News: Fluke Sashimi = hot water for boat Captains

Two Montauk based party boat Captains were issued 53 citations (and not the good kind of citations) for " assisting party boat passengers to illegally catch and consume fluke

Via The North Country Gazette:

On Aug. 9, four plainsclothes officers (two per vessel) boarded the boats and documented that customers were filleting fluke on board, failing to keep fluke racks, keeping undersized fluke and keeping over the limit fluke. Officers observed customers eating raw fillets while the trip was ongoing — and that they were being advised by vessel personnel to dispose of undersized fish and to hide illegal fillets.

A total of 53 summons were issued, including tickets to the mates and captains of each vessel. All charges are violations and carry a penalty of up to $250 per violation. More than 60 fluke were seized as part of the investigation.

Breaking news: EPA Places Hold On Mt. Top Mines

MSNBC is reporting that the EPA has placed a hold on mountain top removal mining permits until such time as the impact on streams and wetlands can be assessed.

Announced by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, the move targets a controversial practice by coal mining companies that blasts away whole peaks and sends mining waste into streams and wetlands. It does not apply to existing mines, but to requests for new permits, a number estimated to be as high as 200.

NPS Lead Ban

National Park Service Gets the Lead Out!

WASHINGTON – National Park Service visitors and wildlife have something to cheer about today with the agency’s stepped-up efforts to reduce lead in national park environments.
“Our goal is to eliminate the use of lead ammunition and lead fishing tackle in parks by the end of 2010,” said Acting National Park Service Director Dan Wenk. “We want to take a leadership role in removing lead from the environment.”

The new lead reduction efforts also include changes in NPS activities, such as culling operations or the dispatching of wounded or sick animals. Rangers and resource managers will use non-lead ammunition to prevent environmental contamination as well as lead poisoning of scavenger species who may eventually feed upon the carcass. Non-toxic substitutes for lead made in the United States are now widely available including tungsten, copper, and steel.

The NPS will also develop educational materials to increase awareness about the consequences of lead exposure and the benefits of using lead-free ammunition and fishing tackle.
Lead is an environmental contaminant affecting many areas of the world, including our national parks. Lead is banned in gasoline, children’s toys, and paint because of its effects on human health. In the United States, there is an accelerating trend to expand efforts to reduce lead contamination associated with firearms and hunting. California and Arizona have recently implemented mandatory and voluntary bans, respectively, on lead ammunition to facilitate California condor recovery. And Yellowstone National Park has had restrictions on lead fishing tackle for years to protect native species and their habitats.

Resource managers recognize that hunting and fishing play an important historical role in the complicated and intensive management of wildlife populations. Because of this history, these activities continue in some parks and, in some cases, even enhance the park’s primary purpose to preserve natural environments and native species. The new restrictions on lead will ensure environmentally safe practices are implemented to protect park visitors and lands.

Wenk adds, “The reduction and eventual removal of lead on park service lands will benefit humans, wildlife, and ecosystems inside and outside park boundaries and continue our legacy of resource stewardship.”

According to Gene Mueller's article in the Washington Times, some folks are upset with this decision which many feel was made without consulting the sport fishing industry or providing science to support the ban.

What bothers the sportfishing group and various shooting organizations is the quiet way the park service went about the lead ban. Normally, user groups might have been notified about such changes and would have been invited to discuss the plans, which can affect so many Americans.

"The NPS policy announcement does not explain how this decision was reached, why it may be necessary or how this rule will be implemented," Robertson said. "To our knowledge, there has been no proposed rule, nor any opportunity for public comment. We request that the NPS withdraw this proposal and discuss the rationale for it with the appropriate stakeholders before taking further action."

What do you think about the lead ban? Does the Park Service's plan sink or float? Weigh in via the comments.

**UPDATE - Our friends from the always spot on Trout Underground, report that the National Park Service has clarified their statement, now saying that the lead ban "applies only to employees and agents." Thanks Tom!

Flies for Fins

Canadian fly fishing guide and lady who can out fish most folks with her spey casting arm tied behind her back, April Vokey, has announced a fund raiser for the benefit of the Steelehead Society. It's pretty simple, you tie a fly and mail it in and they sell it and the money goes to help the big chromers.

Listen up!!! This message is for you whether you live in Norway, Oregon or British Columbia....Our steelhead are suffering and need your help!

I have started a fundraiser called Flies For Fins. I don't want your money, but I do need some of your time and tying materials.

I am working with Reaction Fly and Tackle, Pacific Angler, Michael and Young Fly Shop and Whistler FlyFishing to raise money for the Steelhead Society.

Each location will carry a cork board that is full of steelhead flies MADE BY YOU. These flies will be sold at the shops, where proceeds will be donated to the Steelhead Society. In the middle of each cork board will be a graph that is updated weekly to show how much money had been raised.

Mailing flies only takes a couple stamps (just make sure that they can be flattened in an envelope.)This is for a great cause, please choose to take some of your time and flies out of your box for it.

I will have a Face Book page up in the next several days for Flies For Fins, however, we need flies RIGHT NOW.

Flies can be shipped to:8505 Norman Cres.Chilliwack, B.C.CanadaV2P 5C6

Feel free to send one fly, or ten! Make them as fancy or as plain as you would like. Please include your name.

Envelope, stamp, fly. It's that simple.

Please do your part and help us make a difference!

Thank you so much,

April.

Gill Net Ban Convert

Earlier this year a Rocky Mount Telegraph reporter wrote a series of articles for his paper in Rocky Mt, NC focusing on the gill net problem we are seeing in Carolina waters. In the original series he tried to be a good reporter and be fair to both sides. Seems like he has had his own run in with the netters and seems to finally understand the way this thing works. He wrote a new article that ran this past weekend:

"We were unable to get another strike from a trout after that episode of rudeness. The commercial fisherman had watched us catch those big trout, then completely wrapped up all the points we had been fishing for the day.

Since last Saturday, I am no longer “on the fence.” I want gill netting to be banned in North Carolina as soon as possible. This coming weekend would not be soon enough."

Click here to see our previous coverage of this issue.

TWRA Advisory Issued in Tennessee Ash Spill

Via a press release from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and the TWRA:

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) advises until further notice that fishing should be avoided in the lower section of the Emory River, and that existing advisories for Watts Bar should be followed. In the Clinch River arm of Watts Bar, which would include the lower Emory River, there is a fish consumption advisory against eating striped bass and a precautionary advisory for catfish and sauger. A precautionary advisory means that children, pregnant women, and nursing mothers should not consume the fish species named. All other persons should limit consumption of the named species to one meal per month.

Beginning the week of January 5, TWRA will be collecting bass and catfish and comparing fish tissue results to existing data for those species. TWRA expects to resample on a semiannual basis, probably January and October, and will evaluate findings with the other resource agencies. TDEC will issue advisories if fish tissue contaminant levels exceed protection criteria.

Alert: Ashey Arsenic Abounds...

The EPA Sampling results from sediment surrounding the Clinch River coal ash spill are starting to trickle in and the news is not good. Arsenic levels came in at well over 100 times the allowed limit.

If their latest update is any indication, this might come as a surprise to the TVA who operates the plant where the spill occurred. According to their website previous third party testing had indicated that arsenic was not a major issue in the ash.

"Total Arsenic results were slightly above the average naturally - occurring background soil concentration for Tennessee; however, total arsenic levels are below levels found in soils that are well fertilized. Also, the TCLP results for arsenic were significantly below the TCLP limits to be classified as a hazardous waste"

More information is available via the EPA website.