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2013 FishSmart Workshop | Mid Atlantic/New England

March 13-14, 2013
Renaissance Providence Downtown Hotel
Providence, Rhode Island

Executive Summary

Full Report

Workshop Goals

Specific to the Mid Atlantic/New England fisheries constrained by high release mortality:

  1. Identify best practices and equipment to employ by anglers and regulatory agencies in the region to increase the survival of angler-sought saltwater fishes constrained by high release mortality under a variety of conditions/fisheries.
  2. Develop outline for messages directed to anglers to employ in their interaction with these saltwater species in the region.
  3. Provide guidance to management bodies to reduce the interaction and lethality of such interactions, with these species by anglers 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.
  4. Identify gaps in the current state of knowledge in need of additional research efforts/funding in the region

Wednesday, March 13  Plenary

7:30     Continental breakfast available

8:00     Welcome & Logistics

8:10     Introduction- Paul Perra, Northeast Recreational Fisheries Coordinator, NOAA Fisheries

8:30     FishSmart Initiative – Gil Radonski/Andrew Loftus

            Overview of Previous Workshop Results/Results of FMP Analysis -Gil Radonski/ Andrew Loftus

9:00    Framing the Issue of Release Mortality in General –Alena Pribyl, NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center

            Pacific Rockfish Recompression Instructional Video

9:30 Questions

9:45 Break

10:00   Framing Mid Atlantic/New England Regional Recreational Fisheries Impacted by High Release Mortality

  • Mid Atlantic - Rob O'Reilly, Virginia Marine resources Commission
  • New England - Matt Ayer, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

10:45 – Questions/Discussion

11:00 Overview of Issues

Avoidance: Management techniques and Fishing Techniques designed to prevent encounters of unwanted species/sizes  - Panel Discussion

  • Anglers/For Hire New England - Rick Belevance
  • Anglers/For Hire Mid Atlantic - Skip Feller
  • Management Mid Atlantic - Jessica Coakley

12:00  Lunch

1:15 Continue Overview of Issues (20 minutes each)

2:15  Breakout groups:

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.

3:00 Break

3:15 Reconvene in Breakout groups

5:30 Adjourn

Thursday, March 14

7:30 Continental breakfast available

8:00 Announcements

8:15  Breakout reports-20 minutes each-each group reports on the results of their discussions addressing the 5 issues. Commonalities and divergences between groups will be identified.

9:00 Group Discussion Develop final recommendations on best practices, angler messages, and management guidance for fisheries constrained by high release mortality in the region

  • Best practices and gear for anglers to increase the survival of angler-sought saltwater fishes under variety of conditions (species, temperature, depth caught, hook size, etc.
  • Messages for regulatory bodies
  • Develop the outline of messages directed to anglers to employ in their interaction with these saltwater species

10:00 Break

10:15: Continue Development of Recommendations

  • Develop guidance to regulatory bodies to reduce the interaction (avoidance) and lethality of such interactions, with those species by anglers.
  • Catalogue gaps in the current state of knowledge in need of additional research efforts/funding and initial prioritization of research in the region
  • Identify ways to improve the connection between research and management implementation by identifying and supporting robust, actionable science on release mortality rates.--
  • Setting expectations: Perceptions of anglers of what happens to the stock assessments if release mortality rates are lowered.

12:00 Lunch

Lunch Speaker:  Voluntary programs to Address a Management Issue in the Chesapeake- Shawn Kimbro “Careful Catch”

1:00  Communications: Development and Delivery of Message Content: How Will We Use It?

2:15 Facilitated Group Collaboration: Finding a Unifying Message: Communicating Messages on Best Practices and Management Guidance (3 workshop goals). –Andrew Loftus/GilRadonski facilitators

Using the previous day outcomes, develop messages specific to the region for:

  • Best practices and gear for anglers 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 to employ in their interaction with saltwater species.
  • How do we communicate best practices to anglers when we don’t have a baseline
  • Develop guidance to regulatory bodies to reduce the interaction (avoidance) and lethality of such interactions, with those species by anglers.
  • Communication tools and pathways.

3:15  Break

3:30 Finalize Recommendations

4:15 Wrap Up

4:30 Adjourn

FishSmart - It's Up To You!