in the Mid-Atlantic. Representatives from conservation organizations, recreational fishing organizations, state and federal

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MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

Pacific Update Council proposals counter legal directive to minimize bycatch The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires fishery managers to minimize bycatch. Despite this directive, the Pacific Fishery Management Council is currently working to initiate a swordfish fishery that would instead increase bycatch. Although the council’s stated approach is to reduce bycatch by guiding a transition of the existing drift gillnet fishery to a longline fishery, the council has not proposed retiring existing gillnet permits in exchange for the longline permits. Instead, the council is proposing to increase the total fishing effort and to allow bycatch. The council has rejected calls from fishermen and conservationists to promote a U.S. West Coast swordfish fishery that will not increase the bycatch of tunas, marlins, marine mammals, seabirds, and endangered sea turtles by analyzing a broader range of gear alternatives including harpoon fishing. The current proposal represents a huge step backwards in council efforts to minimize bycatch. In one very unfortunate example, although Pacific leatherback sea turtle populations remain in critical condition, the council is poised to continue approval an experimental fishing permit that allows longlining for swordfish within the leatherback sea turtle conservation area. The experiment will not yield statistically significant results, but government scientists project it will cause harm to endangered leatherback sea turtles.

Council seeks to increase knowledge of managed species The council recently gave preliminary approval for new assessments on a few of the 71% of its managed fish stocks whose population status remains unknown, including the spiny dogfish, a small shark endangered in other parts of its range, and the bronzespotted rockfish, a long-lived, slow-reproducing species that scientists warn may be declining. The council will also develop assessments for complexes of multiple rockfish species of unknown population status. The Network applauds the council’s proposal to assess little-studied species to determine their population status, and encourages additional assessments of unstudied species as soon as feasible.

Proposed limited access privilege program skirts key standards At recent meetings the council continues to advance a limited access privilege program (LAPP) for the groundfish trawl fishery that does not comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act’s ten year term limit on privilege permits. The proposed LAPP does not have clear measures to ensure conservation, reduce bycatch, and preserve fishing opportunities for new entrants, small vessel owneroperators, and family fishermen. As required by the reauthorized

Magnuson-Stevens Act, the council is hoping to deliver a proposal to Congress by January 2009.

Poor environmental analysis, limited options on allocation amendment A Network review of a recent council proposal to revisit its allocation in the groundfish fishery indicates that the proposal lacks sufficient environmental analysis and provides limited options for managers or the public to consider. Nor does the proposal address the legal requirement to minimize bycatch or quickly restore overfished populations. The Network joined a group of environmental groups and fishing groups urging the council to revisit the proposal.

Gulf of Mexico Update Cap on Gulf Menhaden Fishing - Victory in Texas A strong coalition of fishermen and conservation groups headed by the Marine Fish Conservation Network, the Gulf Restoration Network, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance recently helped advance the protection of Gulf menhaden in Texas state waters. Common from Florida to Texas, Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus) are one of the most significant food sources for predators such as sharks, pelicans, dolphins, and many sport fish. Unfortunately this crucial link in the food chain is highly exploited by an industrial fishery that catches on average more than 1 billion pounds annually to grind and process into fish oil and fish meal. The “Save the Bait” coalition in Texas-consisting of environmental and fishing organizations and local businesses-urged the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to cap the amount of fish caught in state waters, require observers on the menhaden boats to document the species composition and amount of bycatch, and advocate for regional management. On Thursday, March 27, the Commission voted to cap the catch and made clear its desire to keep working on this issue to make further conservation improvements. Bycatch is a major problem for the menhaden industry. Estimated to be only 1 percent of the catch, it does not sound too bad; but 1 percent of a 1 billion pound catch is 10 million pounds of dead sea life annually. The “Save the Bait” coalition is going to keep working to get industry funded and government trained observers on the menhaden boats for the 2009 fishing season. The Network is also working with its partners in Louisiana and Mississippi to ensure that enough menhaden are left in their state waters to fulfill their crucial role in the ecosystem and to reduce the amount of waste generated by this industry.

MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

Continued Inaction by Council on Gag Grouper The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council did not take action at its April 2008 meeting to end overfishing of gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis), a popular recreational angling fish. In October 2006, the National Marine Fisheries Service notified the Gulf Council that overfishing was occurring. It has now been well past the year allowed by Magnuson Stevens Act, as written in October 2006, to end overfishing. After encouraging action on red snapper in 2007, it is discouraging to see the Gulf Council fall back into its old ways of waiting and hoping for better news and delaying action that insures sustainable fisheries.

Mid-Atlantic Update Proposal to define excessive shares stirs controversy Since December 2002, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the investigative arm of Congress, has issued numerous reports on how to improve individual fishing quota programs (now known as limited access privilege programs). In March 2007, NMFS issued a memo telling GAO that they would respond to the recommendations by April 2009. One of GAO’s key recommendations was to require regional fishery management councils to set a definition of “excessive shares” in any existing programs. This idea is reinforced in National Standard 4 of the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA). It is further reinforced in recent amendments to the MSA which require managers to prevent excessive consolidation. Excessive shares have the potential to artificially manipulate the market or disenfranchise smaller fishing operations and fishing communities. The MSA requires that allocation shall be “carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privileges.” Unfortunately, excessive shares are not defined in the existing surfclam/ocean quahog fishery, nor does the council even know who owns the clams that are harvested! How this issue is resolved will have far reaching impacts on other fisheries. The council is considering such a program for the tilefish fishery, which has brought formal concern from Representative Jim Saxton (R-NJ), especially regarding the tilefish industry in Barnegat Light, NJ, and other smaller communities. Saxton noted in his letter to the Assistant Attorney General that improvements to MSA were supposed to address “excessive consolidation,” and “anticompetitive activities.”

Report highlights poor management in 2006 and 2007 In March, the Network released its annual report evaluating the

Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s performance between June 2006 and August 2007. The report highlights the council’s failure to follow scientific recommendations when setting catch levels, a requirement of the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act of 2006. Of the eleven species over which the council has exclusive management authority, three are either overfished or subject to overfishing. In August 2006, the council set catch levels for fish species that are important to the economy of the Mid-Atlantic: summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. In each case, scientists recommended lower catch levels, but the council disregarded that advice and selected a higher catch level, leaving the council with no other choice but to support a lower catch level the following year because the stocks were not recovering sufficiently. Our report is available at www.conservefish.org.

South Atlantic Update Council begins using precautionary management, after courts force the issue Amendment 13C to the Snapper Grouper Fishery Management Plan enacted in 2006 addressed overfishing in snowy grouper, golden tilefish, black sea bass and vermilion snapper. Challenged in the courts by a commercial fishing association, a federal judge required the council to write new amendments to end overfishing of these species immediately and set reasonable rebuilding periods. The Network applauds the council for taking a positive step forward by implementing the new legal requirement to set annual catch limits for these and other species. Notably, the council is poised to set catch levels below the overfishing threshold, decreasing the chance that overfishing will occur. The council still has nine species that are undergoing overfishing and/or are overfished, so there is a long ways to go to get the region’s stocks to healthy levels.

Observer data needed for snapper-grouper fishery The snapper grouper fishery in the south Atlantic is in dire need of a program to record catches. There are many ways to accomplish this coverage (e.g. electronic log books, video monitoring, full retention programs, or traditional observers) but the critical element is federal funding for these programs. In many cases the boats in question are very small and operating at such low profit levels that any additional cost to fishers is prohibitive.

Council moving ahead with fishery ecosystem plan The Network applauds the council moving ahead with its attempt to institute ecosystem-based management. The Fishery Ecosystem Plan has established several marine protected areas (MPAs) in the region and more are being contemplated. While MPAs are certainly a form of ecosystem-based management, the Fishery

MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

Ecosystem Plan itself is more like an encyclopedia of the South Atlantic marine ecosystems. Hopefully the plan is a first step toward ecosystem-based management of our fisheries. The council will need to consider ecosystem-based management to deal with forage fish and trophic interactions, as well as high levels of bycatch in the snapper grouper fishery. Warsaw grouper, for example, is under consideration for the endangered species list. There is no directed fishery allowed for Warsaw grouper, but it is caught by fishermen who target snowy grouper. When these deep water groupers are brought to the boat, their death rate is almost 100% and this bycatch is underreported and difficult to account for.

New Network Staff Sera Harold, South Atlantic Regional Representative In October of 2007 Sera started as the South Atlantic Regional Organizer for the Network. She is a graduate of Cornell, and holds a Masters of Environmental Management from Duke University. After her Master’s degree Sera worked for NOAA at the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in the public outreach department, and in private consulting, coordinating the environmental permitting for government and private enterprise in the Florida Keys. Sera grew up in the U.S. Virgin Islands and held positions as a sea turtle researcher for the Nature Conservancy and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service before going into the Peace Corps in Panama as a Community Environmental Education Volunteer. In Panama, Sera worked with a local cooperative of sea turtle poachers to build community consensus and draft a sea turtle management plan. She recently published a sea turtle outreach book that is in every school in the Wider Caribbean. Based out of Wilmington, North Carolina, Sera religiously fishes for bluefish with her father off the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

Carolina Gou-Leonhardt, Administrative & Fundraising Assistant The Network’s new Administrative and Fundraising Assistant, Carolina is a recent graduate of American University in Washington D.C., with a degree in International Relations and a concentration in Environmental Policy. Carolina was born in Venezuela and has spent a majority of her free time traveling and volunteering internationally. She studied abroad in New Zealand during her junior year where she experienced the unique ecology and learned about innovative conservation methods. It was then that her interest in marine conservation began and was further developed during her internship with the Oceans Team at Greenpeace. Carolina has also recently taken up scuba diving and is planning to dive as often as possible. Her future

plans are to continue her education and obtain a graduate degree in Marine Affairs. Her intention is to help the Network meet its goals and learn what she can from this experience.

Hilary Goodwin, Special Projects Intern The Network’s new Special Projects Intern, Hilary Goodwin, started with us in December. Hilary is from Richmond, Virginia and graduated in May 2005 from the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in International Relations and Environmental Studies. In her senior year, she was selected to participate in the NOAA Population Dynamics Workshop (held through Virginia Tech in the Florida Keys) where she studied the models necessary to assess fish stocks. After college, she worked at an environmental consulting firm, Geo-Marine, Inc., where she helped marine scientists conduct literature research for Marine Resource Assessments for the U.S. Navy. After leaving GMI, she participated in the Oceanic Society’s Marine Mammal Workshop in Belize. The volunteer work she is most proud of is when she assisted the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) with their Annual Shark Longline Survey in the Chesapeake Bay in 2006. She is an advanced NAUI diver who loves to travel to Central America. Shark conservation is one of her lifelong passions and she plans on obtaining her masters in Marine Affairs in the future.

Initiatives for Shark Conservation at the Federal and State Level Between 1950 and 2000 there was a more than a fourfold increase (+220%) in the reported catch of sharks worldwide, not including discards1. Scientists estimate 73 million sharks are killed every year2. Of the catches reported, only 15% are recorded by species; this low level of species identification is a major obstacle to assessment of trends and status relative to overfishing criteria. As of 2006, 20% of the 547 species of sharks were threatened with extinction3. Scientists at Dalhousie University estimate that in the Northwest Atlantic, all recorded shark species with the exception of makos have decreased by more than 50% in the past 8 to 15 years. 4 Growing concerns about the deteriorating status of sharks have prompted calls for international action to conserve sharks by reining in the lucrative trade in shark finning, reducing fishing pressure, and implementing effective management regimes. Sharks have evolved as apex predators and as such they are not adapted to withstand high levels of predation in the form of fishing. Life history characteristics such as slow growth, late sexual maturity and low reproductive potential all make sharks extremely vulnerable to overfishing. There has been intense fishing pressure on sharks that has skyrocketed in the U.S. since the 1970’s.5 An increase in demand for shark fins, resulting from an increase affluence of the middle class in China, is believed to explain this exponential increase in shark

MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK

catch. In 2004, the average price per pound for shark meat was $0.17 while today a bowl of shark fin soup can go for over $100.6 Sharks caught incidentally in other fisheries (bycatch) compounds the pressure on shark populations, with the swordfish and tuna bottom longline industry as the major culprit. An estimated 11 to 13 million sharks are caught as bycatch every year. 7 In July 2007, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) responded to quota overages in 2006 by proposing Amendment 2 to the Consolidated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Fishery Management Plant (FMP). The Gulf of Mexico went over their quota for Large Coastal Sharks (LCS) by 300% in the first trimester last year and by 608% in the second trimester. Due to continued overfishing, the LCS complex is closed to commercial fishing for both the first and second trimester of 2008. The final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for Amendment 2 was published for comment in April 2008 with comments due by May 19th. The final rule is due in June. Amendment 2 examines different management alternatives to rebuild the badly depleted sandbar, dusky, and porbeagle sharks, requiring all sharks landed to have fins attached at the dock, reducing the number of large coastal sharks commercial fishermen can possess, and modifying the species that can be landed by recreational fishermen8. Mandating that fins be attached will make it easier to identify landings by species which will in turn result in species specific data which is sorely needed. In parallel with the proposed action by NMFS, in October 2007, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) published the Draft Interstate Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic Coastal Sharks in an attempt to make state regulations complementary to those of the federal government. Protection of nursery areas is mainly within state jurisdiction, which makes these regulations especially important for shark conservation. A final version is expected sometime in May or June. Congress is also weighing in with proposed legislation to strengthen the enforcement of the Shark Finning Prohibition Act of 2000. On April 16th, there was a public hearing regarding H.R. 5741, The Shark Conservation Act of 2008. It eliminates a loophole by making all vessels subject to the act, not just fishing vessels. Approximately 64,695 pounds of shark fins were seized by the U.S. Coast Guard from the King Diamond II, a U.S. vessel chartered by a Hong Kong company. A recent decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reverse the forfeiture prompted Congresswoman Bordallo (D-Guam) to introduce this bill. The year of 2008 is a promising time for shark conservation. Public support is needed to push through these new shark regulations in order to give shark populations a chance of recovering. The U.S. is a leader in shark management and continued improvement and new initiatives should encourage other countries to follow suit. For such highly migratory species, international cooperation is essential. 1 TRAFFIC. 2006. Lack, Mary & Glenn Sant. World Shark Catch, Production & Trade 19902003. 2 Clarke, S.C., M.K. McAllister, E.J. Milner-Gulland, G.P. Kirkwood, C.G.J. Michielsens, D.J. Agnew, E.K. Pikitch, H. Nakano, M.S. Shivji. 2006. Global estimates of shark catches using trade records from commercial markets. Ecology Letters 9(10):1115-1126. 3 http://www.iucn.org

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Baum, J.K., R.A. Myers, D.G. Kehler, B. Worm, S.J. Harley, P.A. Doherty. 2003. Collapse and conservation of shark populations in the Northwest Atlantic. Science 299:389-392.

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http://www.fao.org WPRFMC (Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council). 2007. Shark Depredation and Unwanted Bycatch in Pelagic Longline Fisheries: Industry Practices and Attitudes, and Shark Avoidance Strategies. Honolulu, HI. 7 Science Daily. April 22, 2008. Can Certain Metals Repel Sharks from Fishing Gear? 8 NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service). 2007. Atlantic Highly Migratory Species; Atlantic Shark Management Measures. Federal Register 72(144): 41392-41412. 6

Welcome New Network Members Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association (FKCFA) P.O. Box 501404 Marathon, FL 33050 (305) 619-0039 www.fkcfa.org With 360 federally permitted fishing boats, the Florida Keys are home to the largest commercial fleet from Texas to North Carolina. The mission of FKCFA is to organize the Florida Keys fishermen into an effective lobby to protect and promote the fishing industry while supporting laws that encourage sustainability.

St. Croix Women’s Dive Association P.O. Box 1628 Kingshill, VI 00851 (340) 332-7583 www.scubadivestcroix.com St. Croix Women’s Dive Association gets together weekly to dive around the Virgin Islands. As women who enjoy the underwater sea life, they are committed to educating the public, especially children, about marine conservation.

Shark Research Institute P.O. Box 40 Princeton, NJ 08540 (609) 921-3522 Fax (609) 921-1505 www.sharks.org SRI conducts high-quality, solution-oriented scientific research needed for effective conservation of sharks. SRI promotes biodiversity and an understanding of shark behavior, and advocates worldwide protective measures for sharks.

The Society for Ocean Sciences 10142 Shelldrake Circle Damascus, MD 20872 (301) 717-6175 www.societyforoceansciences.org The primary mission of The Society for Ocean Sciences is to inform the public of the delicate relationship between humans and the world’s oceans. The Society aims to instill a deeper understanding of the current issues affecting our oceans and marine resources.

WIDECAST: Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network 135 Duke Marine Lab Rd Beaufort, NC 28557 (252) 727-1600 Fax (252) 504-7648 www.widecast.org WIDECAST is an international scientific network founded in Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) in 1981 to ensure the survival of six species of Caribbean sea turtle. The network is comprised of Country Coordinators in more than 40 Caribbean nations and territories.

MARINE FISH CONSERVATION NETWORK “...To Achieve Healthy Oceans and Productive Fisheries.” Calendar of Events

Management Council meeting Hilton Garden Inn Kitty Hawk, NC http://www.mafmc.org June 2-5 Gulf Council Meeting Houston, TX http://www.gmfmc.org June 3-5 New England Council Meeting Portland, ME http://www.nefmc.org

June 16-20 142nd Council Meeting Honolulu, HI

June 5 Marine Fish Conservation Network Fish Fest Washington, DC http://www.conservefish.org

June 16-27 Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission Annual Meeting Panama http://www.iattc.org June 19 NMFS Shark ID Workshop Rosedale Library, 10 am-3:30 pm Jefferson, LA http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ workshops/

June 8-13 South Atlantic Council Meeting St.Thomas, USVI http://www.safmc.net June 10-12 Mid-Atlantic Council Meeting Atlantic City, NJ http://www.mafmc.org June 10-12 Western Pacific Fishery Management Council 98th SSC Meeting Honolulu, HI http://www.wpcouncil.org June-11 NOAA Fish Fry Washington, DC

July 7-11 11th International Coral Reef Symposium Ft. Lauderdale, FL http://www.nova.edu/ncri/11icrs/ July 28 - August 1 8th International Fish Congress Portland, OR http://www.fishbiologycongress8.usgs. gov/

August 11-22 Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Science Committee Meeting Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea http://www.wcpfc.int August 12-14 Mid-Atlantic Council Meeting Philadelphia, PA http://www.mafmc.org August 8-21 Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Meeting Alexandria, VA http://www.asmfc.org August 25-30 U.S. Coral Reef Task Force Meeting Kona, Hawaii http://www.coralreef.gov/taskforce/ meetings.html

Marine Fish Conservation Network 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE, Suite 210 Washington, DC 20003

May 22 NMFS Shark ID Workshop NE Regional Library, 9:30 am-3pm Wilmington, NC http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/ workshops/

June 3-5 Capitol Hill Ocean Week Washington, DC

www.conservefish.org Phone: 202-543-5509 Fax: 202-543-5774

May 21-24 58th International Tuna Conference Lake Arrowhead, CA