Nov
12
One fish, Two fish, NO FISH?
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Recently I was reading an article on the World’s Fisheries, and how they all have been depleted. At its peak, the world’s catch for commercial fish cough 82 million metric tons of fish. The over fishing is not the only threat to our fishery; bycatch plays a big role in the depletion of our fish. Each year the fishing boats of the world draw up to 27 million metric tons of marine life, about one-third of total catch. Dying or dead, all bycatch is thrown overboard. It is common for shrimp trawlers to catch more bycatch than shrimp just because of the nature of the net. The effect of all the bycatch and over fishing puts a huge strain on the food web, which can affect a different species.
The fish that we are destroying is the fish that many different cultures survive on, but yet we still cannot seem to find some system that will ensure future harvesting. If we do not act now the fish that we so much depend on for food, fertilizer, oils, vitamins, and just to catch a fish, will no longer be at our front door step. According to (Safina, Carl) Solutions are available. One of the most important would be to remove subsidies that prop up fisheries the resources cannot support. There are promising new advances in by-catch reduction devices, and recoveries of some depleted species show that fish can come back. The problems are largely a matter of political will, but politics reflects public opinion, and that means politics can be changed.
Source Citation:
Safina, Carl. “The World’s Ocean Fisheries Are Seriously Threatened.” Opposing Viewpoints: Endangered Oceans. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2004. Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center. Gale. CCLA, Palm Beach Comm College. 12 Nov. 2008 <http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?&contentSet=GSRC&type=retrieve&tabID=T010&prodId=OVRC&docId=EJ3010130237&source=gale&srcprod=OVRC&userGroupName=lincclin_pbcc&version=1.0>.
Nov
10
The Future in Boats
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Traditionally, there were three types of engines that boats had the option to put in, outboard, inboard, and jet drive. Each different setup has its advantages and disadvantages, but now a new propulsion setup has come out for the slightly bigger boats and it has a lot of promise. It’s called the Volvo Penta IPS, it’s the latest n computer assist engines. It is still considered an inboard setup, but instead of having a long shaft that powers the propeller, the IPS is more along the lines of a lower unit turned around backwards so the props are facing forward.
The performance of the IPS is incomparable to traditional inboard engines, the counter rotating props when moving forward faces clean water, nothing will break the water before the propeller does. From the engine to the lower unit, the IPS has a complete direct drive, minimizing the chance for failure. The Performance of the IPS has blown out its competition with 35% better efficiency, 20% higher top speed, 15% faster acceleration, 30% reduced fuel consumption, and 50% lower perceived sound level, when compared with same boat and an engine in the same class.
Each lower unit moves separate from the other, allowing turns at faster speeds, and unbeatable handling. At the 2007 Miami Boat Show, the IPS system was rigged on a 35 ft open fisherman and I was lucky enough to snag a ride on it. The computer has three different modes, normal, docking, and sport fishing. Normal just runs like another boat would, but the docking is something special. When engaged with docking, there is a joy stick that you control the boat with. During the sea trial the boat captain demonstrated how the docking setup works, and with just a push to the right on the joystick the boat moved completely sideways. No boat can move perfectly side ways without a bow thruster, except for separately moving lower units of the IPS. This is truly a wonderful engine that has a lot of promise.
Nov
3
Show me the Money
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Recently I attended the Ft. Lauderdale International boat show. The Ft. Lauderdale boat show reveals the latest and greatest designs, engines, and the coolest boats that you have ever seen. You would think that with the gas prices still at a high, and bad economic times that the small boats that do not burn that much gas would be the hot sale, but it was the exact opposite. The boats that seemed to be the center piece of the show were 40 ft Center Consol boats with 4 engines, or the cigarette boats that wont even average one mile a gallon when at high speeds.
Every corner I turned had some oversized boat with three or four engines on it. It is nice to think that the economic hard times we are going through is not hard enough to take away the need for speed, but it seems too good to be true. Gas on the water is averaging $ 4.65 a gallon, and when you have four engines and a big fuel tank, you can see how the money can fly out of a wallet.
These boats are not cheap either. These 40 ft boats can reach up to a quarter of a million dollar boat, and that’s without the electronic package that can reach fifty- thousand dollars. So why are the boat companies reaching out to the people with money, and not the average Joe who would just like to take his boat, go fishing and not have to take out a second mortgage to go out.
Oct
24
Good times no more
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Oct
9
Florida’s reefs are in danger, and all we keep doing is making it worse. The reefs are getting covered up by sand, killing whatever reef life there is. The reefs play a huge role when it comes to Florida’s economy, the more reefs disappear so does the fish that inhabit the reefs, thus making it harder on the charter boat captains whose job is to take clients and catch them fish. Moreover, Dredging plays a huge role in the death of our reefs, as well as the salinity of the water.
Maybe you have heard about Singer Island and Palm Beach, how the beaches are eroding. How the city and state are fixing it is by dredging sand from offshore, inlets, the intracoastal, and its finger canals. The problem with this is the sand that is being dredged is much lighter than the sand that naturally makes up Florida’s beautiful beaches. So as the beaches get covered with sand that is much more buoyant than its counter part, a storm comes and hits the coast with high winds and big waves. The waves crash up on the beach causing the imported sand to get washed away by the waves.
Now it’s no wonder why the beaches keep eroding every time we have any high wind storm. Can you see where I’m taking this? The sand that gets washed away from the beach doesn’t just float in the water for ever, it does eventually fall back down to the bottom of the ocean, and more times than not the sand covers the reefs that fishermen depend on. The more and more sand that covers the reefs the more the reefs die, thus not giving little bait fish no shelter, which in turn drives the bigger fish away. Finally the vicious cycle hits the charter boat captains, who have to search longer and harder for the fish.
Sep
24
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I recently read about shrimp trawlers and summer flounder drag nets are depleating the turtle population. The Author did include the t.e.d., Turtle Excluder Devise, which is nothing more than a hatch for turtles to swim out of. the Author also mentioned, that over the thirty years the T.E.D. was used, that the turtle population has still gone down because of enforcement. The problem is that not all trawlers have to have the T.E.D.,only the shrimp and the summer flounder trawlers have too.
The Government has to put more strict laws on the trawling industry. All trawlers that fish ocean waters should have the T.E.D., and even this isn’t enough too off set the number of bycatch killed. The T.E.D. has a 95% survival rate for the turtle,thats just for turtles. Dolphins, sharks, and other fish, that was not ment to be cought is dragged untill it is dead. When it is dead and pulled on the boat it has to be thrown over.
The best solution i can see is farm raising shrimp. Farm raising shrimp can be done, and has been done. THe price for shrimp will go down, and unlike the T.E.D., farm raising shrimp will elimanate all bycatch. The amount of polution that would be saved is huge, and the envirnmental impact will be even bigger. Now, read the blog that i did, and give me feed back on your opinion.
Sep
23
Circle Hooks VS. J Hooks
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When it comes to fishing, hooks are one of the more important items on the list. The debate over hooks has evolved just like fishing has. Over the last few years circle hooks have gained more respect buy fisherman, While J Hooks have been the hooks that fisherman have loved for hundreds’ of years. If you have ever been fishing with a J Hook you should know that you have to set the hook by pulling up on the rod, when the fish bits. While, by the design of the hook, a circle hook sets its self. When the fish bits your lure, just hold the rod and let the fish set itself.
Moreover, the heath of the fish is a factor in the battle between the two. Fish, more often than none, want to swallow the lure or bait, and when that happens the J hook can snag the throat or stomach. On the other hand a circle hook just wants to hook itself in the lip of the fish right when it hits the lure or bait. Normally if A J hook snags a fish in the throat, the fish will not recover and swim away.
The Silver Sailfish derby is one of the longest lasting sailfish derbies in the world. It is a three day tournament held annually at the Sailfish Marina. The derby practices catch and release and they use live bait for the most part. Most of the boats tally the number of strikes vs. the number of fish pulled in for a tag and release, and they separate this into two categories, Circle hooks and J hooks. The numbers always favor the Circle hook. If you ask anyone who fishes the derby what hook will they use, I bet over 90% will be using Circle Hooks.
Sep
13
Our Waters
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Water, one of the basis of human existence. Such an important source of life should be taking care of more than what we have been doing. 70% of Earth is covered in oceans, that’s not including bodies of water like the red sea, or the Great Lakes, or all other lakes or streams that cover Earth’s surface. The average American uses 70 to 100 gallons of water a day. The impact it has on the economy, world wide, country wide and state wide, is huge. That’s why we need to really watch what we put into our oceans, lakes, and streams.
I chose this topic because being born and raised in Florida, I have grown up on the water. Fishing, diving, and all around water sports. I have seen what trashing our waters can do, not just to the water but to the reefs and the balanced ecosystem that lives in it. More than ever trash and sludge, floating on the top of the water, ends up in the back canals and estuary’s where little fish and bait go to spawn. when the baits get mature they start migrating out to the ocean where the medium size fish eat them, then the marlins and sailfish and sharks eat those fish. It is all one big circle of tainted fish. It ends with everyone eating the fish.
The fishing industry also has great concern for our waters. They provide hundreds upon thousands of jobs not to mention the billion Dollar export for fish and crabs.
Sep
13
The Death Net
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Shrimp boats are a hazard to the marine ecosystem. They nets drag on the bottom, destroying anything that may lie there, reefs, fish, sea grass, etc. Bycatch, fish that was not supposed to be caught, includes turtles, whales, dolphins, and sharks. Shrimping nets are often found just lying on the bottom of the ocean, killing anything that might swim in it way. The truth is that we need to ban or reduce the size of the shrimping fleet.
The nets that shrimp boats drag are bottom dragging nets. Two planers on the sides of the nets keep the net open, while a planer on the top and a long wooden plank on the bottom keeps the net open top-to-bottom. The wooden plank weighs ½ a ton, and drags completely on the bottom. This destroys any bottom structure that might exist. Sea grass, which is a breading ground and a home for bait fish, get trolled through. If there is a ship wreak and the net gets snagged where I wont come off; the shrimpers just cut the net leaving it for all types of marine creatures to get snagged helplessly.
Bycatch is another big concern. Some improvements have been made over the years, putting a trap on the top of the net to allow turtles out, but this does nothing for the other catch. All the groupers, and redfish that the nets catch, has to be thrown away. The shrimpers do not have the license to keep that catch. There is better ways to feed the demand for shrimp and it does not have to include killing our oceans and the fish that live in it.