By Ann Green 



FISHING 

 THE 

 DEEP-BLUE 



SEA 



NEW FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED 

 FOR HIGHLY MIGRATORY SPECIES 



YEARS AGO, Ernest Hemingway offered dramatic images 

 of deep-sea fishing for blue marlin off the Florida Straits. 

 Today, recreational anglers not only love the thrill of the big catch, 

 but also appreciate the value of big game fish conservation. 



"When fishing for marlin, you can sit 

 around four or five hours and nothing happens," 

 says John Graves, a recreational angler and 

 chairman of the Virginia Institute of Marine 

 Science's Department of Fish Science. 



"Then in an instant, there can be complete 

 pandemonium when fish tear into the bait," adds 

 Graves. "Sometimes, it can take a couple of 

 hours or more to pull a marlin in." 



And as a member of a federal billfish advi- 

 sory panel. Graves is helping to spread the word 

 to private anglers that they are required by law to 

 get a federal permit if they fish recreationally for 

 highly migratory species, which include sharks, 

 tunas, swordfish and billfishes. 



Known as HMS, these fish are among the 

 largest, fastest and pound-for-pound the most 

 economically valuable creatures in the ocean. 

 The permit is required whether anglers engage in 

 catch-and-release fishing or land the fish. 



Graves says HMS permits provide a good 

 conservation measure for fish stocks that need 

 to be rebuilt. "Requiring private boats to have 

 permits and report their landings gives NOAA 

 Fisheries a better way of estimating recreational 



catches of big game fish species." 



As their name implies, HMS swim 

 throughout the world's oceans, and the stocks are 

 shared by a number of fishing nations. They may 

 spend different life stages or seasons in various 

 habitats, moving up and down the coast, or from 

 inshore to deep ocean waters. 



Although these fish primarily live in the 

 open ocean, the category also includes certain 

 sharks that frequent closer waters for mating, 

 pupping and nursery purposes. 



Today, blue and white marlin are among 

 the HMS prized by recreational anglers in the 

 Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and U.S. Caribbean. 



"It is real exciting watching a marlin come 

 up in bait spread behind the boat," says Pete 

 Manuel, owner of the Delta Dawn charter boat 

 in North Carolina. "When marlin get excited, 

 they light up like a neon sign." 



New HMS Permite/Laiidlrigs 



The National Marine Fisheries Service, 

 part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

 Administration (NOAA) and better known as 

 NOAA Fisheries, works with other nations 



through the International Commission for the 

 Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT). 



"Federal officials work to ensure that 

 Americans get a fair share of international 

 quotas," says Chris Rogers, chief of NOAA 

 Fisheries' Atlantic Highly Migratory Species 

 Management. "As a leading advocate for 

 international environmental stewardship of big 

 game fish, our country has a vested interest in 

 making sure Americans do not overharvest the 

 U.S. quota each year." 



To ensure that quota is met but not 

 exceeded, in 2003 NOAA Fisheries began 

 requiring private anglers to get vessel permits to 

 fish for regulated HMS in the Atlantic, Gulf and 

 U.S. Caribbean waters. Previously, the permits 

 were required only when fishing for tunas. 



"With the growing popularity of 

 sportfishing, this step was necessary to determine 

 how many American citizens participate in HMS 

 fisheries — essential information for negotiating 

 international quotas that ultimately determine 

 recreational catch allowances for the United 

 States," adds Rogers. 



Continued 



COASTWATCH 



