DOCSLIB.ORG

Ransom Myers Fonds (MS-2-179)

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

Dalhousie University Archives Finding Aid - Ransom Myers fonds (MS-2-179) Generated by the Archives Catalogue and Online Collections on January 25, 2017 Dalhousie University Archives 6225 University Avenue, 5th Floor, Killam Memorial Library Halifax Nova Scotia Canada B3H 4R2 Telephone: 902-494-3615 Email: [email protected] http://dal.ca/archives http://findingaids.library.dal.ca/ransom-myers-fonds Ransom Myers fonds Table of contents Summary information ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Administrative history / Biographical sketch .................................................................................................. 3 Scope and content ........................................................................................................................................... 4 Notes ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Access points ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Collection holdings .......................................................................................................................................... 6 Personal papers of Ransom Myers ([ca.1980-2007]) ................................................................................... 6 Ransom Myers’ correspondence (1982-2006) ........................................................................................... 6 Ransom Myers’ press materials ([ca.1980-2006]) .................................................................................. 53 Ransom Myers’ electronic correspondence (1995-2007) ........................................................................ 68 Ransom Myers’ photographs (2001-2005) ............................................................................................ 419 Ransom Myers’ publications ([ca.1977-2007]) ........................................................................................ 423 Ransom Myers’ draft manuscripts ([ca.1977-2006]) ............................................................................. 423 Ransom Myers’ journal and government offprints (1982-2007) ........................................................... 519 Personal library of Ransom Myers ([ca.1970-2007]) .............................................................................. 536 Ransom Myers' reference materials regarding statistics and mathematics ([ca.1970-2007]) ................ 537 Ransom Myers' reference materials regarding life history evolution ([ca.1970-2007]) ........................ 542 Ransom Myers' reference materials regarding fisheries including gear, trawling, longline ([ca.1970-2007]) ..................................................................................................................................... 554 Ransom Myers' reference materials regarding population modeling ([ca.1970-2007]) ........................ 560 Ransom Myers' reference materials regarding recruitment variability and stock assessment ([ca.1970-2007]) ..................................................................................................................................... 570 Dissertations, government and organizational reports annotated by Ransom Myers ([ca.1970-2007]) ..................................................................................................................................... 599 Ransom Myers' research material ([ca.1977-2007]) ................................................................................ 606 Datasets and figures collected or created by Ransom Myers ([ca.1977-2007]) .................................... 606 Ransom Myers’ grants (1983-2006) ...................................................................................................... 641 https://archive-it.org/collections/6653, Ransom Myers' websites (1997-2007) ..................................... 651 Ransom Myers’ conference and association involvement ([ca.1990-2006]) ........................................... 651 Ransom Myers' teaching material ([ca.1990-2007]) ................................................................................ 685 Ransom Myers’ teaching, lecture and presentation material ([ca.1990-2007]) ..................................... 685 Files of Ransom Myers’ students ([ca.1990-2005]) .............................................................................. 741 Ransom Myers’ litigation and consultancy ([ca.1990-2007]) .................................................................. 748 Dalhousie University Archives Page 2 MS-2-179 Ransom Myers fonds Summary information Repository: Dalhousie University Archives Title: Ransom Myers fonds Reference code: MS-2-179 Date: 1977-2007 (date of creation) Language: English Language: French Language: German Language: Japanese Physical description: 9.2 m of textual records and other materials (54 boxes) Note [generalNote]: Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Ransom Myers fonds, MS-2-179, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Administrative history / Biographical sketch Note Dr. Ransom Aldrich Myers Jr., also known as RAM and Randy, son of a cotton planter and one of four children (brother Abbott, sisters Joan and Susan) was born in Lula, Mississippi, on 13 June 1953. He was married to Rita Kindl Myers, with whom he had five children: Emily, Rosemary, Sophia, Carlo and Gioia. Outside his work as a marine biologist and conservationist, Myers was passionate about the arts, especially theatre and opera. He completed a BA in physics at Rice University in 1974 and worked in Kuwait's oil fields from 1974– 1976. In 1977 Myers spent a year traveling through Africa before sailing across the Atlantic on a 8.5- metre sailboat and starting graduate school at Dalhousie, where he earned an MSc in mathematics (1980) and a PhD in biology (1983). Myers worked as a research scientist for the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans in St. John’s, Newfoundland. In 1989 he joined the Resource Assessment and Survey Methodology Centre of Disciplinary Expertise, a group created to serve as a national resource for government scientists. Following his 1993 publication on the collapse of the Atlantic cod stocks, Myers became one of many scientists to raise public awareness of the government’s suppression of scientific work, and in 1997 was formally reprimanded. Myers then left the DFO to assume the inaugural Dalhousie Killam Chair of Ocean Studies. Myers co-authored many papers in the late 1990s and early 2000s that influenced public understanding of the ocean’s natural resources, including Myers and Boris Worm’s "Rapid worldwide depletion of Dalhousie University Archives Page 3 MS-2-179 Ransom Myers fonds predatory fish communities" (Nature, 2003), which brought to light declines in marine fish biodiversity and provided Myers the opportunity to communicate with global decision-makers. He served as a witness at two US Senate Committee hearings on over-fishing and at the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans in 2003 and 2005. In his work at Dalhousie Myers supervised several Masters, PhD and post-doctoral students and started the Myers Lab, which sought to catalogue and understand changes in marine biodiversity since the advent of industrialized fishing. He and his colleagues collected and compiled global fish population datasets, which they published in an open database, now known as the RAM Legacy Stock Assessment Database. During his career Myers spoke at over 80 conferences and lecture series worldwide and accumulated numerous awards and accolades, including The Wilfred Templeman Publication Award (1994); a Visiting Fellowship at the Centre of Population Biology, Silwood Park, Imperial College (1996); and assignment to the Board of Directors and advisory boards of many organizations, including the International Oceans Institute of Canada, Atlantic Policy Congress, Sierra Club of Canada and International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) Shark Specialist Group. Myers also worked to build the Future of Marine Animal Populations (FMAP). He was elected to the editorial board of Ecology Letters (2003) and to the board of science experts of the Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea (2005). Myers worked as a consultant for several projects and litigation proceedings under the incorporated name Ransom A. Myers & Associates Limited Natural Resources Consultants. In October 2005 he was named to Fortune magazine’s "Ten to Watch" list. The scope of Myers’ research and contributions to science are considerable, focusing on many subjects, most notably life history evolution, oceanography, recruitment variability and population modeling, and conservation biology. By the time of his death he had co-authored over 150 research contributions, not including his work as a consultant, his works in progress, and government research documents. He died from a brain tumor in Halifax, Nova Scotia, on 27 March 2007, aged 54. Custodial history Materials were donated by Ransom Myers’ estate to Dalhousie University Archives in 2008. Scope and content Fonds consists of records pertaining primarily to the professional activities of Ransom Myers and the major organizations and projects with which he was affiliated
Recommended publications
  • Red Mullet Mullus Surmuletus

    Red Mullet Mullus Surmuletus

    AND Red Mullet Mullus surmuletus United Kingdom, Cornwall Bottom Gillnet, Bottom Trawl, Beam Trawl June 5, 2017 The Safina Center Seafood Analysts Disclaimer Seafood Watch and The Safina Center strive to ensure that all our Seafood Reports and recommendations contained therein are accurate and reflect the most up-to-date evidence available at the time of publication. All our reports are peer-reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science or aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch program or of The Safina Center or their recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch and The Safina Center are solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. We always welcome additional or updated data that can be used for the next revision. 1 Table of Contents About The Safina Center ................................................................................................................. 3 About Seafood Watch® ................................................................................................................... 4 Guiding Principles ........................................................................................................................... 5 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................
  • Skates and Rays Diversity, Exploration and Conservation – Case-Study of the Thornback Ray, Raja Clavata

    Skates and Rays Diversity, Exploration and Conservation – Case-Study of the Thornback Ray, Raja Clavata

    UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DEPARTAMENTO DE BIOLOGIA ANIMAL SKATES AND RAYS DIVERSITY, EXPLORATION AND CONSERVATION – CASE-STUDY OF THE THORNBACK RAY, RAJA CLAVATA Bárbara Marques Serra Pereira Doutoramento em Ciências do Mar 2010 UNIVERSIDADE DE LISBOA FACULDADE DE CIÊNCIAS DEPARTAMENTO DE BIOLOGIA ANIMAL SKATES AND RAYS DIVERSITY, EXPLORATION AND CONSERVATION – CASE-STUDY OF THE THORNBACK RAY, RAJA CLAVATA Bárbara Marques Serra Pereira Tese orientada por Professor Auxiliar com Agregação Leonel Serrano Gordo e Investigadora Auxiliar Ivone Figueiredo Doutoramento em Ciências do Mar 2010 The research reported in this thesis was carried out at the Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (IPIMAR - INRB), Unidade de Recursos Marinhos e Sustentabilidade. This research was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) through a PhD grant (SFRH/BD/23777/2005) and the research project EU Data Collection/DCR (PNAB). Skates and rays diversity, exploration and conservation | Table of Contents Table of Contents List of Figures ............................................................................................................................. i List of Tables ............................................................................................................................. v List of Abbreviations ............................................................................................................. viii Agradecimentos ........................................................................................................................
  • An Annotated Checklist of the Chondrichthyan Fishes Inhabiting the Northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea

    An Annotated Checklist of the Chondrichthyan Fishes Inhabiting the Northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea

    Zootaxa 4803 (2): 281–315 ISSN 1175-5326 (print edition) https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/ Article ZOOTAXA Copyright © 2020 Magnolia Press ISSN 1175-5334 (online edition) https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4803.2.3 http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:325DB7EF-94F7-4726-BC18-7B074D3CB886 An annotated checklist of the chondrichthyan fishes inhabiting the northern Gulf of Mexico Part 1: Batoidea CHRISTIAN M. JONES1,*, WILLIAM B. DRIGGERS III1,4, KRISTIN M. HANNAN2, ERIC R. HOFFMAYER1,5, LISA M. JONES1,6 & SANDRA J. RAREDON3 1National Marine Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories, 3209 Frederic Street, Pascagoula, Mississippi, U.S.A. 2Riverside Technologies Inc., Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Mississippi Laboratories, 3209 Frederic Street, Pascagoula, Missis- sippi, U.S.A. [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2687-3331 3Smithsonian Institution, Division of Fishes, Museum Support Center, 4210 Silver Hill Road, Suitland, Maryland, U.S.A. [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8295-6000 4 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8577-968X 5 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5297-9546 6 [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2228-7156 *Corresponding author. [email protected]; https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5093-1127 Abstract Herein we consolidate the information available concerning the biodiversity of batoid fishes in the northern Gulf of Mexico, including nearly 70 years of survey data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Mississippi Laboratories and their predecessors. We document 41 species proposed to occur in the northern Gulf of Mexico.
  • Cuckoo Ray (Leucoraja Naevus) in Division 9.A (Atlantic Iberian Waters)

    Cuckoo Ray (Leucoraja Naevus) in Division 9.A (Atlantic Iberian Waters)

    ICES Advice on fishing opportunities, catch, and effort Bay of Biscay and the Iberian Coast ecoregion Published 2 October 2020 Cuckoo ray (Leucoraja naevus) in Division 9.a (Atlantic Iberian waters) ICES advice on fishing opportunities ICES advises that when the precautionary approach is applied, catches should be no more than 120 tonnes in each of the years 2021 and 2022. If discard rates do not change from the average of the last five years (2015–2019), this implies landings of no more than 84 tonnes. Note: This advice sheet is abbreviated due to the COVID-19 disruption. The previous advice issued for 2019 and 2020 is attached as Annex 1. Stock development over time Figure 1 Cuckoo ray in Division 9.a. Left: ICES landings estimates (all fleets: 2002–2019) and discards (Spanish fleet: 2015– 2019). Right: The stock-size indicator (solid line) is the combined biomass survey index (normalized) from the two Spanish groundfish surveys in the Gulf of Cadiz (SpGFS-GC-WIBTS-Q1, SpGFS–GC-WIBTS-Q4). Horizontal lines indicate the mean stock-size indicator values for 2013–2017 and 2018–2019. Stock and exploitation status Table 1 Cuckoo ray in Division 9.a. State of the stock and the fishery relative to reference points. Catch scenarios The precautionary buffer was last applied in 2014. The status of the stock size and fishing pressure relative to reference points is unknown. However, because of a long-term increase in the stock-size indicator since 1998 and a significant decrease in the fishing effort over the last ten years, the precautionary buffer was not applied in 2020.
  • A Ban on Bluefin Just Might

    A Ban on Bluefin Just Might

    Published on The New Republic (http://www.tnr.com) Bradford Plumer March 4, 2010 | 1:50 pm For some time now, it's seemed likely that the Atlantic bluefin tuna would go extinct in the next few years. The popular sushi staple has been drastically overfished, its stocks have collapsed, and recent attempts to set global quotas on annual catches were half-hearted and inadequate. It's been a bleak scene all around. But now marine biologist Carl Safina brings word that there's one last attempt to save the tuna—a ban on international trade. And here's why it just might work: Because bluefin tuna fishing worldwide is driven by prices paid in Japan, where individual fish have sold wholesale for up to $175,000, every population is depleted. … Even if international trade is banned, bluefin tuna could still be caught and sold within any given country. But the fish are now sufficiently scarce that without Japan’s prices, many boats would turn unprofitable and give up. The fish could recover, and a more sustainable fishery develop. The United States has supported a ban, while Japan isn't too keen on the idea. Which means a lot will depend on whether the EU countries vote as a bloc and decide to support the ban. (They've been noncommittal so far.) It's sort of remarkable: A few decades ago, the idea that any of these countries could support a ban would have been unthinkable—there's just too much money at stake for the fishing industry, and the lobbying pressure can be intense.
  • Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves

    Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves

    University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository Minnesota Law Review 2005 Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Kieves, Nicola, "Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries" (2005). Minnesota Law Review. 699. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/699 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Minnesota Law Review collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Note Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation To Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves * Around the world the health of marine fisheries continues to deteriorate.' In American waters, overfishing occurs in more than half of all fisheries. 2 Because they are an open-access re- source "owned by all and owned by none," 3 in the absence of some restrictions, fisheries are likely to be harvested until deci- mated. 4 Countries continue to close their most profitable fisher- ies,5 threatening society's health and economic welfare. 6 Socially, overfishing leads to longer working hours, lower wages, and increased rates of unemployment for fishermen. 7 * J.D. Candidate 2006, University of Minnesota Law School; B.A. 2002, Middlebury College. Thank you to Jana Bruder and Ryan Stai for their com- ments and encouragement throughout the editorial process and to Professor Jim Chen for his advice and guidance. This Article is dedicated to my family for their unwavering support these past months and all my life.
  • Adult Chondrogenesis and Spontaneous Cartilage Repair in the Skate, Leucoraja Erinacea Aleksandra Marconi1, Amy Hancock-Ronemus2,3, J Andrew Gillis1,3*

    Adult Chondrogenesis and Spontaneous Cartilage Repair in the Skate, Leucoraja Erinacea Aleksandra Marconi1, Amy Hancock-Ronemus2,3, J Andrew Gillis1,3*

    RESEARCH ARTICLE Adult chondrogenesis and spontaneous cartilage repair in the skate, Leucoraja erinacea Aleksandra Marconi1, Amy Hancock-Ronemus2,3, J Andrew Gillis1,3* 1Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom; 2Charles River Laboratories, Wilmington, Massachusetts, United States; 3Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, United States Abstract Mammalian articular cartilage is an avascular tissue with poor capacity for spontaneous repair. Here, we show that embryonic development of cartilage in the skate (Leucoraja erinacea) mirrors that of mammals, with developing chondrocytes co-expressing genes encoding the transcription factors Sox5, Sox6 and Sox9. However, in skate, transcriptional features of developing cartilage persist into adulthood, both in peripheral chondrocytes and in cells of the fibrous perichondrium that ensheaths the skeleton. Using pulse-chase label retention experiments and multiplexed in situ hybridization, we identify a population of cycling Sox5/6/9+ perichondral progenitor cells that generate new cartilage during adult growth, and we show that persistence of chondrogenesis in adult skates correlates with ability to spontaneously repair cartilage injuries. Skates therefore offer a unique model for adult chondrogenesis and cartilage repair and may serve as inspiration for novel cell-based therapies for skeletal pathologies, such as osteoarthritis. Introduction Hyaline cartilage is a skeletal tissue that consists of a single cell type (the chondrocyte) embedded *For correspondence: [email protected] within a homogeneous, collagenous extracellular matrix (reviewed in Gillis, 2018). In mammals, hya- line cartilage is predominantly an embryonic tissue, making up the anlage of the axial (chondrocra- Competing interests: The nial, vertebral and rib) and appendicular (limb) endoskeleton. The vast majority of mammalian authors declare that no hyaline cartilage is replaced by bone during the process of endochondral ossification, with cartilage competing interests exist.
  • Leucoraja Naevus from Portuguese Continental Waters

    Leucoraja Naevus from Portuguese Continental Waters

    Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Reproductive biology of the species Leucoraja naevus from Portuguese continental waters Catarina Maia Master thesis submitted for the partial fulfillment of the title of Master of Marine Biology 2010 Universidade do Algarve Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia Reproductive biology of the species Leucoraja naevus from Portuguese continental waters Catarina Maia Master thesis submitted for the partial fulfillment of the title of Master of Marine Biology Internal supervisor: Prof. Dr. Karim Erzini External supervisor: Profa. Dra. Ivone Figueiredo 2010 Acknowledgements I would like to thank everyone who helped me in IPIMAR and University: First I would like to thank Dr. Ivone Figueiredo and Dr. Karim Erzini for the opportunity to perform this work and the availability and encouragement shown over the same; I would also like to express my immense gratitude to Dr. Barbara Serra-Pereira for the help, encouragement and support (tireless!!!!) that greatly facilitated my work; My sincere thanks to José do Lago and Neide Lagarto for their help in sampling and friendship; As Teresa, Ana Rita and Inês, Miguel and Nuno, who not only gave me the motivation but also by the availability and friendship shown. I also thank to all IPIMAR workers, including Carmo and Cristrina for their help and suggestions in histology; Tanks to PNAB that partially supported my work; My eternal gratitude to my parents and Francisco who were always by my side and supported me unconditionally. Abstract Skate populations tend to be highly vulnerable to exploitation as a result of the main life history characteristics (slow growth, late maturity and low fecundity).
  • Adventures In

    Adventures In

    BULLETIN Fall 2009 adventurEs in sCIENCE Ingree’sPort IncludesYear end P re board of trustees 2008–09 Jane Blake Riley ’77, p ’05 President contents James D. Smeallie p ’05, ’09 V ice President Keith C. Shaughnessy p ’04, ’08, ’10 T reasurer Philip G. Lake ’85 4 Pingree Secretary athletes Thanks Anthony G.L. Blackman p ’10 receive Interim Head of School All-American Nina Sacharuk Anderson ’77, p ’09 ’11 honors for stepping up to the plate. Kirk C. Bishop p ’06, ’06, ’08 Tamie Thompson Burke ’76, p ’09 Patricia Castraberti p ’08 7 Malcolm Coates p ’01 Honoring Therese Melden p ’09, ’11 Reflections: Science Teacher Even in our staggering economy, Theodore E. Ober p ’12 from Head of School Eva Sacharuk 16 Oliver Parker p ’06, ’08, ’12 Dr. Timothy M. Johnson Jagruti R. Patel ’84 you helped the 2008–2009 Pingree William L. Pingree p ’04, ’08 3 Mary Puma p ’05, ’07, ’10 annual Fund hit a home run. Leslie Reichert p ’02, ’07 Patrick T. Ryan p ’12 William K. Ryan ’96 Binkley C. Shorts p ’95, ’00 • $632,000 raised Joyce W. Swagerty • 100% Faculty and staff participation Richard D. Tadler p ’09 William J. Whelan, Jr. p ’07, ’11 • 100% Board of trustees participation Sandra Williamson p ’08, ’09, ’10 Brucie B. Wright Guess Who! • 100% class of 2009 participation Pictures from Amy McGowan p ’07, ’10 the archives 26 • 100% alumni leadership Board participation Parents Association President William K. Ryan ’96 • 15% more donations than 2007–2008 A Lumni L eadership Board President Cover Story: • 251 new Pingree donors board of overseers Adventures in Science Alice Blodgett p ’78, ’81, ’82 Susan B.
  • Conserving Wild Fish in a Sea of Market-Based Efforts

    Conserving Wild Fish in a Sea of Market-Based Efforts

    Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based efforts J ennifer J acquet,John H ocevar,Sherman L ai,Patricia M ajluf,Nathan P elletier,Tony P itcher,Enric S ala,Rashid S umaila and D aniel P auly Abstract Over the past decade conservation groups have put Introduction considerable effort into educating consumers and chang- ing patterns of household consumption. Many groups aim- ish consumption is on the rise globally. The USA now 100 ing to reduce overfishing and encourage sustainable fishing Fconsumes almost five times more fish than it did 2 2 2004 500 000 1910 practices have turned to new market-based tools, including years ago (c. million t in vs c. , tin ; 2006 consumer awareness campaigns and seafood certification NMFS, ), and Chinese consumers are now consuming schemes (e.g. the Marine Stewardship Council) that have almost five times more seafood per capita than they did in 1961 25 4 -1 2005 4 8 -1 1961 been well received by the fishing and fish marketing in- ( . kg person in vs . kg person in ; 2006 dustries and by the public in many western countries. Here, Halweil, ). Worldwide, per capita consumption of 1960 9 we review difficulties that may impede further progress, such marine fishes has nearly doubled since the s( kg 1960 16 1997 2006 as consumer confusion, lack of traceability and a lack of in the svs kg in ; WHO, ) while the human demonstrably improved conservation status for the fish that population also doubled over this same time period. Future are meant to be protected. Despite these issues, market- projections show that seafood supply from capture fisheries based initiatives may have a place in fisheries conservation is decreasing and that, overall, today’s marine fisheries are 2002 2006 in raising awareness among consumers and in encouraging unsustainable (Pauly et al., ; Worm et al., ).
  • A Voice for Nature

    A Voice for Nature

    Agenda Item F.3.b Supplemental Public Comment 2 Full Version ELECTRONIC Only March 2016 February 25, 2016 Dorothy Lowman, Chair Pacific Fishery Management Council 1100 NE Ambassador Place, #101 Portland, Oregon 97220 RE Agenda Item G.2: Swordfish Management Policy Connections; authorization of deep set buoy gear Dear Chair Lowman and Council Members: We understand that the Council is now considering transitioning buoy gear from an experimental gear to a federally authorized gear under the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. We are writing to ask the Council to make authorization of buoy gear a high priority and initiate this process early in 2016, so that West Coast fishermen can start fishing with buoy gear as soon as possible. As an organization that works to create a more knowledgeable constituency for ocean conservation and assesses the sustainability of seafood species, we are always thrilled to hear of innovative ideas that could improve the way we fish. This is why we are so excited about deep-set buoy gear. We believe that buoy gear is a viable alternative to the currently used drift gillnets in the U.S. West Coast swordfish fishery, and could help make the fishery more sustainable. Experiments conducted with buoy gear off the West Coast have found that this fishing method catches high numbers of marketable swordfish and minimal amounts of non-target species, like sea turtles, whales, and bluefin tuna. This fishing method also results in a higher quality swordfish product, similar to harpoon-caught swordfish; this means fishermen get a higher price for their catch and consumers get a tastier product.
  • By PAUL GREENBERG Published: August 12, 2007 a Few Months

    By PAUL GREENBERG Published: August 12, 2007 a Few Months

    By PAUL GREENBERG Published: August 12, 2007 A few months ago I took the most expensive nap of my life, and when it was over I decided it was all Hemingway’s fault. For $500, I booked a marlin charter out of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I had never gone for the really big fish, and I was juiced to finally get the chance. I imagined myself sitting, like Papa, on the deck of the Pilar, fighting the big fish in the big chair, muttering through gritted teeth the great man’s motto “Il faut (d’abord) durer” — first, one must endure. But after hours of dragging footlong lures at 8 knots, I began thinking that it could be the big fish that have not endured. Not a single marlin raised its sword to our lines, nor did one appear for the other 30-odd boats trolling in the lee of the trade winds that day. And as I nodded off in the fighting chair and recalled the photographs of Hemingway posed with giant marlin and tuna, I started wondering whether it was possible to calculate the effect the world’s best fishing writer might have had on the world’s biggest fish. The thought wouldn’t have occurred to me a few years ago. Like Hemingway, I took up fishing because of the limitlessness the sea seemed to offer. I shared his notion that the “great ocean currents are the last wild country there is left,” and believed of the sea as Hemingway did that “no one knows what fish live in it, or how great size they reach.” As a child, if I ever felt guilty about my kills, I summoned a kind of waking dream in which all my victims thanked me.