Oyster reefs are a critical component of the natural landscape, providing important services for our coastlines. It is estimated that only 15% of the world's oyster reef habitats are remaining.1
The oyster is so much more than just a fishery; it is a crucial foundational component of our coastal ecosystem – healthy oyster reefs mean a strong and sustainable coastline now and in the future.
Our oyster populations are hitting historic lows largely due to pollution, disease, overfishing and unsustainable harvesting methods. There are a number of ways you can join us to turn the tide on these issues. We’re partnering with the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) to invest in the health of our oyster reefs for generations to come.
To learn more about our most recent oyster reef habitat restoration project with Mossy Oak and CCA, check out Rebuilding Reefs: The Oyster Project.
Oysters provide a stable environment for many fish species to flourish. Their protection ensures the longevity of the fisheries for the next generations of anglers. A few benefits to the angling community include:
Improved Water Quality: One oyster filters more than 50 gallons of water per day. One acre of oyster reef filters more than 36 olympic swimming pools. Along with improving the overall water quality, they ensure the health of our waters by preventing the overload of nutrients and algae growth.
Rich Habitat for Fish Species: Hundreds of marine aquatic species (300+) use oyster reefs for habitat, refuge, and food (Wells 1961). Oyster reef habitat supports nearly 4.5 times the aquatic biomass found in seagrass beds and roughly 11.5 times the aquatic biomass found in marsh edge habitat (Glancey et al. 2003).
Storm Surge & Sea Level Rise Prevention: Oysters are natural buffers against rising tides and storm surges created by extreme weather. They protect our shorelines and wetlands from erosion.
One way we can protect our oyster reefs is to encourage a certain amount of sanctuary oyster reefs where harvesting is prohibited to allow for the population to thrive. There is undeniable scientific justification for designating sanctuary oyster reefs. These reasons include:
From an economic perspective, oyster habitat has incredible value. The estimated harvest value of oysters from degraded reefs is only $880 per acre.2 However, the estimated non-harvest value of oysters ranges from $2,000 all the way to $40,000 per acre.2 The estimated recreational fishing value of restored oyster reefs is $23,000 per acre.2 These economic gains come from several factors including:
Texas bays saw a commercial oyster harvest of over 2.6 million pounds in 2008, making it the second-largest in the U.S. However, they lacked effective methods to return shucked oyster shells to the bay waters, which is crucial for maintaining existing reefs and restoring degraded habitats. To address this issue, Harte Institute's “Sink your Shucks” program was launched in 2009. By spreading the word on environmental stewardship and offering educational resources to teachers and classrooms, this program focuses on helping the public understand the impact of recycling oyster shells and participating in oyster reef habitat restoration programs. With the help of more than 2,000 volunteers, the program has successfully placed over 3,200,000 pounds of shell in the bay, creating new oyster reef habitats.
CCA Texas has initiated an Oyster Mariculture Program aimed at reviving the dwindling oyster population in Texas bays. The program involves establishing a hatchery facility where oyster larvae are cultivated, nurtured in tanks, and eventually transferred to CCA Texas's designated oyster reefs. By raising oysters in the hatchery, the organization can boost the number of oysters available for reef restoration initiatives. Visit CCA Texas website to learn more about their Rescue Our Reefs mission.
Oyster restoration is important across much of the US coastline. Together, we need to prioritize the structural value of oyster reefs in the water by protecting existing reefs and working to create new ones. Join an oyster restoration project near you and help restore the foundation of our coastlines.
Oyster restoration projects take an entire community. Planting more oyster reefs requires recycled oyster shells. After restaurants and individuals consume oysters, they can play a vital role in the process by recycling their shells. Once the oyster shells are recycled, they can be cleaned and cured over time so they are safe for reuse. Once they are ready to be reused, they can be seeded with oyster larvae and the community can come together to plant the oysters back into the ecosystem at an oyster habitat restoration event. There are many great organizations across the country working to address this issue. One place to start is to get involved with a local oyster restoration project near you at CCA.
1Beck Et Al (2011) And Lotze Et Al (2006)
2Grabowski et al. 2012 DOl: 10 1525/bio. 2012.6210.10: 2Carlton et al. 2016. TAMU- SG- 16- 211
Additional Resources
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From the dinner table to the lab – "Rebuilding Reefs: The Oyster Project" helps tell the world about the great work CCA and its affiliates are doing to benefit anglers and beyond. This project is proven. This project is scalable. This project is part of the greater good of anglers, habitat and the critters that call it home.
Anglers cannot take fault for being wholly focused on the pursuit of fish, that one obsession bonding us all across the world’s seas. But behind every inshore specimen we pursue on conventional or fly stands an unsung hero, a keystone component of our uniting passion—the backbone of our fisheries no larger than the palm of your hand.
Their combined reefs are a critical component of the inshore landscape, buttressing our shorelines against threats from storm surges and erosion. They provide the critical infrastructure, protection, and resources needed to foster the early life cycles of fish and crustaceans, supporting a level of aquatic biomass far greater than seagrass beds or marshland. Oysters are a staple of our coastal economies, each delicious briny cup, crispy po boy, or steaming cluster nourishing our bellies and supporting entire communities. As things stand, only 15% of the world’s oyster reef habitats remain functional.
Commercial over-harvest, disease, pollution, and natural phenomena have collectively decimated oyster reefs, a costly and fateful first domino to fall. Fortunately, it isn’t too late, and concerned individuals and conservation groups along the Gulf Coast and Eastern seaboard are rallying to turn the tides of their precipitous decline.
The Lonestar State is making great strides to restore the formerly expansive reef systems along their coast, with the oyster shell recycling program “Sink Your Shucks” returning over three million pounds of shell to the water since 2009. Leftover shells from local restaurants are collected, cleaned, and cured before reintroduction, where oyster larvae naturally take up residence. The program’s success is due to an ongoing effort to educate the community and local restaurants on the importance of oyster reefs, relying on some 2,000 volunteers to revitalize the reefs one shell at a time.
Within Texas’ San Antonio Bay, the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) is taking efforts further, developing a hatchery program where oyster larvae are cultivated and nurtured before introduction to CCA reef systems. From there, the larvae are monitored to track the success of their introduction, the reef’s ongoing developmental health, and ensuring their artificial introduction is offering the same benefits seen by natural reefs.
While scientists and conservations are utilizing sophisticated methods to reverse their decline, the future of oyster reefs depends on a collective effort at the grassroots level. The process begins with educating average consumers and committed anglers alike on their ecological benefit, and how their decline casts ripples far and wide. Next, oyster lovers need to advocate for coastal sanctuary sites and shell recycling programs, two critical components of protecting and rebuilding oyster infrastructure. Finally, never be afraid of getting your feet muddy, for there is no substitute for hard work, fresh air, and the curative nature of changing tides—We encourage you to volunteer at a local oyster project near you (www.joincca.org).
]]>AFTCO displayed it's sustainability initiatives at the world's largest fishing trade show, which took place July 19 to 22 of 2022, with New Product Showcase category winners like Cocoboardie Boardshorts and Ankle Deck Boots. However, the 50' x 30' booth made of recycled cardboard was a definitive show stopper that reinforced our sustainability efforts.
For media, buyers, and industry insiders fortunate to walk the aisles of ICAST 2022 it was hard to miss the recycled cardboard booth structure that displayed visuals of key ICAST new product releases on the interior and 5 ways to take action for sustainability and environmental stewardship on the exterior. With this booth AFTCO asserted itself as an industry leader at the forefront of sustainability.
To accomplish the production of this unique booth structure at ICAST, AFTCO enlisted help from Spain based partner Cartonlab. The Cartonlab team is pioneering the process of bringing creative, sustainable environments to life across multiple continents and business segments. To ensure that the booth was properly recycled after the show, AFTCO worked with both the Orange County Convention Center's sustainability team and Freeman exhibitor services to utilize the OCCC's in-house cardboard recycling program. Upon show teardown, Freeman dismantled the cardboard booth structure then worked with the OCCC exhibitor services team to properly collect the corrugated cardboard materials for proper recycling with their on-site cardboard compactor.
“We were thrilled to be contacted by AFTCO about recycling their booth, made entirely of cardboard,” said Katerina Chagoya, Orange County Convention Center Sustainability Coordinator. “We worked with AFTCO's Matt Florentino and the Freeman team to ensure that the AFTCO's ICAST booth went through our cardboard recycling stream. Thanks to that decision, sustainability for this exhibit was easy to accomplish. Whenever event clients and exhibitors go above and beyond like this, working alongside the OCCC Sustainability team to divert waste, it brings a real positive energy."
"Truly, AFTCO made the biggest impact by simply deciding to have a fully recyclable booth. That decision removed hundreds of pounds of items from the landfill. It symbolizes a huge win for our environment, and the opportunity to reduce emissions associated with the landfill and the events industry. We hope exhibitors can look to AFTCO’s booth as a prime example of what a more sustainable future in the industry can look like.”
- Katerina Chagoya
Orange County Convention Center Sustainability Coordinator
“We applaud AFTCO’s commitment to reuse and recycle across their business platforms. What people may not know is that a wide variety of items used at ICAST, such as the aisle carpeting, are also reused. We expect to see more of this in the years to come.”
- Blake Swango
Vice President, ASA Trade Show
Tradeshow booth materials are often made of single-use plastics. Many types of these single-use plastics end up in the environment and around eight million metric tons end up in our oceans every year. When looking at AFTCO as a company, we saw potential improvement in our use of plastic poly bags for clothing and committed to reducing the plastic production we are responsible for in our packaging.
Starting in 2022, all new purchase orders for AFTCO sportswear are being shipped in poly bags made of recycled materials as well as 40 percent less plastic. The reduction in plastic is a great first step and a change to recycled plastic means no more virgin plastic production which is another large win for AFTCO in 2022. With this movement in a positive direction, we are exceeding goals set in 2021 based on our sustainable packaging page.
Another way we have improve is in our packaging for the new AFTCO lures. The main goal for the lure packaging was to eliminate the plastic entirely and we succeeded by creating packaging made of recycled cardstock. On top of eliminating the plastic clamshell so many lures come in, our new packaging makes it easier to access the lure when you are ready to fish.
With the goal to also lower the number of virgin materials we use to manufacture our clothing, we looked for the best ways to find recycled alternatives for performance fabrics. By 2023, approximately 40 percent of our total clothing will be made with recycled fabrics. This number is anchored by best-selling options like the Samurai Hooded Fishing Shirt, Adapt Phase Change Fishing Shirt, the Rescue Collection and new for ’23 styles Cocoboardie Boardshorts and Ankle Deck Boots; both winners of the 2022 ICAST New Product Showcase awards.
The water mismanagement present in Florida has led to the near collapse of three nationally recognized estuaries, threatened the water supply for millions of Floridians, and has caused a radical decline in the native wildlife populations. As well as massive seagrass die-offs, algae blooms, and fish kills in Florida Bay due to hypersalinity. Started by a small group of fishing guides, Captains For Clean Water has been diligently advocating for the state’s water quality issues since 2016. The organization continues to make strides in political recognition and change, infrastructure and operation initiatives, and frontline emergency response. Through awareness, education, and empowerment, Captains has united groups and individuals, alike, to act on initiatives that will protect and restore the Everglades and Florida’s waters.
We are excited to announce that AFTCO has teamed up with Captains For Clean Water to create a custom performance fishing shirt for those long, sunny days on the water. This shirt features built-in UPF 50 sun protection, stain-release material, and a quick dry, moisture-wicking fabric. Designed by Capt. Chris Wittman, Captains For Clean Water co-founder, himself, this shirt has planted roots within the organization. One hundred percent of proceeds support the Captains For Clean Water mission to restore and protect Florida’s waters. So, grab a shirt and tell your friends!
Stay cool, look good, and conquer those long, sunny days on the water in CFCW's custom AFTCO sun protection fishing hoodie. Featuring UPF 50 sun protection, moisture wicking technology, and a one-of-a-kind design with daisy-chaining tarpon, you’ll be able to enjoy longer days on the boat or at the beach in total comfort.
Stay cool, look good, and conquer those long, sunny days on the water in CFCW's custom AFTCO long-sleeve crew neck shirt. Featuring UPF 50 sun protection, moisture wicking technology, and a one-of-a-kind design with daisy-chaining tarpon, you’ll be able to enjoy longer days on the boat or at the beach in total comfort.
Because of donations like this, progress has been seen at a record pace and critical projects are being expedited. However, there is more to be done. Don’t need another shirt but still looking for a way to help out? Join the fight and help protect our way of life for future generations here.
A recent earth-shattering genetics study shows that the California white seabass hatchery program has been far more successful than previously understood. It is now time for the state and its California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to course-correct and make this program a priority.
The recent success reported in efforts to restock white seabass off Southern California is the evidence needed for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to reprioritize the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP). A new study has found that the white seabass hatchery has made a far greater positive impact on wild fish population levels than previously reported. The fishing public strongly supports the CDFW hatchery program and contributes an estimated $1.7 million to OREHP annually. However, the state’s history of placing the hatchery low on its priority list has meant that funding to the Carlsbad-based white seabass hatchery has become woefully insufficient. Over the past ten years, the hatchery’s budget has shrunk by an estimated 50 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, all while the demands on the hatchery have increased.
The state’s support for this program has been severely lacking. A change in the department’s focus is needed to benefit the marine resource and improve the relationship between the CDFW and the saltwater sportfishing public. A 2017 OREHP Evaluation by California Sea Grant identified the need for additional OREHP measures and funding. A lack of leadership and slow play from the CDFW has led to only baby steps toward funding and implementing the suggestions from the evaluation.
California anglers provide 98% of the CDFW's funding
It’s time for CDFW to better match their priorities with the high priority and focus anglers place on the hatchery program. For example, the CDFW should reinstate the $434,000 yearly Sport Fish Restoration Account (SFRA) funds they previously removed from OREHP. The list of fixes is long and will not take place until there is a newfound commitment to the hatchery. The new genetics study will help drive that commitment.
A new study by the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) used a genetic-marker methodology for identifying the fish-stocking efforts. When applied to white seabass, it has convincingly shown that previous estimates of Southern California’s OREHP contribution to the once-depleted white seabass population have been greatly underestimated.
Validation of the white seabass hatchery success was shared on April 25, 2022, with a press release from HSWRI and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). HSWRI is the entity in charge of the hatchery itself. This genetics-based study shows the hatchery’s contribution to wild stock to be far different than previously understood. The new analysis based on archived tissue samples, showed that 30 percent of adults sampled were hatchery fish (as opposed to less than 1 percent previously estimated by the state). In addition, 46 percent of smaller fish caught in the wild sample surveys of fish less than two years old were hatchery fish. There is a 99.99 percent confidence level that the results are able to distinguish between hatchery and wild fish. This study changes everything with OREHP.
The extraordinary results provide critical information that now drastically alters the understanding of OREHP’s success. WON News highlighted the results in their article hatchery–born white seabass more common in catches than previously thought, research indicates. From Sportfishing Magazine to BD Outdoors, the wide coverage this study has received shows that the recreational fishing community cares deeply for this program. A local news segment between San Diego’s KUSI news and Mark Drawbridge of HSWRI can be found here.
White seabass is a prized nearshore saltwater fish. They were abundant in the early 1950s, with yearly sportfishing catches averaging 40,000 fish. Then came the round-haul nets north of Point Conception and the gill nets to the south, resulting in a sharp decline in the white seabass population. By 1970, recreational white seabass catches fell to a few thousand, where they stayed for years. In the late ’70s, Milt Shedd and then graduate student Don Kent started California’s white seabass hatchery program at HSWRI. Their goal was to help Mother Nature recover the depleted white seabass population. By 1983, the HSWRI had learned enough about raising white seabass that legislation was passed to create the state of California’s OREHP – Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program. The purpose of OREHP was defined as “conducting a program of basic and applied research on the artificial propagation and distribution of adversely affected marine fish species. ”With the state of California’s strong support to get it off the ground, the white seabass hatchery was established as one of the few stocking programs dedicated to assessing the biological and economic impacts of its releases. It’s the only program of its kind on the West Coast and has successfully released more than 2 million white seabass back into the wild.
Recreational anglers have served as crucial partners of this unique saltwater hatchery effort from the beginning. They worked alongside HSWRI with both Republican and Democrat legislators to pass needed OREHP legislation and secure mitigation funding from the California Coastal Commission for the Carlsbad hatchery. Anglers have provided the brood stock, 98 percent of the program’s funding, more than 100,000 hours of citizen science volunteer time raising and releasing fish at grow-out facilities in their home harbors, and more. Their 50-year involvement with the white seabass hatchery effort is one of our nation’s longest and best examples of angler dedication to rebuilding a depleted fishery.
The CDFW’s actions have shown anglers they are not fully committed to the hatchery and OREHP. In terms of tangible benefits provided to California anglers and the marine fisheries in Southern California, the white seabass hatchery would be at or near the top of our list. Yet the CDFW has been reluctant to fully embrace the program, celebrate its successes, acknowledge its unique and extensive contributions to marine science, provide necessary leadership, defend the program when others falsely criticize it, and most importantly, assign OREHP to a proper level on its list of priorities.
This disagreement over the value and importance of OREHP has created conflict between the sportfishing community and CDFW. It has also impacted the longstanding debate over what real role OREHP was having regarding the white seabass population.
In defense of the CDFW, much of their seeming lack of genuine interest and leadership in OREHP is based on the program’s longtime inability to accurately identify legal size fish in the white seabass population. The 2017 OREHP Evaluation showed less than 1 percent of legal-size sea bass had a tag that identified them as hatchery fish. That is a real number. It is understandably a concern of the CDFW and has caused legitimate discussion about just how effective the program was at building the white seabass population. However, the CDFW and others taking that information at face value has prevented them from hearing the recreational fishing community’s information and knowledge as to why the 1 percent might have been inaccurate. We have long believed that there were valid reasons to question the 1 percent conclusion. Our personal experience on the water has shown us vastly increased numbers of white seabass landings in terms of both size and annual catches. We have expressed concern that there may be problems with hatchery fish rejecting the tags. This and more caused anglers to believe more information was needed to truly understand what was happening to the hatchery fish. The entirety of the recreational fishing community’s position on this and other information in the 2017 OREHP Evaluation can be found here in the 2017 CCA CAL Position Paper on the 2017 OREHP Evaluation.
The programs past failure to accurately identify the number of hatchery fish in the wild also opened the door for program detractors to write misleading negative stories about OREHP and cause confusion about the program. An example of an inaccurate summary of OREHP and its 2017 Evaluation with half-truths, misrepresentations, and even blatantly false statements is shown in this 2018 Voice of San Diego article "Carlsbad Fish-Breeding Program Is a Mess, Report Confirms", found here.
In 2015, CDFW contracted with California Sea Grant (CASG) to coordinate the first formal, comprehensive review of OREHP’s progress toward achieving its goals. This 250-page report, completed in 2017, was extensive and produced a great deal of valuable and detailed information. Among other things, it pointed out the need for additional funding in many areas.
The evaluation provided two significant conclusions. One related to the science, procedures and ocean safety of the program and the other, as to whether or not the program was significantly increasing the abundance of white seabass in the wild.
1. The first conclusion stated “OREHP has significantly contributed to the scientific understanding of marine enhancement science and met the original intent of the CA State Legislature.”
2. The second conclusion stated “OREHP has not significantly increased the abundance of legal-sized white seabass, resulting in less than one percent contribution to recreational and commercial fisheries catches.”
The HSWRI and SCDNR study has turned the second conclusion on its head. In addition to showing that the conclusion is likely now incorrect, it also opens the door for broader support for OREHP, including increased funding.
In addition to conclusions, the evaluation provided approximately 112 findings (suggestions to improve the program). Many of those findings included the need for additional funding. For example, one of those was that the hatchery needed to develop genetics testing to help better understand what was happening to the hatchery fish. Even without the funding to do so from OREHP, Mark Drawbridge, HSWRI’s aquaculture program leader, quickly engaged with SCDNR to garner their support. Ultimately, the State of South Carolina provided the support needed for this genetics study. As the nation’s leader in research and scientific innovation, California should be embarrassed that we needed to go to South Carolina to secure the necessary funding for the genetic research so critical to our OREHP program.
The CDFW has allowed funding to the HSWRI, the contractor where most of the actual OREHP work takes place, to become woefully insufficient. The HSWRI budget has shrunk. It is down by 50 percent in inflation-adjusted terms over the last ten years.
OREHP is high on the priority list of the fishing tackle industry, which generates the Sport Fish Restoration Act (SFRA) excise tax funds for the state. Yet the allocation of recreational fishing excise tax dollars was reallocated by the CDFW from $750,000 to $316,000. While the HSWRI budget was hurting for funds needed to perform even the most basic job functions, like fish care, the CDFW allowed a reserve account to accumulate over $3,000,000! Those funds were only recently discovered by OREHP Advisory Panel (AP) members, who pushed to have them put to work. Was that the result of oversight, or low priority, or lack of real attention to and leadership of the program? Regardless of how we got here, change is needed. The HSWRI has made it clear to both the CDFW and its advisory panel that it can’t continue to do what is asked and required without significant increases in its budget, as outlined in the 2017 Evaluation.
The sportfishing community has been and continues to be all-in with OREHP. However, we have no additional funding than the current $1,718,445 we will provide this year. Of that, $1,402,445 comes from our white seabass stamp funds and $316,000 from the SFRA excise tax funds. The evaluation took place almost five years ago, when additional funding needs were identified. While some funding progress has been made, most of the OREHP funding needs have not been fully addressed. The recent genetics study alone is enough reason for new thinking and direction for OREHP. CDFW can reinstate the $434,000 SFRA funds they previously removed from OREHP if they choose to do so. They can also reallocate some of our angler license fees not now being used to support OREHP. Those sportfishing funds can come from other programs that the CDFW may consider priorities but the sportfishing community does not. By law, sportfishing funds must be spent on sportfishing issues. Is it not reasonable for the CDFW to spend their sportfishing money on the programs highest on the sportfishing community priority list?
If the CDFW is ultimately unwilling to do the above, it also has the option to become more creative in generating new, not-yet-thought-of funding sources. The sportfishing community is here to support them in that new leadership role. A higher CDFW priority on OREHP will help ensure that the white seabass hatchery program and OREHP can continue to lead the way in California’s support of Mother Nature in her battle to maintain full and healthy fish populations for the next 50 years. It will also contribute to the current California focus on 30x30 and ocean conservation as OREHP provides a tangible opportunity to support marine fish populations.
What You Can Do to Help
Anglers - Support CCA CAL and its many hatchery contributions to the white seabass hatchery program. You can also turn in your seabass heads to the HSWRI. With the ability to now determine hatchery fish via genetics, turning in heads is more important than ever. Finally, if you have a relationship with your local state senator or assembly person, or other elected representative, help them understand why the seabass hatchery is important to you. Sportfishing Industry Organizations and Clubs – Educate your own members and social media contacts and followers about the recent genetics study. Let them know that now is the time for the state of California to provide additional support to OREHP.
Bill Shedd served for over 25 years on the OREHP Advisory Panel and as its past chairman. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the CCA California, HSWRI and American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO). Learn more about AFTCO’s relationship with HSWRI here.
Everyone and everything requires clean water. On a planet that has 71% water coverage, you would think the access to clean water is easy. Unfortunately, factors such as runoff, harmful algal blooms, plastic pollution and more are dwindling down clean water sources. In the end, fish need water to survive, and we as anglers need fish to survive too. Groups like Captains For Clean Water are making necessary steps in the fight for clean water.
Harmful algal blooms, seagrass beds laid bare and crippling fish kills have become the new norm. Capt. Rhett Morris of Charlotte Harbor assigns fault to the overdevelopment of coastal regions, agricultural interests, phosphate mining and an overall lack of clean water.
Capt. Morris is not alone in his assessment. Co-founded in 2016 by Capt. Daniel Andrews and Capt. Chris Wittman, the non-profit Captains For Clean Water aims to make things right. Despite having successful careers of their own, the two felt they might not have a fishery to guide in years to come. Giving heed to a higher calling, their time is now committed to the revitalization of Florida’s aquatic ecosystems.
The heart of the clean water problem originates inland. Where once natural water flowed south through the Everglades from Lake Okeechobee, the water was redirected in hopes of draining the region for development. That water, crucial to the equilibrium of the Everglades and coastal habitats, now pours into the Gulf and the Atlantic. To compound the problem, the introduction of nitrogen and phosphorus via agricultural runoff and mining operations has turned the flows toxic.
Capt. Morris notes that this type of nutrient-rich water is a death sentence for seagrass, “and once that’s gone, everything else begins to head south.” Unfortunately, toxic algal blooms thrive off of the nutrients, wiping out literal tons of fish and posing health risks to humans. A recent study from the University of Florida confirmed the accusation, showing a causal link between man-made nutrient runoff from Lake Okeechobee and red tides.
The task for Captains For Clean Water is a tall one. Environmental groups, major brands, and many of Florida’s most reputable guides are demanding a solution, and so should you. Competing interests with influence in Florida’s legislature stand in the way, and the power of your voice and vote need to be heard. The future of Florida’s water and prized fisheries require a unified front, and these captains are not going away without a victory. Healthy fish require healthy water, and in the words of Rhett Morris, “I will not sit back and let what I love die.”
Water quality is a global issue. It's not just Florida that is experiencing these types of issues. We’ve highlighted the global issue of plastic pollution in the oceans. Captains For Clean Water is stepping up to fight ocean water quality issues in our back yard, many of which stemming from run off and manmade problems. The fight for clean water is here and involvement is necessary for our lakes, rivers, oceans and animals to continue to thrive.
The Great Marlin Race began in 2009 at the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) with a concept created by IGFA Trustee Bob Kurz, IGFA Trustee Emeritus Peter Fithian and renowned marine scientist Dr. Barbara Block at Stanford University. The idea was simple, have recreational anglers fishing the HIBT sponsor a Pop-up Satellite Archival Tag (PSAT) and deploy it on a billfish, with the longest distance traveled by any tagged fish winning the “race”. The concept of having recreational anglers fund and participate in billfish research through the sponsorship of PSATs provided an opportunity to collect much-needed data on billfish species in Kona, Hawaii while engaging the recreational angling community. Creating a “tournament within a tournament” only encouraged anglers to participate further.
A year later in 2010, IGFA President Rob Kramer and IGFA Chairman Packy Offield traveled to Hawaii for the HIBT and determined the combination of Dr. Block’s scientific prowess and IGFA’s reputation in the recreational fishing realm could significantly expand the program around the world through a partnership. In 2011, the IGFA Great Marlin Race was born and, twelve years later, continues to grow.
In the first year of the partnership between the IGFA and Dr. Block’s Lab at Stanford University, PSATs were deployed in Puerto Rico, Richard’s Bay South Africa, and Exmouth Australia. Since that time the IGFA Great Marlin Race has grown by leaps and bounds. As of July 2023, over 550 PSATs have been deployed in 24 countries on seven species of billfish (blue marlin, black marlin, striped marlin, white marlin, sailfish, shortbill spearfish, and Mediterranean spearfish). These devices collect information on where billfish swim as well as its diving behavior and temperature/depth residency for up to eight months. The PSATs deployed under the IGFA Great Marlin Race program have now collected data on tagged billfish for over 36,500 days and tracked enough mileage to circle the Earth over 31 times (nearly 700,000nm).
The program doesn’t just collect tracking and behavior data on billfish, it also encourages the scientific community to use this data for their own studies, which is rare in marine research because of the high cost to collect such data. To date, the program’s data has been implemented in 12 scientific publications and was used in testimony for the passage of the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 which was hailed as, “The most important thing that has ever happened to marlin and sailfish” by AFTCO CEO and IGFA Trustee Bill Shedd.
This program would simply not be possible without the participation and generosity of the bill fishing community around the world which foots the majority of the costs for PSATs and their deployments. AFTCO has also provided critical support to this program through funding and the donation of tag sticks to deploy tags. Because of the unique vision of Bob Kurz, Dr. Block, and the IGFA, the IGFA Great Marlin Race has set the standard for citizen science research on pelagic fish species. As the program continues to grow, the team expects to expand to other regions of the world where billfish research has been historically limited and learn more about billfish to ensure they exist for future generations of anglers.
Want to help researchers learn more about white seabass to better help us as anglers? The Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) needs your help with new white seabass studies by collecting the heads of the seabass you are already catching.
HSWRI is attempting to collect 1,000 white seabass heads from legal length fish caught in US waters. They are collecting these from July 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022. The purpose of this program is to use the heads to test genetic variation in the white seabass population to determine a more accurate number for how many fish are hatchery reared.
You may be familiar with the recent white seabass study, and these genetic tests will be used to further support the preliminary evidence that show hatchery fish may be contributing to around 30% of the wild population.
HSWRI is collecting 1,000 white seabass heads from Santa Barbara down to San Diego. With many landings around Southern California and over 23 head collections sites, wherever you are fishing, chances are you can find a head drop-off location nearby.
For more information and to find your nearest drop-off location, visit the CCA White Sea Bass Head Collection Incentive. Along with the satisfaction of knowing your catch is being used to help support fisheries research, you will also receive a $25 aftco.com gift card.
Submitting Your Seabass Head
The only necessary part is the head severed from the spine. Although many people like to keep the otoliths, these are needed to measure the age of the fish and are required with the submission.
AFTCO's support of CCA started many years ago and continues on via incentive programs and cash donations through our 10% pledge. When Milt Shedd founded Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, it was with the realization that we as humans need to find ways to build up the stocks of species that we heavily fish. After inspiration from CCA's work in Texas, CCA California was formed by Shedd and other industry leaders.
The recent study showing success in HUBBS Seaworld Research Institute’s (HSWRI) program releasing white seabass has led to much interest in the program and many wondering where does HUBBs get there white seabass from?
A broodstock is a population of mature adult fish that are kept in captivity to breed for the repopulation of a wild stock. HSWRI has holding pens on Catalina Island, California where white sea bass can be kept before transferring to the main location in Carlsbad Ca. The Carlsbad hatchery has the capacity to hold around 200 white seabass and has the resources to spawn fish and hatch eggs.
For over 20 years the boat Kea Kai, with owner and CCA CAL member Jock Albright, caught most, if not all, of the needed white seabass broodstock. In recent years, his son Charlie has stepped in to help. In 2021, they caught 27 broodstock that were transported to the HSWRI hatchery in Carlsbad. With the recent genetics study showing more hatchery fish in the wild population than previously believed, there is now a need to collect a greater number of broodstock. For 2022, a goal of collecting 50 white seabass was set by the HSWRI. To help meet that goal, Jock and son Charlie stepped up bigger than ever. The entire sportfishing community owe a big debt of gratitude to the Albrights. Also in 2022, AFTCO tackle production manager and CCA CAL member Dave Elm added his boat, the Rastafish, to the program. On July 14th 2022, Dave and the Rastafish crew caught the 50th white seabass to meet the 2022 broodstock collection goal.
Both collection boats used for collecting white sea bass were equipped with a specific tank to keep the fish alive. They also needed to plan their fishing areas to be within a quick boat drive to one of the Catalina fish-holding pens because the fish can only be kept in these smaller tanks for around 1 hour before needing to be transported to a larger holding pen. This is quite the restriction because, as we all know, fish swim and may not be in close proximity to a fish pen. Along with this, to make sure the fish have the highest probability of surviving, depth restrictions are considered. The fish need to be caught from shallow water so that they do not experience barotrauma.
White Seabass is Measured and Placed in a Transport Tank
Electronic PIT Tag Inserted to Identify Each Hatchery Fish
White Seabass Checked for Coded Wire Tag
HSWRI Biologist Records Data
White Seabass Released in a Pen on Catalina Island.
In 1964, Milt Shedd founded Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, the year before he founded SeaWorld. In the late 1970s, he started the White Seabass Hatchery program. It was with the realization that we as humans need to find ways to build up the stocks of species that we heavily fish. Fast forward to 2014, after inspiration from CCA's work in Texas, Milt Shedds Son Bill Shedd, current CEO of AFTCO, helped form CCA California with California industry leaders. AFTCO's support of CCA has helped CCA become the major sportfishing community leader for the white seabass hatchery program. Recently, CCA has played a major role in supporting HSWRI with the White Seabass Head Collection Incentive Program.
AFTCO was proud to support the 10th season of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Trophy Catch program in 2022. Trophy Catch is a citizen science promotional conservation program for anglers who catch, document, and release largemouth bass 8 pounds and heavier throughout the state of Florida. The primary goals of the program are to promote freshwater fishing, engage anglers, collect catch data to help with FWC management, and to work with industry partners on conservation messages.
Prizes were awarded to participating anglers who caught qualifying fish for the Lunker Club (8.0-9.9 lbs.), Trophy Club (10.0-12.9 lbs.), and Hall-of-Fame Club (13 pounds and greater). Congratulations to Dale Dew for winning the 10-Tag Grand Prize of $10,000 and Grant Smelcer who caught and released a 14-pound, 4-ounce bass from Porter Lake in Washington County. Smelcer also received additional prizes including a Hydronaut Heavy-Duty Rain Suit.
During the ten year history of the program, there have been more than 13,500 approved Trophy Catch bass reported. Catching, documenting, and releasing these lunkers are an important part of protecting the great fisheries in the state of Florida, and allow the FWC to collect valuable data to keep their waters healthy for years to come.
In 2022, AFTCO donated $426,465 in cash contributions through the 10% Pledge. Additionally, AFTCO donated approximately $400K in product and contributed employee time to support causes like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's Trophy Catch program.
AFTCO, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) and the North Carolina B.A.S.S. Nation (NC B.A.S.S.) are partnering to improve bass habitat. AFTCO recently sent it’s first of four annual $25,000 checks to the NCWRC which will be used toward developing an aquatic plant propagation greenhouse. This new facility will help produce the specific types of vegetation needed to improve bass habitat in North Carolina waters and will potentially increase the NCWRC’s vegetation production by 400-500%.
For over 30 years the NCWRC has been involved in establishing freshwater fish habitat in reservoir and riverine systems. Initial focus was establishing structures such as Christmas trees, but efforts eventually turned towards artificial structures that are almost exclusively used today. The agency began aquatic vegetation introductions to their habitat efforts about 15 years ago due to the loss of natural vegetation, and an increased understanding of just how important vegetation is to the health of bass and other freshwater fisheries. Mark Fowlkes, NCWRC Piedmont Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Coordinator began a limited production of vegetation at the NCWRC’s Sykes Depot in Mebane, North Carolina.
Currently, the NCWRC works on 4 – 5 revegetation projects each year. North Carolina has over 100 reservoirs and there is a need to expand the vegetation program to improve water quality, overall fishery health, and promote angler opportunities. The next step in the evolution of state’s bass habitat program is to build a proper greenhouse. This will not only greatly improve vegetation production capacity but also provide the ability to conduct research projects. A better understanding of what plants grow best in the state’s waters under varied environmental conditions will help biologists chose the correct plants for different areas of the state.
With increased vegetation production, one of the agency’s goals will be to partner with NC B.A.S.S. and other angling groups to develop an “Adopt a Reservoir” program to help in their efforts to improve bass habitat in waters throughout the state. The agency and NC B.A.S.S. have a long-standing conservation partnership, where among other things, bass anglers have volunteered to help plant aquatic vegetation. When the new AFTCO-sponsored greenhouse comes online, NCWRC will rely even more on the partnership and the volunteer angler support NC B.A.S.S. can provide.
AFTCO continues its strong conservation heritage by providing support for five Conservation Grants to B.A.S.S. Nation Clubs in 2023. The contribution for this year amounts to $25,000 spread across the five recipients. AFTCO's total contributions to this program have now exceeded $120,000 since its start in 2018. The following five grant recipients have been selected from the pool of applicants for 2023:
1. Central Tennessee Lake Improvement Project with Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation
2. Iowa B.A.S.S. Nation Release Trailer with Iowa B.A.S.S. Nation
3. Kentucky and Barkley Lakes Cypress Tree Planting Project with Kentucky B.A.S.S. Nation
4. New York B.A.S.S. Release Boat Refit with New York B.A.S.S. Nation
5. Upper Bay, Maryland Stocking Program with Middle River Bass Anglers
These programs will provide support for stocking bass, establishing habitats, and ensuring that tournament fish are returned to lakes and rivers in the best possible condition. These programs are all being coordinated locally with the aid of B.A.S.S Nation chapters, governmental fishing agencies, local businesses, and the valuable support of volunteers and youth organizations contributing their labor. “These grants are a great example of the efforts our B.A.S.S. Nation clubs are putting forth to enhance the fishing in their local lakes and reservoirs. Our state chapters are blessed to be associated with a company like AFTCO that takes conservation to heart. That continued commitment to the B.A.S.S. Nation and to the fishery resources that our sport depends on is unmatched.” - Gene Gilliland, B.A.S.S. Conservation Director
The first project in Tennessee is centered around placing fish habitat in Normandy and Center Hill Reservoirs. Both lakes have seen significant loss of habitat. The AFTCO grant will be used for education on proper habitat as well as the placement of fish attractors in those lakes by the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation in conjunction with the TWRA, TBN High School Team, and TBN Adult Clubs along with donations from local businesses. This project is expected to put between 1000-2000 structures into these lakes.
The second project will bring a new release trailer to the Iowa B.A.S.S. Nation. This trailer will be critical to return tournament fish safely to lakes and rivers in Iowa and surrounding states. Many of those include summertime events with higher water temperatures where safe release is even more critical. The AFTCO grant will be used to aid in the construction of this new trailer in 2023. The trailer will be used at dozens of events each year, including youth tournaments to safely release fish and distribute their release across the body of water. Iowa B.A.S.S. Nation will operate and maintain the trailer.
The goals of the third project are to improve bass and sunfish spawning habitat and decrease siltation by increasing shoreline stability through the planting of bald cypress trees in Lake Barkley. The Kentucky B.A.S.S. Nation is directing the program in conjunction with USACE and KDFWR with the labor being provided by a mix of adult and youth volunteers. The goal of this project is to plant 675 bald cypress trees that are native to this area and provide great habitat and erosion control.
The New York B.A.S.S. Nation has successfully operated a tournament release boat for many years. This fourth AFTCO grant will be used to refit and update the current release boat allowing it to provide better service in the coming season. Their boat is used at over 10 events each season and is operated by youth volunteers and New York nation members. The boat has safely returned thousands of fish back to New York waters and this refit will help it continue to provide top notch fish care in this region.
The final grant recipient in 2023 is the Middle River Bass Anglers. They will be using the grant funds to aid in a stocking program for Chesapeake Bay. There was a devastating fish kill in the Middle River in 2015. The Middle River Bass Anglers with support from the DNR and local business purchase adult bass from a DNR supported vendor to replenish bass populations in this area. Volunteers will distribute the adult bass throughout the three bodies of water.
“AFTCO has been fortunate to work with great partners at B.A.S.S. and all their passionate B.A.S.S. Nation state chapters. Together we’ve been able to make a big impact to enhance these fisheries across the country and give back to both the resource and the angling community.” - Matt Florentino, AFTCO Marketing Director
Since 2018, AFTCO has awarded $95,000 in Conservation Grants to B.A.S.S Nation Clubs. In 2022, AFTCO provided $35,000 to 5 B.A.S.S Nation Clubs to complete conservation-minded projects in their home states. These 2022 projects are highlighted below, and the 2021 projects can be viewed here.
With the increased budget in 2022, AFTCO was able to assist with larger-scale projects than in previous years — boosting the probability that projects can be completed or receive more funding when needed, from other sources.
1. Alabama HS Bass Release Trailer
2. Georgia Lake Oconee Habitat Restoration
3. Kentucky Lake Barkley Cypress Tree Planting
4. Texas Live Release Trailer
5. Texas Lake Fork Habitat Improvement Through Terrestrial Grass Establishment Project
Release trailers have become increasingly popular in areas that have many tournaments. These trailers will be at tournament weigh-in sites and will collect the bass to be redistributed around the lake. The trailers have to be custom-made and must be able to hold thousands of pounds of water and fish. Alabama and Texas have much use for these types of release trailers, and the trailers will be used for High School tournaments. These projects are not only beneficial to the fish and the fisheries, but they also benefit the youth anglers throughout Texas and Alabama.
Habitat improvement projects are common projects that groups perform with the help of their state natural resource group. This involves growing, planting, or building habitats that can be planted in their local lakes. Both plants and artificial habitats provide multiple benefits to a lake. Plants provide stability to shorelines, such as the cypress tree plantings in Lake Barkley. Grasses and artificial structures promote algae growth, attracting baitfish and providing them with protection. This attracts gamefish to utilize the structure for the same two purposes: food and a living habitat. These projects are relatively easy to complete and not as expensive as other projects, so it’s always nice to mix these types of projects with larger-scale projects. Along with this, the more money that is given to a group creating habitats, the more can be produced and planted in lakes, so the ability to scale is great when we are looking at groups and projects to fund.
Mossback Artificial Habitats
The Mossback is one of the most common structures that can be bought and assembled to be placed in fisheries that provide the fish what they need in areas where little structure and cover is a available. In lakes where points are the only "structure", mossbacks can be laid out in flats to make them attractive to fish, or can be placed on the points to make more and larger fish frequent them.
"We're always excited to see the outcome of these projects. Over the course of the last 6 years, B.A.S.S Nation Clubs have performed amazing work with the Bass Conservation Grant. We're looking forward to seeing what the 2023 groups can achieve" said Matt Florentino, AFTCO's Marketing Director. "In addition to these projects, through AFTCO's 10% Pledge to Protect and Conserve, AFTCO and the Shedd Family contribute at least 10% of company profits towards fishing conservation, protecting our resources, and ensuring future generations have access to a sustainable fishery. In 2023, we look to continue ensuring we play our part in fisheries conservation with our 10% pledge, BASS conservation grants, and conservation work around the world."
The 2023 IGFA Hall of Fame class induction ceremony took place at The Johnny Morris Wonders of Wildlife National Museum and Aquarium in Springfield, Missouri.
Bill Shedd has volunteered over 15,000 hours to conservation projects, spending 400-500 hours every year for more than 35 years on marine conservation and sportfishing industry issues. Bill is known for co-founding United Anglers of Southern California (UASC), where he led that group’s efforts to develop the white seabass grow-out facilities to support the hatchery and played a key role with UASC in the effort to eliminate set gill nets in California. Bill played a key role in eliminating the experimental mako shark longline fishery in California. In 1989, Shedd started the AFTCO TAG FLAG and later championed tag and release fishing. In addition, Bill has been a vocal advocate for the protection of fishing access for all recreational anglers as passionate stewards of our marine environment. Bill is often quoted as saying that recreational anglers are the original stewards of marine resources in the modern conservation era.
Bill serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Conservation Association of California (CCA Cal) and the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI). He also currently serves on the boards of the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), Center for Sportfish Policy (CSP), and California Artificial Reef Enhancement program. In addition to his current roles, Bill previously served for seven years on the Board of Directors of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) and was Chairman of the ASA Government Affairs Committee for three decades. Bill also served on the board of United Sport Fishermen (USF), the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF), as chairman of California’s Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP), and on the NOAA Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC).
Bill has received numerous conservation honors throughout his career, including from the American Sportfishing Association, the Center for Sportfishing Policy, the International Game Fish Association, the Coastal Conservation Association, and United Anglers of Southern California.
Bill’s name is synonymous with fisheries conservation in the U.S. and part of a legacy passed down by his father Milt. Bill is the AFTCO Chairman and CEO, positions previously held by his father. AFTCO was purchased by Milt in 1973 and Bill later built AFTCO into the company it is today. Watch Milt Shedd’s 2006 Hall of Fame induction bio here.
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On November 1, 2022, AFTCO Chairman Bill Shedd was presented with the inaugural Gary J. Zurn Conservation Award at the American Sportfishing Association’s 2022 Sportfishing Summit.
The award is named for long-time ASA supporter and Government Affairs committee Chair, Gary Zurn, who passed unexpectedly in August 2021. Zurn was a partner and Senior Vice President of Big Rock Sports for nearly 30 years. During that period, he gave freely of his time and talent to help ensure that anglers across the United States had access to well-managed fisheries, both freshwater and saltwater.
Left to right: Mike Leonard, Government Affairs VP, Bill Shedd, and Glenn Hughes
Listen to Bill Shedd speak with host Mike Leonard about his background, the importance of giving back to the resource, and the changes he has seen over the years in approaches to marine conservation.
Released on a bi-weekly basis, the Politics of Fish podcast explores the people, organizations and issues that impact the sportfishing industry.
The number one question B.A.S.S. conservation staff get asked when a tournament is heading to their town is “What happens to the fish after the tournament is over?” Gene Gilliland, the B.A.S.S. Conservation Director likes to say, “Well they go home”. But what does that process look like during the Super Bowl of bass fishing, the Bassmaster Classic where weigh-in is on average an hour away from the lake?
Let’s start with the basics. In 5 fish tournaments such as the Bassmaster Elite Series, the anglers keep their 5 largest bass in the livewell of their boats. The anglers have an incentive to do everything in their power to keep these bass alive because if one perishes, they receive a penalty. The anglers care of course about the fish but when ounces can cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, one dead bass is an easy thing to limit with good fish care. Of course, things do happen and when an angler hooks a bass deep in the gullet, there’s nothing they can do and bass can die. This is sometimes the only reason we see bass dead after a tournament because the fish care during weigh-in is so effective now.
Typically, in a bass tournament, the weigh-in is on-site and bass care is incredibly easy. Things get complicated during events like the most recent Bassmaster Classic at Lake Hartwell. The lake was between forty-five minutes and an hour away from the weigh-in arena. This time period is critical, especially in years when the Classic is in a warm month. Either way, precautions always need to be taken to ensure the bass get from the lake to the weigh-in, and then right back to the lake alive and healthy. This is achieved largely in collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources of the host state. This year, the South Carolina DNR played an integral part in the releasing process for the fish.
This process starts with the anglers of course but when they get to the launch ramp to check-in, the real show of B.A.S.S. conservation begins. Every year, Conservation Directors from states around the country come to the Classic to volunteer to be on the bass care team. Some of these directors get stationed at the launch ramp. Their job is to check on the fish as they come in as well as provide ice to the anglers to put inside the livewells to keep the water temperature as close to the lake if not slightly colder. This aids in lowering the bass’s metabolism so they utilize less oxygen inside of the water. The boat’s oxygenators are set to stay on during the drive and any external oxygenators are provided if necessary. Another person you can find at the ramp is the Queen of Fizz, Barb Ellliot, the conservation director for the state of New York. Her involvement in the Elite Series with fizzing bass helped so many anglers in deep water late summer events during the smallmouth swing. She is at the ramp, you guessed it, to fizz any bass that look like they might be experiencing barotrauma. Scroll to the bottom of this piece to learn what Barotrauma is and what fizzing can do to help.
The anglers now work on getting their rigs to the arena, where they are met by another team of Conservation Directors and bass care volunteers to check on the bass again and provide more ice if needed. The bass get bagged here in the boatyard to make the process faster on the stage. Time for the biggest stage in bass fishing and where the viewers get their first glimpse of the bass.
The anglers weigh their fish. Dave Mercer screams out the weight, everyone cheers, the angler holds up two bass, and then boom, they’re gone. Well, what you missed was the tournament director taking the bag of bass and passing it below the weigh-in table through a little hatch. This little hatch has a great story to it. Meet Bill Frazier. He is the B.A.S.S. Conservation Director for North Carolina and has been the man in the hatch for 13 years going into 2022. He volunteers for this job because he loves the perspective he gets on this amazing tournament.
Every Bassmaster Classic, Bill is in charge of being under the stage and catching the hundreds of pounds of bass after they are weighed every day. Under the stage looks different every year and sometimes he is sitting on a box and sometimes he is crouched the whole weigh-in. It isn’t until after the stage is built that Gene Gilliland and his team can concoct a new method to get the fish from Bill to another person on the team to make the process as quick as possible. How quick? Bill has a method of timekeeping in his head and rarely does the process take longer. Bill says his whole process from the time the fish come out of the livewell until he passes it off is shorter than the time it takes for him to hold his breath twice.
Bill’s time-tested method of “catching” the fish is a large Rubbermaid container. He holds it up to the hatch in the stage and the fish get dropped right in. Since every stage is different, the next step differs Classic to Classic but he will pass the fish off to the next person. This year, this was a rolling dolly with two strings attached to each side. The tub gets placed on the dolly and the next person pulls the fish to them. Once they take the tub, Bill pulls the dolly back to his location.
The person who pulls the tub of fish passes it off to a runner who brings the fish to the staging area behind the stage where the South Carolina DNR team had two trucks ready to fill up with Hartwell bass to bring right back to the lake once the weigh-in was done. These experienced wildlife biologists spend the whole weigh-in checking on the fish inside the aerated trucks pulling individual fish that look like they needed attention. They also fizz any fish that look like they need it.
This is the full moving process and as you can tell, a lot of thought is given to ensure fish are not only out of the water for as little time as possible but once in the release truck, ensure they have the proper care to boost the probability of survival post-release. What this shows is the passion for conservation that all of these people have. Everyone involved in the process from the conservation director team are volunteers helping because they want to, not because they have to. Bill Frazier has been doing this for 13 years by choice and the dedication that he and the other conservation directors and volunteers have is what keeps the Bassmaster Classic having over a 95+% survival rate every year since they started this method.
What is Barotrauma and How to Fizz a Bass
Barotrauma is when a fish is caught from deep in the water column and is pulled up by an angler faster than it can naturally regulate its buoyancy. A fish uses its swim bladder to regulate its buoyancy and when forced up, the pressure becomes unequal. The swim bladder becomes bloated and over inflated because of the pressure change and this is barotrauma. You may notice a fish that has this keeps floating to the surface and turning on its side. If kept like that, the fish will float to the surface in the lake and die so a solution to help minimize barotrauma is to fizz the bass. Fizzing is using a needle to relieve the pressure in the swim bladder allowing for the fish to return to neutral buoyancy and be able to regulate its own pressure.
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2021 is nearing an end, and at AFTCO the gears have been turning on ideas to be bigger and better in 2022. But we want to take a moment to look back at 2021.
A lot of good was done for fishing conservation in 2021 thanks to customers like you. Each year, through our 10 % Pledge to Protect & Conserve, AFTCO and the Shedd Family contribute at least 10% of company profits towards fishing conservation, protecting our resources, and ensuring future generations have access to a sustainable fishery. In 2021, AFTCO’s 10 % pledge resulted in $548,000 of contributions.
Our 2021 10 % Pledge’s 3 largest financial contributions are highlighted below:
Coastal Conservation Association - $139,900 to CCA state and national chapters in support of their mission of ensuring the health and conservation of our marine resources and anglers’ access to them.
Keep America Fishing - $75,000 donated in support of fishing advocacy efforts. Through policy, science and conservation, the Government Affairs team of the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) works to minimize access restrictions, promote clean waters and restore fish populations.
Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute - $75,000 donated. In 2021 Hubbs released 90,000 fish into the ocean for replenishment through their Carlsbad Hatchery and published 19 scientific research papers among many other achievements.
Among these three, AFTCO supported a number of the 10% pledge partners in 2021.
• The War on Carp
• AFTCO's Bass Buss Live Release Boat
• Captains For Clean Water
• Center For Sportfishing Policy
• Dolphin Research Program
• FishAmerica Foundation/ASA
• Friends of Reservoirs
• Keep America Fishing
• GLATOS
•IGFA - International Gamefish Association
• Bass Fishing Hall of Fame
• Keep the Tennessee River Beautiful
• Marathon Man / Fishing For Life
• TPWD - Texas Parks & Wildlife
• Wild Oceans
• C.A.S.T. For Kids
• Fishing's Future
• The Ike Foundation
In 2021, AFTCO continued our support of B.A.S.S. Nation grassroots with another year of AFTCO X BASS Conservation grants. This year we paid $20,000 in grants to Bass Nation Clubs looking to make their local fisheries better with projects such as habitat restoration and habitat creation. As the year finished with continued troubles with group gatherings, the bass clubs were still able to establish fish habitats in lakes around the country. This year, groups got involved creating and planting artificial habitats but also cypress tree plantings which not only provide fish habitat but also mitigate shoreline erosion. These projects will continue their work into 2022.
A component of our 10 % pledge means protecting anglers’ rights and reasonable public access to a sustainable resource. In that regard, we spend a considerable amount of time on 30x30 issues. This year we compiled scientific research expressing the need for governmental bodies to consider sport anglers in their decisions and outlined possible solutions to fishery biodiversity issues. This took a considerable amount of time and was supported by fishing conservation groups around the country. To read our articles, go to the 30X30 Blogs Page.
Additional 2021 Accomplishments we’re proud of
In 2021, AFTCO scored big winning all 4 apparel awards at this year’s ICAST 2021 New Product Showcase. As we look into 2022 with optimistic eyes, we are hoping that our success continues allowing us to not only bring great clothing to the fishing industry but also to contribute more to our 10% pledge and partnering conservation efforts. In 2021, we investigated how to be more sustainable and in 2022, many plans will be initiated to reduce our environmental impact on the oceans, rivers, lakes, and land that support our fisheries. In 2022, these goals include utilizing recycled and sustainable fabrics in our clothing, recycled hang tags in all clothing, and considerate actions in the warehouse and office to reduce energy and waste. These goals are set to mitigate our landfill footprint that results in better water quality, slow plastic pollution that ends up in our ocean, and lower carbon emissions.
$548,000 for the Sport of Fishing in 2021 – How We Got There
How does AFTCO determine 10 % Pledge Partners & Projects? The basic buckets for our 10 % support fall into these categories: fishing conservation advocacy, saltwater habitat, freshwater habitat, fish hatcheries, protecting public fishing access, youth fishing engagement and education, clean water, scientific research and fish tagging. Some of AFTCO's donations are project-based, and some go to support the overall mission of our partners.
How are donations accounted for? Our 10 % pledge model dictates that the more successful our business is in a year, the larger our contribution. AFTCO determines our annual donation amount by setting the goal to contribute a value that is equivalent to at least 10 % of total company profits as represented on company financial statements. In 2021, the Peggie Shedd Marine Trust made a $50,000 donation on behalf of the Shedd family who owns AFTCO.
The value of donated time and product is not included in this total. AFTCO often provides support through the donation of time and product. We conservatively estimate that we contributed approximately $80,000 of inline retail product to support the mission of our partners in 2021. Additionally, AFTCO staff donates a considerable amount of both personal and employee time towards conservation and sustainability efforts, including volunteering at fish hatcheries, events with CCA, and at AFTCO company beach cleanups. We do not formally track or assign a monetary value to these efforts. AFTCO’s Chairman Bill Shedd has spent over 400 hours a year on conservation and fishing access issues for 40+ years.
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TAG-A-Giant is currently in its 25th year. TAG was founded by Stanford and Duke University scientists, alongside interested fishers. Our goal is ensuring the future of pelagic fish such as Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tunas (www.tagagiant.org) by collecting the science needed to support management initiatives.
What species of bluefin have you tagged?
We have tagged all three species of bluefin tunas. Atlantic bluefin (Thunnus thynnus), Pacific bluefin (Thunnus orientalis), and Southern bluefin (Thunnus maccoyii). Our primary focus is Northern bluefin tuna, but we also tag other species of tunas, billfishes, sharks, mantas, and sea turtles.
What are the goals of the program/why was it started?
TAG was founded to bring fishermen, scientists, fisheries managers, and funders together to generate new knowledge on fish that were both recreational and commercially of interest - We started tagging Atlantic bluefin tuna and expanded quickly to Pacific bluefin. We continued tagging other pelagic species (fish and elasmobranchs) around the globe. Working alongside three North American companies, we also helped to develop and trial the electronic tags (Pop-up satellite archival and internal archival tags, as well as the first shark fin tags called SPOT) deployed on fish today. Our lab also worked on the mathematics of estimating positions with light and oceanographic data collected on the tag to map the spatial and temporal habitat of the fish. Our lab utilizes advanced genetics to look at population structure, and we look at the physiology/biochemistry of these unique species to understand niche preferences/tolerances. We have just finished the genomes of Atlantic and Pacific bluefin at a very concise level.
The science is not only published in peer-reviewed journals but presented to both domestic and international fisheries managers so they can incorporate the data into models on the status of the fishery.
What’s been the most exciting part of the program?
We are at the cutting edge of scientific technology. Since the first electronic tags to the new generation of tags (pop-up satellite, archival, camera tags), we are finding new ways to “peel back the ocean.” The technology, combined with genomics and isotopic data are at the forefront of the tuna, billfish and elasmobranch knowledge. The data will help empower better management of these fisheries.
What does a day in the life on an expedition look like?
We have tagged over ~3000 tunas, 1300 sharks, ~450 billfishes and ~100 mantas. To do this successfully requires enormous logistical coordination and countless hours of preparation prior to the trip. This begins at the lab with programming and leadering of tags, as well as ordering and packing equipment. Like a good fisher, we create terminal tackle tethers for the tags that helps keep them on the fish.
Then, just like a typical fishing trip we must book travel arrangements for researchers, prepare the equipment and electronic tags, hire vessels and crew...and most importantly find a weather window when the fish are biting!
TAG science succeeds because we collaborate with the best fishers in the world. It’s the team approach that has led to our success.
A single day is much like any day fishing; our scientific team ensures tags are ordered, numbered, and recorded. We follow a strict scientific protocol prior to attachment or surgical procedure to ensure the health of the animal, so instruments/tags are cleaned and sterilized.
Then like all fishers, we head out to the open sea and if we are lucky enough to catch our targeted species, we use techniques our program has developed to bring fish on board the boat, tag them and let them go. The tagging and retention of the scientific instrument requires unique attachment tethers and precision placement. The electronic tags are between $1,500-$5,000 each, and depending on the tag, can record data up to 7 years.
What have been the greatest successes of the program?
In the mid-90s, TAG worked alongside engineers from various tag manufactures to develop the electronic tags we use today. The development of the right type of tag for each animal (tuna, shark, billfish) has been critical to the Tag-A-Giant campaign over the last couple of decades. We are innovators and are proud of our capacity to achieve long term attachments and deployments (Up to 6 years on a bluefin!).
The deployment of more than 2,000 archival tags on tuna in the Pacific during the Tagging of Pacific Pelagic/Census of Marine Life program catapulted electronic tagging into the forefront of ocean ecology.
Our science helped to create protections for spawning fish in the Gulf of Mexico. This was encouraging as it showed that electronic tagging science in collaboration with NGOs and government could be used to protect the species when it was most vulnerable.
Our Great Marlin Race in collaboration with the IGFA has utilized citizen scientists to tag over 450 marlin around the globe producing a trove of scientific data.
We have tagged over 3,000 bluefin tuna off numerous coasts from the US (both Atlantic and Pacific) to New Zealand, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, Canada, Ireland, England, Wales, Morocco, Spain, Italy, Portugal, Israel, and to see the bluefin population explode in the last couple of years is a testament to good management, bluefin resilience and great science. There are plenty of questions to be answered. The population increases could be echoes of strong recruitments in certain year classes, or it could be environmental factors aggregating fish, but there are positive signs of a global bluefin tuna recovery.
We are working with ICCAT to build more accurate models for fisheries that include the biology we obtain from tagging and genetics.
The challenge with fisheries management is that we can’t peel back the ocean and count the fish, however these tags and genetics give us new tools to estimate populations.
What have been the biggest wins to you personally?
The ongoing recovery of bluefin in the Atlantic, and the ability to see where bluefin go for up to six years under the sea. Such a long track was something we only dreamed about when TAG was first founded.
We are also creating the next generation of scientists and advocates for tuna, billfish and shark. This may be our greatest legacy. We have had University students from Stanford & across the world work with our team. Some are on the forefront of fisheries science and management now. We have also edited two books on tunas and published 200 plus scientific papers all intended to incrementally help to build the knowledge base for sustainable fisheries!
What’s your best memory working with the program?
Off the coast of North Carolina, we electronically tagged almost 40 bluefin tuna in one day with the help of almost 50 boats…so amazing to see the whole community involved! Similarly, we tagged over 100 bluefin on the Shogun on one trip in a few days, and hand feeding 1,000 lb. giants in Nova Scotia is second to none!
How can our community get involved and support the mission?
Fishers can sponsor a satellite or archival tag or donate time fishing with our team (Charters). We allow sponsors on many trips.
Why is the bluefin an important species to tag and learn more about?
Northern bluefin tuna are iconic fish. Large, powerful, warm-bodied and for tunas, long-lived with billion dollar fisheries- sought after by fishers across the globe. They are now regulated by strict quotas to ensure their recovery. The giant bluefin is one of the greatest sports fishing challenge – and we hope that we can recover the northern bluefin in both oceans as they are vital to their ecosystems
What more is there to learn about the species to better conserve them?
In the Atlantic, the bluefin tuna population structure is increasing in complexity.
How many years of tagged data have been analyzed?
25 years
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The three species of bluefin tuna are the reason many people are anglers. They are why anglers can tell the best fishing story anyone has ever heard and why some have a few patches of white hair. From the epic stories to the agonies of defeat, the Bluefin is the common denominator. Check out AFTCO’s Species Spotlight on the Bluefin Tuna to learn more about the species.
Aside from observations from the angler, many questions get answered by scientists studying and tracking the species. Observations made by anglers on the water help trained scientists take it a step further by using their tools to learn more about the species. The bluefin tuna is no exception. Scientific studies help uncover more about tuna behavior and how to keep their populations steady. Groups such as Tag-A-Giant are pushing the envelope on bluefin tuna research.
Who Studies Bluefin Tuna?
Being the apex predator that the Bluefin tuna is, a lot of research and studies have been conducted and are in progress on this species. Apex predators are essential to the ocean because the species plays a vital role in the ecosystem by feeding on intermediate predators. These predators then feed on prey, which feeds on smaller organisms at the base of the food chain. There are many different species in the lower trophic levels of an ecosystem. Still, once you get to the top, there are fewer apex predators, so if their population declines, it can topple an ecosystem by simply not feeding on the intermediate predators.
Because of this dynamic, you find many scientific institutions researching bluefin tuna. One of the most effective tools in studying these species is tracking. Many tools are used to track, including satellite trackers, acoustic telemetry tracking, and visual tracking. With highly migratory species like BFT, satellite tracking is the more effective method. Groups like Tag-A-Giant support tagging BFT efforts in the Pacific and Atlantic to learn as much as possible about this species.
Tag-A-Giant
Tag-A-Giant (TAG) is committed to reversing the decline of the northern Bluefin species by supporting the scientific research necessary to conserve them. Understanding that bluefin are apex predators means they have a critical role in the ecosystem and need further understanding to properly plan conservation initiatives.
TAG research is showing the world how to improve management of bluefin fisheries to chart a course to recovery of the species. TAG has pioneered the field of electronic tagging, catching and releasing 1,800 wild bluefin tunas with modern devices that record their journeys through the sea. AFTCO and CCA California is in support of TAG and have been involved in assisting them with capturing and tagging efforts in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. To learn about some of these efforts, watch our Bluefin Tagging Video here.
Where Do Bluefin Tuna Spawn?
A crucial question to any migratory species is where they spawn. Understanding where they spawn can answer other questions regarding where they might go at a specific time of the year and how old they are when they go. These are all aspects that Dr. Barbara Block and Tag-A-Giant are trying to answer with the Pacific Bluefin. They found that Bluefin are born off the coast of Japan and Taiwan. When they are young, they swim across the Pacific Ocean to the West Coast of North America. Here they spend a few years following bait and currents growing larger until they become sexually mature estimated to be at seven years of age and weigh above 200 pounds, and swim back to Japan and Taiwan to reproduce.
The Atlantic Bluefin reproduces in the Gulf of Mexico as well as in the Mediterranean Sea. They trek around the Atlantic Ocean, always returning to their spawning grounds starting at ten years old. Sportfishing organizations such as the International Game Fish Association (IGFA), American Sportfishing Association (ASA), Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) and Center For Sportfish Policy (Center) are working with marine scientists and partners in the environmental community to prevent longlines from harming the Atlantic Bluefin spawning in the Gulf.
Where Can You Find Bluefin Tuna?
Bluefin Tuna are found around the entire planet. Their distribution along all three oceans can be described by what happens inside their muscles. Tuna can inhabit most open oceans and seas because they are regional endotherms. That is a fancy way of saying they are warm-blooded. BFT can regulate their body temperature thanks to blood vessels that keep warm blood around the muscles. Having warm blood around the muscles means the tuna can keep their muscles warm regardless of the surrounding ocean temperatures.
Starting with the Pacific Bluefin Tuna, as the name implies, we find this tuna in the Pacific Ocean. We see these tunas in the western Pacific Ocean near Japan and Taiwan in their known spawning grounds and in the Eastern Pacific, where they feed, swimming in a figure-eight motion along the Eastern Pacific. The feeding grounds used to be more in the southern hemisphere but have recently shifted in the reach of North American Fishing Fleets. They make the migrations back and forth, but their range extends to the south around Australia and New Zealand. This overlaps with the Southern Bluefin Tuna and is a more uncommon occurrence down under.
The Atlantic Bluefin occupies the Atlantic Ocean from the Gulf of Mexico to the Mediterranean Sea and north into Canada across to Iceland. There are two leading stocks of Atlantic Bluefin; one stock spawns in the Gulf of Mexico and the other in the Mediterranean Sea. These two stocks then do what the Pacific Bluefin do and migrate to feeding grounds. At first, these two stocks were thought to stay separate, but now there is evidence that they feed in similar areas around the Atlantic before returning to the spawning site where they were born. Because of this, it has been suggested that it is possible to genetically isolate these two tuna stocks due to not breeding with the other stock, even though they interact throughout their lives on feeding grounds.
What Do Bluefin Tuna Eat?
Depending on the ocean, different prey species are on the bluefin tuna menu. However, tuna cannot suck prey into their mouths like some fish like groupers. They must catch prey and fit it into their mouths. Smaller tuna tend to feed on smaller prey until their mouths are big enough to open around larger prey. As juveniles, most tunas feed on small crustaceans, squid, and smaller baitfish, and when they grow larger, they can feed on larger baitfish like mackerels and even flying fish and eels.
Are Bluefin Tuna Endangered?
As of 2021, the classifications of the three bluefin species have changed from what many are familiar with.
Many have considered the Atlantic Bluefin incredibly overfished and critically endangered. However, they have been taken off the IUCN Red List and are considered “least concern” now. Proper and effective fisheries management and the science gained from organizations like the Tag-A-Giant Program have contributed to this success story. While regulations and commercial catch limits on the East Coast of North America have successfully started an Atlantic Bluefin recovery, it is critical not to let commercial catch rates climb back to a point that reverses the current positive trend with the Atlantic Bluefin.
Unfortunately, the Southern Bluefin Tuna is the only critically endangered bluefin species on the planet. This species is the smallest bluefin species and has been over-exploited for many years. Current regulations are limited to Total Allowable Catches (TAC) by neighboring countries that fish for this species. Unfortunately, there is not much evidence suggesting the populations are recovering, but the IUCN suggests the Southern Bluefin population trend is increasing, which is a good sign.
The Pacific Bluefin Tuna has become increasingly popular in areas such as Southern California, with the species becoming more in reach of the sportfishing fleet. Unfortunately, many factors have led to the Pacific Bluefin Tuna being considered “near threatened” and a declining population trend. Conservation measures and more data are needed to understand better the movement patterns and spawning information to assist in making effective fisheries regulations to help this species stick around for generations. Critical information is required on the Pacific Bluefin Tuna to determine their actual spawning age. One of the goals of the current tagging programs is to do just that.
The three species can be hard to manage appropriately because of their migratory nature. When tuna travel across borderlines, the jurisdiction changes on who manages the tuna. The fault lies in some country’s fisheries management being less strict than other countries. For several reasons, the exploitation of a species can occur because the animals swim into another country’s waters with the threat of overfishing. Therefore, groups like the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) exist to assist in international regulation of migratory species and have become a great asset to the conservation of the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna.
]]>Santa Ana, Ca. – AFTCO is proud to announce the fourth year of conservation grants in collaboration with B.A.S.S.. These Conservation Grants are available to all BASS Nation Chapters around the country looking to perform conservation minded projects within their community and waterways.
“With a long history of conservation minded initiatives, AFTCO is always looking for opportunities to help provide direct fishery improvements and partnering with Gene Gilliland and B.A.S.S. made complete sense”, said Casey Shedd, President of AFTCO. “Over the course of the last four years we have donated over 60,000 dollars, 20,000 dollars this year alone”.
AFTCO is providing funds to 5 projects around the nation. The 5 grantees are as follows.
Leavenworth Bass Club (Kansas BASS Federation) – The Leavenworth Bass Club will purchase and re-establish Water Willow into Hillsdale Lake, Kansas. They will then monitor the habitat for micro and macro organisms, amphibians, birds, and most importantly, fish.
Nebraska BASS Federation – The Nebraska Bass Federation will plan to install 25 to 30 artificial tree structures in a variety of city and state owned lakes across Nebraska that lack fish habitat and structure. Youth groups will predominately perform this work and while at each lake, they will also perform a lake cleanup utilizing AFTCO’s Bank Bags.
Kentucky Bass Nation – The Kentucky Bass Nation will be planting Cypress trees on predetermined shorelines in Lake Barkley. Cypress trees provide stability to shorelines reducing erosion as well as increase habitat for organisms and sportfish.
Virginia Bass Nation – VA Bass nation's goal is to partner with local high school agriculture programs, such as Pulaski County High School, to propagate plants and assist in restoration efforts improving local aquatic ecosystems. Students will learn about opportunities in plant biology all while contributing to direct improvements for the local fisheries.
Illinois Bass Nation – Illinois Bass Nation is working this year on creating and deploying fish habitats in local lakes around Silver Springs Illinois. These lakes, two largest being Big Lake and Beaver lake, receive significant fishing pressure and lack structure and fish habitat. They Plan to deploy fish haven artificial structures as well as cubes and blocks.
“AFTCO is very excited about the 2021 grantees.” Said Seth Meyer, Conservation and Content Coordinator at AFTCO. “These projects really focus on direct improvements to the fisheries. Whether it be fish habitats or planting native vegetation, these projects are set to increase the abundance of fish in the lakes. Something we can all get behind!”
In 2020, AFTCO funded 5 projects as well totaling 18,000 dollars donated. With 2020 being the year it was, AFTCO was very excited to see BASS Nation Chapters so eager to continue to do good work around lakes and waterways. All projects were set to create or purchase structures and fish havens that would be deployed in local lakes. Many projects were successful even with the hardships of 2020 and we commend these projects for their determination.
The Conservation Grants for 2021 come simultaneously with AFTCO’s continued efforts to put our Fisheries First. The Fisheries First Sustainability pledge is AFTCO’s pledge to reducing their environmental impact on the oceans, river, lakes and land that support our fisheries. This includes goals of utilizing recycled materials in clothing, hang tags, paper and tradeshow booths.
For more information, visit https://www.aftco.com/fisheriesfirst
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Our Goal: Turning the Tide on Plastic Pollution
Ocean plastic pollution is a problem faced by outdoor enthusiasts and anglers alike. Our goal is to help turn the tide on the prevailing, negative statistics and provide our fishing communities with the resources, education and empowerment needed to see tangible change for the next generation.
We believe education on the issue of ocean plastic pollution, and more importantly, its relation to anglers and the outdoor community, is vital for change. Let’s start with a simple question.
What is plastic pollution?
Plastic pollution is an “… accumulation in the environment of synthetic plastic products to the point where they create problems for wildlife and their habitats as well as for human populations.” (Britannica)
The issue is clear. Synthetic products are causing some level of damage to the natural world and environment, but beyond that, they are also causing harm to people.
What is “Single Use Plastic”?
Single use plastic is the type of plastic items that everyone uses only once before the item is unusable and then disposed of. Amazingly, 50% of all plastic created in a year is single use plastic and is never reused. Examples of these single use plastics are:
A rise in plastic production and consumption
It wasn’t until the early 20th century that plastic became such an integral part of our world’s commerce, and we’re already seeing the widespread affects especially on our world’s oceans (Britannica).
Global production of plastic caps out at around 370 million tons per year and, as mentioned previously, approximately 50% of this number can be attributed to single-use products. (Statista)
Along with this, 91% of all this plastic does NOT get recycled, but rather added to landfills while only the remaining 9% get recycled or incinerated.
The statistics are telling: Of that total plastic, 8 million metric tons end up in our oceans every year, which equates to about 17.6 billion pounds (NOAA). That's roughly equivalent to a dump truck full of plastic being added to our oceans every single minute. Finally, what we see on the ocean’s surface only amounts to about 15% of the overall debris. Nearly 70% of the plastic sinks into the ocean’s ecosystem (Condor Ferries).
Science magazine explains the impact:
"Plastic pollution affects many aspects of human well-being: affecting the aesthetics of beaches, blocking drainage and wastewater engineering systems, and providing a breeding ground for disease vectors." — Science
The timeline between the rise of plastic production in our world’s commerce and the growing pollution levels we see today demonstrate the urgency of creating sustainable solutions in every arena. Still, we remain hopeful.
As stewards of our waterways, we have a responsibility to understand our own impact as well as the global impact on our oceans. Plastic pollution is near the top of the list. We must take steps to ensure we are not part of the problem while also proactively repairing the damage done.
How does plastic pollution impact fish?
As anglers, our livelihood and legacy depend on the water. There is no denying it. More than that, we were given a gift by the previous generation. Our goal should be to conserve, protect and pass on this legacy for the next generation. The best way to rebuild and repair is diving into the issues and paving a way for growth and change.
Beyond the issues of legacy at hand, the livelihoods of anglers around the world depend on the health of our oceans.
Whether our fisheries are fresh or salt water, our oceans and waterways are interdependent. Plastic pollution touches our daily lives and encroaches on our places of recreation and commerce.
“We all know through the mass media that a wide range of the usual “charismatic marine life” are impacted by plastic pollution through entanglement or ingestion, including marine mammals, birds and, most notably, turtles. However, the average angler is seldom besotted by blubber wearing or blubber eating marine beasts, being more interested in fish. So, what impact can plastic pollution have on fish? You may be surprised that the answer is, “plenty”.” (Fishing World)
Litter dropped in streets, lightweight plastics in landfills or illegally dumped waste can be carried by wind or rain into the ocean (BBC). Pollution can even make it to the ocean from miles away when they fall into storm drains that all lead to the ocean. So just because someone is far away from the ocean does not mean they are not affecting the ocean and waterways with pollutants.
Once plastic gets into our waterways, issues for fisheries only intensify. It can take plastic hundreds of years to degrade, and unlike some other kinds of waste, plastics decompose very slowly (NOAA). As the plastic turns into smaller and smaller pieces it becomes microplastics. As the name suggests, these pieces are virtually undetectable in size, especially amidst the vast backdrop of the ocean’s current.
“Nearly 700 marine species and more than 50 freshwater species are known to have ingested or become entangled in macroplastic, and there is growing evidence that plastic is ingested by a wide range of terrestrial organisms.” (Science)
When small organisms ingest microplastics, it eventually makes it up the food chain until it has the possibility of being consumed by humans. The problem with this is by the time it makes it to us, it has “bioaccumulated”. If a small fish eats 10 pieces of microplastic, and then a medium size fish eats 10 of the small fish, it now has ingested 100 pieces of plastic. Then a large fish eats 10 of the medium sized fish so it now has 1000 pieces of plastic and it accumulates exponentially until we ingest it.(ScienceDirect)
Ocean based sources of pollution.
In addition to the larger volume of plastic that comes from land based sources, ocean pollution includes derelict fishing gear that originates largely from industrial commercial fishing fleets while at sea. Abandoned commercial fishing gear makes up an estimated 10 % of all ocean debris. Its a particularly impactful form of pollution and can lead to discarded fishing gear that is no longer under a fisherman’s control continuing to trap and kill fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds (NOAA).
America's 55 million recreational anglers care about responsibly conserving our public resources. These pollution issues and the overfishing generated from destructive gear types is of particular interest to AFTCO, as we were instrumental in helping to ban near shore gillnet bans in California dating back to the 1990’s. Our work on the gear type issues continues to this day. In 2019 AFTCO’s chairman Bill Shedd testified in front of congress on behalf of legislation that would ban the use of drift gillnets in California’s swordfish fishery. We believe that a transition away from drift gillnets to more sustainable commercial fisheries is the most impactful way we can help to remove nets from our oceans.
How you can take action and help
Starting with eliminating single-use plastic, keeping waste of our waterways, and being mindful of how our consumption affects the places we’re most passionate about is a great start. The single simplest change is eliminating single use water bottles. Purchase a well-built mutli-use water bottle from a brand that supports fishing conservation and responsible fishing access. Yeti makes a number of double-wall vacuum insulated water bottles we love. Other fishing brands like our friends at Marsh Wear are even offering single wall stainless steel bottles. Finally, if you're a guide, consider joining Costa's Kick Plastic Guide & Outfitter Program which is designed to help you make the switch from disposable to reusable water bottles in your business.
Unfortunately, recycling alone is not the answer when you see the data above of how little plastic is actually recycled. That is what makes refusing single use plastic such an integral step to eliminating the plastic that may harm our waterways and animals around the world. Along with water bottles, consider finding other reusable options such as reusable grocery bags and forks, knives spoons and straws when eating out.
It’s the simple desire to see cleaner waterways that fuels these initiatives. Whether it was your trash or someone else’s, we can join with organizations, friends and family to host cleanups or support ongoing projects where we may not be able to be physically involved. AFTCO provides some great resources for fishing community ocean and lake clean ups and a simple google search provides plenty of tips for anyone looking to create their own clean up.
Consumption and waste are two key factors when it comes to this issue. Companies and industries have a responsibility for the products they create for the whole duration of their lifecycle, not just when they enter the market. This looks different for every organization.
What AFTCO is doing about plastic pollution
At AFTCO, our Fisheries First Sustainability Pledge was created to address these issues in our own company. From a business level, we’re making it our aim to transition apparel to recycled materials, update packaging, eliminate single-use plastics and consider how we can contribute to, not detract from, the long-term health of our fisheries.
Thankfully, we are not alone. There are several brands and industry leaders working together with us to make this change possible. One way to get involved in this initiative, is to consider your own consumption patterns and the companies you support or consider how you can encourage brands to continue to value and push these issues forward.
At the end of the day, an investment in the elimination of ocean plastic pollution goes far beyond simply knowing the problem exists. Although the numbers are telling, we remain hopeful and passionate about making a difference and we invite you to join us as we implement these solutions. Our chief concern is the impact these issues will have for the legacy and livelihood of our fisheries. As a result, we’re committed to producing products from the sea, for the sea and turning the tide on the issues of ocean plastic pollution.
Resources:
https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/hazards/marinedebris/plastics-in-the-ocean.html
https://www.britannica.com/science/plastic-pollution
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/how-does-plastic-end-ocean
http://www.fishingworld.com.au/news/fish-facts-the-problem-with-plastic
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/369/6510/1455
https://www.condorferries.co.uk/marine-ocean-pollution-statistics-facts
https://www.statista.com/statistics/282732/global-production-of-plastics-since-1950/
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Check out the latest episode of the Western Outdoor News Podcast! AFTCO CEO and CCA California Chairman Bill Shedd discusses the history and future of AFTCO, along with CCA California's efforts to fight the AB3030 "MLPA 2.0" bill that could restrict fishable water on the west coast. Listen now!
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2020 has been the most productive year yet for CCA CAL. We achieved the greatest victory ever by the sportfishing community in the California legislature by preventing AB3030 from passing.
Nobody thought we could accomplish that, but we did. We had a lot of help from many other fishing and boating organizations but it was CCA California who led the effort. AB3030 is part of a worldwide effort to protect 30% of all saltwater, freshwater, and land to ensure a healthy environment and biodiversity. Since anglers are the true conservationists, we agreed with many of the principles of AB3030. However, the way it was written made it look like MLPA 2.0 to us. If passed as written, it had the very real potential of doubling the amount of no fishing protected areas along the California coastline from 15% to 30% with no real science, valid justification, or definition to do so.
This battle is long from over. Shortly after its defeat in the legislature, Governor Newsom created an Executive Order to keep 3030 alive. Even so, we have already changed the course of the 30 by 30 effort not just in California but nationally as well. Its 2020 legislative defeat here has changed the course of similar legislation being offered in Congress. That effort and others will now be less punitive towards saltwater anglers as they know they have an organized sportfishing community to deal with. The environmental community pushing 30×30 is not going away, so CCA CAL will be leading the effort in California against further unwarranted closures. We are committed to fighting this battle for as long as it continues.
In 2020 we not only stopped bad legislation with AB3030 but also passed good legislation with AB1949, which allows the white seabass hatchery program to continue. We, along with our lobbyist, worked with the Ocean Resources Enhancement and Hatchery Program (OREHP) Advisory Panel and CDFW to make available an additional $550,000 a year for five years to the hatchery program. In addition, in 2020 the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) was able to release hatchery halibut into Mission Bay raised from broodstock captured by CCA CAL volunteers. While halibut are still only at the experimental stages for a hatchery effort, we continue to encourage the CDFW to partner with us to make it a more formal part of OREHP.
Additionally, by working with partners in the sportfishing community and friends on the Pacific Fisheries Management Council (PFMC), we helped ensure that sardines are still available to us as live bait. We were successful in helping to push out a possible Chumash National Marine Sanctuary for at least five years.
Drift gillnets (DGN) are on their way out as buyouts are now taking place from past California legislation we helped to pass. By working with our friends at the American Sportfishing Association (ASA) we now have national legislation passed to ensure drift gill nets can’t worm their way back anywhere in the US, including California. That legislation has already passed the Senate and House and is heading to the President’s desk for signature. With the long-fought battle over drift gill nets over, we continue to work to prevent the development of a long-line fishery off our coast. We have been and continue to be working on many other issues. Of special note, is CCA CAL’s work in making the 365 Day License a legislative priority for 2021.
As you can see, we are getting things done on behalf of saltwater anglers, the marine resource in California along with the entire fishing community. We can’t do it without your support. If every angler and everyone in the fishing tackle industry will support our efforts, there is no limit to how much we can accomplish.
I am asking for your IMMEDIATE help.
COVID prevented us from having our chapter fundraising dinners in 2020. As we looked toward 2021 we were staring at a shortfall of $120,000. We recently asked our board of directors and life members for their help and they really stepped up. Our deficit has been reduced to $50,000. We now have one of our life members willing to donate up to $25,000 to CCA CAL in matching funds. We desperately need to raise $25,000 right now to be able to maximize this generous offer. We need your help to reach our immediate goal and get the needed funding so we can continue to work to protect and enhance coastal resources and fishing opportunities for everyone. I wouldn’t be asking if it wasn’t critically important. We need your help and we need it right away.
There are several ways you can help: Join CCA California with a small annual membership fee of $35. Make a monthly pledge or one-time donation. Become a life member, where this elite group of anglers and industry leaders have recognized how vital CCA is with a $1,000 donation. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donation may be tax-deductible for 2020.
How To Help
Joining CCA California and making donations is easy.
Visit www.ccacalifornia.org and click on “How To Help” at the top of the page.
We are making steady progress but there is a lot of work to be done and we need your help. Please get involved by supporting Coastal Conservation Association today. Thank you for your consideration and for supporting CCA CAL. Together, we have can have a bright fishing future.
Sincerely,
Bill Shedd | CCA California Chairman
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In 2021, AFTCO kicked off efforts to battle invasive carp with a $10,000 donation to Lyon County Industrial Development Authority. These funds helped commercial fisherman remove 14 million pounds of carp through commercial fishing subsides in three total years. This is just one part of AFTCO's conservation efforts.
To help combat the carp invasion, AFTCO has teamed up with Mark Menendez and the War On Carp organization to create awareness and funds to help eradicate these fish. Aside from a $10,000 donation to the War on Carp organization, $5 from all funds made from the War On Carp T-shirt will be donated as well to the fight. Support the fight to stop the carp from taking over our lakes.
One of the biggest threats to our lakes in the Midwest is invasive carp. $5 from all funds made from the War On Carp T-shirt will be donated to the fight. Shop Now »
In the 1960s, 4 species of invasive carp were introduced into small ponds around the Midwest as a help to aquaculture. By the 1970’s, many escaped and were released allowing them to enter river systems and lakes.
That is where it started.
Three species of invasive carp are the most destructive in Kentucky. The bighead and Silver carp are the filter feeders that filter out algae and plankton leaving nothing for other small baitfish to eat. The Black Carp feeds on bottom invertebrates like clams, mussels and worms leaving even less for other animals to eat. These three combined can spell disaster for any waterway that cant figure out how to get rid of invasive carp. The last is the grass carp and can be found in almost every state in the US.
Silver, Grass, Bighead and Black carp combined span 45 of the 50 states leaving biologists baffled by this invasive carp invasion. The reason for their prolific spread is due to what they eat and how they reproduce. All four species eat “low on the food chain”. This means they eat plankton, algae, and other species that an ecosystem depends on. When there is not enough plankton, the baitfish have less to eat which means the bass, walleye, trout, pike, and other predatory fish become affected too. Combine this with their quick reproduction, and they can take over any waterway here unless we control the populations. This is why we should care about the presence of these carp in our waterways. AFTCO took the jump into freshwater conservation in 2018 and now we are contributing to the War on Carp.
A short term solution is subsidizing commercial fishing efforts. That’s why AFTCO donated $10,000 to the Lyon County Industrial Development Authority in Kentucky, with the guidance from AFTCO Pro Mark Menendez. Mark has firsthand seen the affects theses carp have had on the Bass populations in Kentucky Lake and is a big advocate for the War on Carp organization and the movement to solve the carp problem.
But how can we stop invasive carp from invading our waters? We can all do our part to stop invasive carp from reaching all 50 states. Here are some tips to stop the spread of invasive carp.
If you think you have found an invasive carp, please call the Aquatic Nuisance Species Task Force at 1-877-STOP-ANS. For other information on invasive carp check out this Invasive Species Page.
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The Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) was founded by Milt Shedd in 1963, a full year prior to his co-founding SeaWorld which opened in 1964. Many businesses and families create foundations after funds are secured from a successful business but what makes the SeaWorld and HSWRI story unique is that Milt Shedd started what later was named the HSWRI before there were any profits or even a business in existence. Well before others thought of it and even before the term cause-marketing had been coined, in 1962 Milt believed that in the future business were going to be required to give back to their community. Milt Shedd bought AFTCO in 1973, resulting in AFTCO’s fate being intertwined with conservation. AFTCO has been one of the largest supporters of the Hubbs Research Institute.
He thought the best way to give back to the ocean community was to create a separate entity from SeaWorld to help allow outside marine scientists to learn about and study ocean species in the SeaWorld park for the betterment of both the fish and marine animals.
The HSWRI became that entity and today it is a leader not only in Aquaculture, but also in How Marine Animals Use Sound to Communicate, Ocean Health, Marine Wildlife Populations, and Marine Education and Outreach. In marine aquaculture, the most successful project has been the white seabass hatchery program.
Hubbs is committed to conserving and renewing marine life through scientific research to ensure a healthier planet.
Milt Shedd was a well-known and respected Southern California angler who saw the white seabass population decimated by commercial gillnets. In the late 1970’s he and Don Kent (then a graduate student and now president of the Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute) started the HSWRI white seabass hatchery program to assist Mother Nature in bringing back this highly sought after fish. Today this hatchery remains the only saltwater fish hatchery on the west coast not cultivating salmon or steelhead and the HSWRI is now one of the major leaders of aquaculture in the US.
The mission of Hubbs SeaWorld Research Institute is “to return to the sea some measure of the benefit derived from it”. As of 2019, HSWRI has tagged and released over 2 million fish back into the ocean. With continuing support from AFTCO, that number will increase in the future.
]]>This article originally appeared in the Marlin Magazine July 2007 issue. Words by Charlie Levine.
In the 1980s, anglers fishing the offshore canyons along the Northeast and mid-Atlantic coasts enjoyed an amazing tuna bite. As word spread and more crews perfected their techniques, the catch ratio surged. On any given day, you would see huge packs of boats working these deepwater ledges, and few of them went home empty-handed. The tuna caught were often sold at the dock, boxed up and shipped off to Japan. Conservation, let alone tagging, wasn't the preeminent thought in most captains' minds.
One such tuna trip off of New Jersey with Capt. Pete Barrett and AFTCO's Bill Shedd and Greg Stotesbury became the impetus for a new era in conservation.
"That trip always stuck in my mind," says Barrett, a charter captain for 30 years and the former editor of the New Jersey edition of The Fisherman magazine. "We went on an overnight trip starting at Hudson Canyon. We caught bigeye, yellowfin and albacore tuna. On our way in, we stopped at an area known as the Slough and caught some bluefin and small yellowfin as well. On that one trip, we were able to catch all four of the major tuna species in the Atlantic. We tagged 27 tuna and took home fish. I think it really got Bill thinking."
Shedd saw the value of these tuna, not in terms of the price per pound, but as a resource. "We could count hundreds of sport-fishing boats with the naked eye and knew many hundreds more were out of sight," Shedd says. "Very little tagging data was available for Atlantic tuna at that time, as only a handful of fish were tagged each year. It seemed obvious that at some point in the future, there would be management issues with this valuable resource. If we waited until that problem existed to gather tagging and other important data, it would be too late. By the end of the trip, I was set on developing a program to help increase tag and release."
In 1990, AFTCO created the yearlong Tag/Flag Tournament for both captains and anglers in the Atlantic. It quickly became the most recognized and prestigious tagging awards program, significantly impacting the number of game fish being tagged in the northeast.
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In 2014, AFTCO was instrumental in getting the CCA of California (CCA CAL) established, but AFTCO’s involvement with the CCA started long before then
In 1985, CCA founder Walter Fondren and CCA attorney Bob Hayes started a group called United Sport Fishermen (USF). The group consisted of sportfishing leaders from around the country including AFTCO’s Bill Shedd and businessman Bill Ray. Shedd and Ray learned a lot from Fondren and Hayes, and soon after decided to start United Anglers of Southern California (UASC) to mirror what the CCA was doing in Texas.
Fast forward to 2014 when, after almost 30 successful years of fishing rights advocacy, the UASC ultimately folded in large part due to a vigorous and unsuccessful battle over the California Marine Life Protective Act (MLPA) issue. At that time, Shedd received several calls from other California sportfishing leaders asking if another group should be started. Shedd called for a meeting of eight leaders to convene at AFTCO to answer that question. During that first gathering, they defined what the group would look like and what it needed to accomplish. The more they talked about the specifics of what a successful organization might look like, the more they recognized it looked like CCA. They wanted an organization that supported pro fishery legislation, initiated important scientific studies, created critical fish habitats and worked towards prohibiting destructive commercial fishing gear. So, they asked CCA to send the group more information and to answer a set of specific questions. After several additional meetings at AFTCO, the group invited CCA President Pat Murray out to meet and CCA CAL was established. Since 2014, CCA CAL has worked towards the conservation and enhancement of our marine resources and coastal environments from the perspective of California sport fishermen.
The key to any organization is its people. The newly formed CCA CAL’s first task was to assemble a group of respected leaders from the fishing community that included industry insiders, media, conservationists and anglers. A testament to the reputation of CCA and its early representatives is that of the original 25 people Shedd asked to be on the board, all but two accepted. As the current chairman of CCA CAL, Shedd and AFTCO continue to support CCA CAL in several ways, including overall leadership, making financial contributions and encouraging others to do the same, creating partnerships with other sportfishing organizations and more.
“The AFTCO role with CCA has been a positive experience that is good for anglers, the marine resource and CCA. The CCA is made up of talented people who care and Pat Murray, Robert Taylor and the entire staff at CCA National have been more supportive and helpful than I could have ever imagined,” says Shedd.
"AFTCO has been helping drive and support ocean conservation long before it became a popular marketing strategy. Ocean conservation is literally a part of their core culture and is embedded in every program, campaign and product they create. AFTCO continues to not only pioneer outdoor clothing and fishing gear but more importantly, they set the pace for all of the industry in making sure that marine resources are healthier tomorrow than they are today.”
- PAT MURRAY, CCA PRESIDENT
"AFTCO has been helping drive and support ocean conservation long before it became a popular marketing strategy."
Most recently, CCA CAL and Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute are running their white seabass and halibut hatchery programs. They continue to fight the state to allow the continuation of artificial reefs to be placed off the California coast and are working to protect not only the health, habitat and sustainability of our marine resources, but also the interests of recreational saltwater anglers and their access to the resources they cherish and use every day.
CCA CAL Conservation Victories
CCA CAL Fights to Keep Fishing Access for Recreational Anglers
To learn more about CCA CAL, click here.
Learn more about CCA National and the 130,000+ due paying members they represent at joincca.org.
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Today, Bill Shedd, president of the American Fishing Tackle Company (AFTCO) and a 25-year Chairman of the American Sportfishing Association’s (ASA) Government Affairs committee, testified before Congress on the impact of drift gillnets on sportfish populations.
The U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife held a legislative hearing today on multiple bills including the bipartisan Driftnet Modernization and Bycatch Reduction Act (H.R. 1979), which is supported by ASA. H.R. 1979 would align federal law with California state law and modernize the swordfish fishery by phasing out mile-long drift gillnets that contribute to significant bycatch. Shedd’s testimony helped to elevate how the bill would greatly reduce the amount of bycatch, which includes important fish for recreational anglers.
“When commercial fishing methods cause excessive amounts of bycatch that impacts sportfish populations, something must be done,” said ASA’s Pacific Fisheries Policy director Danielle Cloutier, PhD. “Making sure fish populations remain healthy means we must transition away from outdated fishing methods, such as mile-long drift gillnets, and replace them with alternative gear that is sustainable both from a conservation and economic prospective, as H.R. 1979 would do if passed.”
Cloutier noted, “Shedd’s testimony before the U.S. House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and Wildlife makes the case that it’s time to close this loophole in federal law that still allows for the use of drift gillnets. Once the drift gillnet fishery is phased out, we will be better able to manage marine life and make sure that abundant sportfish populations are available for future generations.”
“There have been decades of effort trying to clean up the California swordfish fishery, yet it remains one of the most indiscriminate fisheries in the country,” said Shedd. “Passage of H.R. 1979 will greatly reduce unnecessary bycatch, help produce a higher quality seafood product and even increase the number of recreational and commercial fishing jobs in the California swordfish fishery. This is an opportunity to take a sustainable replacement for drift gillnets and make the fishery bigger.”
Shedd was fully involved in the campaign to remove the gillnets in California. These drift gillnets are nearly-invisible nets, fifty yards deep and up to a mile long. The nets drift freely overnight in the ocean and catch valuable swordfish. But, drift gillnets also ensnare 70, or more, other species of ocean wildlife. This results in over half of the catch being discarded as unwanted waste, and approximately 20 percent of this is already dead upon release. Recognizing the indiscriminate nature of drift nets, the United Nations banned large-scale drift nets on the high seas twenty years ago. Federal waters off the coast of California are the only area in the U.S. where this gear is still allowed.
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In 2019, over 25 bass fishing tournaments took part in AFTCO’s Conservation First Tournament Program.
By supporting grassroots organizations, AFTCO’s Conservation First Tournament Initiatives further enable the efforts of conservation-minded anglers. At the center of our Conservation First program is the Bass Bus Live Release Boat, built in 2019 in partnership with Yamaha Outboards. All events will utilize a combination of AFTCO’s Bass Care 101 Booklets, the AFTCO Mobile Livewell System and AFTCO Bank Bags. The bank bag program offers anglers an incentive to help clean up the waterways and participate in Keep America Fishing’s Pitch It campaign to remove soft plastics and more.
AFTCO has always taken a Conservation First approach to our entire business. It’s this ethic that has driven us to contribute more than 10% of company profits to fishing conservation through our 10% Pledge to Protect & Conserve. At AFTCO, we believe that the true conservationists in America are the outdoorsmen. The fishermen, the hunters, and individuals that are spending their own hours, sweat and supplies caring for the resource they love make the difference. Anglers contribute over a billion dollars every year to support fishing conservation through fishing license fees, excise taxes on fishing tackle, and other permits and fees. While environmentalists often claim to be the protectors of our wildlife, it is the anglers and hunters who contribute the money, manpower and leadership to do so. AFTCO’s Conservation First Tournament Initiatives offer anglers the opportunity to catch fish in a competitive environment while also embracing conservation ethics to look after the fish and ensure a healthy resource for generations to come.
As a part of our 10% Pledge and Conservation First approach to business, we are continuing to provide financial support through the AFTCO x B.A.S.S. Nation Conservation Grant Program. Upon receiving the grant, the original limited proposal was expanded into a region wide initiative. What started as a grant to Director Capt. Jake Davis and the Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation to support local reservoir, Tims Ford Lake, quickly turned into a statewide test program.
Since its inception, the program has resulted in 3,000 habitat structures being built and deployed on Tims Ford Reservoir alone. With over 5,450 hours of labor, Tennessee B.A.S.S. Nation, TWRA and AFTCO have effectively changed the landscape throughout Tennessee. Habitat constructions have been placed on seven of the nineteen reservoirs in Tennessee, along with removing no less than 30,000 pounds of garbage from five reservoirs. Most significant was the lake cleanup on Normandy Lake, just outside Tullahoma, Tennessee. That cleanup project not only brought out anglers, but more importantly, individuals from across the entire region including County Commissioners and the local community that enjoy the outdoors.
It is by supporting programs like this that AFTCO hopes to do its small part to further enable bass fishing conservation efforts and broaden its industry-leading commitment to conservation throughout the country for generations to come.
]]>The Coastal Conservation Association of California (CCA CAL) is working with Dr. Barbara Block of Stanford University to support her Tag A Giant (TAG) Pacific bluefin tuna tagging program. The primary goal of this new effort is to tag large bluefin weighing 150 lbs. and more with sophisticated pop - up satellite archival tags that detail the bluefin’s journey over a year. The tags are implanted on the fish externally and record light, temperature and pressure. These data along with time allow the team to compute the track, and behaviors diving in the water column for up to 1 year post release. In addition to the pop - up tags- Dr. Block’s team was using surgically placed “archival” tags that “log” similar data- to study smaller fish under 150 lbs. By using electronic tags to track the journeys of the bluefin the team can provide sophisticated spatial data to help better understand the travels of the bluefin in the Pacific Ocean and the timing of maturity in bluefin that leave the eastern Pacific to return to the western Pacific to spawn in the waters off Japan and Taiwan. In addition to Dr. Block's Pacific bluefin tagging efforts in Southern California, CCA CAL is also helping to organize private boats to catch the tuna to be tagged.
For three days during the week of September 17, seven Pacific bluefin were tagged with electronic and/or conventional tags off San Clemente Island, including fish that measured 72.5” in curved length and estimated with its girth to be a 250 lb. fish. That large fish was caught on the boat "Flying Fish" by CCA CAL Chairman Bill Shedd and transferred to the vessel "Quiteña" owned by Paul Fruchbom with Dr. Block and her “surgery” team waiting to affix both an internal archival tag and pop - up satellite tag on the fish. “By putting two tags on the animal we were are able to first track it for a year with the pop - up satellite tag.” The pop - up tag releases from the fish automatically to get one year of data. The archival tag is an additional tag put internally, and if it’s caught by a fisher the green external conventional tags - indicate you get a reward to return the tags. “We can with the archival tag - get up to 5 years on the life of this fish”, said Block. What makes this catch important is that it was the first time ever that Block transferred a large pacific bluefin from boat to boat to tag it. Dr. Block hopes to achieve more of this type of cooperative tagging working with CCA CAL and the sportfishing community in the future. The transfer technique using a tennis ball to toss the tag boat’s leader to the catching vessel’s fish - is a technique that has been developed previously when the North Carolina fishery for Atlantic bluefin where Block and her team tagged over 700 bluefin at the height of the fishery. New experimental external archival electronic tags were also placed on 5 additional Pacific bluefin by the boats "Joker", "Fight On", "Fantail 2” and “It Never Ends”, proving the value of having a number of private recreational boats working together.
Bluefin tuna are a shared international resource by countries on both sides of the Pacific. Currently their overall spawning biomass is considered low in comparison to the original biomass. Bluefin tuna only spawn in the western Pacific Ocean in the waters off Japan and Taiwan. The bluefin spends its first year feeding in the waters off the western Pacific. Then an unknown fraction of the first year and in some cases two - year old fish move into the eastern Pacific Ocean taking a 5800 nm journey as a fish of less than 10-20 lbs. to the California Current.
Dr. Block’s team has archival tagged over 700 young California current,2-3 year - old bluefin in the Pacific and learned from the data they move off the Coasts of California and Mexico - and swim from Magdalena bay in the spring to the waters off southern Oregon - in an annual cycle of north-south movements. While some of these fish swam back to the west to spawn as 5 and 6 year olds the question now is who are the big fish off our coasts. Block’s tags have suggested they are the same “residential” fish that came over as youngsters, that remain for many years - prior to moving to the spawning grounds in the western Pacific ocean. “The key question is when and where do these large fish go back and spawn.” Block said. We have had year classes that are now 5-8 here in our California waters - and none of these fish we have examined, particularly the females, are reproductively active - so it leads us to believe the fish are spawning at approximately 8 years of age or older - much like the Atlantic bluefin tuna population of the Gulf of Mexico. Dr. Block believes that once a fish reaches 7-8 years of age (250-300 lbs.) they travel back across the Pacific to spawn.
Current fishery models of the Pacific bluefin tuna run by the international committee that manages the tuna, called the ISC, utilizes an age to first reproduction of 3-5 years of age. Understanding the actual spawning age is critical to the future survival of the Pacific bluefin and estimates of their spawning or adult biomass. Even though our recent bluefin tuna fishing here has been off the charts due to our water conditions and the abundance of anchovies, the total population of Pacific bluefin is in very poor shape. The main reason for that is because too many small fish are caught by Japan, Korea, and other foreign countries on the western side of the Pacific. Large breeders are caught by Taiwan and Japan on the spawning grounds. Once bluefin arrive on our coasts they also have commercial pressure while in Mexican waters. Having accurate age info of spawning is a critical piece to solving the management of Pacific bluefin across the Pacific basin.
Now with this year’s success of transferring a large bluefin from boat to boat, CCA CAL looks forward to bringing others in the sportfishing community together to support an expanded archival and satellite tagging program in 2019 with Dr. Block’ team focused on tagging large bluefin. Dr Block believes that if the local anchovy population continues to stay abundant, we have more years to come with these large fish remaining residential in our waters. Stay tuned as much is still to be done to help bring back the Pacific bluefin tuna population.