Tag archives for Lee Crockett
Posted by Fishing for shad on the Potomac River at Fletcher’s Boathouse is a spring tradition for many Washington-area anglers, including me. As a food source for larger fish, birds of prey, and other animals, shad provide a great example of the interconnectedness of nature—which for decades hasn’t received enough attention from fisheries managers. Although we’ve made…
“The fish just aren’t there.” This simple observation from Cape Cod fisheries manager Tom Dempsey to the Associated Press sums up the challenge of decreasing cod populations. Recent scientific studies estimate that cod populations are at or near record lows. But this serious problem has not stopped the New England Fishery Management Council from proposing…
In 1996, I worked in the fisheries service at NOAA. That year, Congress passed legislation to amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the primary law that governs our nation’s ocean fish. The updated law established an important mandate for the agency: conserve fish. Our previous goal, decades long, was simply to promote fishing. Along with subsequent reforms…
New England is famous for cod fishing. But the industry is ailing—and the cure being proposed might be worse than the disease. Three months ago, the U.S. Commerce Department declared a “commercial fisheries disaster” off the coast of New England because populations of groundfish—cod, haddock, and flounder, among others—were still struggling to recover. Substantial cuts…
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) has seen a lot in its 70-year history but nothing quite like this. More than 128,000 people flooded the commission’s inboxes with postcards and emails last month, a new record for public comment. Scientists, small business owners, nature lovers, and anglers sent letters and spoke out at public…
Read the full “The Bottom Line” series here. Rick Rosenthal has seen things that most ocean lovers only dream about. For the past 25 years, this filmmaker has had front-row seats to baitball feeding frenzies—when small schooling fish swarm together to defend against hungry predators—sleeping sperm whales, and mating right whales. During a career that includes…
The newest reality TV stars aren’t college kids thrown together in a group house, or a couple who race around the world to win a million dollars. They are the men, and occasionally the women, who do the jobs that many of us didn’t even know existed: the axmen from the Pacific Northwest, the ice-road…
Within the next few weeks, alewife and blueback herring, collectively known as river herring, will begin their annual migration from coastal waters to their native rivers. The platinum-colored fish spend most of the year in the ocean, migrating to rivers to spawn each spring before returning to sea. River herring were once plentiful in Northeast…
Jud Crawford, science and policy manager of the Pew Environment Group’s Northeast Fisheries Program, is my guest author today. He is going to provide some important perspectives about the recent scientific assessment of Gulf of Maine cod. Many in New England were recently stunned by the news that the region’s prized codfish are in much deeper trouble than…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. Atlantic bluefin tuna are one of the most popular fish in the world. Anglers fight for them, and love to tell tales of their epic battles. Scientists are enthralled by them, making this species one of the most studied in the ocean. And sushi lovers crave bluefin for…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. Many people have heard of bluefin tuna, even if they haven’t eaten it. Bluefin, which are among the world’s most remarkable animals, can reach 1,500 pounds, migrate across the Atlantic, dive to depths of more than 3,000 feet and swim at breakneck speeds. They have also been pursued for…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. Everyone loves a good comeback story, but sometimes a storyline emerges prematurely. Mark Twain famously responded to a press inquiry regarding his supposed demise by saying, “The report of my death was an exaggeration.” Similarly, declarations earlier this year that overfishing had ended in America provide a case…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. Since 1784, a five-foot wooden carving of a cod has hung from the ceiling of the Massachusetts State House—a symbolic reminder of the important place this fish holds in the hearts of New Englanders. Cod, along with other groundfish such as haddock and flounder, has supported coastal towns and economies…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. All too often, leaders in Washington focus on the short-term impacts of potential policies to the detriment of long-term benefits to our environment and economy. Ongoing efforts in Congress to weaken the federal laws that govern marine resources are a great case in point. Take Action: Ask your…
Read the full “Overfishing 101″ series here. Almost everyone has a friend or a relative who loves to tell the tale of the “big one” that got away. And more often than not, that fish grows larger and larger with every telling of the story. I have to admit, as an avid angler, I may…
NOTE: This is a guest post from Lee Crockett, Director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group This post is the seventh in a series, “Overfishing 101.” The entire series can be viewed here. I touched on fisheries science in my last post, but here I would like to take a more detailed look at the use…
NOTE: This is a guest post from Lee Crockett, Director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group This post is the sixth in a series, “Overfishing 101.” The entire series can be viewed here. As a lifelong angler, I’m the first to admit that fishing can inspire passionate arguments about where, when and how to fish.…
NOTE: This is a guest post from Lee Crockett, Director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group This post is the fifth in a series, “Overfishing 101.” The entire series can be viewed here. America’s ocean fish are an incredibly valuable resource. According to the most recent economic data from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),…
Note: This is the fourth post in a series, “Overfishing 101.” Read the previous posts here. Overfishing—taking fish from our oceans faster than they can reproduce—has plagued fisheries for decades. South Atlantic red snapper, for example, have been subject to overfishing since the 1960s. Congress first attempted to deal with this problem in 1976 when it passed…
Note: This is the third post in a series, “Overfishing 101.” Read the previous posts here. My interest in the ocean began when I joined the Coast Guard at age 18. This was the start of a passion that led me to study marine science, work at the National Marine Fisheries Service and help promote…
In the second post of a special series to mark the 35th anniversary of the U.S. Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a law that is helping to rebuild America’s depleted ocean fish populations and ensure their long-term sustainability, Lee Crockett looks at some of the basics of why all Americans should care about how our fish are managed.
The first in a series of posts authored by Lee Crockett—head of Pew Environment Group Federal Fisheries Policy and a life-long angler—exploring the importance of sustainable fisheries management to the U.S.
