Captain Favorite's Weekend Fishing Forecast: Nov. 21, 2013

Audubon and Pew: Florida’s Coastal Birds Could Face Threat to Food Supply

Researchers Recommend Protecting Small Fish as a Vital Food Source

• Already pressured by a steady loss of habitat, many of Florida’s imperiled and iconic coastal waterbirds are vulnerable to declines in small fish that are necessary for their survival, according to a report by Audubon Florida and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
• Fins and Feathers: Why little fish are a big deal to Florida’s coastal waterbirds” examines the crucial link between birds and the diverse array of small fish that are a critical food source. Declines in the populations of these fish, known alternatively as forage fish, prey fish or baitfish, could threaten imperiled birds such as Brown Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Black Skimmers and Reddish Egrets, according to the report. 
• “In Florida, our environment is directly linked to our quality of life and our economy,” said Julie Wraithmell, Audubon’s director of wildlife conservation. “This report shows how important baitfish are to Florida’s coastal birds, environment, communities and economy. Fisheries policy must consider the ecological and economic vitality that hinges on these smallest of fish.”
• Few regulations limit the amount of forage fish such as sardines and herring that are hauled out of Florida’s coastal waters each year. Forage fish are used for bait, food and commercial products ranging from fertilizer to fish meal. Worldwide demand is growing. In 2012, seven main types of forage species, including sardines, scads, herrings, ballyhoo and mullet, accounted for 20 percent of all commercial catch off Florida. Commercial fishermen, for example, caught more than 9 million pounds of mullet that year, mostly for their eggs, which are sold around the world as a delicacy. 
• For additional information, including details on specific species, see the full report here at Pew: http://www.pewenvironment.org/news-room/reports/fins-and-feathers-why-little-fish-are-a-big-deal-to-floridas-coastal-waterbirds-85899521601

Weekend closures begin Nov. 23 for Apalachicola Bay commercial oyster harvesters

• The commercial harvest of oysters in Apalachicola Bay will be closed on Saturdays and Sundays starting Nov. 23.
• Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) regulations provide for the automatic weekend closure of the oyster harvest in Apalachicola Bay each year when resources on monitored oyster bars cannot sustain a harvest of 300 bags of oysters per acre. Data collected in August and November indicate that there are likely fewer than 200 bags per acre of legal-sized oysters available on East Hole Bar and fewer than 225 bags per acre of legal-sized oysters on Cat Point Bar.
• These weekend closures will remain in effect through May 31, 2014.

Holidays bring fishing bonuses 

• Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday and for many people represents their only four-day holiday. So what better time to offer license-free fishing days? Friday, Nov. 29, will be a license-free freshwater fishing day, followed by a saltwater license-free day on Nov. 30.
• To round out the gift-giving, Saturday, Dec. 28, was also designated as a license-free freshwater fishing day.
• In 2013, the Legislature authorized the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to offer four additional license-free fishing days annually. FWC Commissioners subsequently implemented a long-term strategy to encourage introducing new anglers to recreational fishing, and to give those who haven’t been fishing recently another incentive to enjoy time on the water. Since the dates for some of these long-term options had already passed in 2013, they also picked the one-time-only dates mentioned above to make sure anglers got all the free-days the Legislature authorized.