Shem Creek fisherman – along with a lot of other ones – are traveling to Washington this month to attend a nationwide rally protesting new fishing regulations that limit bottom fishing.

That’s fine, but I consider it a waste of gas on their part. If all the fish are gone, what would they do then? Once there’s proof things are okay, the government will loosen their restrictions, and we’ll all be able to enjoy fishing again.

Legare Smith, captain of a private sport fishing boat, says “What if they come back and say dolphin or wahoo numbers are down?” Well, then it must be because their numbers are too low to sustain themselves, they’re certainly not trying to drive away our tourism dollars!   Read more...

In what may very well be a case of water pollution and/or ocean acidification, South Carolina’s supply of healthy oysters have been depleting for the last 20 years.

DHEC has already closed about 1/3 of the state’s 3,000 acres of oyster beds to harvesting because of pollution.

On top of that, commercial fishermen take about 100,000 bushels a year, SCDNR biologist and SCORE manager, Nancy Hadley said. SCDNR usually replants about 1/2 that much, using revenues from saltwater fishing licenses and volunteer help through SCORE (the South Carolina Oyster Restoration and Enhancement Program), but it’s necessary to do this and more to help oysters thrive in nature.   Read more...

Pisces will play a big part assessing marine mammals, turtles etc. in the Southeastern fisheries throughout its lifetime.
Credit: NOAA

The ship, which will carry a crew of 21 and up to 17 scientists, will support NOAA’s mission to protect, restore, and manage the use of living marine, coastal, and ocean resources.

Her primary objective will be to study, monitor, and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions, primarily in U.S. waters from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and South Atlantic to North Carolina.

This region includes important commercial and recreational fisheries, and is one of the world’s best known and most productive marine areas.   Read more...

The world’s first major documentary about the devastating effect of overfishing premiered at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.

“Overfishing is the great environmental disaster that people haven’t heard about”
– producer George Duffield.

In the film we see firsthand the effects of our global love affair with seafood – from right here on Shem Creek, all the way to the world’s biggest consumers of seafood: Asians, Japan specifically.

The documentary examines the imminent extinction of bluefin tuna, brought on by increasing western demand for sushi; the impact on marine life resulting in huge overpopulation of jellyfish; and the profound implications of a future world with no fish that would bring certain mass starvation.   Read more...