2012 FishSmart Workshop | Gulf of Mexico/South Atlantic
April 11-13, 2012
Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute
100 Eighth Avenue SE
St. Petersburg, Florida
Executive Summary
Final Report
Agenda
Workshop Goals:
Specific to the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Recreational Fisheries being constrained by high release mortality:
- Identify best practices and equipment to employ by anglers/for-hire and regulatory agencies in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic to increase the survival of angler-sought saltwater fishes, with emphasis on reef fishes under a variety of conditions/fisheries.
- Develop outline for messages directed to anglers/for-hire to employ in their interaction with saltwater species in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic.
- Provide guidance to management bodies to reduce the interaction and lethality of such interactions, with those species by anglers/for-hire through the consideration of management actions such as time/area closures, gear modifications, restrictions/usage and size restrictions and account for and incorporate release mortality/survivability into the regulatory process in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic.
- Identify gaps in the current state of knowledge in need of additional research efforts/funding in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic.
Wednesday, April 11: Plenary
8:00 Welcome & Logistics
8:10 Introduction – Miles Croom, Deputy Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries
8:30 FishSmart Initiative – Gil Radonski/Andrew Loftus
8:50 Overview of Atlanta Workshop Results/Gulf and South Atlantic Results of FMP Analysis - GilRadonski/ Andrew Loftus
9:10 Framing the Issue of Release Mortality in the Gulf and South Atlantic - Steve Theberge
10:00 Break
10:15 Framing Regional Recreational Fisheries Impacted by High Release Mortality
- Gulf of Mexico – Karen Burns (20 minutes)
- South Atlantic – Chip Collier (20 minutes)
11:00 Current State of Research into Recreational Fisheries Impacted by High Release Mortality summarize current research projects ongoing (15 minutes each)
- Gulf of Mexico - Beverly Sauls
- South Atlantic- Jeff Buckell
11:30 Questions/Discussion
Noon Lunch
1:00 Overview of Issues specific to the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic recreational fisheries being constrained by high release mortality: (30 minutes each)
- Venting and Decompression/Recompression: Techniques and appropriate uses of various techniques. - Sandy Diamond
- Size: Effect of catching/releasing various sizes of fish on stock sustainability - Todd Kellison
- FishSmart Tackle: Techniques and gear for releasing fish - Steve Theberge
- Marine mammal Interactions; How it impacts the release of fish - Greg Stuntz
(Note; we will have someone from NOAA’s Protected Resources program on hand to answer questions on Speaker: policy implications of Marine Mammal interactions as they relate to release issues.)
3:00 Break
3:15 Introducing recompression gear to anglers in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic – Bryan Fluech and John Stevely, Florida Sea Grant
3:45 Questions/Discussion
4:00 Panel Discussion on Avoidance: Management techniques and Fishing Techniques designed to prevent encounters of unwanted species/sizes.
5:00 Adjourn
Thursday, April 12
8:00 Announcements and Breakout Instructions
Attendees will be assigned to one of two breakout groups. The purpose of each break out group is to delve into the current state of knowledge of each of the issues, describe what is known about the issue and address each of the four workshop objectives specific to the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic recreational fisheries being constrained by high release mortality.
8:30 Regroup in breakout sessions – Each group addresses all 4 issues in the context of workshop goals. Loftus/Radonski - group leaders.
12:00 Lunch Speaker: The Journey from Science to Management;” what does it take to go from developing/compiling information to change management and regulations -Andy Strelchek
1:15 Regroup in breakouts
3:00 Break
3:20 Meet in plenary - Breakout reports-20 minutes each-each group reports on the results of their discussions addressing the 4 issues. Commonalities and divergences between groups will be identified.
4:20 Group Discussion
5:00 Adjourn
Friday, April 13
8:00 Communications: Development and Delivery of Message Content: How Will We Use It?
- Online and Social Media – Andrew Loftus (20 minutes)
- Region Specific Communications – Dorothy Zimmerman, Florida Sea Grant (30 minutes)
9:00 Facilitated Group Collaboration (plenary): Finding a Unifying Message: Communicating Messages on Best Practices and Management Guidance (workshop goals) specific to the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic recreational fisheries being constrained by high release mortality – Andrew Loftus/Gil Radonski facilitators
Using the previous day outcomes, develop:
- Best practices and fish friendly tackle to increase the survival of angler-sought saltwater fishes under variety of conditions (species, temperature, depth caught, hook size, etc.
- Develop the outline of messages directed to anglers/for-hire to employ in their interaction with saltwater species, and
- Develop guidance to regulatory bodies to reduce the interaction (avoidance) and lethality of such interactions, with those species by anglers/for-hire.
- Catalogue gaps in the current state of knowledge in need of additional research efforts/funding
10:00 Break
10:15 Finalize Recommendations
11:15: Wrap Up- Russ Dunn, National Policy Advisor for Recreational Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries
11:30 Adjourn
FishSmart - It's Up To You!